The Web We Weave.

By J. Howard Shelley

This story follows on from "The Heiress" (although it stands alone and you do not need to read The Heiress first) and deals with what happened to Emily and Ruth.

Emily's husband Garrett is dead of Diphtheria and Emily is a widow with a baby. After a decent interval her Parents in Law commence promoting their neighbours, the very eligible Earl of Malton and Mr Robert Myerscough as candidates for a future husband although they seem unable to agree on which one it should be. Eventually, since her son is the Heir to the Daneleigh estate and also to the baronetcy ,she travels to her late husband's family home in the North. Her son Garrett, by now an enterprising six year old with a propensity for getting himself into trouble finds the old house fascinating and is determined to explore.

Emily discovers Daneleigh Park is riven with dissent and intrigue, the staff are at each other's throats and Lord and Lady Daneleigh seem to live separate lives. Who is the mysterious Brooke? Is there a conspiracy to murder her and her son and if so who are the conspirators? Meanwhile Emily finds herself drawn to the Earl, which she finds strange since he appears to be the opposite of her first husband and her sister Ruth is attracted to the very tall and modish Myerscough. Are they being courted by suspects in a murder case? Has anyone been murdered or is it just bad luck? If it is Murder, then what is the motive behind it.

The story takes a shocking turn, when the family, at Chatsworth for a shooting party, are almost killed by a large rock rolling down a hill and the King takes an interest.

This a romance and whodunnit set just after the end of the Regency Period. There is murder, conspiracy, Love, a determined six year old, a chase through the night but a happy ending? Read it and find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Howard Shelley
• Release date: Nov 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005046194

J. Howard Shelley

I am 62 years old and I have a daughter w currently working towards a PhD in history. When I left school I trained as a nurse in mental health and then in general nursing ending up in operating theatres. At the age of 45 I became a solicitor (for those of you born on the left hand side of the pond that is a type of lawyer) and I now specialise in litigation work. When I retire I fancy learning to be a bookbinder.For the rest, I have qualifications in welding and ballroom dancing and I teach artistic roller skating. I play a reasonable trumpet I'm good at DIY and I like mountains.My Books are all set in the first half of the 19th Century. I try to construct interesting (and sometimes convoluted) plots, in which a romance is the central theme and you will find no sex or adult content in any of my work.Oh yes .... one other thing; I don't really write for profit. The cover price of $0.99 does not even come close to making it a viable option for a career. I have paid for someone to design covers for me - the cost will not come close to being be covered from this year's revenue...but I am aware what I really need is a proof reader and editor. The truth is - I cannot afford it. The cost of someone to proof read "The Travellers" which is my shortest book (and the free one) is such that (on current sales) I will be dead before I recoup the costs. I do my best but I am aware there are typos. If you find them please contact me on facebook and let me know.

Book preview

The Web We Weave

J. Howard Shelley

Published by John Howard Shelley at Smashwords

Copyright 2020 John Howard Shelley

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Issue Notes

2nd Edition 01/12/2020

I sell very few books (I make less than $100 a year) and the cost of having a proof-reader and a professionally designed cover (about £1500 per book) are simply uneconomical. Please, if you find any typos, plot holes, loose ends, non sequiturs etc, send me a message through Facebook and I will do my best to correct them.

Happy reading;

J Howard Shelley

The Burley Family.

Sir Nicholas Burley (Nick), Lord Burley and owner of Burley Manor. Son of the previous Lord Burley and his first wife Elizabeth Hardinge;

Lady Isabella Burley, His Wife. Formerly Miss Rhetford, an heiress.

Dowager Lady Burley, Widow and second wife of the of the previous Lord Burley.

Emily Daneleigh, Eldest Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife.

Lady Elizabeth Waldron (Betsy), Second Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife. Wife of Sir Thomas Waldron.

Lady Olivia St, John, Third Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife. Wife of Lord St John

Georgette, Fourth Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife. Married to a naval officer.

Sarah, Countess Cunliffe, Fifth Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife. Wife of George, Earl Of Cunliffe.

Miss Jane Burley, Sixth Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife.

Miss Ruth Burley, Seventh Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife.

Hiss Harriett Burley, Eighth Daughter of the late Lord Burley and his second wife.

Lady Hardinge, Nick’s maternal grandmother.

Miss Euphronia and Miss Serafina Yeatman, (Aunt Phone and Aunt Phine). Lady Isabella Burley’s Maternal Aunts.

Chapter 1.

Burley Manor stood basking in the early March Sunshine and, on any other day, the rays reflecting off the fine brickwork and mullions, flowerbeds and walks would have drawn a smile from anyone lucky enough to observe it. On this day however, the shuttered windows gave it a closed and sombre look and, although there was quite a company gathered on the drive, smiles were conspicuous by their absence. The reason for this was to be easily surmised from the fact that a bier decorated with spring flowers, laden with two finely jointed ash coffins and drawn by two glossy black geldings, stood facing away from the house. The Coffins were not the same size and, while one had been clearly made for an adult, the second was only large enough to hold the body of a very small child.

Death was ever but a facet of life but there is always a sense of extra loss attendant upon the death of a child. What might, but for fate, they have become? What might they have achieved? The undertaker or perhaps some sensitive member of the family, had placed the two coffins close to each other and vines had been wound around them as if the adult who had looked after the child in life was still comforting and caring for the child in death also.

