Chapter Six
July 7, 1819
Oliver lifted his face to the cooling breeze that swept over the landscape. It would rain soon, but as of yet, the storm clouds were far away, and he refused to miss this assignation with Sophia. He had an idea that wasn’t fully formed yet, but it kept pestering him, nonetheless. Though it might sound insane once he uttered it aloud, he wouldn’t know unless he tried.
Shortly after breakfast, Sophia had written out the directions for navigating to the heart of the maze. Did it take some of the satisfaction out of conquering the puzzle? Of course, but if it got him to her side that much quicker, he took no offense.
He’d barely stepped foot into the gardens that would eventually take him to the maze when Hannah caught him up, and from her windblown appearance and reddened cheeks, she’d pelted after him in order to do just that. “What’s wrong? Is it your mother?”
Ever since Sophia had told him about her heart, and especially after yesterday afternoon when they’d spent the afternoon together beneath that oak tree talking of everything and nothing, he’d been highly sensitive to any sort of emotional change within the household. Dear God, surely, she hadn’t suffered a collapse so soon.
“No, no, Mama is well. In fact, she should already be in the maze.” When Hannah laid a hand on his arm to halt his forward progress, a couple of scratches were clear in the sunlight, no doubt made by the kittens. “Will you stay on here at Ettesmere Park long?”
“I have no other plans.” In fact, he’d written to the marquess just yesterday explaining his change in schedule and that he would stay with the Winterbourne family for the duration of his holiday. “And since I’m not due back in London until November, I don’t see why I shouldn’t remain here.” Especially since Sophia was in such a delicate state with her health. Something about her held him captive, and now that he’d met Hannah, his conscience refused to let him leave so soon.
And if his newly formed idea—or ramblings of an insane lunatic—took root, there would be even more reason. It was worth it just to see what would happen.
“I’m glad.”
Oliver frowned. “Why is that?”
“It’s lovely to have you around, and Mama always smiles when you are near.” Honesty shone in her eyes, for she was too young for guile. “She hasn’t done that for ever so long.”
“Ah.” Well, that was encouraging. “I trust you and your mother have come to an understanding regarding the bad news she told you about yesterday?”
“Yes.” Sadness flitted over her youthful face. “Though I’m sad Mama is dying, my response wasn’t becoming, and I know she cannot help this. I was caught by surprise, so I apologized.”
“And I imagine you were frightened.” The only thing he could do was listen, for he had experience aplenty with death and grief.
“Yes. I still am. Certainly, I am not ready to lose her, but at least it won’t be a shock as Papa’s death was.” Tears sparkled in her eyes. Once more she’d shown a maturity well beyond her years. “I will miss her, and I don’t wish to be alone.”
“You’ll have your family around when that time comes.” The girl would have any number of people to turn to for comfort once her mother passed. Still, his chest tightened with worry, to say nothing of the mad thumping of his heart when he thought upon that inevitability. There was a vibrancy to Sophia he hadn’t managed to see yet due to the amount of strain she labored under. Perhaps if some of that were removed, she could breathe easier again.
At least for a little while, and the broken family existing on time, waiting for the next death would have a modicum of joy. If he could be a conduit for that, all the better.
“Yes, but that’s not exactly enough.” Did she refer to his private thoughts? Again, she rested a hand on his arm. “That’s why I wished to talk with you, Mr. Mattingly, before you joined my mother in the maze.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked up at him with such large eyes that she would be an instant favorite in society when she achieved her Come Out year. In that, she very much resembled her mother, and suddenly, his thoughts went skidding into imagining the lady as a girl of Hannah’s age. What scrapes had she managed to fall into? “Will you marry Mama?”
“I beg your pardon?” Shock plowed through him so much that he stumbled backward a step. That her thoughts were in alignment with his barely formed idea further astounded him. “Why do you wish for me to do that?”
“Well, you are quite handsome, and you are not yet attached.” Hannah counted off the items on her fingers. “You like cats, and my grandmother favors you. I can tell. She doesn’t scold you nearly as much as my uncles. Additionally, you would make a splendid father, and I need one.” She shrugged as if that explained everything. “Besides, once my mother does die, I shall be in want of a parent, and since you travel, that’s even better. If I cannot have Mama, I would rather see the world than remain in England where everything will remind me of her and all I have already lost.”
“Ah, Hannah.” He ached for her forgotten childhood where most of it had been overshadowed by death and worry. “You have a large family; you will be well cared for.”
“Yes, but that is not the same, and my uncles are busy with their own lives, and quite frankly, I’m not certain Uncle Gilbert has even the first clue of romance or how to be happy. He is bent on becoming a grouchy man.”
Despite himself, Oliver chuckled. “I believe he is a man with a whole set of stories to tell.”
“If he doesn’t run off to India again. Personally, I think he did it to hide.” She rolled her eyes to the heavens as if the actions of grown men were ridiculous. “And though Uncle Arthur is wonderful, he’ll marry soon, and then his thoughts will be on his own future. He already dotes on Juliana and sometimes, when he is with her, he forgets about everything else.”
Oliver smiled. “That’s as it should be for a man in love.”
“I suppose, but it is quite nauseating. Charles and Emily are young but will soon discover their own paths. Which is why I would like a father, for my own little family I can call mine. Someone who will pay attention to me, talk to me.”
His heart went out to her. This slip of a child not yet grown with dreams in her head and hope in her eyes. “Such things shouldn’t even be a concern for you.”