Chapter 43: Commander Parker

It was late afternoon before Richard and Ellen came downstairs again. Ellen was aware of the fact that she walked gingerly, but she was blissfully indifferent to the knowing smiles of Sadie and Neeta and to the deep blush Evi showed when she saw her mistress.

Marie was in the nursery and Ellen went upstairs again to make sure her cousin was coping. Marie blushed when she saw Ellen.

“I took the children outside to play, whilst you and Richard...” The rest of Marie’s words were unintelligible.

Ellen pulled her cousin up from her sitting position.

“I’m sorry I neglected you, Marie. How do you feel?”

“It is hard to say. Lucas was the last of my family.”

“You have me!” Ellen interjected.

“Yes, I have you!” Marie smiled briefly before her face took on a pained expression. “I feel bad for being relieved over Lucas’s death.”

Ellen nodded. “I can understand that. I hope you will not blame Richard, will you?”

Marie shook her head whilst her face almost took on the colour of a ripe tomato.

“How could I?” she whispered. “He has been so kind to me and you love him so much, and...”

Suddenly Ellen realised her cousin’s trouble and she gasped. She saw her cousin then, so unhappy all her life, so starved for caring and love, and she realised that Marie could not help feeling the way she did.

“You have feelings for Richard, Marie?” Ellen asked softly.

Biting her lips, Marie nodded whilst her shoulders jerked with silent sobs. She looked up with tear-streaked cheeks.

“I swear, Ellen, I would never, ever betray your friendship! I can go away if you want. I couldn’t stand losing your friendship.”

Quickly Ellen wrapped her cousin in a hug.

“I know you won’t, Marie. Don’t talk about leaving please. I know I can trust you and I know that I can trust Richard.”

“You are too good to me, Ellen,” Marie smiled.

“Don’t speak of it any more, Marie. Let us change the subject, shall we? What did the Marquis tell you?”

“Oh, that! It seems that Lucas wrote his will last night and he made me his sole heir. Mother is dead; she died a year ago. The Marquis will show me the will after Lucas’s burial, but the estate seems to be substantial. I would have never guessed that. I thought Lucas had squandered it all.”

“That is indeed good news for a change. Do you need my help in arranging Lucas’s interment?”

“I would appreciate that very much, dear Ellen. I am afraid it will be a lonely burial, even more so than Lucien’s.”

“That cannot be helped, Marie. Do you want him buried at the same cemetery as Lucien?”

“I am sure neither of them will mind,” Marie answered with a touch of her old wit. “The worst is that I shall have to wear black for another half year for Lucas. I am so sick of it!”

“It gets old after a while, doesn’t it?” Ellen commiserated and Marie nodded.

It was indeed a small burial. Scarcely one dozen people gave Lucas de Chaunessy honours and most of them were from the Carters’ household. Richard did not accompany the women to the gravesite; this would have been in bad taste. However, the Marquis showed and based on information from Marie he gave a very brief eulogy. After the ceremony Marie, accompanied by Richard and Ellen, visited the former Perigneaux house now owned by the Marquis.

The Marquis received them immediately offering his sympathy again. After that he came right to the matters at hand. Of course he spoke French with Marie and the Carters tried to follow the conversation as best as they could.

As they understood the Marquis, Lucas de Chaunessy had written a will and deposited it with the Marquis. In it, he stated that after his mother’s death a year before, he and Marie were the last of the French O’Shaunessies. Consequently he named Marie as his sole heiress.

He went on to explain how the family possessions had dwindled to almost nothing over the years due to “investments that did not bear fruit”. In other words, Lucas de Chaunessy had gambled away the family possessions.

All this had changed however after a streak of “lucky investments” had yielded him the small fortune of over 10,000 Francs in paper money as well as a substantial Letter of Debt from a Le Havre merchant, which Marie was instructed to present to the widow of the merchant. Some of his other worldly possessions, his weapons, his horses and his snuff box he bequeathed to two fellow officers.

After the reading of the will, the Marquis handed over the paper money and the Letter of Debt to Marie, offering her his services whenever she would need them. Marie thanked him politely and asked him to forward Lucas’s sword and pistols, his horses and the snuff box to his regiment, for distribution among his comrades. After a brief exchange of some pleasantries with Richard and Ellen, the Marquis showed them out in person.

Once they sat in the coach, Marie finally was able to speak her mind.

“At least my financial worries are over,” she said smiling wryly. “Although I must confess that I am not looking forward to presenting this Letter of Debt to a widow.”

Richard shrugged. A debt was a debt. It meant somebody had spent more money than he owned. A debt had to be satisfied.

“When is that Letter due for satisfaction?” he asked curiously.

Marie pulled the letter from the envelope and studied in.

“It says, “per ultimo Juno, AD 1836“, that would mean end of June, wouldn’t it? How can I collect it? Do I have to travel to Le Havre?”

