An Indelicate Situation (The Weymouth Trilogy) (9 page)

‘We have suffered an unfortunate few years, I’m afraid, Mr
Staveley
. Firstly my oldest brother died of the measles, then my mama died from a nasty inflammation occasioned by a fall downstairs at our country house over at Preston
a few miles up the coast
.
We had bought the place in a terrible state from Mrs Berkeley – well, she wasn’t Mrs Berkeley then, of course, for her previous husband was still alive and sold it to papa to pay off an enormous gambling debt. Mama nearly had a heart attack when she saw the
mess
it was in – no modern comforts at all, and oh! so dingy. She was having the renovations done and an extension put on when she tumbled down the stairs from top to bottom from a piece of carpet that had come adrift.
So I
stayed at home to keep house for my papa. It suits me well enough. My sister recently married a cousin of ours and moved away to Bath. I visit her quite often. Bath suits me much better than Weymouth – it is so much more the thing – but I cannot leave papa for too long just at present. I am hoping that he will retire from the bank
shortly
– papa owns one of the banks here in
Weymouth
, you know
-
and we may
then
go
permanently
to Bath ourselves.’

‘B
...
b
ut that would be Weymouth’s loss,’ protested Mr
Staveley
, gallantly. ‘
B
...
Bath is replete with attractiv
e young ladies, so I’ve heard
. You cannot think of
ro
b...ro
bb
ing
one town
to b...benefit
another
which has far less need
for such a charming young lady
than Weymouth
obviously
does
.’

Miss Brewer was kind enough to bestow a somewhat arch smile upon her new admirer.

‘Well, that’s very pretty of you
to say so,
to be sure, Mr
Staveley
. I daresay my father will remain in business
a
few months more, at the least. By then you will have gone
away
yourself
anyway. As soon as you find a ship for yourself I expect you will be tripping off to sea again.
You naval officers always do.
’

Mr
Staveley
had to acknowledge the truth in this.

‘Well,
p
...
perhaps we shoul
d make a
pact, then, Miss B
...
Brewer.
P
...
perhaps
I sh
ould
commit to remaining in Weymouth for as long as you m
...
make it worth
m
...
my
while to do so
?
’

Miss Brewer inclined her head a little.

‘Perhaps we should. But you will not get me to agree to it just yet. You must demonstrate your sincerity by getting to know me a little better first.’

Mr
Staveley
could hardly believe his luck. He determined on pressing
home
his advantage
while he had the chance.

‘There is nothing I should welcome more, M
...
M
iss
Brewer. P
...
perhaps you will a
llow me to escort you to the
b
...
ball this
Friday
?
I think I heard you saying that you would p...particularly like to go.
’

Much to his surprise and delight the young lady graciously agreed that this might be possible. Having drained her glass she rose from the sofa, suggested that a time of eight fifteen might be in order,
confirmed the address in Gloster Row where she might be discovered at that time,
and then with just the hint of a provocative smile, she bobbed him a curtsy and disappeared from the room almost before he had managed to
rise from his seat in order
to see her out
.

If Mr Staveley was experiencing some success in his private interview with Miss Brewer, Mrs William and Maggie were experiencing somewhat more limited success in their dealings with little Will.
For although they had quickly succeeded in discovering an eminently suitable pair of shoes for him at the shoemaker’s
, which had previously been made for, but not claimed by, another little boy of much the same age as Will,
they were
only
finding it
possible
to get the little angel to try the wretched things on through a
combin
ation of
th
eir joint powers of persuasion
and
not
a little bribery on
the part of his mama
.

The bribery, if not the persuasion, finally winning the day,
and Mrs Wright triumphant in her negotiations over the exorbitant price first demanded for the
prize
,
they both heaved a great sigh of relief as they succeeded in bundling
Will
out of the shoemaker’s door,
the shiny
new shoes under his arm. But no sooner had they emerged into the busy street than Master Will, perhaps feeling that one show of compliance was more than sufficient for one afternoon, decided that his old shoes were now really not the thing
at all
and steadfastly refused to
return home
until the old ones should be discarded and the new ones fitted to his feet.

‘Oh, hold the child steady whilst I help him to change his
shoes
, M
iss Owens,’ requested his
mama, thrusting a parcel of her own
-
as well as her son
-
into Maggie’s
capable
hands. ‘
He will
only
make a scene, else, and I really cannot
abide
the thought of trying to quieten him when there are
so
many
common
people here to ogle and complain.’

