Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (20 page)

Turning his horse around, Matthew replied, “Let’s head to his place now, but I need to be back to the house in plenty of time, since we’re having company for dinner.”

After breakfast, Helen met with Mrs. Smith and Cook about dinner that night since they both needed to know that the vicar and his wife were coming over. Helen looked forward to spending time with them, because they both seemed to be lovely people. It was always a good idea to know the vicar so they could work together for the common good of all of Matthew’s tenants. After she finished her meeting with Mrs. Smith and Cook, she went upstairs and visited with the girls.

When Helen entered the nursery, Christina and Catherine had just finished reading and were starting to work on their numbers. Helen sat in and watched Miss Wilson with the girls. It truly was astonishing how quickly Christina and Catherine were learning. After they finished their lessons, Helen took them out to the garden so they could play. Christina was the leader, so whatever she did, Catherine went along with it. Helen knew that if she could get Christina to warm up to her, then Catherine would too.

Christina came over to Helen with a puzzled look in her eyes. “We don’t want to call you mama, so what should we call you?”

Helen thought a minute. “I hope that someday you’ll change your mind about calling me mama, but in the meantime, why don’t you just call me Helen. When I was your age, I used to like to work in the garden. Would you be interested in doing that with me?”

Christina looked over at Catherine and then they grinned and nodded their heads. Helen went to the shed, found some garden tools and showed them how to pull weeds and put fertilizer around the flowers. The garden needed quite a bit of work, so it kept the girls entertained for a couple of hours. By the time they finished, the girls were asking her all kinds of questions about the different flowers and bushes that were in the garden.

Helen enjoyed answering their questions and felt as if she had made good progress in getting them to accept her. By the time she took them back to the nursery, they were much more responsive towards her. Once she turned the girls back over to Katie, she realized that she had run out of time and wouldn’t be doing any decorating today after all. But that was all right, since she’d had such a lovely time with Christina and Catherine.

At four o’clock, she sat down to tea, but Matthew didn’t join her. He’d sent word that he was tied up at one of his tenant’s farms, but that he would be home in plenty of time before dinner. After tea, Helen went to her sitting room to catch up on some of her correspondence. She had gotten a letter from Kathryn. She wrote that she enjoyed living with Aunt Miriam, and her art instruction was going well. Her instructors were very complimentary about her work and told her that she had quite a bit of talent.

Helen had also gotten a letter from Susan. She was expecting again, and the baby was due in February. Susan was hoping for a girl this time, since she already had a son. She wrote that Mary had come for a visit and they were going to the orphanage almost every day. Helen was so pleased to hear that Mary was visiting Susan. Mary had had such a difficult time accepting Nelson’s death, and it was good to see her taking an interest in the orphanage again. Once she finished writing her letters, she lay down and took a nap.

That evening, when Vicar Winslow and his wife arrived, Wells showed them into the drawing room. Helen stood up as they entered the room. “I’m so pleased you could come for dinner. Lord Collingswood will join us later. We’ll just sit here and chat until he arrives. I’ve been looking forward to spending time with you so we can get to know one another. I want you to know that I’m here to help in any way that is needed. I used to help my vicar in Cranleigh and found it very rewarding. How long have you been vicar in Bigbury-on-Sea?”

Vicar Winslow had a round cheerful face and smiled jovially as he replied, “I’ve been here three years. The people in the parish are pleasant to work with. They’re so thankful that your husband inherited last year. Lord Collingswood has been so helpful to everyone, and the entire area is much more prosperous than it was when his father was the earl. I appreciate your offer to help, and I’ll certainly take you up on that. In fact, we’ve recently started a committee to raise money for some of the less fortunate in our parish. Would you like to participate on that committee?”

“I would love to participate.” Helen turned to Mrs. Winslow and asked, “You look a little familiar. Have we ever met?”

“Yes, my lady,” Mrs. Winslow replied. “We met back in 1815, the year I had my come out. I think it was at the Duke of Ashurst’s ball and Lady Helton introduced us.”

Helen searched her mind and finally remembered the introduction. “I remember now. That was the year I had to cut my season short. I really don’t remember much about that season. Is there an orphanage in Bigbury-on-Sea? When I was in London I helped with one there and found it very rewarding.”

“We do have an orphanage, and I volunteer there, so if you would like, I’ll be happy to show you around and introduce you to Mrs. Mullins. She’s in charge of St. Stephen’s Orphanage. I’m sure she would welcome your help. We can go there on Friday if that would be agreeable to you.”

“I’d like that. Friday would work for me. Why don’t we meet at the church at nine o’clock?”

“That sounds delightful. I look forward to it.”

Helen was beginning to wonder where Matthew was. He should have arrived by now. To keep the conversation flowing, Helen asked, “How long have you been married, Mrs. Winslow?”

“We got married shortly before my husband came to the parish. I grew up in the north and had never seen the sea. When we got here, I immediately fell in love with the area. I truly love the ocean and the beach. I find it invigorating.”

“That definitely gives us something in common, because I also find the ocean quite exhilarating. I grew up in Surrey, and I had never seen the ocean before either. My husband and I ride on the beach almost every day, and I think the sea is breathtakingly beautiful. Mrs. Winslow, do you ride? If you do, maybe we could go for a ride sometime. I’m a very informal person. Why don’t you call me Helen? I’m sure we’re going to become good friends.”

“I’ll be happy to Helen, and please call me Meredith. I do ride, but I haven’t ridden very much since I moved here since I no longer have a horse. If you have an extra mount, I would love to go riding with you.”

“Matthew has several horses, so finding you a horse to ride won’t be a problem.” Helen looked up as Matthew entered the room. “Oh good, my husband has finally arrived.”

