Page 14 of Rival to Resist
“I see.” Mrs. Penrose wiped her hands on her apron and faced them with a smile. “And what brings you to our corner of Cornwall, Mr. Yorke?”
Frederick felt Lady Radcliffe’s eyes on him, but he avoided them. “I mean to stand for election.”
Mrs. Penrose’s brows went up. “Here? Are we to have an election?”
Lady Radcliffe’s eyes remained fixed on Frederick for a moment, making it clear she had hoped he would not say such a thing. “Lord Westvale has died, and Mr. Brightmoor will take his seat in the Lords.”
“Ah.”
“I will endeavor to serve Trelowen every bit as honorably as Mr. Brightmoor did,” Frederick said. “I hope I may count on your support, ma’am.”
Mrs. Penrose and Lady Radcliffe shared a glance.
“My support does not count for much, Mr. Yorke.” She took a seat in a simple wooden chair beside her friend. “It is Lady Radcliffe whose sway matters.”
“And I intend to prove myself to her, as well.” He met LadyRadcliffe’s eye, which watched him with amusement and perhaps a sliver of annoyance. He smiled, then returned his focus to the widow. “But I disagree that your support does not count for much. I would be honored to receive it—and hope you will allow me to show myself worthy of it.”
Mrs. Penrose’s cheeks pinked.
“More of thattoncharm coming through,” Lady Radcliffe said. “But London polish does not last long in a place like Cornwall, does it? Speaking of which, is something the matter with the stream? Dirty runoff from the storm?”
“No, my lady,” Mrs. Penrose said. “The stream is as clear as it has ever been.”
Lady Radcliffe watched her friend, frowning slightly.
“There is a new fence,” Mrs. Penrose explained. “Mr. Oswald had it built just last week, so I have been going around the other side of the hill to fetch water.”
“Around?” Lady Radcliffe said. “But that must be a mile!”
“More or less, yes.” There was a hint of forced nonchalance in Mrs. Penrose’s tone.
“And what did Oswald say is the purpose of the fence?”
“I have not spoken to him, my lady.” Mrs. Penrose went over to the fire and removed the pot. “I understand the stream will feed the sluicing and washing at the mine.”
Lady Radcliffe’s chest rose—in indignation, Frederick was nearly certain—but she caught his gaze, and her shoulders lowered immediately. “I see. I shall ask him for a gate to be put in, and I have no doubt he will oblige.”
“I would not wish to trouble him, my lady,” Mrs. Penrose said as she poured hot water into three cups. “I have no right to the water. Itishis land.”
Lady Radcliffe smiled, her face warm with amusement and affection. “It is I who will trouble him, Eliza, not you. Besides, I am sure it merely slipped his mind that a fence would inhibityour access. With all the water that runs through that stream, he shan’t begrudge you what is required for your garden and laundering. But I confess, I hope you shall not be obliged to continue either for long.”
Mrs. Penrose looked up as she poured. “What do you mean?”
Frederick was nearly as curious as she.
“Well,” Lady Radcliffe said carefully as she accepted a cup from her friend, “there are a number of things that must first be arranged, but I hope to have a new building constructed on the other side of that very stream.”
Frederick thanked Mrs. Penrose for his cup with a smile and a nod, then returned his gaze to Lady Radcliffe.
“I had hoped,” Lady Radcliffe continued, “that you would agree to be the schoolmistress there.”
Mrs. Penrose’s eyes widened, and she hovered over her seat. “Surely, you cannot mean that.” She lowered herself onto the chair slowly, her eyes on Lady Radcliffe.
“I can and do mean it,” her ladyship replied. “You know as well as I that the vestry is too small and damp to be ideal for a schoolroom, and with Mr. Chaffyn’s impending departure for Truro, we stand in need of a new teacher.”
“Oh, my lady.” Mrs. Penrose covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes glistening. “It would be an honor. You are too good to me.”
“Impossible.” Lady Radcliffe took her friend’s free hand. “There is no one better suited in the borough to the task than you. The children will be the most fortunate in the county to learn at your feet.”
