Enlightening Delilah by MC Beaton Page B

eyes.’
    ‘Does Miss Amy know?’ asked Delilah. ‘Have you . . . ?’
    ‘Not yet,’ said the squire.
    ‘Then I shall fetch her.’
    Delilah soon returned with Amy. ‘But bring Miss Effy here as well,’ said the squire. ‘I want everyone to hear this.’
    Looking surprised, Delilah went to fetch Effy. Amy curtsied to the squire, blushed slightly and went and sat down, trying to look demure and modest.
    Effy came in. She had a sudden premonition that Amy had made a terrible mistake and went to stand behind her sister and place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
    ‘I have great pleasure in announcing my forthcoming marriage,’ said the squire. ‘It is thanks to you, Miss Amy, that I have found happiness.’
    Effy relaxed her grip on Amy’s shoulder. But it was an odd sort of way of making a proposal.
    ‘You may be assured, Mr Wraxall, that the lady is delighted to accept you,’ said Amy.
    ‘Well,’ laughed the squire, ‘that was indeed the case, but I did not expect to be so lucky. I had long enjoyed the company of Mrs Cavendish without being aware of it. I was frightened and shy in the company of ladies. Then I met you, Miss Amy, so direct, so honest, such a good chap that somehow it put my fears to rest. Yes, I proposed to Mrs Cavendish, a widow in our village, ladies, and she accepted.’
    Delilah looked at Amy’s stricken face. She had been about to cry out ‘Mrs Cavendish!’ but that look on Amy’s face stopped her. For Amy’s sake, the news must be accepted without surprise.
    Amy rose to her feet. Effy put an arm around her sister’s waist. ‘I am pleased and I congratulate you,’ said Amy. ‘I wish you and Mrs Cavendish well. Pray excuse us. We are sure you have much to discuss.’
    Effy and Amy walked from the room.
    Delilah listened until she was sure they were well out of earshot and then she rounded on her father. ‘Men!’ she cried. ‘Did you or did you not tell Miss Amy she had made you think of marriage?’
    ‘Of course I did. Have I not explained? It was she who made me feel at ease with women again.’
    ‘And you call
me
a heart-breaker!’ said Delilah bitterly. ‘You led that poor lady to believe you meant to propose marriage to her.’
    ‘I could not,’ said the squire. ‘Oh, if that is the case, I must apologize to her directly.’
    ‘No, you must not,’ said Delilah. ‘That would be even more humiliating. Did you not think she had feelings?’
    ‘I thought of her as a good friend,’ said the squire mournfully.
    ‘I will try to comfort her as best I can,’ said Delilah. ‘Now to talk of your marriage . . .’
    The squire was only too eager to forget about Amy and talk about Mrs Cavendish. Before he left, he said he would stay the night at Limmer’s Hotel and return to the country in the morning.
    After he had gone, Delilah sat deep in thought. She was very fond of Mrs Cavendish and thought the marriage very suitable. On the other hand, Mrs Cavendish was an excellent housekeeper. Delilah would be left idle. All her tasks – tending the vegetable garden, making jams and pickles and cordials, visiting the poor and sick – would all be taken over by Mrs Cavendish. For the first time in her life, Delilah began to find the idea of an establishment of her own attractive.
    She went upstairs to look for Amy and met Effy on the landing. ‘Silly woman,’ said Effy, meaning Amy. ‘She will not let me comfort her but sits there, drinking brandy, and saying she knew all along about this Mrs Cavendish and had only said the squire was going to marry her to tease me.’
    Effy went on downstairs and Delilah ran up to Amy’s room and went inside.
    ‘Hey, ho!’ said Amy, her eyes bright and feverish. ‘Have some brandy.’
    ‘Thank you,’ said Delilah. Amy handed her a glass. ‘To the happy pair,’ she said. Delilah drank the toast and then refilled her glass and raised it. She looked at Amy. ‘To me and you, Miss Amy,’ she said, ‘and all poor, broken-hearted