why I feel she should not attend this evening.’
‘As Mary’s closest remaining blood relative,’ retorted Harriet, ‘I believe I also have an obligation and I believe she should …’
‘Jack, Aunt Harriet, you converse as if I am not here,’ interrupted Mary, ‘or else I am still a minor in need of guardianship. I thank you both for your concern but I am quite aware of what I am doing. And please, let us not forget where we are and why we are here. Now, if you do not mind Jack, I would like a few moments to converse with Aunt Harriet on a certain matter.’
‘Very well, I shall go over and resume talking with your Mr Fitzpatrick,’ said Swann, who then walked off to where the magistrate diplomatically waited.
‘That is the trouble with men,’ said Harriet, a little exasperated. ‘They believe themselves right even when they are so blatantly wrong.’
‘Jack was only trying to protect me, Aunt Harriet.’
‘I know you think fondly of your adoptive brother, my child, but he does not understand what you need. And as much as my sister, your mother, was dear to me, God rest her soul, we differed in our views regarding the raising of a female child. I am sorry to be this forthright at her funeral, but this age upon us is not one for hesitation. Now that your mother is gone, I feel it my moral obligation to assume responsibility for your wellbeing and to educate you appropriately.’
‘I do not wish to cause any offence Aunt Harriet, but I am twenty-four, not fourteen and my education was extensive and well-rounded. I was sent to …’
‘My child, I know exactly where you were sent and I know exactly what you were taught there: facts, figures and all the other subjects that fascinate men. No, my child, the truth is that you have been educated like a man, but it is time to educate you as a woman. Your resolve to attend the ball this evening and your presence at the funeral show you have the right attitude. We just need to ensure it is developed properly and so, with that in mind, I wish to extend an invitation to my house tomorrow evening from eight o’clock. I am having a gathering of like-minded women and there will be a guest speaker. I believe you will find it most illuminating.’
Mary hesitated. ‘I’m not sure whether Jack will …,’ she saw her aunt’s reaction and smiled, ‘… yes; I would love to attend, Aunt Harriet.’
‘Very good, my child, I will send my carriage for you at six. And you can tell Jack, if you wish, that you will be home by half past eleven.’
On the journey back to Great Pulteney Street, Swann and Mary quickly became lost in their own thoughts. For Mary, her emotions were in conflict. She felt sad but her mind was effervescent from meeting her aunt. In many ways, her relation had been abrupt and rude but Mary had found the forthrightness in her manner refreshing. There were no hidden meanings within what she said, no nuances one had to decipher. Her aunt said what she felt and you quickly knew exactly where you stood with her. Mary was already looking forward to Thursday and the gathering of ‘like-minded’ women.
From childhood onwards, Mary knew her aunt more by reputation than from actual personal experience. She had apparently moved to her present residence near the market town of Frome around two years earlier, but neither Mary nor her mother had received any invitation and her aunt had never visited them in Bath. The sisters had fallen out several years before, so Mary’s father had told her once, and Harriet’s name was thereafter rarely mentioned in the house.
And now there seemed to be animosity between Jack and Harriet, although she consoled herself with the notion that they were both only being protective of her; each in their own way. Hopefully she could go to her aunt’s house the following evening without the need to justify her actions to her brother.
Meanwhile, Swann’s mind was in turmoil from his encounter with his adoptive relative. He
‘As Mary’s closest remaining blood relative,’ retorted Harriet, ‘I believe I also have an obligation and I believe she should …’
‘Jack, Aunt Harriet, you converse as if I am not here,’ interrupted Mary, ‘or else I am still a minor in need of guardianship. I thank you both for your concern but I am quite aware of what I am doing. And please, let us not forget where we are and why we are here. Now, if you do not mind Jack, I would like a few moments to converse with Aunt Harriet on a certain matter.’
‘Very well, I shall go over and resume talking with your Mr Fitzpatrick,’ said Swann, who then walked off to where the magistrate diplomatically waited.
‘That is the trouble with men,’ said Harriet, a little exasperated. ‘They believe themselves right even when they are so blatantly wrong.’
‘Jack was only trying to protect me, Aunt Harriet.’
‘I know you think fondly of your adoptive brother, my child, but he does not understand what you need. And as much as my sister, your mother, was dear to me, God rest her soul, we differed in our views regarding the raising of a female child. I am sorry to be this forthright at her funeral, but this age upon us is not one for hesitation. Now that your mother is gone, I feel it my moral obligation to assume responsibility for your wellbeing and to educate you appropriately.’
‘I do not wish to cause any offence Aunt Harriet, but I am twenty-four, not fourteen and my education was extensive and well-rounded. I was sent to …’
‘My child, I know exactly where you were sent and I know exactly what you were taught there: facts, figures and all the other subjects that fascinate men. No, my child, the truth is that you have been educated like a man, but it is time to educate you as a woman. Your resolve to attend the ball this evening and your presence at the funeral show you have the right attitude. We just need to ensure it is developed properly and so, with that in mind, I wish to extend an invitation to my house tomorrow evening from eight o’clock. I am having a gathering of like-minded women and there will be a guest speaker. I believe you will find it most illuminating.’
Mary hesitated. ‘I’m not sure whether Jack will …,’ she saw her aunt’s reaction and smiled, ‘… yes; I would love to attend, Aunt Harriet.’
‘Very good, my child, I will send my carriage for you at six. And you can tell Jack, if you wish, that you will be home by half past eleven.’
On the journey back to Great Pulteney Street, Swann and Mary quickly became lost in their own thoughts. For Mary, her emotions were in conflict. She felt sad but her mind was effervescent from meeting her aunt. In many ways, her relation had been abrupt and rude but Mary had found the forthrightness in her manner refreshing. There were no hidden meanings within what she said, no nuances one had to decipher. Her aunt said what she felt and you quickly knew exactly where you stood with her. Mary was already looking forward to Thursday and the gathering of ‘like-minded’ women.
From childhood onwards, Mary knew her aunt more by reputation than from actual personal experience. She had apparently moved to her present residence near the market town of Frome around two years earlier, but neither Mary nor her mother had received any invitation and her aunt had never visited them in Bath. The sisters had fallen out several years before, so Mary’s father had told her once, and Harriet’s name was thereafter rarely mentioned in the house.
And now there seemed to be animosity between Jack and Harriet, although she consoled herself with the notion that they were both only being protective of her; each in their own way. Hopefully she could go to her aunt’s house the following evening without the need to justify her actions to her brother.
Meanwhile, Swann’s mind was in turmoil from his encounter with his adoptive relative. He
Similar Books
