Alicia (11 page)

“No, no. I merely added the ribbon to enliven it.”

“No matter. I can see from your sketches that you have the flair. Can you come back in a few days to see that I have everything as it should be?”

“I cannot say,”
Felicia hesitated. “I cannot very well run loose here.”

“I shall send for you when I am ready,”
Miss Carnworth said firmly. “No one will object to your calling on me. Thank you, child. I look forward to this project with real pleasure.”

Miss Carnworth herself escorted Felicia to the hall where Stronbert was lounging against the mantelpiece speaking with his niece and nephew. The latter darted off to get the phaeton. Stronbert sent an inquiring, quizzical glance at Miss Carnworth who said gruffly, “It will do very well,”
and retreated to her quarters.

“High praise indeed from Miss Susan,”
he complimented Felicia. “Rowland will drive you to the inn, but Dorothy wished to speak with you before you left.”

“Could you ride with us tomorrow morning, Felicia? We often ride out about ten and we could come for you at the inn.”

Felicia turned to Lord Stronbert for confirmation and he set his lips firmly. “You do not need my approval, Miss Coombs. If you think your mother would allow the expedition, I will have Rowland bring a mare for you.”

“Oh, no. I can have a mare from Hodges,”
Felicia said stubbornly.

“Dorothy said you were especially taken with Dancer. We need the horses exercised, Miss Coombs.”
He eyed her intently.

Felicia hesitated; she knew her mother would prefer that she rode one of the inn hacks, but there was that in his lordship’s eyes which brooked no opposition. “Very well, Lord Stronbert. I should love to ride Dancer.”

Stronbert smiled approvingly and shook her hand as Rowland came to announce that the phaeton was ready. Dorothy walked out with them and watched her new friend climb up onto the high seat. Then she returned to the hall and gave her uncle an impulsive hug. “I am so glad you brought her, Uncle Nigel. I like her excessively.”

“She is as stubborn as her mother,”
he muttered darkly, but his lips twitched. “Yes, I am glad she came and that you go on well, Dorothy.”

* * * *

Felicia chatted easily with Rowland as he tooled the phaeton along the carriage path. He was respectful of the horses and the new carriage, and his driving was adequate, if he had not the expertise of his uncle.

“You will ride with us tomorrow, won’t you?”
he asked.

“Oh, yes, and I am to have Dancer,”
she replied happily.

“Bit of a handful that one, but I dare say you can handle her if you were not afraid to take my uncle’s chestnuts in hand.”

“I
was
a little afraid, you know,”
she confessed. “But I should like to learn and Lord Stronbert was right there to help if I got in trouble.”

“Uncle Nigel is a great gun. He has been teaching me how to fence. I thought at first that I should rather go to London than come to the Court, but I’m glad I did.”

“Have you been to London before?”

“Several times. There is always something to do there—the theater, and the parties, and the gaming houses, though I am not so lucky at cards. Have you never been?”

“No, but perhaps one day I will. Mama had expected to take me in a few years, but that will not be possible now. I do not mind so very much, really, for I love the country and I am not sure I would feel at ease in society.”
She flushed suddenly. “Of course, there is no question of that now.”

“Why not?”
he asked, puzzled.

“Because we are shopkeepers now,”
she retorted defiantly.

He gave a gust of laughter and touched her gloved hand with one of his, losing his concentration on the chestnuts. His intention was to reassure her, but the chestnuts took exception to the haphazard jerk on the ribbons and bolted to the right. Felicia clung to the seat as Rowland struggled to bring them under control.

“Damn and blast, what a careless gudgeon I am,”
he swore. The carriage swayed as it touched the opposite bank and Felicia nearly lost her seat before Rowland finally brought the horses to a stand. He was red with exertion and embarrassment when he turned to assure himself of her well-being. Felicia smiled timidly at him and casually adjusted her bonnet.

“I
am
sorry,”
he muttered. “Are you all right?”

“Quite all right.”

“And I thought I could be trusted with such a team.”
He was sunk in gloom and his despair communicated itself to his companion.

“I distracted you from your driving. Do not berate yourself,”
she said, her voice full of concern.

“I cannot think what Uncle Nigel will say,”
he moaned as he urged the horses to continue.

“Need you tell him? I shall not mention it to him.”