“You can send a representative, if you choose so. Once we return to England, and I am assuming that you will accompany us, we can make use of my bank’s resources. My partner, Sir Robert Norton, has a network of representatives in almost every European port. That should include Le Havre.

“On the other hand, we could travel back to England by way of Le Havre. If I remember correctly the River Seine empties into the sea at Le Havre. We could travel to Paris and then by river boat to Le Havre.”

“Paris?” Ellen asked, her eyes showing a more than fleeting interest.

“Why not? I was already thinking of travelling home using a different route. I visited Paris with my parents when I was sixteen and Louis XVIII was still reigning. It is a most astounding city.”

Marie looked down at her black skirt.

“You expect me to visit Paris dressed in black?” she moaned.

“Does anybody in Paris know your brother, Marie?” Ellen asked.

“No, not that I am aware,” Marie returned her eyebrows knitted.

“Then there is no need for you to wear widow’s dresses. Richard and I certainly shall not think less of you should you drop those black monstrosities.”

Marie smiled shyly. “I would love to visit Paris. I would love to travel down the River Seine.” The smile vanished. “I would also like to know the circumstances under which Lucas came into that Letter of Debt. I do not want any ill-gotten winnings.”

Richard nodded. He realised that Marie had a fine character and there was a deeply ingrained honesty in her.

“We still have two or three months to prepare, but I shall take steps to organise the journey. Let me see. There are the three of us present and the children. That makes five. Sadie, Neeta and Hogget will accompany us. What about Evi?”

“I’ll speak to her,” Ellen said. “Melissa and Colleen have told me already that they plan to stay in Munich for one more year. James and Maddie may want to join us though, don’t you think?”

“We’ll ask them. Maddie’s father will come and visit them. They may not be ready to leave so early. James could stay for a while longer to give Willoughby some pointers.”

Over their discussion they completed the coach ride home. Richard helped the women from the coach and they continued their planning in the study.

Siobhan was weaned and Mrs. Painter, the wet nurse, had secured a position as maidservant for herself with an American merchant in Nuremberg. She would leave the Carters’ household in May anyhow. When Ellen asked Evi about her plans, the girl begged to stay with Ellen, claiming credibly that she had never fared better in her life. The girl spoke decent English by now, albeit with a Bavarian accent, and she fitted well with the rest of the servants. Ellen was happy that the girl was willing to accompany them.

Richard contacted the Marquis de Tezier next, asking that worthy for advice regarding the journey. The Marquis was happy to help with his knowledge and he made out a passport for Richard and his family, assuring them of the help and support of all French government agencies.

James Palmer indeed volunteered to stay behind for a few months and effect the sale of the mansion either to Richard’s successor or to other interested parties. Maddalena did not feel up to a long journey yet, and with the visit of her father looming she wanted more time in Bavaria.

This meant that seven adults and two children would make the journey to Paris. The coach Richard owned could seat six people comfortably in the cab. Hogget volunteered to ride with the coachman and the three maidservants were all on the slender side, allowing for little Anthony to fit between them. Siobhan would be sitting on Ellen or Neeta’s lap, of course.

Richard had the coach reinforced nevertheless and more luggage space was added. The majority of their possessions would be shipped directly to England.

By late May, the Carter household was ready to move. It was lucky that Richard’s successor had a fast journey and arrived in mid-June. Lord Willoughby came with a much larger entourage than Richard and Ellen had brought and he gratefully accepted Richard’s offer to take over the mansion with all the furnishings. He was also quite clueless as to the situation in Germany in general and in Bavaria in particular and he was happy to accept James Palmer’s offer to stay “on board” for a few more months to “show him the ropes”.

Richard found Willoughby the most boring person he had ever met. His most redeeming quality it seemed was his ability to remain outwardly sober whilst consuming large quantities of wine and spirits.

Willoughby presented his credentials to the Prime Minister – his Majesty was still travelling in Italy – and took over the embassy by the end of June.

Richard and Ellen would have preferred for Colleen and Melissa to return from Italy before they left, but Ellen wanted to leave as soon as practicable. She had a reason too. Her menses had ceased right after the duel between Richard and Marie’s brother and Ellen was convinced that their frantic coupling before and after the duel had left her pregnant again. If she visited Paris she wanted to do this whilst she could still fit into her dresses!

Thus, on July 1, 1836, the coach with Richard, Ellen and their entourage left Munich. The King had returned three days earlier and he had insisted on a last evening with Richard and Ellen. A few selected courtiers and friends were invited too and His Majesty presented Ellen with a a set of Venetian glassware as a token of his esteem.

Melissa and Colleen had not returned with King Ludwig; they had elected to extend their visit in Italy as guests of the Marchesa Florenzi, but they had sent a letter wishing Ellen and Richard a safe return journey.

The coach rumpled along a well-maintained road from Munich to Augsburg. Richard was eager to see that city as it was the historic seat of the famous Fugger family of weavers and merchants. The family was extinct, but the almshouses they had built for the poor citizens still stood.