The Lion Lies Waiting Page 26

  He laughed as he rubbed his hands together and blew on them. Iris made a face.

  “I needed a break from all those awful bores. Scrambling over Marley Chase’s bones to get whatever scraps are left, they’re horrible. They are all trying to ingratiate themselves with the new Swan.”

  “I’m sure Eva is loving it,” Edwin said.

  “She certainly is. She’s got them all dancing to her tune already. They have no idea what’s coming. I almost feel sorry for them,” she said with a grin.

  She took Edwin by the arm and they began to walk away from the house, footsteps crunching on the frozen gravel.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t get much chance to speak after the burial. You seem in much better form than last I saw you,” she said.

  “I am, I honestly am. I wanted to apologise for my behaviour, it was…it was just terrible. I wish you hadn’t seen me in such a state.”

  “Water under the bridge, my dearest,” Iris replied. “It was a low moment for you, nothing more.”

  “And I wanted to thank you for the kindness you showed me. The understanding. It helped me more than you can know.”

  Iris bowed her head as a gesture of acceptance.

  “You should know we haven’t given up on the idea of starting a family. We’ve decided to ask Mr. Archibald Kind.”

  “Really?”

  “He’s feckless, unreliable and shallow, but also terribly handsome, tremendously healthy and his family is well connected. And it’s not as if we have a lot of options. I’m related to half the families on Merryapple as it is. He seems the type to be rather hands-off when it comes to parenting, which I think will be…What’s the matter?”

  Edwin was laughing.

  “Hah, no, no, it’s nothing. I’m just surprised. You make it sound like choosing from a menu at the tearoom. Not too salty, not too sweet. Won’t spoil your dinner.”

  “I’d prefer not to have to choose a man at all, but I’ve done it before and it’s not entirely unpleasant. I can power through it again if I have to. At least with Archibald, it won’t take very long.”

  “Iris!”

  She giggled. “He’s romanced plenty of women in Blashy Cove, can I help it if they talk about him? Are you disappointed in our selection?”

  “No, not at all. I’m just surprised you chose him.”

  “And?”

  “And…it was just…I was going to say if you’re still interested, I would be honoured to father your child.”

  “Oh, Edwin, I’m delighted! Speechless!” Iris said as she hugged and kissed the baker. He was doubled over so she could do it.

  “Whatever made you change your mind?”

  “I’ve been thinking about the future a lot lately. Between Dad’s decline and Mum…well, being Mum, I started to wonder what my life might be when I’m older. I want, well, I suppose I want a piece of me to remain behind when I die. I want something to show for my life. Am I being selfish?”

  “No, not at all. I think we all want that, in one way or another. Be it through our children, our art, our poetry—we all want to make a mark on the world.”

  They arrived at the edge of the lake and began to walk around it. The frost clung to the long reeds lining the lakeside, pulling them down to the water’s surface to gently kiss the icy film on top. There was no sky to speak of; it remained a featureless, unbroken canvas on which the world was drawn. A world that, from there, consisted of naught but blue, and silver, and grey.

  “It’s beautiful here,” Edwin said.

  “A fine place to raise a child. Although I will miss the sea air,” Iris sighed.

  “So, you would move here? To the manor?”

  “Yes. I mean, I expect so. Now Marley has passed, the manor is ours. The company, too. You would be welcome to visit any time you wished, of course.”

  “I have to say, I hadn’t considered the possibility you would not raise the child in Blashy Cove. That I might not see her, or him, every day. Before the events of last night, my mother had asked me to remain here, with her. Eva introduced me to one of her company’s solicitors. He thinks he can convince the courts to release her into my care. I can’t bring her to Blashy Cove—I couldn’t do that to Dad—but if my daughter is going to be here on Blackrabbit as well, then it puts a different spin on things.”

  He trailed off, considering his options.

  “Do you wish it to be a girl?” Iris said.

  “I don’t mind either way. Although I now realise since you proposed it, I have been picturing a girl. With freckled nose and a mop of ginger hair,” he laughed. “What would my role in her life be, precisely?”