A large group of bare headed and sombrely dressed men, (for the mourners who followed the cortège and attended the funeral and subsequent interment were, by tradition, all male) stood in small groups talking among themselves in low voices. It was to be inferred from their ages that the adult whose mortal remains rested peacefully upon the bier could not have been an elderly person. While there were, it is true, some older men in this group, it consisted, in the main, of males who had not yet passed through to middle age. The one obvious exception was a tall powerfully built gentleman who stood at the head of what was soon to be the funeral procession. While he was no longer a younger man; he numbered perhaps fifty or sixty years, his spine was straight, and he did not yet require the support of a cane. He bore, upon an open countenance, an expression of deep sadness and it was clear he was struggling to contain his emotions as he leaned forward to lightly brush his fingertips over the coffins in a gesture of tender farewell.

Near to this gentleman, close enough to offer his support but yet far enough away so that the older man could be left alone with his thoughts for a moment, stood a much younger man who, the casual observer would have placed at not yet thirty years of age. His face too bore a sadness but there was also a look of deep concern for his companion. After a moment he stepped forward and whispered a question in the older man’s ear and received a nod and a sigh in response. A short request to the driver of the bier sitting on the box caused him to urge the beasts forward at the walk and, as it slowly moved off along the drive, the men fell respectfully into line behind it to accompany adult and child upon their last journey.

It was evident that the deceased did not lack for friends and family. That he was held in esteem by most of those who had known them in life was shown by the number and rank of the mourners. Behind the bier walked a few rows of gentlemen who, except for the odd one dressed in military uniform, wore the formal attire expected on such occasions. The fact that they had primacy in the procession, showed that the deceased were both clearly of noble birth. Each gentleman walked bareheaded and carried his hat under his arm.

A second group whose raiment advertised their employment as upper servants and those employed in the professions followed on and behind them, the largest group, consisting of farmers, and farm hands, skilled workers and lower servants all dressed in their Sunday best.

A solitary lady, veiled and dressed in black, and holding what appeared to be a new-born infant in the crook of her left arm, stood motionless in an embayment staring out of the one window in the house that had not been closed and shuttered; her countenance giving nothing away. The sunshine did not penetrate beyond her and therefore although there was the suspicion of movement in the room it was impossible to make any detail. The lady had thus an ethereal quality – a lone watcher, stoic and unmoving.

The Lady remained at her self-appointed post, eyes fixed upon the funeral procession as first the bier and then those following it disappeared around the corner of the drive and only then did her control desert her. She swayed as if the strength had been suddenly withdrawn from her legs, a pair of female arms took the baby and, just before the drapes were drawn obscuring her from view, two other ladies stepped forward to help her back out of the sunlight and into the gloomy room behind.

Chapter 2

Burley Manor was the ancestral home of a largely undistinguished Baronetcy of long lineage but, at least until very recently, of average means. It lay to the north of Pinner in Middlesex and could reached by way of the Road which ran from Rickmansworth to Harrow. In recent years, the residents had suffered significant privations as a result of the careless and free spending habits of the late Lord Burley, an intimate of the Prince Regent. He had died some years earlier leaving his son Nicholas, who had then only just reached his twentieth year, saddled with debt and the Estate heavily mortgaged.

Sir Nicholas Burley, referred to almost universally as ‘Nick’, had no memories of his Mother since she had died when he was only three years of age. Some three years after her death the late Lord had married Lady Anna Tufton, the eldest daughter of the Earl of Thanet following an elopement. The Earl, who did not render any consideration to the females of his family – including his own wife - had arranged a marriage for his daughter to an elderly but fabulously wealthy man of libertine morals and repellent personal habits. Faced with an immediate choice between a runaway marriage to an amiable spendthrift or an arranged one to a libertine, Lady Anna chose the spendthrift and to the fury of her parent married him by special licence and thereafter proceeded to present her Lord, every year for eight years, with a daughter.

Upon discovering how close his father had brought the family to complete ruin the young Lord Burley took immediate steps to deal with the most pressing of his creditors, impressing his bankers with his personal integrity so much that, rather than foreclosing upon the estate and taking what they could, they gave him sufficient time to start to turn matters around. So successful was he, that six years after his accession to the title his efforts were beginning to be rewarded with increasing rents and reducing debt. He estimated that, were he to hold house for another ten years he might have paid all his creditors and have some money left over to invest so that his house and estates could return to the splendour of his grandfather’s day.

It might have been thought that, under the circumstances the new Lord might resent his stepmother and so many half-sisters as a drain upon his personal finances but in fact, nothing could have been further from the truth. They were a close family. The relationship between stepmother and stepson could not have been closer had they in fact been blood relatives and Nick loved his sisters who adored him in return. It was, in no small part, due to the efforts of the ladies in holding house on a pittance and stretching what little cash they had further than might have been thought possible, that he had managed to achieve so much in repairing the damage caused by his father’s spending habits in so little a time. The ladies had all, cheerfully and without any complaint, gone without the usual comforts and elegancies of life which, since they were of noble birth, they might have expected to enjoy and while Mama ensured they knew everything a lady ought to know, they had cheerfully shouldered the domestic duties in the house so that Nick could concentrate upon his estates.

