* * *
Returning home in the carriage with a sleepy Lady Wentworth and a wide-awake Susan, it was Sir Henry who enlightened her about Gerald Hamilton.
‘Popular fellow from all accounts. Has an estate near Rye. Made a fortune in India they say. Seems to be too friendly with some of the smuggling fraternity hereabouts. At one stage, revenue men were regular callers, I gather. However,...’ here he gave Julia a sharp look, ‘Mr Hamilton wouldn’t be the only gentleman in this part of the country who has received calls from those men.’
There was nothing she could say in response to Sir Henry’s remarks and they continued on in companionable silence until they reached her great uncle’s house.
On their arrival, she thanked them effusively for their chaperonage and promised to call on them in the coming week. She bade them goodnight and joined Smithers who was waiting up to see her to bed. Sleep eluded her as the image of Gerald Hamilton’s face kept appearing before her with surprising intensity.
The next few days were spent indoors due to wet and windy weather so when Tuesday dawned gloriously sunny, Julia eagerly took her sketchbook and walked to the far end of the garden. There was a slight rise there that gave a view of the surrounding countryside. Her efforts had not proceeded very far when Ridges appeared, announcing the arrival of Mrs Talbot, the vicar’s wife. With a resigned sigh, Julia followed him back to the house. She asked for tea to be sent to the morning room, and after smoothing her hair as best she could, she entered the room to greet a tiny birdlike lady who grasped Julia’s hand warmly.
‘Oh, my dear Miss Farraday, so delightful to make your acquaintance at last. How I have longed to visit you before this, but the conscientious vicar, Mr Talbot, has had so many local affairs to deal with that his health would be sadly impaired if I did not insist on not only sharing his burdens, but shielding him from unwanted and unscrupulous people who undermine his well being and shatter his nerves with their petty complaints and persistent attentions.’
All this was said in a breathless voice at such speed that Julia felt almost dizzy, while the grip on her hand tightened to that of a vice.
Her visitor then proceeded at an even more hectic pace to enquire on her thoughts of the village, life at Court, London society, and then she gave her hostess a running description of the neighbourhood and its inhabitants.
Scarcely pausing for breath when Molly arrived with the tea, Mrs Talbot launched into the delicate state of her health and all the remedies she used, before turning to Julia to ask if she was not at all lonely living buried in the country.
Julia assured her with a smile that she was very happy with her situation, and mentioned how kind Sir Henry and Lady Wentworth had been, which immediately launched Mrs Talbot into a recital of that family’s history and the aspirations they had for the beautiful Caroline. When she finally paused for breath, Julia mentioned their kindness in escorting her to the recent ball in Rye, and the solicitude of Mr Hamilton when she had unfortunately fallen.
This brought immediate colour to Mrs Talbot’s cheeks and she exclaimed, ‘Oh, my dear Miss Farraday, Mr Hamilton is not quite…not quite the thing, for ladies…to know, you understand.’
No, Miss Farraday did not understand, but leaned forward with great interest to enquire of Mrs Talbot as to exactly what the gentleman’s, for want of a better word, misdemeanours were.
‘Is Mr Hamilton not a respectable member of the district, Mrs Talbot?’
‘Oh, my dear, I hardly know where to begin…’
It appeared, after some coaxing and with blushes and much agitation, that Gerald Hamilton sometimes had certain ladies of dubious quality residing at his home over a considerable period of time. And this without any regard for the scandalised feelings of his neighbours. Moreover, despite his so-called fortune - and Mrs Talbot looked agitatedly around the room as if expecting Mr Hamilton to suddenly materialise - he’d been visited by the revenue men on more than one occasion.
Suddenly Mrs Talbot went quiet and hung her head as though she was finally aware that her indiscreet tongue had led her into conversational quicksand.
Julia kept up a flow of innocuous talk until a subdued Mrs Talbot took her departure, leaving her hostess to ponder over much of what she had said.
Any thoughts of further sketching were completely driven from Julia’s mind when she returned to walk in the untidy garden, trying to sort out the impressions her visitor had left with her.
She was very disappointed. Of course she knew all about ‘bits of muslin’, ‘ladybirds’ and all the other terms for gentlemen’s lights of love. One could not live at Court and not also know of the Prince of Wales and his brother’s affairs without being aware of how things were. It also explained why someone so obviously eligible wasn’t considered suitable for one such as Susan Wentworth.
Despite her knowledge, Julia felt cross and out of sorts. Indeed, she felt a deep anger for Mr Hamilton and his ilk for treating her sex in such a fashion. Yet, deep down, she knew that it would be only too easy for a woman to fall prey to such charm as lay in Gerald Hamilton’s brown eyes.