  They brushed snow from a small bench and sat, gazing out across the still lake.

  “Whatever you wanted it to be,” Iris said. “Eva and I have discussed it, we would in no way restrict your role in the child’s life. We want you to be a part of it. As much or as little as you like. I must admit, I’m quite excited by the idea of you and Robin as parents. Or just you, of course. Whichever eventuality takes hold.”

  She smiled and tilted her head. He laughed a little.

  “It’s too cold to be fishing, Lady Wolfe-Chase,” he teased. “Yes, there is still a Robin and I. We talked. You were right.”

  “Oooh, say it again, I do so love how it sounds!” she giggled, hugging his arm.

  “You were right, you were right, you were right.”

  His warm laugh fogged the air around his face.

  “I’m glad. I truly am. You suit each other,” Iris said.

  “I suppose we better turn back before my bits freeze off,” he said.

  “Well, quite, I still need them.”

  “Hah! Speaking of which, how are we going to go about it?”

  “Carefully, if the word I’ve heard around town is anything to go by,” Iris teased. “Plenty of people got an eyeful the night you climbed the clock tower. You were quite the talk of Clementine Frost’s solstice ball—envy and admiration in equal amounts! No wonder Robin is always so happy.”

  “Iris! Don’t be bawdy,” Edwin said, blushing.

  “I think we’re past the stage of being coy, Edwin.”

  “I suppose we are. And, well, don’t forget, it was cold that night, so I wasn’t even at my best.”

  “Nobody likes a braggart, Mr. Farriner,” Iris laughed.

  “Eva said something about using a curtain?”

  “I think she was joking. At least, I hope she was…But no, we spoke to Doctor Cranch and she had a marvellous suggestion. She told us she worked with a surgeon in London—one John Hunter, I believe his name was—who developed a procedure she called Romantic Medicine. Essentially, it’s a system of procreation without…you know…recreation.”

  “Giss on! Really?”

  “Oh, yes. Anyway, this London surgeon developed his technique by practising on moths, if you can believe such a thing! He’s had great success in people too, of course. Doctor Cranch seems confident she could reproduce his methods. All it takes is a syringe and a pair of steady hands.”

  “A syringe?” Edwin asked with raised eyebrow. “What…uh…what would I need to do with one of those?”

  “Oh, don’t panic, dear, it isn’t for you. No, you simply provide your…um…seed, and let Doctor Cranch and myself handle the rest.”

  “How terribly modern.”

  “You seem disappointed?”

  “No, no, not at all. I just assumed you and I would be…well…”

  “Let’s leave that as a contingency plan, yes? I think we’re testing the bonds of friendship quite enough as it is,” Iris said with a laugh. “Besides, this way means Robin can lend a hand, as it were.”

  “Iris!” Edwin said, taking her arm in his. “I hope our child doesn’t inherit your filthy sense of humour.”

  “I rather hope she does,” Iris said with an impish smile. “If only to keep you blushing into your old age. What of your concern about our child inheriting your…what did you call it? Your animal?”

  “I
’m still worried, but there’s no guarantee she will,” Edwin said.

  “Well,” Iris said, “even if she does, she’ll have a loving family to help tame it.”

  THEY FOUND EVA astride the great stuffed wolf on the landing. A gaggle of the more priggish mourners, led by her cousin Dorothea, were aghast to find she had donned not only her father’s Swan mask before the official ceremony but one of his old suits as well. In a purple velvet frock coat and breeches, with one hand tucked into the pocket of a gold waistcoat and a holding a glass of rum in the other, she bucked and rocked as if the beast were racing unfettered through the house. She was doing what she did best—making the situation all about her. The rest of the council stood in one corner making generally disapproving tuts and sighs. Eva didn’t care. The more they disapproved, the more she loved it. Clementine Frost clapped and cheered from the sidelines.

  “Eva!” Iris called. “Whatever are you wearing?!”