Emily, the eldest of the eight sisters had known, since her brother explained their situation when she was twelve, that they could never afford a season in London for her. Upon her seventeenth birthday she had suggested to her brother that she should take a post as a governess to relieve him of the cost of maintaining her and to generate further funds for their family, an offer he swiftly rejected. While not disappointed by this, there being no other choice apparently open to her, she had fully accepted she was unlikely to marry and had therefore prepared herself for a lifetime of spinsterhood with the possibility of becoming a favourite Aunt, in the event that as her brother’s finances improved, her younger sisters might be more fortunate and were able to find eligible husbands.

However, that same year the fates intervened in her family, leading, ultimately, to a significant change in their fortunes.

One afternoon, Nick was riding home from one of the outlying farms on his estate when he noticed a large travelling chariot travelling in a somewhat erratic fashion on the road in front of him. Before he could catch up with it, the carriage mounted the bank and toppled over ending up half on its roof in a ploughed field and leaning against the bank down which it had just rolled. This vehicle contained Miss Isabella Rhetford travelling, in the company of her maid, to join her Aunts who were in London for the season.

The violence of the accident not only threw the occupants out of their seats but dislodged a quantity of baggage. The maid was unconscious, and Miss Rhetford had sustained a painful injury to her ankle. Showing considerable presence of mind, Nick extricated the lady from the wreckage and arranged for her to be conveyed to his house and into the care of his sisters and stepmother. Unfortunately, the severity of the injury prevented Miss Rhetford from continuing to London for some considerable time and so perforce, she was left with no choice but to remain at Burley during the period of her convalescence.

Miss Rhetford was an only child, an orphan, and a considerable heiress in her own right. Her Mother had died from the effort of giving birth to her daughter and her father departed onward before the end of her third year. The deaths, while Isabella was still in the nursery, of wealthy but childless relatives, had only added to what was already a considerable fortune. Under the terms of her father’s will she had been left to the guardianship of two eccentric aunts, but her fortune was managed by her trustees, all of whom fulfilled their duties most conscientiously. Since one of the trustees was Lord Daneleigh, highly respected amongst the cognoscenti for the way he managed his own estates, and another was Mr Drummond of Drummond’s bank, by the time she left the schoolroom, her fortune, already large, had grown significantly and she was thus regarded as the matrimonial prize of the decade. Her arrival in town for the forthcoming season was thus eagerly awaited by every mother of sons of marriageable age.

Miss Isabella found herself more at home at Burley than she had ever felt while resident with her amiable, but very eccentric Aunts. She thus quickly settled in, becoming fast friends with Nick’s sisters, learning from his Mama, and rapidly acquiring the title of the honorary ninth sister. Isolated from people her own age she had never the opportunity to develop friendships and it was perhaps unsurprising that she would develop a particular regard for Emily, the eldest of the eight girls. This regard was returned, and the two ladies formed a deep and lasting friendship.

Even by her own estimation, Isabella possessed a somewhat managing disposition. Having liked Nick on sight, it was not long before she had determined to marry him but there were considerable obstacles in the way of her marital ambitions, not least that Nick had firmly stated he would never marry. In addition to spending his own money, the late Lord Burley had stood as trustee for his wife and his daughters and he had broken their trust. The trust money too, had gone and there was no hope of recovering it.

Nick felt that loss as keenly as if it were his own and, although it might be somewhat illogical, he felt a personal responsibility to right his father’s wrong. As the sisters of an impoverished Baron, he thought it unlikely many of them would marry at all, and if they did manage to attract husbands they would probably be of humble means and he therefore reasoned if he died childless, upon his death the estate would be divided equally between all his sisters thus securing their future.

Whilst, if she married Nick, her fortune would have been more than sufficient to restore the Burley fortunes, Isabella knew he was a proud man, and it was clear that he would never countenance living on his wife’s income. Nor would he be prepared to allow his wife’s money to be used to improve the lot of his sisters.

Recognising that she was most unlikely to persuade him to marry her through ordinary means, Isabella resolved to firstly improve the family financial situation. She had been used to managing her aunt’s accounts and saw that Nick was struggling to produce his balance sheet for his bankers. Since she was laid up because of her injuries, she offered to look at his books for him and produce the required documents. It was not long before she realised that, however good Nick might have been at estate management, he had no head for figures. She found a significant amount of money simply by restructuring his finances. While this was helpful and would have resulted in a substantial reduction in the time before he had paid his father’s debts he was still under the hatches and expected to remain there for some years yet.

However, chance was to intervene upon Isabella’s behalf once more. Nick’s natural mother had argued with her brother immediately after her marriage to Lord Burley and she had become estranged from her family. Nick, brought up by his stepmother, considered that, in casting off his mother in this way her family had effectively abandoned his mother and he thus considered he owed them no duty either. Other than knowing his mother’s maiden name was Hardinge and that she hailed from Lincolnshire he had never investigated his maternal relatives and had no idea whether, on that side of the family, he had any living kin.

As matters turned out, he had but one surviving relative in the person of his maternal grandmother, the Dowager Lady Hardinge. A widow for many years she had, albeit with regret, respected her son’s decision to disown his sister and had little contact with her daughter following the marriage to Lord Burley. When her son died childless and the title passed to an unknown relative with no interest in either the park or the house, she withdrew from the world and was thus wholly unaware of the existence of a grandson.

