Page 11 of The Widower Without a Will
“That I am being generous.It often feels like generosity, and I am always glad to hear the compliment.However, when I stop to examine it, I am not sure it qualifies as generosity to share the land with those who work it.Is that not fairness?Is that not how we are intended to behave?”
Martha could see this was not simply a debate to keep his mind active but a question that plagued him.She replied as best she could: “Do you not believe in the natural order of the world and that we are intended to care for each other through the great chain, beginning with God and going all the way down to the ants in the anthill?”
The gig rolled past the pond, whose water glittered with a greenish hue in the noontime sun, as Lord Preston selected the words for his reply.“Forgive me if I offend you, but I do not believe it is part of the divine plan, if there is such a thing.I think that because it is how our society behaves, it is an order to which we must adhere or else risk great chaos, but I do not think it is the correct moral code.”
Martha shouldn’t have been surprised that the radical Lord Preston would espouse radical ideas.If printed, such a sentiment could get him locked in prison for blasphemy.Still, even with her heart racing at the joy of being near him, she found her hands folding primly in her lap, as if that would protect her from his words.
“Caroline accused me of being unwilling to break that great chain when I forbade her to marry Eddie,” Lord Preston continued, his voice a little raw.“And to a certain degree, she is right.I am unwilling to throw off the great chain.I am still a baron; I have not renounced the system of aristocracy and thrown in my lot with the Americans.I see the humanity in every person who lives here at Northfield, but I do not insist we all live equally.When my daughter—well, I thought it was dangerous for her to marry Eddie, for both their sakes.But none of that means it isright.It is simply the way things are at this moment in time, in this particular place.After all, the plantation owners argue that they care for their slaves as part of the great chain—and I repudiate that every chance I get.”
Radical indeed—Martha had never heard the idea of renouncing aristocracy, and certainly not from an aristocrat himself.
“If I spend my fortune on purchasing land to build new cottages and dormitories and increase our production, is that generosity?How can I even call it my money, when it is all earned by the labor that hundreds of people do collectively?Would you call a steward generous for fulfilling his responsibility?”Before she had a chance to answer, he continued: “Yet if I invest in Northfield so it can keep growing as it wants to do, then I will have no money left for my family.Am I not a father first?Must I not guard the family’s fortune so that we do not end up in need of the very sanctuary that Northfield Hall provides?”
No—Martha didn’t believe that anyone could sit beside Lord Preston for three days, as she had, and not be enchanted with him.Who else was so careful and selfless and honest and brave?
He offered her a self-deprecating smile.“I am sorry to burden you with these ruminations.I am often guilty of thinking too thoroughly about things, but on this matter, I am afraid I still have much contemplating to do.”
Martha gave in to the urge she had resisted all morning and threaded her hand through the crook of his elbow.“Yours is not an easy path, sir.It is no burden at all to walk it with you for a little while.”
His smile blossomed, and Martha dared imagine it was because his heart, too, was leaping at her touch.
Chapter Five
OnSunday,Carolinecamefor a midday dinner.Martin had gone over the menu with Mrs.Chow on Friday and again Saturday afternoon to make sure they were serving Caroline’s favorites.Mrs.Chow humored him, as she always did.They had known each other since she and her husband showed up in Martin’s garden, begging for help after being turned out by his neighbor on account of her expecting a baby.That had been his impetus for turning Northfield Hall into an estate that welcomed anyone who needed safe haven.Since then, Mrs.Chow had been Lolly’s maid, nurse to his children, and for the last couple of decades, housekeeper.
Now she was Caroline’s mother-in-law, too.Which meant that, when Caroline and Eddie arrived at noontime in their rickety gig, Martin went out of his way to invite Mrs.Chow and her husband to join them at the table.“Please, you are family,” he insisted with all the grace he would show to the king himself.
“No, thank you, we couldn’t,” Mrs.Chow replied, as she always did.
“Please, Mama Chow,” Caroline said, using the new name she had invented for the woman she had known since birth.“Eddie and I should like to spend time with you and Father Chow, too.”
“Come visit us after, then.We are minding the little ones today.”
“Oh, but bring them along!What family is not entertained by its littlest members?”Clapping her hands, Caroline looked at Martin with equal parts appeal and accusation.“You would welcome my nephew and niece at the table, wouldn’t you, Papa?”
The children—Spencer’s offspring—were hardly old enough for company, but Martin dutifully and sincerely answered, “Of course.Please, Mrs.Chow, do join us.”
But she shook her head.“Perhaps another time.Today—” she looked pointedly at Mrs.Bellamy “—you have a guest.”
Martin, of course, had not forgotten Mrs.Bellamy, not even for an instant.She stood in a little corner of the foyer as if she thought that would make her invisible, a friendly expression pasted to her lips in case anyone should look over.Martin wondered what she thought of the exchange.Did she see it for the farce it was, one in which everyone except for Caroline already knew the outcome?
Or did she, like Caro, think he was failing to apply himself hard enough to make Mr.and Mrs.Chow feel part of his family?
“We’ll see you after the meal,” Eddie said, putting one arm around Caro’s shoulders and bowing his head to his mother.“Hopefully before little Mary’s nap.”
It was not that Martin did not like having Mr.and Mrs.Chow at the family table.He had hosted them in London when Eddie had finished his apprenticeship in the same dining room where he lobbied William Wilberforce!But everyone had their routines at Northfield Hall.Surely the Chows would feel as strange sitting in the dining room as Martin would if he decided to sup in their cottage.
He was not saying it wasright, as Caroline seemed to think, only that it wascomfortable, and they did not need to fight nature on this particular subject.
The matter settled, they moved into the dining room.They all sat at one end, Martin at the head of the table with Caroline and Eddie on his right and Mrs.Bellamy on his left.The weather had once again turned cool, so a fire burned in the hearth and the windows remained shut against the drizzling rain.Despite the size of the room—the table stretched onwards to seat sixteen people, with space for footmen to bustle around serving dish after dish—Martin felt a little suffocated.
He shook off the feeling.How lucky he was that Caroline and Eddie had traveled five miles to spend an afternoon with him.He would make the most of this precious time with his daughter.
“Oh, Mrs.Bellamy,” Caro began, “I have a letter for you from Mr.Sebright.”
Mrs.Bellamy accepted the letter with that faux-friendly look.“How was service this morning?Have you had a chance to meet Mrs.Sebright?”
“The church was quite full.I imagine everyone was eager to find out what kind of service Mr.Sebright would give.As to Mrs.Sebright, we had a brief conversation about the school, but there is much more to discuss.”