Maggie did as she was bid and somehow, between them, she and Mrs William managed to replace the old shoes with the new
ones
without attracting more than a modicum of attention, and in relatively
very little
time at all.
Flushed with the success of this little venture
they
then
turned up Coneygar Lane to head back towards the Esplanade
and
Ryall’s toyshop,
in the general direction of
home.

‘And which toy should you like as your
reward
for being a
good boy
and trying on your shoes, my love?’ asked
Mrs William
tenderly, as they gradually drew nearer to the shop. ‘
How about a
whirligig
, or another spinning
top
?’

Will regarded his mother with some contempt.

‘A whirligig? Whatever would I want a whirligig for, mama? And I don’t want another top, neither,
so you can get me something bett
er than that.’

‘Then let us have a look
inside
and see what the
gentleman
has to offer,’ she suggested, mildly, leading her party
regally
into the shop. ‘Young man – I say – what would you recommend for my son here? He is six years old and
extremely
bright
.’

But before the assistant
had
even had a chance to complete his respectful bow Will had spotted just the toy he wanted.

‘I’ll have that, mama,’ he declared, roundly. ‘I’ll have that boat. I have always wanted a boat and now I shall have one.’

Now, the boat that had captured his attention was more an ornament than a sturdy
toy
. It was certainly not
built to withstand all the demands that a six year old migh
t be expected to
place upon it. B
esides, it appeared to be
a
rather
more expensive
gift than
the one
his mama
had ideally had in mind
.

‘A toy boat might be just the thing for a
clever
young gentleman like your son, ma’am,’ suggested the assistant,
a touch
nervously, ‘although perhaps you will allow me to recommend something a little sturdier –
this one is not designed as a toy. I could not vou
ch for its survival if used as a toy
. P
erha
p
s something more along these lines may prove a little more resistant to
everyday
wear
and tear
?’

‘Oh
yes
, I think you might be right,’ agreed Mrs William swiftly. ‘The boat just
there
– the
little
one next to the ‘Victory’ – I would have thought that a boat like
that
would suit
any
little boy’s requirements.’

Will, however, perhaps sensing an element  of resistance in both
the
shop assistant and
his
mama, had determined on setting his sights upon greater things than the somewhat rough and ready object which
apparently
passed for a boat and which was just that moment in the
slightly
nervous assistant’s accommodating hands.

‘No,’ he shouted, sturdily. ‘No, I don’t want that little boat. I don’t want it. I don’t like it at all. I like this boat here – this big one. This is the boat you must buy me.’

Maggie was sorely tempted to drag him from the shop without further ado
and make him leave with nothing
but she could s
ee that his mama was
much
more for
bearing
than she
herself
w
ould have been
.

‘But I think
this
one would perform a lot better on the water, my love,’ she was telling him. ‘The boat you like is very
grand
, to b
e sure, but I do not think it
particularly
designed
to
be sailed
.’

Will was looking mulish. It was a sign that his mama might have
been
well
advised to heed
.

‘I don’t care. I want that one. I don’t want the other one at all.’

Mrs William turned resignedly to the assista
nt. He was now looking distinct
ly nervous.

‘Oh
dear
,’ she said. ‘I suppose I shall
have
to buy him what he wants. How much are you asking for the boat, young man?
– though perha
p
s I should
warn
you
straight
away that
I shall
not
pay
above
five shillings
for it
. Five shillings
, to be sure,
is
more
than enough for a toy like that
.’

The assistant gave every sign of having a heart attack when Mrs William named her price.

‘Oh no, madam,’ he said at once. ‘I do beg your pardon but there is no way
at all
in which I could possibly accept five shillings for
it
. As you know, it is a fully scaled model. It is not designed as a toy at all. I would normally charge a guinea for it, but as your son likes it so much I am prepared to accept a pound.’

It was now Mrs William’s turn to
evinc
e all the signs of a heart attack.

‘A
pound
?’ she repeated, apparently becoming temporarily deaf
into the bargain
. ‘A
pound
you say? Oh
no
, my good man – I have no inten
t
ions of paying you a
pound
. Five shillings is
my offer. You may take it or leave it as you wish. Five shillings, and no more, is what I am
prepared to pay
and that’s my
final
offer
.’