LITMIR.BIZ

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her behind and showering money on a stranger.’

      ‘Oh, Sophie,’ Charlotte breathed. ‘I should like that above everything.’

      Sophie gave her an affectionate smile. She loved her cousin dearly. At nineteen, she was almost the same age as Sophie, but shorter and rounder. Her hair was very fair and her eyes blue as the summer sky, giving her an innocent, almost childlike look which was deceptive. Sophie turned back to her uncle. ‘Could you not find a lady without daughters, a widow, perhaps, who would sponsor both of us?’

      Her uncle looked doubtful and she added, ‘Please, Uncle William. I am quite determined on it. If you wish to see me married and have the burden of Madderlea lifted from your shoulders, then Charlotte must come too. I do not care how much it costs.’

      Charlotte was aghast at the way Sophie had spoken, but her father seemed not to be offended. ‘That sounds very like blackmail, Sophie, or bribery…’ The twinkle in his eye belied his words.

      ‘Oh, Uncle, I did not mean that. Please forgive me.’

      ‘Very well. I will try to find a mature lady to take you both under her wing. And the sooner the better. Charlotte, you must look after your mother, while I am away. I shall not be gone above two days, I hope.’ With that he left the table and called his manservant to help him to pack.

      Charlotte could not contain her excitement, though Sophie was more subdued. In the previous two years she had become so used to taking life very quietly and avoiding agitation in order to aid her recovery that it had become a habit. No one would have believed she was once animated and brimming over with energy. The family physician had said she would recover her spirits in time, they must all be patient. Now, it seemed he had been right for a little of Charlotte’s enthusiasm was beginning to affect her and she began to be impatient for her uncle’s return.

      ‘Do let us go out for a walk,’ Sophie suggested when her aunt had been helped back to her room, where she would dress with the help of her maid and sit reading or sewing until the pain in her hands forced her to stop. ‘I shall die of boredom if I’m confined to the house a day longer.’

      For the first time that year the air was balmy, the rain which had kept the young ladies indoors all the previous week had lifted and everywhere was fresh and green. Daffodils and gilly flowers were blooming in the garden and Sophie had noticed violets out along the edge of the drive. It was a day for walking and breathing deeply and thanking God you were alive to enjoy it.

      ‘We’ll walk through the woods,’ Sophie said, as they donned cloaks to cover their light wool morning gowns and buttoned their feet into sturdy boots. ‘Round over Corbury Hill, down through Little Paxton and back through the village. We can call on old Mrs Brown on the way and see how she is. What do you say?’

      ‘But, Sophie, it’s all of five miles. Are you sure you’re up to it? ‘

      ‘Of course. I’m perfectly well now, or Uncle William would not have suggested going to London. I am persuaded one needs a great deal of energy for all the balls and soirées and visits to the theatre, not to mention picnics and riding in the park.’

      Charlotte laughed as they left the house behind and made for the footpath to the woods which ran alongside the garden. ‘You have left out the most arduous exercise of all, Cousin.’

      ‘Oh, what is that?’

      ‘Finding a husband, of course.’

      Picking her way carefully over the damp grass, Sophie contemplated the prospect. The only men she had really been close to were her father and her two uncles and the thought of being touched or kissed by anyone else sent a frisson of fear, mixed with a strange surge of excitement, through her whole body. And then she thought of Madderlea and her fortune and knew that those two facts alone would ensure a flock of suitors. But how to choose? How to be sure that whoever offered for her was looking at her for herself and not her inheritance?

      ‘It will not be easy.’ She sighed. ‘There are times when I almost wish I had no fortune, no Madderlea. It is a weighty responsibility, you know.’

      ‘How so?’

      ‘It is not only Madderlea Hall which is old and always in need of repair—there are servants, indoors and out, and the tenants, who look to the Hall to repair their cottages and keep the land in good heart, and the villagers, whose welfare must be considered, and the parson, whose living is in the gift of the Lord of the Manor. I must choose a husband who will be as careful of all those responsibilities as Uncle Henry was, who will love Madderlea as much as I do.’

      ‘You have not said one word about him loving you. Do you not believe in marrying for love?’

      ‘Of course I do, but how can I be sure of any man? Madderlea will be a great enticement to deceive, don’t you think?’

      ‘Oh, Sophie, you must look for love as well. You will be so unhappy if you do not.’

      They had entered the woods, taking a well-defined track between the trees. Sophie lifted an overhanging branch, its new leaves glistening with raindrops, and stooped to pass beneath it, holding it for Charlotte to follow.

      ‘Oh, Charlie, I should not care if he were as poor as a church mouse, if he loved me. In fact, I think I should be averse to a man with a fortune. Men with deep pockets are almost always arrogant and unfeeling and think that money will buy anything, even a wife. I am thankful that money is not one of the attributes I shall be seeking.’

      ‘Oh, and what qualities would you be looking for in a husband?’

      ‘He must be handsome and well turned out, but not vain of his appearance as some dandies are. I think it is far more important that he should have an interesting face and be able to converse sensibly without being condescending. He must allow me to be myself and not try to mould me to his idea of womanhood. He must, of course, be honourable in everything he does. He must be good with children, for I should like children, and be kind to his servants.’

      Charlotte raised an enquiring eyebrow. ‘Oh, is that all?’

      ‘No, he must be considerate and tenderhearted and not haughty or domineering. But not soft. Oh, no, definitely not soft.’

      ‘Goodness, Sophie, where are you going to find such a paragon? You ask too much.’

      Sophie sighed. ‘I know, but I can dream, can I not? Don’t you ever dream?’

      ‘Yes, but only of Freddie.’

      ‘Mr Harfield, ah, yes, I had almost forgot him. You will be able to enjoy your Season, safe in the knowledge that you have him to come back to.’

      ‘I am not so sure, Sophie. Freddie told me that his father wants him to marry someone with a substantial dowry; you know I don’t have that.’

      Sophie laughed. ‘I have not heard that Mr Harfield is making any push to obey his papa. He has never so much as looked at anyone else.’

      ‘No, but Sir Mortimer is the squire of Upper Corbury, which I own is nothing compared to Madderlea, but in our little pool, he is a big fish, and no doubt Freddie will have to give in in the end.’

      ‘Then he is not the man I took him for,’ Sophie said.

      They had come out of the woods on to a lane which wound up and over Corbury Hill. The dark fields, here and there showing the tips of winter wheat, stretched on either side of them. On the skyline, they could see the hunt, galloping behind the yelping hounds.

      ‘Do you think they’ve found the scent?’ Charlotte asked, as the sound of the hunting horn drifted across to them.

      ‘I hope not. I feel for the poor fox.’

      ‘Oh, Sophie, and you a country girl!’ She stopped. ‘There’s Freddie. Don’t you think he is handsome, the way he sits his horse?’

      Sophie smiled. ‘I am persuaded that you do.’

      The young man had spotted them and turned his horse to meet them, pulling it

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