it won't be the first time Jon will have suffered an assault from Mr. De Cosmos, nor will it be the last. But you're right. Jon will be furious."
"Then you agree that Mandi and I should find other lodging?" Sarah asked.
"Only if you feel uncomfortable staying with us," Esther replied. "Jon will be upset, but the storm will pass. It always does. However, Mother may be another matter. She'll be highly offended by whatever Mr. De Cosmos chooses to write, especially since a guest in our home is to be its subject." She gave Sarah's arm a reassuring pat. "Personally, I think Jon and his cabinet deserve what's coming. Jon can be quite imperious at times."
"I suppose that's a quality to be commended in a governor," Sarah said, a bit illogically, then wondered why she seemed to be defending Jon.
"In a governor, yes," Esther replied, "but in a father, no. He's far too overbearing with the girls. He was not so much that way before Caroline died."
"His wife?"
"Yes, the woman in the portrait in your room."
"I suppose it's still very painful for Jon," Sarah said, though his kiss in the coach did not reflect a man mourning the loss of his wife.
"Oh, heavens no," Esther replied. "It's been years."
"How long were they married?" Sarah asked.
Esther pursed her lips and gave a little grunt of derision. "Twelve years." Her disapproval of Jon's marriage was evident.
Although she was curious to know the details, Sarah refrained from asking. Glancing at Esther, she asked, "How did Jon happen to end up in Victoria?"
"He entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company," Esther replied. "His first appointment was under Governor Douglas, who was chief factor for Hudson's Bay at the time. Jon was with Governor Douglas when they selected the site for Victoria, even helped build the fort. Jon spent several years on a Hudson's Bay outpost while trading for furs with the Indians. And he loved it."
"Living among Indians..." Sarah pondered, aloud. So that explained Jon's untamed, rough-cut appearance. "Then how did he meet his wife?" She hoped she didn't sound overly curious. She didn't want Esther to think she had romantic designs on her brother. Which she did not.
Esther shrugged. "He was called back to London, where he worked for the company. During that time he met Caroline. He was quite smitten by her. That's the only reason he didn't return immediately to Vancouver Island. But he always wanted to. Of course, Caroline wouldn't have any part of that. She thrived on London society. And the last thing she wanted was to rub shoulders with men who took Indians for wives, or with the wives themselves."
"Then how did Jon get back here?" Sarah asked.
"He was appointed colonial secretary to Governor Douglas during the gold rush of '58," Esther replied. "When Governor Douglas retired, Jon was the logical choice to take his place. Jon had always been a kind of bridge between the new government appointees coming directly from Britain and the Hudson's Bay men, who were basically fur traders, and who were by then members of Douglas's House of Assembly."
"Then his wife did end up living here?"
"Oh no." Again, that little grunt of derision. "Caroline was beside herself at the prospect of living here among savages. When Jon sailed for Victoria, he expected Caroline and the girls to follow on a later ship, but Caroline died. Jon had to turn around and go back to England. After things simmered down, my mother and the girls and I joined him. We've been here ever since."
Sarah pondered Esther's comment, after things simmered down . It seemed an odd way to describe a funeral. "How did Jon's wife die?"
"From a gas leak."
Sarah looked at Esther, wide eyed. "But the girls—"
"It didn’t happen in their house,” Esther gave a derisive laugh. “It happened in the house of some earl. It caused quite a stir. Caroline and the earl’s bodies were found in the earl’s bed."
So Jon's wife had been involved in a tryst. "It must have been very difficult for the
"Then you agree that Mandi and I should find other lodging?" Sarah asked.
"Only if you feel uncomfortable staying with us," Esther replied. "Jon will be upset, but the storm will pass. It always does. However, Mother may be another matter. She'll be highly offended by whatever Mr. De Cosmos chooses to write, especially since a guest in our home is to be its subject." She gave Sarah's arm a reassuring pat. "Personally, I think Jon and his cabinet deserve what's coming. Jon can be quite imperious at times."
"I suppose that's a quality to be commended in a governor," Sarah said, a bit illogically, then wondered why she seemed to be defending Jon.
"In a governor, yes," Esther replied, "but in a father, no. He's far too overbearing with the girls. He was not so much that way before Caroline died."
"His wife?"
"Yes, the woman in the portrait in your room."
"I suppose it's still very painful for Jon," Sarah said, though his kiss in the coach did not reflect a man mourning the loss of his wife.
"Oh, heavens no," Esther replied. "It's been years."
"How long were they married?" Sarah asked.
Esther pursed her lips and gave a little grunt of derision. "Twelve years." Her disapproval of Jon's marriage was evident.
Although she was curious to know the details, Sarah refrained from asking. Glancing at Esther, she asked, "How did Jon happen to end up in Victoria?"
"He entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company," Esther replied. "His first appointment was under Governor Douglas, who was chief factor for Hudson's Bay at the time. Jon was with Governor Douglas when they selected the site for Victoria, even helped build the fort. Jon spent several years on a Hudson's Bay outpost while trading for furs with the Indians. And he loved it."
"Living among Indians..." Sarah pondered, aloud. So that explained Jon's untamed, rough-cut appearance. "Then how did he meet his wife?" She hoped she didn't sound overly curious. She didn't want Esther to think she had romantic designs on her brother. Which she did not.
Esther shrugged. "He was called back to London, where he worked for the company. During that time he met Caroline. He was quite smitten by her. That's the only reason he didn't return immediately to Vancouver Island. But he always wanted to. Of course, Caroline wouldn't have any part of that. She thrived on London society. And the last thing she wanted was to rub shoulders with men who took Indians for wives, or with the wives themselves."
"Then how did Jon get back here?" Sarah asked.
"He was appointed colonial secretary to Governor Douglas during the gold rush of '58," Esther replied. "When Governor Douglas retired, Jon was the logical choice to take his place. Jon had always been a kind of bridge between the new government appointees coming directly from Britain and the Hudson's Bay men, who were basically fur traders, and who were by then members of Douglas's House of Assembly."
"Then his wife did end up living here?"
"Oh no." Again, that little grunt of derision. "Caroline was beside herself at the prospect of living here among savages. When Jon sailed for Victoria, he expected Caroline and the girls to follow on a later ship, but Caroline died. Jon had to turn around and go back to England. After things simmered down, my mother and the girls and I joined him. We've been here ever since."
Sarah pondered Esther's comment, after things simmered down . It seemed an odd way to describe a funeral. "How did Jon's wife die?"
"From a gas leak."
Sarah looked at Esther, wide eyed. "But the girls—"
"It didn’t happen in their house,” Esther gave a derisive laugh. “It happened in the house of some earl. It caused quite a stir. Caroline and the earl’s bodies were found in the earl’s bed."
So Jon's wife had been involved in a tryst. "It must have been very difficult for the
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