“Well, of course I must tell him. He trusted me with his horses and I did something foolish. Besides,”
he said with a comic look of dismay, “I think I have scraped the off side of the carriage.”

Felicia burst into whoops and was only just recovering when they drew up to the inn. Rowland handed her down and said ruefully, “I promise I will be more careful next time. Will you be afraid to drive with me again?”

“Pooh! Do not be absurd. Of course I shall drive with you again...that is, if you ask me,”
she said in confusion.

“I shall ask you,”
he replied frankly.

“Thank you for bringing me back, Mr. Clinton.”

“You called my sister Dorothy.”

“Well, yes. Shall I call you Rowland?”
she asked shyly.

“Certainly, for I intend to call you Felicia,”
he said boldly, but with an embarrassed flush.

Felicia saw her mother approaching and beckoned her over to the phaeton. “Mama, I should like you to meet Rowland Clinton, Lord Stronbert’s nephew. This is my mother, Lady Coombs.”

Alicia liked the young man’s manner as they conversed for a few minutes. She agreed to the proposed riding expedition, though she raised a brow when Rowland enthusiastically described Dancer’s merits. She did not say anything, however, until she and her daughter were once more in their room. “You are to ride one of Lord Stronbert’s horses?”

“Yes, Mama, for I told him that I would have a hack from Hodges and he gave me one of those looks. I did not dare contradict him.”

“I know just what you mean, my love,”
Alicia laughed.

Alicia officially became owner of the shop the next day. Mr. Dean spent part of his time working with her and the rest preparing to remove from the cottage. By now most of the residents of Tetterton and its surroundings were aware of the change of ownership. Alicia was faced with the curiosity that prompted an unusually large number of customers to visit the shop each day. Her demeanor assumed the respectful quality of most of the shop proprietors of the area and most of the gentry accepted her waiting on them as a matter of course. Lady Wickham from Tosley Hall, along with several of her cronies, did attempt to make matters hard for Alicia, demanding items which were not available, complaining of the price of stuffs, and generally relished making her uncomfortable with their comments. But Alicia bore this with a tolerable grace, only occasionally exploding with wrath when she returned to her room at the inn.

Felicia rode almost daily with Dorothy and Rowland Clinton, and frequently Matthew and Helen joined the party. The dowager marchioness’s gown was completed and Felicia complimented Miss Carnworth on it. The gown was set aside for Lord Stronbert to decide when to present it to his mother. Lord Stronbert himself had left for Leeds where business would occupy him for some days.

The dowager marchioness occasionally visited the shop and even Mr. Allerton commented on her reasonable behavior. Once she was dissuaded by Alicia from choosing an inappropriate fabric for her age; on that occasion she refused to purchase the other materials presented to her, but she made no disagreeable comment, either.

Within the week Mr. Dean departed and Alicia, with the help of the innkeeper and his wife, found help to get their belongings into the cottage and have it thoroughly cleaned. Mrs. Harper suggested a former maid from Tosley Hall as their only helper. “For Lady Wickham has turned her off, my lady, and it will be hard for her to find another position. But it were no fault of the young woman’s. ‘Twere Lady Wickham’s son kept pestering her until she lost her temper with him and tossed the handiest bowl at his head. Good aim she has, too, for it hit him and he complained to his mother and had Mavis turned off. But you need have no fear, for she is a hard worker and a pleasant person, daughter to one of Lord Stronbert’s tenants over Beverley way.”

“Would she cook for us? Neither my daughter nor I have the least experience in the kitchen. It would mean a great variety of work for her.”

“‘Twon’t be the least problem for her, my lady. Shall I send for her to speak with you?”

Mavis was in her early twenties and expressed her gratitude when Alicia agreed to employ her. “Nonsense! Felicia and I are the ones to be grateful, Mavis, for we will depend on you to run the household completely. I will be at the shop all day and Felicia intends to do some work about the cottage, making covers for the chair seats and such, but she will also be decorating hats from the shop and goodness knows what else.”

So the three women settled into a comfortable routine in the cottage, well satisfied with each other. On the day that Alicia received a letter from Lady Gorham, Felicia burst into the cottage at luncheon, her eyes burning with anger.

“Whatever is the matter, my dear?”
Alicia asked anxiously.