Matthew came into the drawing room and shook hands with Vicar Winslow and bowed to Mrs. Winslow. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you when you first arrived, but one of my tenants had a fire at his farm today. I hope my wife’s been entertaining you.”

Vicar Winslow replied, “My lord, your wife is an excellent hostess, and we’ve just been sitting here chatting. She’s volunteered to help with a new committee that we’ve recently started for the less fortunate of our parish. She also wants to help with St. Stephen’s Orphanage. Who had the fire, my lord?”

Matthew sat down beside Helen before answering the vicar’s question. “It was Howard Miller. Fortunately, we kept it from completely destroying their home, but there was still quite a bit of damage. We’re not sure how the fire got started.”

With concern in his voice, Vicar Winslow said, “I’ll see what I can do to help the Miller family. I’m sure this will be hard on them, since they have three small children with another one on the way. I’ll go out to their farm tomorrow.”

Wells came in and announced dinner, so they went into the dining room. They had baked fish with Mornay sauce, rice, and wild mushrooms. For desert, Cook had prepared a lemon chiffon cake. The food was delicious and the conversation was delightful. Helen found out that she had several mutual friends with Meredith. By the end of the evening, they were all on a first name basis.

After the vicar and his wife left, Helen and Matthew went into the library and read to each other. Once Helen finished reading her chapter, she closed the book. “I’m glad we had Colin and Meredith over for dinner. I think I’m going to enjoy being friends with Meredith, since we seem to have so much in common. I hope you don’t mind me volunteering for the committee and orphanage.”

“I’m glad you invited them. I enjoyed their company. I’m pleased you want to help out with the committee and orphanage. I know you enjoyed doing that when you were in London, and I want you to be happy.”

“There’s something else I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. Matthew, I’m a little concerned, because Margaret seems to be infatuated with Peter Boling, and I think he’s dangerous. I worry he may try to get Margaret off by herself. She’s so impulsive that I’m afraid he may talk her into doing something she could regret later.”

“I’ve noticed this also, and it concerns me greatly. I’ll be glad when these young men leave. Margaret thinks she’s grown up, but we both know that she’s very immature. I’ll watch them very closely. These young men should be leaving soon, so we’ll only need to be vigilant for a while longer. If both of us keep an eye on her, I’m sure she’ll be fine. Well, I’m getting tired, and I think I’ll head up to bed. I hope you’ll join me, because I’d like to spend some private time with my beautiful wife.”

Helen smiled and gave him a sultry look as they went up to bed. Helen knew that they would end the night by making love and falling to sleep in each other’s arms. She again thought about how fortunate she was that he had asked her to be his wife and that she had agreed.

Chapter 13

August 1820

Helen was extremely busy over the next two days. They went riding in the morning, and she spent time with the twins in the afternoon. She had made progress on decorating Matthew’s room. Since he loved the sea so much, she decided to use several shades of blue with beige accents. She found striped wallpaper with those colors and an oriental rug that matched. The room would be finished soon, but Helen was in no hurry, because she enjoyed sharing her room with him.

After tea the next day, she had Sally prepare her a bath, as they were going to the Marquess of Ralston’s ball that night. Helen was looking forward to it with great anticipation. This would be the first time she would meet most of the neighbors. Besides, Helen wanted to dance with Matthew again.

The gown Helen chose to wear was a deep rose satin with an ecru underskirt, and the bodice had a low décolleté, so it accentuated her bosom. While there wasn’t much she could do with her short hair, Sally managed to thread a matching ribbon through it. Helen had decided that she was going to let her hair grow long again. She wanted to be able to pull it back again and long hair gave her more choices.

Once Helen was dressed, she went downstairs. As she was coming down the stairs, Matthew was standing there, and his smoldering look spent chills throughout her body. When she stepped onto the floor, Matthew offered her his arm. “My dear, you look ravishing tonight. I’ll be the envy of all the other men there. I’ll have to keep a close eye on you, or someone will try to steal you away! Gregory and his friends are already in the drawing room, so let’s join them.”

When they went into the drawing room, the three young men looked appreciatively over at Helen. Before they could get settled, Wells announced dinner. Gregory and his friends were talking excitedly about the ball. They hoped to dance with some of the young ladies that would be there, and they looked forward to enjoying a game of cards in the card room. Matthew spoke up. “Gregory, you’ve already spent this quarter’s allowance, so you had better bypass the card room.”

Gregory gave a smirk as if to say that he could care less what Matthew had to say. Helen realized this was frustrating for Matthew. He worried that Gregory was going to get himself in trouble if he didn’t change his ways. Once dinner was over, the men chose to forgo their usual port and cigars, and left immediately for the ball.

When Helen and Matthew arrived with his brother and his friends, a footman helped them out of their carriage, and they went up the steps into the house. This would be the first ball she had attended as a married woman, and it thrilled her to think of being introduced as the Countess of Collingswood.

Once they were inside, the majordomo announced their arrival, and the Marquess and Marchioness of Ralston greeted them. The marchioness was a pretty woman. She was petite with light blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a friendly smile. Helen hoped she would get a chance to talk with her later.

Helen was amazed at the turn out as she and Matthew strolled around the room. She had no idea there were so many gentry in the area. They passed a group of women, and she noticed that Mrs. Arlington was among them. Matthew steered her away from them, but Mrs. Arlington boldly approached them. “Good evening, Lord Collingswood. Hello, Countess. It’s lovely to see you again. As I told you when we first met, we need to talk. We have so much in common.” Mrs. Arlington was looking at Matthew as she was talking to Helen, and she didn’t like the manner in which Mrs. Arlington was staring at Matthew.