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Authors: Jane Aiken Hodge
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open arms? ”
“ No. ” He would not let her see how the mockery hurt. “ She was asleep. ” He moved over to stand with his back to the handsome carved chimney piece. “ You might have been more welcoming to Mrs. Croston. ”
“ Might I? ” Indifferently. “ A poor little brown thing. How you imagine she will contrive to cope with Sarah ... But that ’ s your affair, Jonathan. I shall go into Boston tomorrow. ”
“ No, you will not. ” The snap in his voice brought her eyes up from her wine glass to meet his. “ You will stay here, Arabella, and play the hostess a little more successfully than you did tonight. ”
“ The hostess? To my nursemaid? Don ’ t think, Jonathan, because I tolerated her in here tonight that I shall do so in future. As long as she holds a servant ’ s position in my house, she shall be treated as a servant. We did not sit down a t table with menials in Richmond. ”
“ What you did, or did not do, in Richmond has no bearing on the case. And—perhaps you have forgotten, Arabella? This is my house. ”
“ Pray, what do you intend me to understand by that? ”
“ Just this. I have great hopes of Mrs. Croston. She may be a little brown thing, as you so elegantly put it, but she has courage, spirit, warmth ... I ’ ve watched her on the journey, fighting exhaustion, gallantly refusing to admit how tired she was, because she knew I wanted to get home. I wonder what you would look like, Bella, after traveling non-stop for three weeks, staying at the kind of inns we have. You ’ d have something more than an imaginary migraine to look weary about then. ”
“ Imaginary! That ’ s what you think! If you knew what I ’ ve been through with that child! Dirt, spilled food, screaming fits, the sullens ... It ’ s past bearing, and the sooner you admit it and have her placed in a home where she can be properly looked after, the happier we shall all be. I tell you, I ’ m ashamed to have her about. ”
“ Ashamed! ” He stopped himself with a furious effort. “ I tell you, Arabella, if Sarah leaves this house, I go too. How ashamed would that make you? ”
“ That would depend ...” she tried to make it sound light, but he had shaken her.
“ Depend? On what, I wonder. What would the Quincys say then, or the Lowells, or the Otises, or any other of your fine old f amili es? Don ’ t try me too far, Arabella, or you may regret it. As for Mrs. Croston, she is a lady and will be treated as one in my house. After the way you received her, I doubt very much whether she will wish to sit in your drawing room, but she will eat with us, whether she likes it or not. Perhaps, after all, it is better that she should have quarters of her own, away from the rest of us. Because, let us have this clear from the start, I intend her to stay. Is that understood? ”
“ Do you? ” She yawned gracefully behind a white hand. “ What ’ s that to do with me? I had no share in hiring her: she ’ s no affair of mine. ” And then, with a sudden change to the warm, winning voice that had captivated him , once: “ Jonathan! Try and see it my way. Try and understand what it ’ s like for me, out here by myself all day ... every day ... what it was like last year, while you were in England. Buried here, week after week, at the back of beyond. It ’ s the loneliness, Jon. With no one to talk to but the servants, nothing to do— ”
“ Nothing, Bella? ” But his tone was milder. “ There ’ s the housekeeping, surely? ”
“ You know perfectly well that Mrs. Peters does it much better than I could—and wouldn ’ t much relish my interfering, either. And we weren ’ t brought up, in Richmond, to spend all our lives on jams and jellies. Oh, Jon, do you remember how gay life was there? The balls, the parties, the laughter ... Do you wonder if I need to escape, sometimes, from this dull old house? To get to Boston and remind myself that life still goes on? If only you ’ d try to
“ No. ” He would not let her see how the mockery hurt. “ She was asleep. ” He moved over to stand with his back to the handsome carved chimney piece. “ You might have been more welcoming to Mrs. Croston. ”
“ Might I? ” Indifferently. “ A poor little brown thing. How you imagine she will contrive to cope with Sarah ... But that ’ s your affair, Jonathan. I shall go into Boston tomorrow. ”
“ No, you will not. ” The snap in his voice brought her eyes up from her wine glass to meet his. “ You will stay here, Arabella, and play the hostess a little more successfully than you did tonight. ”
“ The hostess? To my nursemaid? Don ’ t think, Jonathan, because I tolerated her in here tonight that I shall do so in future. As long as she holds a servant ’ s position in my house, she shall be treated as a servant. We did not sit down a t table with menials in Richmond. ”
“ What you did, or did not do, in Richmond has no bearing on the case. And—perhaps you have forgotten, Arabella? This is my house. ”
“ Pray, what do you intend me to understand by that? ”
“ Just this. I have great hopes of Mrs. Croston. She may be a little brown thing, as you so elegantly put it, but she has courage, spirit, warmth ... I ’ ve watched her on the journey, fighting exhaustion, gallantly refusing to admit how tired she was, because she knew I wanted to get home. I wonder what you would look like, Bella, after traveling non-stop for three weeks, staying at the kind of inns we have. You ’ d have something more than an imaginary migraine to look weary about then. ”
“ Imaginary! That ’ s what you think! If you knew what I ’ ve been through with that child! Dirt, spilled food, screaming fits, the sullens ... It ’ s past bearing, and the sooner you admit it and have her placed in a home where she can be properly looked after, the happier we shall all be. I tell you, I ’ m ashamed to have her about. ”
“ Ashamed! ” He stopped himself with a furious effort. “ I tell you, Arabella, if Sarah leaves this house, I go too. How ashamed would that make you? ”
“ That would depend ...” she tried to make it sound light, but he had shaken her.
“ Depend? On what, I wonder. What would the Quincys say then, or the Lowells, or the Otises, or any other of your fine old f amili es? Don ’ t try me too far, Arabella, or you may regret it. As for Mrs. Croston, she is a lady and will be treated as one in my house. After the way you received her, I doubt very much whether she will wish to sit in your drawing room, but she will eat with us, whether she likes it or not. Perhaps, after all, it is better that she should have quarters of her own, away from the rest of us. Because, let us have this clear from the start, I intend her to stay. Is that understood? ”
“ Do you? ” She yawned gracefully behind a white hand. “ What ’ s that to do with me? I had no share in hiring her: she ’ s no affair of mine. ” And then, with a sudden change to the warm, winning voice that had captivated him , once: “ Jonathan! Try and see it my way. Try and understand what it ’ s like for me, out here by myself all day ... every day ... what it was like last year, while you were in England. Buried here, week after week, at the back of beyond. It ’ s the loneliness, Jon. With no one to talk to but the servants, nothing to do— ”
“ Nothing, Bella? ” But his tone was milder. “ There ’ s the housekeeping, surely? ”
“ You know perfectly well that Mrs. Peters does it much better than I could—and wouldn ’ t much relish my interfering, either. And we weren ’ t brought up, in Richmond, to spend all our lives on jams and jellies. Oh, Jon, do you remember how gay life was there? The balls, the parties, the laughter ... Do you wonder if I need to escape, sometimes, from this dull old house? To get to Boston and remind myself that life still goes on? If only you ’ d try to
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