“I was thinking on my day off. The footmen will come to fetch my things and it will give me time tosettlein.”
Lydia nodded. And she could not help but think how nice it would be to have the cottage to herselfagain.
* * *
The mid-October sunshone weakly through the morning mists. It was past the first frost, and Lydia was bundled up with a thick sweater, scarf, and gloves. She was raking leaves in theorchard.
But she stopped for a moment to enjoy the sight of the red, yellow, and orange leaves of the fruit trees. A bonfire of raked leaves smoldered nearby. She had always enjoyed the smell of a leaf fire and it flooded her with memories of her days as a child at Piddlehinton. She and her sisters would run around the orchard as their father raked leaves into a pile. They would then throw themselves into the pile and squeal with delight, even as he scolded them for messing up hisraking.
Lydia wanted to work hard this morning and then go over to visit Jenny later that afternoon to work on preparations for the wedding which—it had been decided—would be held on the Saturday, in the first week ofDecember.
She threw herself back into the raking. The mists were beginning to burn off and it was starting to warm up. She needed to unwrap her scarf and let it hang open aroundherneck.
Lydia saw the carriage had been taken out of the stable as the grooms began hitching up the horses. Then she saw Edwin come out of the house and start walkingtowardher.
“Good morning, Lydia, he said as heapproached.
“Sir, and good morningtoyou.”
He was not wearing his hat and he ran his hand through his hair, which Lydia had come to recognize as a sign that he wastroubled.
“I wanted to connect with you before I leave. I must go up to London for a few days so we will not be able to work together for awhile.”
“That is fine. I have plenty to do with the orchard and garden for at least a weekortwo.”
Edwin shifted his weight several times. He seemed to be wrestling withsomething.
“I need to tell you I am, at this point, uncertain about when I shall be able to continue the arboretumproject.”
“Oh, Edwin. Why is that? I thought the settlement from the marriage would be sufficient for you tocarryon.”
“As did I. However, while I thought the settlement would be made after the engagement, I find that it will not be made until after the marriage. I am, in fact, going up to London today to see if I can appeal to the Earl to release the funds before thewedding.”
“Then we must suspend working on thegreenhouse?”
“I would like for us to continue working on the drawings and plans, but we will not be able to go forward with the architect or any construction until after themarriage.”
“I see. And what about my position?” Lydia asked, almost afraid of what the answermightbe.
“You are fine. Please carry on as you are while I am gone. It looks like there is still plenty for you to work on. Then, when I return, we can see how itstands.”
“Verywell,sir.”
Edwin’s gaze softened. “Lydia, there is no need to callmesir.”
Lydia lowered her eyes. “But things are not astheywere.”
“Yes, I understand. But we were friends before… Before the engagement. Can we not still befriends?”
She looked up at him. “Asyouwish.”
He studied her for a moment. “I must go. I will return in a few days. If there are any issues consult with Ellen. Mother would be useless in a crisis. I am sure you and Ellen could put your heads together and solve any problem that mightarise.”
“Of course. Thank you for your confidenceinme.”
Edwin nodded, turned,andleft.