Isabella’s Aunts had a passion for interior design and spent most of their time living in other peoples’ houses while they brought them up to what was, at that time the height of fashion. Naturally, as Isabella lived with them, she moved when they did and when they moved to spend some time with Lady Hardinge, the lonely heiress and the lonely old lady had become firm friends. Thereafter the pair had kept in contact through a copious writing habit.

Upon discovering that Nick was the legitimate Grandson of her friend, Isabella immediately informed her friend of his existence. This circumstance resulted in an immediate turn around in Lord Burley’s finances because his grandmother was able to inform him that, through his mother, he was the heir to a substantial, profitable, and unencumbered estate in Lincolnshire.

In spite of Nick’s improving finances, Isabella, who was constrained by convention and thus unable to inform the gentleman she intended to marry of her feelings, might still have been unable to contrive a union with him. However, an unexpected act of revenge committed by the Earl of Thanet changed matters in her favour. The Earl had never forgiven his daughter for marrying Nick’s father instead of the man that he had chosen. This he considered to be a personal slight upon him and not even the fact that his regard for his eldest daughter was non-existent could reduce his fury. Such was his ire that rather than tell his other children and his wife that she had eloped, he told them that she had died and forbade the use of her name in his presence.

While Lady Burley remained at her home in Pinner, she was little more than an irritant however the improvement in the Burley fortunes resulted in her appearance in society for the purposes of launching Isabella and Emily into the ton. This action he perceived as deliberate provocation which the she then compounded by resuming contact with her siblings who were surprised to discover that their eldest sister was not, as they thought, dead but alive and well and living in Middlesex!

Such an action deserved a response in kind, and he saw an opportunity to even the score, not only with his own daughter, but also upon the son of the man whom he held responsible for his daughter’s disobedience. This chance lay in the person of Miss Isabella Rhetford. He reasoned that if he abducted her while she was in the care of the Burley family, Lord Burley would be condemned by society of having taken insufficient care to protect an unmarried lady living under his roof. Since one of her trustees was the fabulously wealthy Duke of Devonshire, an intimate of the King, such a failure would inevitably result in the Burley family acquiring a powerful enemy.

There was, moreover, another possible benefit to this plan. His oldest son was not married and given his lack of address, vicious temper and total subservience to his irascible sire; it was unlikely he would ever find a willing bride. The Earl, the possessor of very few scruples, had no compunction whatsoever in attempting to add Miss Rhetford’s inheritance to the family coffers by abducting the heiress, forcing her into marriage and, if necessary, forcibly arranging consummation of the marriage soon thereafter.

Fortunately, Nick, assisted by his long term friend Garrett Daneleigh ran the Earl down before he could force a local priest to perform the marriage ceremony. Less happily, this was not until the following day and, as a man of honour he was left with no choice but to offer Isabella the protection of his name. Since this exactly suited her purposes she agreed to the proposal and the marriage took place by special licence a couple of days later and at a stroke Nick became one of the wealthiest landowners in England.

Garrett had visited Burley Manor with his father who, along with the other trustees was concerned about proposals by Isabella’s Aunts to deputise Nick’s Mama for the purposes of launching her into society. They had suggested, as an incentive, that Lady Burley could introduce Emily at the same time thus giving her at least the opportunity of contracting a good marriage. Garrett had made his interest in Emily plain from the very beginning and in fact they had fallen in love almost upon sight. They were married not long after Emily’s eighteenth birthday.

As a bachelor, Garrett had a devil-may-care attitude, showed no interest in the management of the family estates, and was widely believed to be prepared to drive his parents into an early grave with his complete disregard for his own safety. Upon his betrothal the very steady Miss Burley had informed her affianced that which while she had no intention of interfering with his enjoyments she did not expect to be driven around at the breakneck speed he apparently favoured and suddenly, and apparently without a backward glance, he changed overnight into a pattern-card of husbandly respectability.

While Emily had made it plain, she would follow her husband wherever he chose to live Garrett had realised that his bride would never be truly happy away from Middlesex. Truth to tell, he found the cheerful family chaos that surrounded Burley Manor much to his liking. While it would perhaps have been more usual to take his bride home to the family estate in Northumberland, since he was occasionally employed in the government and needed to be within easy reach of London, he rented the Dower house on the Burley estate not two miles from the Manor from Nick instead. The arrangement exactly suited Emily and Isabella who visited nearly every day and not even the arrival of Miss Anna Daneleigh, born less than a year after the marriage, reduced the affection or the intercourse between the two ladies.

Chapter 3

By the time Garrett and Emily Daneleigh had been married two years, much change had occurred at Burley. Betsy, the second of the Burley Girls had attracted the attention of the very eligible Sir Thomas Waldron whom she had married the previous summer. Like her elder sister, now pregnant with her second child, Lady Waldron was increasing and the joke in the family was that there was a race between them over who would deliver first. Not only that, but Isabella was also in the family way and there was a great deal of speculation as to whether she would present her Lord with a daughter (a result he had professed as entirely satisfactory since he knew how to deal with girls) - or an heir.

Olivia, the third eldest, and acknowledged as the beauty of the family, was about to leave for London for her season and it was widely expected that she would marry at least as well as her older sisters. Indeed, she had attracted the interest of the very handsome and, to date at least, unapologetically bachelor, Captain Lord St. John. However, while this would be a very good match, he had made a cake of himself over her the previous year and, if he wished to secure her consent to marriage, he had a great deal of ground to make up.

