A Most Unconventional Courtship

‘Because who will be host to Aunt Kate? And who will keep Aunt Agatha company?’

‘I will be in charge?’ His eyes were bright with pride now, and she could have sworn he had puffed out his chest.

‘You will be in charge of security and the garden and the chickens and Dora will be in charge of the house and making Aunt Kate feel at home and visiting Aunt Agatha. What do you think? Can you do it?’

They both nodded, faces solemn, all tears forgotten. ‘Good. I knew I could rely on you. And guess what—there is even more important news for us than just my new aunt. We can go to England.’

‘England? All of us?’ Demetri demanded.

‘Yes, all of us. And you will go to school there and grow up to be a gentleman and Dora will have a governess and learn to play the piano and have lovely dresses.’

‘Will I have to be an English gentleman?’

‘You will be both a Greek gentleman and an English gentleman and then when you grow up you can chose to do what you want, where you want.’

‘It rains all the time in England, Aunt Kate says so.’

‘Not all the time, but it is not so hot as here and olives and vines do not grow.’

‘Aiee! What do people eat then?’

‘Lots of meat and cow’s milk and cheese and many vegetables and fruits. And we will visit London, which is the biggest city in the world.’

‘Bigger than Corfu Town?’ Dora’s eyes were popping.

‘Bigger than the whole island.’ The children were speechless. Alessa cuddled them close, her eyes meeting Kate’s over the top of their heads. Was she doing the right thing? Yes, surely to give them all the opportunities and the choices in her power was right.

‘We will all be fine,’ Kate reassured her, her smile rueful as she took in the fierceness of Alessa’s hold on the children.

‘In three days from tomorrow, I want you all to come down to the villa to meet Lady Blackstone, my aunt,’ Alessa declared. It was as long as she was prepared to be parted from the children and Aunt Honoria had to meet them sooner rather than later. She could hardly drag them off on a long voyage with a woman they did not know.

‘All of us?’ Kate’s eyebrows had shot up.

‘Yes, all three of you. I told my aunt that I lived with the wife of a sergeant of the garrison, she will expect to meet you.’

‘Lumme.’ Kate, for once, looked nervous. ‘It’ll be Sunday best, a fichu for decency and my hair braided up, I suppose. One look at me and her ladyship’ll jump to all sorts of conclusions about my past, and that won’t do you any good, even if she will be accurate, most like.’

‘I am not ashamed to be your friend.’ Alessa stretched to press Kate’s hand. ‘But I think she may be rather…conventional, and I shock her already, so we had all better be on our best behaviour.’

‘Right you are. And what about his lordship, then? He’s living there, isn’t he? That’ll be cosy.’

‘Dora, would you run along to ask Dinos if I may borrow his mule and the pack saddle tomorrow morning? And, Demetri, can you find my two portmanteaux? I pushed them up into the hay loft.’

She watched until the children were out of earshot. ‘We quarrelled. He seemed to think that…that we could be…and I did encourage him, only…’ Her voice trailed off. ‘Anyway, we quarrelled.’

‘They’re mostly all the same, men,’ Kate said gloomily. ‘My Fred’s all right now, but talk about marriage and he wriggles like an eel on a hook. But lords and the like, they’re worse. They’re tricksy and they expect to get what they want, pay for it or no. Are you in love with him?’

‘Yes,’ Alessa said baldly.

‘Does he know?’

‘No! Good Heavens, no. I mean, when he kissed me, I kissed him back, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I love him, does it? He wouldn’t jump to that conclusion because I let him? I rather more than just let him kiss me, if truth be told,’ she added with a burst of candour.

‘Lord love you, no.’ Kate grinned broadly. ‘With a well setup young man like that, to say nothing of the title and the money and everything, he won’t think twice because a girl’s willing. Why, I expect he’s beating them off with a stick daily. You kissing him with unmaidenly enthusiasm is not going to make him suspicious, I’m sure. They all think they are God’s gift to womankind anyway.’

‘Thank goodness,’ Alessa said devoutly. ‘This is going to be hard enough, without him guessing.’

Chapter Twelve