4: Conversations and Challenges

Chapter 4 of "A Grail for Eidothea"

The Pendyrs are invited to dine at the Tregallas estate. Eidothea has found an old ring of her Mother’s. A letter accompanied it…

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By the time I rejoined everyone, the house tour had already begun. A manservant guided me to them just as they left the portrait gallery.

Mr. Jasper Tregallas saw me arrive and retraced his steps to where I stood. “Miss Pendyr, all is well?”

“As you see.” I hoped he did not notice my reddened eyes.

He reached for my shoulder but thought better of it, his hand dropping to his side. He gave a brief history of the portraits. “Most of them are not our family but the Roberts family who owned this place before us.” He named them all to me, including his father, brother and step-mother.

“Stepmother?”

Tregallas nodded. “My mother died giving birth to me. He married the current Lady Tregallas soon after.”

“Where is your portrait?”

He grimaced. “As you know, I have been away for quite some time.”

“But you never sent back a portrait for your family to remember you by?”

His features smoothed into a pleasant expression. “I did not say I had not.” He noticed my raised eyebrow. “Very well. Let us just say that I knew better than to offer up such a gift.”

I wondered silently as to his exclusion.

At dinner, Mr. Jasper Tregallas sat across from me. His father sat at the table’s head to my left. The Misses Williams and their parents cooed and simpered over Mr. Ladon Tregallas at the table’s far end.

Lord Tregallas made fast work of the niceties. All the while I saw him eyeing Mother’s ring. I had revealed it when I removed my gloves for dinner. “Miss Pendyr, that is a most unusual ring.”

My right hand curled into a loose, protective fist. “It was my mother’s.”

Lord Tregallas’ smile was a little too wide. “Ah yes, your mother. I remember her fondly. I don’t recall ever seeing her wear it. May I have a closer look?”

I deeply regretted wearing it. If only I had read Mother’s letter before I wore it in company. If I had a safe place to keep it, I would have removed it sooner, but I did not want to risk losing it.

I displayed the ring, keeping it well out of his reach. Unless he lunged across the table at it. He tensed. I snatched my hand back and resumed my meal.

“It is a beautiful ring.” Lord Tregallas sighed. “A most precious ring.”

“I quite agree.” I resumed eating, hoping that the conversation would change.

It did, but no matter the conversation topic, Lord Tregallas returned to the topic of my ring, to praise it and beg for a closer look. At one point, he gave up on conversation altogether and simply stared at it longingly.

Mr. Jasper Tregallas made no attempt to distract his father, but his expression told me that he pitied me as much as I pitied him.

After dinner, there was music and when the Misses Williams finished, expectant looks came in my direction.

Father intervened. “We do not have a pianoforte in our home. Being so close to the ocean, it would always be out of tune.” In addition, Father preferred to spend money on his books.

“Perhaps Miss Pendyr could sing for her supper?” The Hon. Mr. Tregallas’ lip curled. Indeed, he had the likeness of his father, all sharp edged.

Mr. Jasper Tregallas came to my aid. “I could accompany you. Shall we look through the sheet music?”

Lord Tregallas leaned back and sneered. “I don’t know why my son persisted in playing pianoforte but I see it has finally proved to be of some use.”

The Williams family tittered at this remark.

Scowling, I pawed through the sheet music. I did not expect to find a piece I knew well. It was one my mother had taught me. I handed it to Mr. Jasper Tregallas. His eyes widened.

“You know this?” he asked, low-voiced. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. It was that or some Welsh folk song that would earn disdain from the Williams and Tregallas families for being of the lower class.

I stood next to Mr. Jasper Tregallas, facing his family and guests. He played the first note for me and I began.

The lyrics of the solemn, surely ancient, song were written in some long-dead language. Mother had taught me the meaning of it — of a longing for the sea, and a longing to regain what was lost.

When I finished, Mr. Jasper Tregallas looked up at me in a kind of curious wonder. Father blew his nose, dispelling the sombre mood. Each Tregallas family member wiped away tears.

Unaffected, the Misses Williams reclaimed the pianoforte. Mr. Jasper Tregallas stood at my side as we listened. After a time, he tugged at my skirt and gestured for me to follow.