Emily was determined the child she carried must be a boy. Garrett was the heir to a respected title and the family estates which came with it, and she saw her duty clearly. She loved her daughter, but it was important that their marriage produce an heir. Garrett, on the other hand, was satisfied with daughters but for Emily, who had taken her husband to task for his apparent lack of the proper concern for his obligations, only a male child would do.

The pregnancy had been difficult from the very beginning. She had spent many sleepless nights followed by an equal number of uncomfortable mornings feeling very nauseous. This led many people to confidently predict the arrival of a boy. Male babies, opined a great many mothers, inevitably made life difficult for their mothers from well before their birth until long after they attained their majority. While Emily was a determined lady and continued to manage the household, over a substantial portion of the preceding eight and a half months her normally placid disposition and calm temper had not been much in evidence. At one stage, she even suggested to her husband that he had married a termagant and he would have been better off without her. His prompt response that while this was of course true, he was a gentleman and was therefore honour bound to stand by his wife caused her, as he had known it would, to laugh and throw any cushion to which she could lay her hand in his direction.

If, observed Mrs Daneleigh to her husband, late one morning at around the time Tiverton, the family doctor, predicted the next member of the family would arrive, I grow any larger, you will have to move me around the house in a wheelbarrow. One does not, she stated emphatically, ever become used to this situation and, while I am of course, a distinctly ironic look crossed her face, more than happy to assist my husband’s family in securing its future I could wish that more of the effort involved was shouldered by my esteemed husband.

I fear, retorted her husband, looking up from one year old Miss Anna seated upon his knee, that I am incapable of shouldering any of this particular burden however much you may wish to transfer it to me. I er... lack the requisite physical facility. Moreover, experience leads me to suppose that any attempt to offer solace, consideration or sympathy to my sorely tried spouse, however well meant, would not be well received. Indeed, he added humorously, I would go as far as to say that it might be injurious to my health.

Are you, enquired the lady of the house, affording her husband a dangerous look, suggesting that I am ever, despite my increasingly delicate situation, anything other than universally rational and cheerful? Garrett knew that sympathy did not answer the situation at all; while she may be drawn at the moment, her pregnancy was coming to an end soon and his wife would benefit far more from being the butt of a mild jest than if he wrapped her in cotton wool.

My dear, her husband exclaimed, picking up his queue perfectly, would I ever be so unjust – not to mention so careless of my own skin? Before his wife could enter a rejoinder, he observed Miss Anna now, her usual sunny disposition has wholly deserted her and not even this new toy he pointed to a wooden construction with various holes in it into which blocks of the same shape could be inserted, is good enough today. Do you wish to attempt to work your magic?

Emily’s first pregnancy had, unlike the second, been easy and trouble free and Anna had, if the stories of those of her acquaintance who had any experience of the matter were to be relied upon, been an ideal baby. Within two weeks she had succeeded in wrapping father and grandfather around her tiny thumb. She was a charming and robust baby, sleeping the whole night through from an early age and succumbing to none of the common childhood ailments. It was therefore unusual for her to be at all querulous.

Neither Lady Burley nor Emily Daneleigh were of a sedentary disposition and the two miles between the Dower House and the Manor was well within normal walking distance. Under normal circumstances the Ladies rarely bothered to call for a carriage or even don a riding habit. The grooms of both houses were used being called upon to accompany their respective mistresses when one went to visit the other on foot. While she was more energetic than most ladies it had been some weeks since Emily had been able to walk to see her friend. Therefore, even though Isabella was also obviously in the family way, of late it had been more usual for her to come to see Emily rather than the other way around.

But looking out across the lawn it was a fine day that beckoned her to put on a bonnet and go outside. Even a lady in an advanced state of pregnancy can become irritated by the same four walls after a time. The spring sunshine was powerful enough to warm a person providing that they remained out of the wind and Emily decided, having delivered of herself a robust response to her husband’s mild suggestion that she should engage herself in attempting to entertain their fractious daughter, that she needed to go out, if only for a while. Furthermore Tiverton, who had superintended her own arrival some twenty years previously and whose views were very well respected in the locality had firmly stated that Mrs Daneleigh should be permitted to do anything she felt capable of doing providing she did not overdo it. A modicum of exercise was beneficial to all ladies in an interesting situation. She therefore sent around to the stables for the Barouche from which she could see out and yet, by raising the hood she could remain shielded from any breeze there might be. Her husband, knowing full well that any objection he might have had would have been listened to – and then politely ignored – raised no objection merely coming outside to assist his lady in climbing into the vehicle.

Even this minor service was not received with any grace, his spouse rather huffily commenting that her husband has taken to treating his wife as if she were an invalid and he therefore wisely forbore tucking a blanket around her and enquiring if she had everything she might need. Truth to tell he had very few concerns about the journey which was likely to take no more than a quarter of an hour. If her time came on the way, she had ample time to either turn around or continue on to Burley. While he would of course prefer for her to be delivered of their child in their own home, he had to admit she might in fact be better off in a house full of ladies.

My poor husband, Emily confided to her friend as they walked together into Burley Manor, must be convinced he has married a fishwife. He is kindness itself and I am using him in a most unkindly fashion. Nothing he does is right or good enough and I only realise how shrewish I have become when it is too late to apologise.