  “I’m taking over my father’s role, my dear! I might as well look the part, no?”

  “I suppose so! Come over here, we need to tell you something.”

  “I think I can guess!” Eva said as she dismounted gracefully and sauntered over. “I’ll fetch the curtains!”

  EVA AND IRIS took tea in their suite. There were still a good many people downstairs and after a day of mingling and talking and platitudes, they desperately wanted to be alone.

  “I spoke to father’s solicitor earlier,” Eva said, as she lifted the delicate china teacup.

  “Oh? Did she tell you why you weren’t written out of the will?” Iris asked.

  “She didn’t know anything about it. Apparently, Father had never mentioned it before. Maybe he didn’t have time.”

  “Or maybe, even after everything which has happened, it never occurred to him to cut you off. Maybe it was just something he said in the heat of the moment.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.”

  “Oh, there it is again. Twice in one day,” Iris giggled.

  “Regardless, I’m now the mistress of Chase Manor. And the new Swan of Blackrabbit Council,” Eva said, gazing over to her nightstand where the Swan mask lay discarded like an afterthought.

  “What does this mean? For us?”

  “Well, I suppose we shall have to stay here, for a while anyway. We can have our belongings shipped over from Blashy Cove.”

  “So, we will live here?” Iris said.

  “I suppose so.”

  Iris wrinkled her brow, a sure sign of her thinking of what to say. There was no particular reason why they shouldn’t live there. Eva was the head of the family company run from Port Knot, she was part of the council, also based in Port Knot. Despite her somewhat cold upbringing, she loved the house, loved the grounds. It made perfect sense for them to live here now. So why did it feel so wrong?

  “I’ll be here, raising our child, while you perform your duties to the company and to the council,” Iris said.

  Eva sat her teacup down, causing a little splash. “I shan’t be away quite so much. I want to raise our child together.”

  “You say so, but, my love, how can you avoid it?” Iris said sweetly. “You’ll have people making demands on your time from all corners, at all hours.”

  Eva sighed.

  “Father was constantly on the go,” she said wearily. “It’s not just the council meetings; it’s everything going along with it. The events and soirees, the palm-greasing and cajoling, the introductions and the keeping up of appearances. The politics of politeness. And that’s before we even get to the running of Chase Trading.”

  Eva slumped back in her chair, rumpling the rich velvet of her frock coat. She looked around her. At those walls, the same colour since she was a girl. At the bed, rigid and old and ugly. Through the windows to the gardens beyond, kept immaculate and unchanged in layout, no matter the cost. She had become the custodian of tradition. Her grandmother had built the house, passed it to her father who had maintained it, and then to her, who was expected to do the same until it was passed on again after her death. She had been reduced to merely a link in a chain.

  “Iris. Do you want to live here? Do you want to raise our child here?” she asked. “Truthfully?”

  Iris thought about it for a moment. “No. I don’t.”

  Eva nodded. “Neither do I. I refuse to live my father’s life. I refuse to make his mistakes.”

  “What are you going to do?” Iris asked.

  Eva sat back again and smiled her most wicked smile.

  “Why, my dear, I’m going to make entirely new ones.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  HONOR KNIGHT STOOD in the snow-dappled gravel courtyard and faced the manor house. She was bundled in layers of linen and wool, with her throat wrapped in a great, moss green scarf which trailed behind her like the wake of a mighty ship. Her rough hands were covered by a pair of fingerless mittens, a drab peat in colour. Beside her, Lady Eva was dressed in luxurious furs—a brush of reds and coppers hugging her willowy frame, a cap of pearly grey covering her raven-black hair. Honor had little time for such sartorial displays and couldn’t even have identified the creatures who had given their hides so the new head of Chase Manor might stave off a chill.

  “Was there a reason you brought me out here, ma’am?” she asked. “If you’re going to let me go, you could have at least done so in the warmth.”

  Lady Eva just smiled and toyed with the Swan mask she held.

