A Heaven on Earth Read online

  She would have to stay here for tea and make polite conversation with this unusual gentleman.

  “It’s so strange that we have never met before, my Lord,” she commented after a moment’s silence.

  “Oh, but you have been in Paris,” replied the Earl.

  “Only for a year and before that I was at home at Hadleigh Hall for most of the time.”

  The Earl looked at her and she noticed that his eyes were no longer bright and sharp, but had become deep and wistful.

  “Yes, I daresay. The truth is that I have spent very little time at Linford Castle. It’s not a place where I feel at home.”

  “I should think it must be wonderful to have your own castle to live in, my Lord.”

  The Earl smiled again.

  “Mrs. Westcott is right! There is something bright and cheerful about you that is most appealing. May I make a suggestion to you, Miss Hartnell?”

  He spoke gently to her without a trace of his former mocking tone and Aurora felt much more at ease, although she could not imagine what he was about to say to her.

  “Linford Castle has a sad and cold atmosphere,” he went on. “And I have finally decided that I must address this and do something to make my ancient family home a more pleasant place to be.”

  “I am sure that is a good idea,” agreed Aurora, still puzzled as to where he was leading the conversation.

  “I am meeting today with some expert restorers and repairers who are going to start work on the structure of the building. But I feel that something more is needed.

  “The Castle needs a woman’s touch, needs some of the brightness Mrs. Westcott spoke about earlier. I wonder, Miss Hartnell, if you would be prepared to come and visit The Castle to give me the benefit of your advice?”

  The Earl looked directly into Aurora’s eyes again, and she sensed a deep unhappiness coming from him and felt something stirring inside her – a desire to dispel that unhappiness and bring the glow back into his dark eyes.

  “I should love to see your castle, my Lord. I never have, even though it is not far from Hadleigh Hall and it will be an honour for me to visit.”

  “Then may I expect you this afternoon at tea time? If your fine little horse will not object to another outing?”

  Aurora thought for a moment.

  If she was at home in time for luncheon and then proposed taking a drive with Phyllis, surely her father and stepmother would have no objection to her going out that afternoon.

  “Aleppo will need to rest this afternoon. He is too old to be cantering about all day.”

  A dark cloud then passed over the Earl’s face and he turned away to gaze out over the rolling green hills that surrounded the farm.

  “But,” she continued, “I shall take the Governess cart and will be happy to drive by and call at The Castle.”

  The Earl laughed and turned back to her again.

  “I shall be delighted to welcome you, young lady.”

  Aurora was then pleased to see that two horses and riders were speeding up the track from the village.

  It was Aleppo and Adam escorting the blacksmith up to the farm.

  Now she needed to hurry back to Hadleigh Hall and make herself presentable, so there could be no objection to her plans for the afternoon.

  As the Earl cupped his hands to take her foot and swing her onto Aleppo’s back, she realised something very strange.

  She had not mentioned Lord Moreton’s proposal of marriage to Mrs. Westcott and in fact she had not thought about him once during all these events of the morning.

  Was this the right way for girl who was about to be engaged to behave?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Wherever have you been, miss?” demanded Phyllis, as Aurora entered her room and rushed over to warm her hands at the blazing fire that was cheerfully filling the air with warmth.

  “Just look at you, miss, with all that mud over your skirts. Whatever have you been doin’?” continued Phyllis, tugging at Aurora’s habit with an exasperated expression on her pretty Cornish face.

  “Don’t worry, Phyllis, the mud will brush off when it’s dry.”

  But Phyllis was still looking troubled, so she added,

  “I have only been to see the Westcott’s over at the farm.”

  “Why didn’t you wait for me, Miss Aurora, and we could have gone together?”

  “Oh, Phyllis, I am sorry. I know you love to take a ride with me. I just wanted to be alone this morning, I had so much to think about.”