I am sure, Isabella observed gravely, albeit it with the hint of a smile, that your husband will make allowances. While I have noticed some examples of this cavalier treatment, he does not appear remotely disturbed by them. Indeed, on the last occasion I saw him begging your pardon for some alleged misdemeanour, his impish expression belied the meekness of his tone. You may find he will delight in entertaining friends and relatives with stories of your more outrageous demands for years to come.

If he does, Emily admitted with an answering smile, then I shall be justly served.

The Burley ladies were as industrious as their older brother. During the difficult years they had all acquired skills which, as matters improved, they had come to realise could be employed in improving the lot of the family. They had a thriving market garden and were selling preserves, bottled and dried fruit, pickles and sauces and other home grown or home-made comestibles to the wealthy houses of nearby London. They were teaching dressmaking and embroidery to Ladies anxious to lean these skills and they were producing bonnets as fast as they could for a market which seemed to demand more of everything they could make and were prepared to pay any price to get them.

The start of this business came about through pure serendipity. Two years previously a family clutching a tattered guide-book had driven out from the city in the hope of being able to see around the house. This group, consisting of a middle aged and very wealthy cit, his wife and their two pleasant but ridiculously indulged daughters were agog at what the ladies were doing at Burley and as a result the cit had offered to buy garden produce and other goods which the ladies were making for their own use, and he did not quibble at the price. Word had spread and it was now rare that a day passed when the family was at home, without some visitor bowling up the drive eager to see the delights their friends had described to them. While Emily could set a sleeve along with all her sisters her genius was in seeing opportunity and exploiting it. Even this advanced in her pregnancy she was interested in what was going on and thinking of ways to grow this unusual cottage business.

Having been helped – with some difficulty - to a comfortable chair, Emily was thus anxious to learn of any new developments. Hearing about the business and enjoying a comfortable conversation with her sisters took up most of the day and she was finally thinking about returning home when her mother entered the room accompanied by Rose Jennings, Emily’s maid. That something was seriously amiss was clear from the serious expressions on their faces.

Everyone here except Emily please leave the room, Mama stated in the tone which all her daughters had come to learn meant that they should obey, immediately and without question. As they gathered up their various projects Mama looked down at her daughter in Law whose face bore the obvious question. This is your house my dear, and I cannot command your obedience, but you would oblige me by following my daughters – I will explain later. Isabella had the greatest respect for her Mother in Law, and she knew that there must be an excellent reason behind this unusual request and so, with a nod, she also left. When the door closed behind the departing ladies Mama sat down beside her eldest daughter and grasped her hand. Miss Jervis believes your daughter has the Boulogne sore throat. She said bluntly. Jervis, employed as Anna’s nurse, had previously worked for a couple that had contracted and survived the disease and, as she had hitherto shown herself to be a level-headed and intelligent woman, there was every reason to suppose that she might be right in her conclusion.

Of all the diseases which were around at the time, one of the most serious and most feared was a disease which, as it had spread from France arriving, apparently, on a cross channel packet was referred to as the Boulogne Sore throat. In later years it would become known as Diphtheria. It was already recognised as highly contagious and it was often fatal particularly if contracted by the young or vulnerable.

Doctors were at a loss what to do; little was understood about it. They knew that it could pass from one person to another if they had been in reasonably close contact, although the means by which it did so was unknown. The only treatment option was to contain the disease by isolating the patient and to pray that they would be among the two thirds of people who would recover with nothing worse than a few scars and some uncomfortable memories.

I must go home! For once, and probably the only time in her life, Emily panicked. I need to look after her. She started to head for the door, only to find her way barred by the sturdy figure of her maid.

You cannot go home Miss Emily. Rose shook her head but with a look of understanding upon her kindly face. "If it is the Boulogne disease you must stay away for you own sake and that of the child you carry. The master has sent you a note and he told me to tell you that you are not to return home until it is safe for you to do so.

My dearest Emily (Garrett had written)

I have sent Rose to tell you what has happened and to give you this note. You MUST not return home for the moment. I know Nick will give you your old bedroom back.

Miss Jervis says that she is as sure as she can be that Anna has this Boulogne Sore Throat and I suppose she would know better than anyone. Nonetheless I have sent for Tiverton, but the reality is that all he will be able to do is contain the illness. Nurse (bless her) immediately volunteered to look after Anna for us, since she said that she has also had the disease and it is known that one cannot contract it twice.

For your own sake, and that of our second child please remain at Burley and I promise I will write or send someone over every day to let you know how we do.

We will all miss you.

Garrett.

Unsurprisingly, and especially given her gravid state this communication resulted in Emily indulging in a hearty bout of tears, but she was a sensible woman withal and her husband’s request was clearly right. After a while she took a deep breath and nodded.

I am composed Mama. Garrett is correct, and as much as I wish I could be with my daughter it cannot be. I will remain here with my sisters.

Of course, you will remain here my dear, where else would you go? But you cannot be with your sisters. Isabella and Betsy are both in the same situation as are you and even if this were not the case, we cannot risk you passing the disease passing on to anyone else. You will have to be isolated too. There are a couple of the maids here who have had this illness and we will ask them to look after you. Mama gave grim smile, the rest of us will shout at you through the door.

Emily could not argue with the logic of this, and without further comment turned in the direction of her old bedroom where, having indulged in another bout of tears she read herself a stern lecture upon the subject of giving into a weakness she heartily despised and sat herself down with a book to await further news.

