Nanny Diaries 3 - Pride and Prejudice

Love and Marriage

Bella was just as surprised as me. She came to spend the day with us the next day, as Helen wanted to thank Edwina for torturing me, and Mama allowed us to spend some time alone, free to talk to each other, after lunch. Her family had received the same invitation, although I knew rather more than she did, ironically. But she also knew more background details than me. She still had the advantage of growing up in Meadvale, and knowing everyone, and how they were connected to everyone else.

"Mr Ellesmere found the buyer for the Charlesfield site." She told me, once I had brought her up to date, with the little I knew. And he donated a lot of money to Deepdene, which is a charitable foundation, to pay for all the new buildings. I mean, he gave them all the money to build it, every penny." Bella said quietly, watching the half open door, in case Helen came back to check on us, or got close enough to listen. Neither of us wanted to get caught gossiping about something like that. "He is now chairman of the board of governors, and obviously a church elder...and the church obviously own the school...so, I really think he is making all of these decisions...more or less."

"But I don't understand why Mrs Blackstone would agree to it..."

"Didn't you say that Mr Hughes told you that her three sons inherited all the money from their father?" Bella asked, checking what I had told her.

"Yes...Papa said that it did not affect their inheritance...because of that...but I don't really get what that means?" I admitted, chewing on my bottom lip.

"It means she has no money of her own...Grandma is the opposite...Grandpa left everything to her, and my dad and his brother have to ask her if they need any large sums of money from their inheritance...so, she gets to do just what she wants...and say what she wants, as you might have noticed." Bella explained, with a rueful smile. "Which is exactly why when she demanded that my parents brought me home from Charlesfield, they didn't really argue. She really is the matriarch of the family and we all do what she says. Mrs Blackstone is a strong character, as we both know...but all she has is her salary, unless her sons agree to support her...and I assume they are in favour of the match. In the end, Sheila is the same as us...not a maiden, because she is a widow, but she is a Christian Reformist, a Daughter of Eve...and if she refused, she would lose her job...and without that, she has no money of her own...she is dependent..."

"And that school means everything to her," I commented, seeing the problem. "Honestly, the purge is getting worse, isn't it?"

"We are both wearing DiMarco gowns, aren't we?" Bella pointed out, and as if to emphasise the point, I felt my corset digging into my side. So, between the two of us, we had worked out what we thought had happened to Sheila Blackstone, and in the next few days, we heard more people discussing the shock in our presence. But most were not shocked, of course. Mama and Papa were, because of Mr Ellesmere's obvious influence, but that did not seem to be common knowledge, and most of the ladies I listened to were pleased for Sheila, and thought it only right that a still quite young woman, in her early fifties, should marry again. No one else seemed to think that there was anything sinister going on, and that was Meadvale, of course. Everyone thought of marriage as the proper thing for any woman, the ultimate status. And even my dear mother, who liked Sheila and kept in touch with her when she was at Charlesfield, was pleased for her friend, even if she had some idea that something unusual had happened, because Sheila had not told her anything about Mr Radcliffe. Mum had really bought into the whole Meadvale lifestyle.

"I am delighted for her, Daphne." Mummy said, in the village café, where she was buying me lunch, which was all part of my education, of course. Maidens need to socialise, so that we can learn how to engage in polite conversation and practice our manners and modest behaviour in public. And mum liked spending time with me. Our relationship had changed, for the better as far as she was concerned, although I was not entirely sure I liked being her little girl again so much, in a world she had followed me into. She seemed to be doing much better than me and was certainly happier with her lot in her new life. "Sheila lost her husband so young...and she had to work, because the money was all tied up in trust funds for those boys...not everyone in this community are millionaires you know. I am glad she won't be alone anymore. I think it is for the best..."