  “That’s what bothers me. You didn’t speak a word last night when you came up after dinner, just ‘thank you and goodnight’ was all you had to say to me and then you go rushin’ off this mornin’ without so much as a goodbye.”

  “That was very rude of me, but there is nothing to worry about, honestly, dear Phyllis.”

  “I don’t believe you, Miss Aurora,” replied Phyllis. “Somethin’ is up and you ain’t a-tellin’ me what it is. You always go quiet and then go off by yourself when you are worried about somethin’.”

  Aurora sighed, wondering how she could explain to Phyllis the extraordinary events of last night.

  “And to really cap it all,” continued Phyllis, “I was tidyin’ up your dressin’ table and I found this!”

  And she held up the emerald necklace.

  “Oh dear. I was hoping to keep that a secret.”

  Phyllis shook her head doubtfully,

  “I don’t know as that’s such a very good idea, miss. Them are real emeralds as far as I can tell and this necklace must be worth a fortune. So what’s it doin’ on your dressin’ table?”

  Aurora opened her mouth to speak, but the words just would not come out.

  Phyllis carried on,

  “And why, Miss Aurora, in the name of all that’s good, have you not told me what happened with that Lord Moreton last night? You was all agog to see him and I was fully expectin’ you to come back upstairs to me engaged to be married. And now you’re not a-tellin’ a word of what went on. Why wouldn’t I be worried?”

  Aurora allowed Phyllis to help her out of her soiled riding habit and then wrapping herself in a large shawl, she sat in her petticoats on a sofa by the fire.

  “So,” demanded Phyllis, “is there to be a weddin’ or not? And if there is, what’s to become of me? He’s a wealthy man, I hears, and he’ll have plenty of servants of his own at Elton Manor.”

  Aurora found her voice at last,

  “Oh, Phyllis! Of course you will stay with me and be my maid, whatever may happen. I simply couldn’t part with you – ever!”

  She cleared her throat and then reached out to take the emerald necklace from Phyllis, reluctantly explaining that she had not yet agreed to marry Lord Moreton, but that she had asked him for time to think about his proposal.

  “He did seem a bit upset, Phyllis,” she added as she held up the emeralds so that they caught the firelight in their deep green hearts.

  “And he insisted that I should accept the necklace as a gift. I tried really hard to refuse, but I felt a bit sorry for him, and so in the end I agreed to take it. It’s so very beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Beautiful or not, Miss Aurora, why ain’t you tellin’ me about the man himself? Was he handsome? Was he young and lively? Will you be takin’ him for a husband when you’ve had time to think it over?”

  “Oh, goodness, Phyllis. I don’t think so – he’s as old as my stepmother and speaks with a lisp!”

  Phyllis tutted and shook her head again.

  “So why did you take the necklace from him then? It be as good as a promise to take an expensive gift like that from a man – ”

  Aurora jumped up and hugged her maid.

  “Please, don’t worry, dear Phyllis. I will tell Papa just how I feel and give him the necklace to return to Lord Moreton and all will be well.”

  But Phyllis sighed and was not at all comforted by Aurora’s words.

  “I knew you shouldn’t have gone down to dinner wearin’ them eme
rald earrings with a blue dress. Blue and green should ne’er be seen! No good will come of it, I feel sure.”

  “I tell you what,” suggested Aurora quickly longing to bring a smile back to her maid’s face. “Come with me for a drive this afternoon. I have a special visit to make and I know you will enjoy it too.”

  “What visit might that be, miss?”

  “We are going to take tea – at a castle!”

  Phyllis brightened at the thought of it.

  “But whoever has asked you?”

  “It shall be a surprise. It is a friend of mine, who I bumped into while I was at the Westcott’s.”

  And so Phyllis had to be content, as it was time for Aurora to dress for luncheon.

  *

  Only her stepmother was in the dining room.

  “Will Papa be joining us?” asked Aurora hopefully.

  “He is indisposed, Aurora, and he will be staying in his room today and asks not to be disturbed,” replied Lady Hartnell.