I glanced around the room. The sisters switched places at the pianoforte and our elders availed themselves of refreshments. I followed Mr. Jasper Tregallas.

He led me to a small library, not far from the drawing room. He leant his hip against a tall-backed armchair in red brocade. I kept my distance, aware of the door behind me.

“That song. How do you know it?”

I stepped closer. “My mother taught it to me. You—“ I took a breath. “You clearly know it but you did not seem as affected as the rest of your family.”

Mr. Jasper Tregallas snorted. “It is a melancholy piece, but I do not long for the sea. Do you?”

I glanced down at my hands, clasped to hide the trembling. To be alone with a gentleman could mean ruin. I had come to learn how he had seen through my magic. I answered his question. “It is odd but I have a great fear of the sea. I have had since I was a little girl.” I glanced at him. “Yet it also calls to me.”

He folded his arms. “That won’t do. How can you sing so longingly if you are afraid of it?”

“I was longing for my mother. I recently found the ring—“ I touched it, concealed beneath my glove. “—and so she is much in my heart at the present.”

He made a murmur of sympathy. His head canted to one side like a puppy’s. “Did something happen when you were small?”

“I fell into the ocean. I do not remember much, except Father’s deep distress. He insisted that I never go on or near the water again. Presumably because I nearly drowned. I remember being abed for days.”

I shuddered. I had been ill with pneumonia and that is when Mother had drained some of her magical energy so that I could survive. She clearly believed that had cost her her life and I had no reason to think otherwise.

Mr. Jasper Tregallas cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to the present. “I can imagine his concern, but unwarranted now surely? You are full grown.”

“I still cannot swim.” I shrugged.

“Nor can I.”

We smiled at each other. Many cannot swim but I felt a surprising solidarity with him.

He drew nearer. “What if we went sailing—“

“—it’s bitterly cold.”

“We will not go in the water, just be upon it. I could find someone to take us?” Tregallas now paced in excited anticipation.

I did not quite understand his interest. “But why?”

“Because, Miss Pendyr, you do not strike me as one who should be afraid of anything.”

I hesitated.

“Tomorrow. Let us go in the middle of the day when it is warmest.”

I pursed my lips. It would still be quite cold on the open water. “My father—“

“Your aunt will not object.” He already had the measure of my family. “I will keep you safe.” He came closer. My head tilted back slightly to meet his gaze. He added, a warm rasp in his voice, “I would very much like to know you better.”

I inhaled, inadvertently breathing in his scent. He smelt of earth and sea. I remembered why I had followed him and I backed away.

“I am not sure I wish to better our acquaintance. You give the appearance of gentleman, sir, and yet you have brought me here to a private place and wish to get me alone again!”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “You chose to follow me.”

I glanced toward the door, torn between asking my question and returning to the other guests. “The leaf you found…”

He pulled it from his waistcoat pocket and held it up by its stem. “This?”

I gaped, surprised he still carried it with him. I closed my mouth and nodded.

“Come with me tomorrow and I will tell you.”

I frowned at him. “Why should I wait? That is a weak excuse.”

He sighed. “I cannot make you trust me, Miss Pendyr. The explanation would take longer than the time we currently have. There would be a boatman. You could bring a chaperone if that is insufficient to preserve your reputation.”

It felt like he mocked me. “I am not a city girl, Mr. Tregallas. I do not require a maid at my heels.” I stiffened my spine. “We should return. My father will have noted my absence.”

He nodded, standing. “Will you join me in this outing and face your fear?”

I rarely turn down a challenge. Somehow he had gotten the measure of me as well. “Very well. If you can gain my father’s permission.” I kept edging away from him. “We really should rejoin the others.”

Mr. Jasper Tregallas had no problem gaining Father’s approval, with Aunt Norah and the Tregallas family in full support of the idea. On the way home, Father admitted he had felt cornered and wondered aloud why they were foisting the second son upon us.

“Mr. Tregallas has been entrusted with the family’s business. In short, he is an excellent catch, Gerald, for such a family as ours.”

I bit my lower lip. Should I raise my own suspicions? But no, they involved the dreigiau môr, and Aunt knew nothing about them. Besides, I was willing to take a risk associating with a potential rake so I could learn how he saw through my spells.

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