“We met Lady Wickham’s son while we were out riding this morning. He was so rude to me!”
Felicia burst into tears.

“Then he is only taking a cue from his mother.”

“He refused to acknowledge the introduction and rode off with Dorothy in such a way as to suggest that he would not be seen with me,”
Felicia sobbed.

Alicia gathered her daughter in her arms and murmured, “You must not let such an incident bother you unduly, love. You have been very fortunate to be so well received. It has made you forget that we expected this sort of snub. Having met Lady Wickham I am not at all surprised to learn that her son is odious.”

Alicia wiped away her daughter’s tears and held her at arm’s length. “Perhaps it was shaming you in front of Rowland and Dorothy which bothered you so much.”

“Oh, Mama, I wanted to sink into the ground! Rowland was red with embarrassment for me and I would not have him discomfited for the world!”

“Rowland Clinton is a sensible young man and his sister has become your good friend, so I am sure they will understand.”

“But, Mama, Mr. Wickham had the nerve to tell the others that there was to be a ball at Tosley Hall and they were to be invited. He sneered at me.”
Felicia furiously wiped away the new tear that formed.

“Well, we shall not have him to our housewarming then,”
Alicia declared grandly.

Felicia uttered a watery chuckle. “Do not be so absurd, Mama. I should not invite him to a rat chase!”

“Of course not, my dear. Beneath our observance, I assure you.”

Felicia had recovered her spirits by now and agreed to sit down to her meal. Over the cold meats and fruit Alicia informed her that Lady Gorham was intent on visiting Tetterton. “And you will never guess with whom she has been invited to stay.”

“The dowager marchioness.”

“However did you know?”

“Dorothy said this morning that her grandmother is expecting a visitor with a daughter our age, and it turned out to be Lady Gorham. I can hardly wait to see Cassandra again.”

“Is the dowager marchioness aware that Lady Gorham is acquainted with us?”

“No, and I told Dorothy not to tell her. I thought it would be a superb surprise for the dowager,”
Felicia admitted impishly.

“Not a particularly pleasant one, I fear,”
Alicia replied ruefully.

* * * *

Less than a week later a traveling chaise rolled down the High Street piled with trunks and luggage. Lady Gorham and her daughter, accompanied by two maids, were seated within and the coachman was directed to halt the chaise in front of the shop which still bore Mr. Dean’s fading sign. The footman leaped down to place the steps and Lady Gorham and Cassandra stepped out into the muddy street. Picking their way carefully they entered the shop with only slightly muddy slippers and surveyed the scene with curiosity.

Alicia, who did not immediately perceive them, was intent on explaining to a slightly deaf old man that the bicorne hat he was regarding with aversion had replaced the tricorne which they no longer carried. Mr. Allerton was attempting to placate a sharp-eyed elderly woman, the vicar’s sister, who found it upsetting that she had found undergarments displayed in the rear room. Felicia had been importuned by Miss Helen into bringing her to the shop to look for a present for her father’s birthday, and the two of them were discussing the merits of a gnarled walking stick versus a stick pin for his frilled shirts.

Lady Gorham cleared her throat magnificently and all three assistants turned their startled gazes to her. “Cassandra!”
Felicia squealed and hastily excused herself to Miss Helen to throw her arms about her friend.

Alicia plunked several hats before the elderly man and murmured that she would be back in a moment, a statement which she was required to repeat at high volume.

She approached Lady Gorham with a sparkle in her eye. “You have caught us unawares, Lady Gorham. Welcome to Tetterton.”
Alicia caught a glimpse of the overladen chaise and exclaimed, “You have not been to the Court yet? You are too kind.”

“Much too kind,”
her older friend sniffed. “We have come at an inopportune time.”

“No worse than any other,”
Alicia admitted as she led Lady Gorham to a comfortable chair provided for customers who had to wait. “Please do not leave. I can be with you in a moment.”

Lady Gorham shrugged and said, “I have no intention of leaving, my dear, until I have had a word with you. But I do not need to seat myself; I shall be much happier having a bit of a look around.”

Alicia smiled gratefully and returned to the old man who grudgingly agreed to purchase the bicorne hat and presently left the store. Felicia explained to Cassandra that Miss Helen was searching for a present for her father, and her friend accompanied her to where Miss Helen waited patiently.