  Aurora’s heart sank as she had been hoping that she could speak to him about Lord Moreton.

  “Much too much excitement has incapacitated him. Parties every day are not advisable for an elderly man like your father.”

  “Of course not. I do hope that he will recover very soon.”

  “And you are quite the sly little minx, aren’t you?” added Lady Hartnell with a supercilious half smile on her face.

  “I just – don’t know what you mean – ” stammered Aurora, shocked by her stepmother’s unexpected comment.

  “Oh, I think you do, Aurora. Your behaviour last night was quite calculated and intentional, I am sure.”

  “No, really – ”

  Aurora could feel herself going bright red.

  “It’s a very clever ploy – to keep a man waiting. A tactic you must have picked up in France, I daresay. Lord Moreton is totally infatuated with you now you are playing with him like this.”

  Lady Hartnell was looking pleased with herself.

  Aurora was about to speak up and explain that there were no tactics or ploys involved and that she was simply postponing the moment when she would give a firm ‘no’ to Lord Moreton.

  But she looked again at her stepmother and decided against it.

  ‘I must speak to Papa,’ she told herself, ‘and get him on my side. I am sure he will understand exactly how I feel and will help me to explain everything.’

  “And just how long do you intend to keep on toying with your suitor, you saucy little puss?” Lady Hartnell was asking.

  “I have told him that I need time to think over his offer. That is all I have said to him and that is the truth.”

  Lady Hartnell laughed.

  “There is no need to be coy with me, young lady! You and I both know what you are up to. You have the necklace and that in itself is a clear indication of where you are heading. You just want to make quite certain you have him properly at your feet before you give in. I take my hat off to you!”

  Lady Hartnell rose from table and swept off to the sitting room, where she usually spent her afternoons lying on the sofa and playing patience.

  Aurora’s heart sank as she now realised that Lady Hartnell was fully expecting her to accept Lord Moreton’s proposal and believed that her request for time was just a ruse to inflame his ardour.

  There was nothing she could do without speaking to her father and Aurora decided to leave the matter until she had done so – and to make the most of her afternoon at Linford Castle.

  *

  Aurora always loved driving the Governess cart and her spirits rose as it rattled over the stony road, pulled by Cherry, her fat little pony from childhood days.

  The cart was a trim little carriage, small enough to be easily driven by a young lady and yet not too small to accommodate both herself and her maid in comfort.

  Phyllis clung onto the side of the cart and her nose, already red from the cold, peeped out of the big cloak she had wrapped round herself.

  “So who is it then, this mysterious friend of yours?” she asked Aurora for the tenth time.

  “You just won’t believe me, if I tell you,” laughed Aurora.

  “I don’t like surprises, as you well know, miss. I likes to know what I’m gettin’ myself into.”

  “Oh, alright, Phyllis,” muttered Aurora, taking pity on her. “We are going to take tea with an Earl!”

  Phyllis gasped with disbelief and accused Aurora of teasing her.

  “No, Phyllis, I am telling the truth. I was going to tell you about him, and lots of other things that happened while I was at the Westcott’s farm, but you were so cross with me about the necklace that I didn’t get a chance.”

  Aurora told her about the Earl’s arrival at the farm, and how she had lent Aleppo to Adam so he could fetch the blacksmith to shoe the Earl’s horse.

  “I did him a service and so it is quite natural that he should invite me to go for tea.”

  The Governess cart swung round a bend in the road and, before them standing proudly on a green mound in the middle of a wooded valley, they could see the high stone walls of Linford Castle.

  “What a magnificent building!” exclaimed Aurora, shaking the reins to make Cherry go faster, “but look, the windows are all broken – and it looks as if there is a tree growing out of the roof!”

  “It’s a sad lookin’ place,” agreed Phyllis, “though it seems like it was fine enough in its day.”

  They raced up towards Linford Castle and clattered over the bridge that led to the big wooden entrance gates.