The two maids appointed to look after her were recent appointments at the Manor and had never been called upon to serve the eldest Burley sister. They were however familiar with the younger ones and both servants, after many years of being treated as little more than items of furniture, were now enjoying serving this delightful family. Not one of the residents ever forgot to thank them for the smallest task and while it was a shock to see one of the younger Misses Burley pitch in to help them in their work it was gratifying to know that each one knew exactly what was done on their behalf and could do it at least as well as them. It was no surprise therefore that this oldest sister greeted them both with a warm, if somewhat watery, smile and explained that she would endeavour not to be too much trouble.

It was soon clear that Emily would not have time to be bored. Each one of the household had undertaken to spend some time on the upstairs landing talking to Emily at some distance through the open door, and even the advanced stage of her pregnancy did not prevent her sewing a hem or talking dress designs with Georgette. Ruth spent some time reading to her and Isabella had a chair placed outside the door so that she could chat with her friend.

Tiverton, the long suffering Doctor who had attended upon the arrival of Sir Nicholas and all his sisters came to visit Emily the following day, having first called at the Dower House to see his youngest patient. He also did not enter the room because, as he said, while there was no reason to suppose that he would be able to transmit the disease to her, he felt it his duty to take no chances. He satisfied himself that Emily appeared to be as well as a lady so advanced in her pregnancy could expect to be and he confirmed that he agreed with the views of Anna’s nurse whom he described as a ‘very sensible woman.’ It was, he said, too early to say what the outcome would be, but there was no reason at this stage to suppose the worst. Most patients, even babies, survived this illness and things appeared to be running their normal course.

The most mystifying aspect of this case he explained was that Boulogne Sore Throat was known to be spread by close contact with someone who already has the disease. As the resident Doctor in the area he had not seen any cases, and none had been reported to him. Mr Daneleigh said that he had purchased a toy for Anna from a travelling pedlar who appeared to have a cough, but as no-one else had seen this person and there had been no other cases it seemed unlikely that he was the source.

Two days later he again visited the Manor and, having given a report to Emily as he had promised he would, Tiverton sought out Dowager Lady Burley who was sitting with her son and daughter in Law discussing, with little enthusiasm, the arrangements for Olivia’s forthcoming season. Once the door had closed behind the lackey who had announced him, he showed them a grim expression.

I was, after checking with Miss Anna’s nurse this morning, about to leave the Dower House, when I was called back by Mr Daneleigh’s man to attend his master. He heaved a sigh, I very much fear that he has this disease also.

Have you told Emily? Nick enquired quickly and was reassured by a shake of the head.

Miss Emily, the Doctor referred to her by the name endowed upon her when her had attended her birth all those years previously, is a strong woman. However, I have adjudged it not wise to pass this on to her. The shock might simply be too much.

Emily went into labour two days later and after a long night she was delivered of a healthy baby boy who announced his birth with a series of astonishing loud wails. The birth of a son would normally have been the cause of celebration, but his arrival coincided with that of a grim faced manservant employed at the Dower House by the name of Brooke.

It’s Miss Anna Your Lordship, the man was shaking as he delivered the news, she passed away during the night and just as I left, the master… The rest of the shattering news remained unsaid, but the meaning was clear. Neither father nor daughter had survived the illness. I have been asked if you can spare the carpenter … again, he could not finish the sentence.

Sit down man, Nick ordered, You don’t have to stand on ceremony in circumstances such as these. Handing Brooke a glass of brandy he added, drink this. While the servant took a gulp and tried to recruit his resources Nick rung the bell and, when the call was answered, ordered, find Dougherty. I don’t know where he is, but he is to be found as soon as possible and he is to attend me here with all speed. Before the servant had left the room, he had turned to the desk in the corner and was busy scrawling a letter.

Dougherty held an unusual post at the Manor. Nominally the head gardener, his duties extended well beyond that. He had come to Burley as a member of Isabella’s personal staff already having a reputation as a reliable and wholly trustworthy servant prepared to turn his hand to any task. Years of working in various roles in different houses meant that if he could not do a job himself then he knew someone who could. Since arriving he had transformed the grounds and gardens and, assisted by Nick’s youngest sister Harriet, who had a passion for horticulture, he had learned to read and write.

While not quite a giant, Dougherty was a tall man with large frame and muscles hardened by hears of heavy toil but no-one had ever felt intimidated because he a had a ready smile and his fingers, despite their size could be as gentle as a butterfly. He was thus the first port of call if there was ever any hauling or lifting to do. Whatever it was he was asked to do, he did it well, a soft Irish brogue upon his tongue and a broad smile upon his open countenance. Totally loyal to the family, he was respected and held in esteem by everyone from the Dowager to the third laundry maid and was the natural person to call upon when there was a difficult or sensitive task to be done.

Dougherty must have been in the kitchen garden since he presented himself in the drawing room not ten minutes after he had been summoned. Nick quickly outlined the circumstances to Dougherty and then drew a deep breath.

Lord Daneleigh will need to be told the news that his heir is dead, but that he has a grandson. I imagine his Lordship and her Ladyship will both want to come here to pay their last respects and his Lordship will wish to attend the funeral and interment. This he indicated the letter in his hand, needs to find them as soon as possible – when not in Northumberland they live in Curzon Street. Please ride into London and find his Lordship. If he is not at home find out from his staff where he has gone and follow him. When you find him, Nick handed the letter to the servant, give him this. I imagine he will wish to come here with Lady Daneleigh and you are to remain with them and render to them any help they need.

