Diana blushed prettily at the compliments from Edmund’s mother.
“The Dowager Duchess of Colborne is a very wise woman,” Jacob chimed in, now stepping forward with his own mallet after Percy had entirely fuddled his turn. “You should listen to her.”
Edmund folded the letter away and returned it to his pocket. He would not read out what his mother had said on the foolishness of the Arnold family in pressing forward with Diana’s marriage at the present time.
“Two young people should have fuller time and the support of their families to complete a sensible courtship. To enter the married state with no knowledge of one another’s habits, preferences and moods is rarely a recipe for happiness.
I do wonder about Lady Templeton's agreement to this sudden development, but then, with her husband’s illness, her mind is no doubt distressed beyond its normal faculties. In different times, I expect that she would have wanted Lord Birks back in England for several years before any wedding was announced.”
As he had anticipated, his mother had gone on to warn him about involving himself in the matter.
“Lady Diana was always a sweet child. I am sure that regardless of her reservations, she will bend herself to the will of her mother and her aunt with the conviction that they have her best interests at heart, and that she must do her duty to her family.
Whatever her views on marriage, she does not yet have the age or maturity to sway the senior Arnold family members nor to understand the importance of her own needs. They may well believe that they are acting in Lady Diana’s interest. But in other times, and under less pressure, I do wonder if Lady Templeton and Lady Birks might themselves see the matter quite differently.
I could perceive the concern in your words as you explained Diana’s distress, my honourable son. But there is nothing to be gained from your opposing this marriage and much to be lost if the family ceases to trust your judgement or welcome your continued assistance at this difficult time.
So, do be careful how you speak of this marriage, and refrain from expressing strong views, even casually in conversation with your friend Lord Greene. All you can do is offer kindness and understanding to Lady Diana. It is only her well-reasoned convictions that could influence current plans, and have any right to do so, not yours."
Edmund would do his best to heed his mother’s advice. Being kind to Diana came very easily to him, but he knew that biting his tongue on the subject of her marriage would be harder to master.
In the afternoons after their croquet game, once necessary work had been completed, the young people often planned small outings: simple horse rides, picnics, and games on the Fernside estate.
Persuaded by the advice from Edmund’s mother, Diana usually joined the young men, keeping up with their pace easily despite her long skirts. While she was often sad, Edmund and Jacob were both able to cajole her into smiles.
Unlike Percy, Diana often found it hard to eat after spending time in the sick room, and the two young men developed a kind of double act at their picnics to encourage her. Jacob would pick an item of delicious food and eat it with great rapture before Edmund reminded her sternly of his mother's instructions until she burst out laughing at both of them and ate what she could.
Meanwhile, Lady Templeton and Lady Birks preferred to remain close to the house. Lady Birks had appointed herself the keeper of the sick room, chief liaison with Dr. Hughs and mainstay for the grateful Lady Templeton. The physician continued to find Lord Templeton’s rapid decline inexplicable, and consultation with London doctors had so far produced no breakthroughs. Hopes for his recovery were fading daily.
* * *
“I feel like a schoolmaster,” Edmund observed to Jacob at the end of their first week when reflecting on how well their system seemed to be getting Percy on track. “Giving Percy a half-holiday if he does well in his tests.”
“Or a nursemaid,” Jacob joked, “teaching him his ABCs. Either way, I’m sometimes tempted to get the cane out when he pulls that little-boy-lost face…”
Recognizing her competence, Edmund and Jacob now left Diana to deal with running the domestic household, and she managed it superbly with the support of Mrs. Bridge and Jenson. All the staff clearly liked and respected the daughter of the house, and her quick, practical mind had no problem grasping and handling any issues and decisions that required her attention.
It was also at the end of the first week that Edmund overheard two maids gossiping about Diana being married off without completing her London Season.
“It’s a terrible shame, Elsie. Such a sweet young lady. And that Lord Birks never having so much as sent her a letter in all this time. You’d think he would, wouldn’t you?”
“Oh, it’s very unfair for Lady Diana. She would have been the belle of all the balls in London. There would have been lords and dukes and all sorts wanting her hand.”
“That would have bucked up Lord Birks’s ideas, I’ll wager…”
He could only silently agree with their assessment, and it provoked his growing resentment at the absent Andrew Arnold, Viscount Birks, who for whatever reason had been given the right to lead this dutiful but passionate young woman to the altar.
Well, Andrew wouldn’t be giving Diana her first kiss. Edmund had done that and was still feeling rather pleased with himself that she had enjoyed it so much. He was also glad that Diana didn’t seem to regret their kisses and certainly hadn’t avoided him afterwards, although they had not been alone again since that day.
Initially, Edmund had intended only a light flirtation in the library, something to show her that a man’s touch was not necessarily to be feared. But once in close proximity to the young woman, his instincts and desires had proved stronger than he had realized.
* * *
“It looks like the weather is going to be fine this afternoon. Shall we take a picnic down to the lake later?” Percy suggested hopefully at breakfast as the third week of his friends’ visit opened. “I have two letters to write to tenants, some bills to sign off and one legal letter to read that will probably take me the rest of the morning. But after that…”
Edmund and Jacob both welcomed the idea.
“It does look like a good day for a picnic. Might it be warm enough to swim in your lake?” Jacob wondered.