  There was a little door at the side of the gate and as they drove up, it opened and an old man in a leather apron stepped through and asked them what their business was.

  “I have arrived here to take tea with Lord Linford,” Aurora replied proudly and explained who she and Phyllis were.

  The old man nodded and stepping back through the little door, he pulled the bolts on the big gates and slowly opened them so that the Governess cart could pass through.

  Aurora caught her breath as she looked around the courtyard of Linford Castle.

  Four high walls surrounded them with a tall tower in one corner and at one side by the gates a charming house had been built nestling against the wall.

  But the courtyard looked much neglected.

  The flagstones were all uneven and in some places elder trees had taken root and were growing up strongly, as if trying to claim Linford Castle back into woodland again.

  The door of the house opened and the Earl stepped out, followed by two men in black carrying large rolled up pieces of paper.

  “Welcome,” he called out, his deep voice ringing around the courtyard. “I have been busy with my architect and my restorer, otherwise I should have come to the gates to receive you.”

  Aurora jumped down from the Governess cart and made a swift curtsy.

  “Thank you, my Lord, for your kind invitation.”

  Phyllis was crouching down on the hard seat of the Governess cart, trying to avoid the Earl’s eye, as she was completely overcome with shyness.

  “And this is my maid, Phyllis.”

  Aurora reached for Phyllis’s hand, encouraging her to step down.

  “My Lord,” muttered Phyllis respectfully, and then curtsied so low she was almost sitting on the ground.

  “Your companion and amanuensis?” asked the Earl, “I am delighted you have brought her with you.”

  “My Lord,” interrupted the taller of the two black coated men, “to return to our discussion – ”

  The Earl raised his hand.

  “This is Miss Hartnell,” he said, “the daughter of Lord Hartnell of Hadleigh Hall. She will be included in our talks from now on, as I wish to know her opinion on the matters we are discussing.”

  The tall man raised an eyebrow, looking put out.

  “Is the young lady acquainted with the finer points of architecture?” he enquired with a sniff.

  Aurora felt herself blush, as indeed she knew very littl
e about architecture, but the Earl seemed not to have heard the tall man’s comment and was inviting her to look at a plan that was being unfolded by the other black-coated man.

  “Mr. Hodge, the architect, is in favour of razing my castle to the ground and starting afresh to build a completely new house,” the Earl explained, glancing at the tall man who had spoken so rudely.

  “But Mr. Nicholls over here is a restorer and if you look at his drawing, you will see that he prefers to keep the structure, repair it and build around what is already here.”

  Aurora felt her heart beat fast as she bent over the paper held by the restorer.

  It was just so exciting to be consulted about such an important matter, even though the pencilled lines on it did not make very much sense to her.

  “Which view do you take, my Lord,” she asked the Earl after a few moments. “Would you see Linford Castle destroyed completely and the work begun again – or would you prefer to keep what is here? After all, it is you who will be living here.”

  The Earl laughed.

  “I’m very glad I asked you to come. I knew you would go straight to the heart of the matter. Of course, the architect believes that he is right and so does the restorer. But I, who indeed will live here, simply do not know what I should do.”

  He turned to the two men,

  “Thank you, gentlemen, for your valuable advice. I am going to take a turn around The Castle with this young lady and reflect upon my choices.”

  The architect and the restorer stepped back with a polite bow, although they both looked somewhat miffed.

  The Earl smiled at Aurora and invited her to follow him as he strolled around the courtyard.

  Aurora felt a shiver run through her as they walked towards the tower in the corner.

  It looked very dark and forbidding with its smashed windows and endless trails of water running down its walls from broken gutters.

  “This is a very sad place,” she murmured.

  “I think so too. There is nothing here that makes me really want to stay and when I see this tower, I think that perhaps the best option might be to knock the whole thing down – ”

  Aurora was about to agree with him, but something stopped her, almost as if someone had placed a finger on her lips.