Armand’s First Letter. Amelia’s First Letter.
20 July 1023, Achin Court, Nexing Cross, Nexinghamshire
My dearest husband,
I have behaved most atrociously, I feel; but I hope and believe it will all be to the good.
Since your father will frank this for me and I need not worry about postage, I enclose a copy of a letter I sent to my cousin Armand some days ago. You will wish to read it in its entirety, but the gist is that Mrs. Cathy Sloane-Price left for Bois-de-Bas on the Amelie packet five days ago, reverting to her proper name, Miss Cathy Gamble. I have asked Armand to see to her needs until her brother joins her; John is currently engaged in packing up their things for transport and selling The Attic.
I explained the matter to Armand in the rosiest terms I could manage, and made out that the Gambles agreed that leaving Cumbria to free Octie from Cathy’s curse was the only decent thing to do; which they did, eventually and under some degree of duress.
You know what John is, Max, and after these weeks so do I: driven, wholly driven, by his ideas and his plans for realizing them, and impatient, wholly impatient, of anything that balks him. Cathy is interested in his work, but, as I have discovered, has thrown herself wholeheartedly into it because that’s the only way one can live within his ambit.
You and I are on opposite sides of the Abyss and yet I can see your rueful half-nod from where I sit and write.
Cathy was willing enough to go but unwilling to leave John, for he has come to rely on her; and John, for all his many excellent qualities, proved utterly unwilling to subject himself to the necessary hiatus in his work that moving to Armorica will require.
I suppose I ought not put all of the delicate negotiations in writing; but I may have grown heated, and if you were to assume that he had the choice of leaving Cumbria with his belongings or of having no belongings you would perhaps not be far off. I further pointed out that in Armand he will find a partner who can help him to achieve his designs; and that Cathy will be able to make a new start, which she desperately needs; and that he will not be responsible for the downfall of the house of Archer, which I made it clear I will not allow. He agreed, though with bad grace.
I have given your parents a limited account of these matters, with Octie’s permission; and your father has assigned Burnham the task of managing John’s departure. With a deal of glee and satisfaction, I might add, though he thought the whole thing to be a “bad business”. With Burnham on the case, John will have no lack of stout men to pack things up, and then no reason to linger, for Burnham will see to the sale of the property. I expect that John will be on the way to Armorica in another month, or perhaps two.
And then there is Octie. I would have written to you days ago, but that I wanted to wait and see whether Cathy’s departure had any notable effect. I am pleased to say that it has at last.
Jane and I were picnicking by the lake side with your parents this noon, when Octie came and found us. Sir Alexander saw him approaching and ran to greet him, rather like the father in the parable—though I may say that Octie is perhaps the least prodigal man I have ever met.
They embraced and came up to us side-by-side; and Octie said, simply, “She’s gone. Woke me up out of a sound sleep, it did, early this morning, like a bolt of lightning.”
“And you didn’t think it proper to come tell us at breakfast, my son?” said your mother, not as acerbically as it might sound.
He blushed, a deep red. “I, ah, I had other, ah, another person to speak to first.”
“You are just back from the Davidsons, I collect,” I said. “I presume that Miss Markham is amenable to your suit?”
“Yes,” he said, “yes she did. We leave to speak with her father tomorrow morning.”
“Miss…Miss Markham, did you say?” Your father looked about to burst; for my limited account of the curse had not included Miss Markham.
“Yes, Miss Markham,” said Octie with sheepish but broad smile.
“And what sort of girl is she?” asked your mother.
“She is the sister of Mrs Davidson, and I am quite sure that you will like her extremely,” said Octie. “I shall bring her to you the moment we return from speaking to her father.”
“Perhaps give her a moment to freshen up first?” I suggested, and he blushed again.
“Quite right,” said your mother, nodding at me.
And so glad tidings are in the offing, beloved, and some time soon you must pry yourself away from the Embassy, will you or nil you! In the mean time, I remain
Your father’s favorite daughter-in-law,
Amelia
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Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash
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