After Dougherty had nodded and turned on his heel, Nick looked at Isabella and Mama both of whom were visibly shaken.

Emily needs to know – and we can’t tell her through the door. There was a silence as the full implications of this set in. Someone was going to have to sit with her. No, Isabella, it cannot be you. I understand why you want to do it and if things were different, I might have permitted it, but you have to consider the child you carry. Isabella looked mulish for a moment but as the wisdom of her husband’s words hit home, she reluctantly nodded. So, it has to be you or me Mama and I am afraid, for once in my life I am going to be the imperious male. I am going to do it. You, Mama, are much more important than I. You have six unmarried daughters, a daughter and daughter in law both of whom are increasing, and Emily and her son are going to need you more than ever now. I am not sending any of the servants to do our job for us – that would be unforgivable cowardice. He looked gravely at his wife and stepmother. "After I have seen Emily I will keep to my room until we know if she has the disease so you will have to talk to the family. Mama, please send over to Betsy to ask Waldron to see to the arrangements, he may draw on any of our resources here and of course the cortège will start from Burley.

No-one else heard exactly what Sir Nicholas Burley told his sister that day and even years later neither of them was prepared to discuss it. The only thing Emily would say is that her brother told her the most difficult news with a sensitivity few men could muster, and he stayed with her for as long as she needed it. Nick’s only comment was that while it was a terrible thing to have to tell Emily he was glad that she did not have learn the news from a stranger.

While precisely what was said never became public, the exact time when he told her the news was obvious to everyone as the cry of pain drawn out of Emily echoed through the house.

Chapter 4

The prevailing mood throughout the interior of Burley Manor on the day of the funeral was, if anything, even more sombre than that prevailing on the drive, although it was possible to hear a few of the ladies present, muffling sobs. There were some benefits to being female – the menfolk were expected to present stoic faces to the world, and although ladies were not permitted at funerals at least they could express their feelings more openly.

It was the habit to confine mothers for two weeks after giving birth but, as neither she nor her brother showed any signs of the disease they were released from quarantine on the morning of the funeral. In any event no-one could have prevented Emily seeing her husband and daughter off on their last journey notwithstanding that it took place only three days after young Garrett Nicholas arrived. In fact, no-one even tried. She had demanded that she be permitted to send her husband and their daughter off on their last journey together and not one voice, however much they might have doubted the wisdom of it, was raised in objection.

Mrs Emily Daneleigh, neé Burley, had not yet attained twenty one years of age when fate rendered her a widow although she had always a maturity many women lacked. Tall and willowy with a riot of blonde curls she was not the beauty of the family; that honour fell to Olivia, but not the most censorious critic would have ever called her plain. Upon entering the parlour carrying her son in her arms, Ruth could be heard to whisper to her sister Harriett that she looked magnificent.

The house was lit by candlelight, the drapes having been drawn and the orange glow gave barely enough light to penetrate Emily’s veil. Unlike many of the other occupants of the room, she was not crying, as she had schooled her expression into impassivity. Even so, the tragedies of the last few days were writ large on her face. The tiredness caused by the effort of bringing her son into the world gave her a pallor well beyond her normal porcelain complexion and lines had appeared where previously there were none. Some of the ladies who had not been informed that the widow would make an appearance gasped at the sight of her standing there, spine straight, veiled and dressed head to toe in black.

I am a Burley, Emily’s voice clearly penetrated to every corner of the room as she turned to those who had reacted with surprise at her arrival, My brother is Sir Nicolas Burley and he taught my sisters and I the value of constancy, endurance, determination and duty. I know my duty to my husband and my daughter, and I was, and am, determined to see them off. She walked over to the embayment and whisked the drapes back. My son, she added to the room behind her, will thus have the chance to see his father even if that chance is inadequate and brief.

Mrs Garrett Daneleigh wrapped her dignity around herself like a cloak and turned to gaze out of the window as the procession moved away. Her son, lying in the crook of her left arm was unconscious of the drama of the moment and confined himself to making noises of contentment indicating that he had recently been fed. He could not know for the moment, that his father and elder sister had died coincidentally upon his arrival and that he would never have the privilege of meeting either.

Behind her, but at a discreet distance, stood a phalanx of women; supporting her, yet giving her the distance she needed. Her seven younger sisters, her mother, her Mother in Law, two of her aunts and her sister in law stood, a silent guard admiring the strength and determination the widow demonstrated each asking herself whether, if they were similarly called upon, they would be able to be as dignified.

As the last of the funeral party moved out of sight Isabella came forward:

Will you not now sit down? It will be yet awhile before the men return. You have done your duty to your husband and your daughter, but that young man is starting to fuss. The effort involved in remaining at her post had used up Emily’s last resources and as she felt her legs give way, Isabella took her son and the other ladies behind her closed in to prevent her collapsing on the floor.

It was a while before she was again able to stand although she refused point blank when it was suggested she should be carried to her bedchamber agreeing only that, for the moment, she should relinquish her son into the care of Miss Jervis who had been released from immediate duty by the death of Miss Anna.

The men will return from the church soon and I must, as Garrett’s wife (she could not yet call herself a widow) greet them and thank them for coming. Lady Daneleigh murmured that everyone would understand if