  “I have been thinking about the future, Mrs. Knight. About our place in it. Mine and yours. About what they will say about us when we are gone.”

  “They’ll say I served the Chase family well. Until the end, ma’am” she said, defiantly. She wasn’t about to let her reputation be tarnished.

  “They will say a good deal more than that, I expect,” Lady Eva replied. “Perhaps they’ll say how you endured the terrible plight of having not one, but two children underfoot when you were trying to work. How they plagued you with their incessant playing and merrymaking. How they defied your every attempt to scold them. Perhaps they’ll speak of the merciful day when one of the girls was taken away, allowing you to focus more fully on the needs of the great Marley Chase. Perhaps they will say all of it, and more.”

  Honor swallowed hard and prepared to speak, to defend herself, but Eva continued. “You know, it really is quite a marvellous setup Father had going here toward the end. I’m told you were involved in arranging it?”

  “Y-yes. Yes, ma’am. I helped Dr. Cranch source the equipment, the medical personnel.”

  “I expect you made a lot of contacts in the process?”

  “A few, ma’am,” she said. “Much of the equipment in there didn’t exist a year ago. The doctors made suggestions and I contacted the very best metalsmiths and clockworkers to bring their ideas to life.”

  “Did you, indeed? How extraordinary.”

  “I suppose I could leave you their names and addresses, if that’s what you’re getting at. Ma’am.”

  She corrected herself at the last moment, her tone hardening.

  “You know,” Lady Eva continued, “it would be a shame to just leave all the amazing medical equipment just lying there. And the staff, all those doctors and nurses, they have quite gotten used to living here.”

  “I’ll be glad to see the back of them.”

  She hadn’t taken to any of them. Though she’d appreciated all they’d done for Lord Chase, they had been an added burden to her daily routine.

  “What if I were to put them to use?” Lady Eva asked.

  “How so?”

  “My future child’s grandmother, she is not well.”

  Lord Chase had informed her of Lady Iris’s intention to conceive a child with a baker, of all things. She was against it.

  “She should be in hospital, then.”

  “I agree. However, it is not a sickness of body, but rather of mind. She needs special care. Proper treatment. In a safe, stable environment,” Eva said. “And she is not the only one
. I have visited the gaol, and to my horror, I discovered there are quite a few people on the island who need this kind of help. Dr. Cranch believes she can provide it. The automated chair Father had made, we could buy a few more of them.”

  “Oh yes?” Honor said. She had begun to understand. “So, this to become Chase Manor Madhouse, is it?”

  “No. The Wolfe-Chase Asylum.”

  “I’m expected to believe you will just give it over to this endeavour? Out of the goodness of your heart?” she scoffed. “You’ve wanted this house for yourself since you were a little girl.”

  “True,” Lady Eva said, “but I am no longer a little girl. And it is only a house.”

  “And who will run this establishment? You?” she said, tilting her head.

  Lady Eva just smiled at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “Me?”

  Honor was incredulous.

  “If you wish to. This has been your home longer than it’s been mine. I don’t like you, Mrs. Knight. I never have and I likely never will, and I know the feeling is mutual. However, I am not blind to your talents. You cared for my father for most of his life and I know you loved him, in your own way. This will be how you honour his memory.”

  “By spitting on everything he worked to achieve?” Mrs. Knight shouted. “But not even using the Chase family name anymore?”

  “By taking what he built and using it to help the less fortunate. There can be no higher calling. You might even find an honest job for your loutish son.”

  She couldn’t exactly picture Vince caring for the infirm, but the chance to get him away from the darker side of Port Knot was tempting.

  “And what will you do, ma’am?”

  “I shall go back to Merryapple.”

  “What about the family company?”

  “My cousins are perfectly capable of keeping things ticking along. I will keep an eye on things from our house in Blashy Cove. And don’t worry, I’ll be back to check up on things every now and then. Surprise inspections of the company offices and assets. You never know when I might pop up. The uncertainty should keep the workers on their toes,” she said with a wink.