A Perfect Gentleman(40)

Mr. Thaddeus Thatcher, Mayor





She sank into the chair and stared at the letter. Grace wasn’t sure if she was more upset about losing the position and the few funds it provided, or the fact that the counsel actually believed the harmful gossip. Not one of them bothered to even ask her version of the events and simply believed a disagreeable woman.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she swiped them away before anyone could see.

If they sacked her from this position, had they done the same to Vicar Trent? She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out in anger. What would he do if he were let go. It was his only income? What if his superiors learned, would they assign him another church or would he not be given a parish again? He has known his entire life that he was to be a vicar, where would that leave him now.

No, they couldn’t. If he was relieved of his duties she would march right to his superiors and explain the truth, if any of them would listen.

In the meantime, she must no longer associate with Vicar Trent because that was best for him. No matter how much she missed him, and she missed him deeply for only knowing him for such a short time, and it had only been a day since she had seen him, she would not visit or talk to him. She must learn to face her problems on her own and not seek him out. She had gotten by before he moved to town and she would do so again. The only time Grace vowed to see Vicar Trent was on Sunday mornings for services. Nobody could fault her for going to church and if she did not speak with him then he would escape from this unscathed.

Banging on the front door drew her out of her thoughts and Grace wandered into the foyer. Elizabeth rushed from the kitchen, a hand in her pocket. John began down the stairs. It was as if they were here to protect her. In a way they were, but she couldn’t see how much help they would be except someone would be less likely to try and get to her or her father with more people around.

John paused in the middle of the stairs and nodded to Elizabeth. She opened the door and before anyone could utter a greeting her uncle stormed inside the house.

“What is the meaning of this?” he bellowed.

Given her uncle was the one given to fits, Grace had a moment of wondering if perhaps he should be the one in Bedlam, she couldn’t begin to guess what he was angry about this time. “You will need to be more specific.” Unless he had heard about Vicar Trent spending the night in this house twice. He had been livid when she rode in the carriage with him. The latest might bring on an apoplexy.

“I will fight Crew over guardianship. He has no right to take what should be mine.”

Grace stiffened. “Yours? This is my father’s home, and mine. He is the one who worked for it, turned it into the home he wanted.” She had intentionally kept her voice calm and low as she had no wish to argue with the man.

“As his brother what is rightfully his should go to me. It is a right of inheritance.”

“Inheritance flows the opposite direction,” John said as he sauntered down the stairs. “As a lord you have little choice in what becomes of your estate and title. As the younger son, Mr. Cooper can name anyone he chooses as guardian over Miss Cooper, and you would have the right as well if you were her father, but nobody can dictate who inherits upon his death.”

“You, you…,” Stillwaite blustered, his face turning red with rage.

“And, my father is not about to die,” she added in a quiet tone.

Stillwaite wheeled on Grace, wagging his finger in her face. “I will fight this. I know what is best for this land, your father and you.” With that he wheeled around and marched out the door, slamming it behind him.

Elizabeth rushed forward and turned the lock.

“Do you think he will be successful?”

John chuckled. “By the time Stillwaite manages to get through the courts you will be married and probably have a child or two.”

It was unlikely those things would come to be but it gave Grace some peace in knowing her uncle would be unsuccessful.





Matthew stared out at the congregation. Two weeks ago there were barely enough seats for everyone. The second week it had still been full. Today there were barely two dozen people. Miss Cooper sat with Jordan and Elizabeth. John must have remained at the house with Mr. Cooper and Perkins. The sermon he had begun preparing last week lay on his desk in the parsonage. Given everything that had occurred, he had written a new one, but it was no longer necessary either. The people in the pews already knew this lesson or they wouldn’t be here. The ones who truly needed to hear it were at home or attending church in the next village.

Miss Montgomery sat toward the back, her mother was absent. Of all the people who needed to be taught it was Mrs. Montgomery but he doubted she would change. Matthew closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should not be judgmental, not in a church, but he was angry. Not so much for himself but for Grace. If the parishioners did not attend services because of what they had heard, how were they going to treat her? Even Mrs. Phillips was absent so there would be no music today either.

Matthew closed his Bible and looked over the faces once again. Grace’s was drawn and pale. He prayed her father hadn’t suffered a setback, but feared it was because of how she had been received and the lack of attendance this morning.

“I was going to speak on the damage of gossip,” he began. “But most of you already know the repercussions or you wouldn’t be here right now.” He felt a smile pull at his lips. “I had a great sermon prepared and it is a shame that those who need to hear it most won’t. I will not deliver it today. Instead, I will ask that we each pray for those who did not join us. Ask God to show them the error in their thinking, to see behind the deceit, to understand and see the truth.”

Grace looked down at her lap. Matthew wondered what she was thinking.

“I fear that my actions this week have caused harm to this church and the community, and for that I apologize.”

She looked up and opened her mouth as if to protest. Matthew knew she would not. At least not here in the church. “Some of you know what I am about to share, others do not.”

She closed her mouth and a contemplative look came upon her face.

“I am the third son of an earl. Before I could read I was told I would be a vicar. My father demanded that I be a perfect vicar, not just any vicar.” Matthew felt himself warming to this new topic, as if he were about to free himself of a burden. “I studied hard and received excellent marks. Nothing else was acceptable. I never allowed myself to consider doing something else. My father would have never allowed it even if I had. I would have only been wishing for the impossible and become unhappy. So, I accepted my lot in life and worked to become the best vicar I could be.”

Jordan began smiling, as if he understood what Matthew was about to impart.

“However, I never felt the desire to be a vicar.”

There were a few gasps in the room.

“If a man is to serve God with all of his heart, preach and counsel, shouldn’t that desire burn deep within him? Most of the vicars and ministers I have met in my life had that passion or need. I have never possessed it. Does that make me a bad vicar?”

There were a few that shook their heads.

“I love God and I pray, and my faith is strong, but I don’t have that deep burning need to get up before you each Sunday morning, to spend all my hours writing the perfect sermon, to call on the parishioners because I am concerned about their soul. I want to become friends with those whom I share a community, converse and share their life, not simply be present when there is a crisis, or I noticed they weren’t attending services. Few people wish to truly befriend a vicar because they don’t wish to be judged.”

There were a few surprised looks. “Look to yourself and you will understand. Do you behave the same, use the same words, and discuss the same topics with friends as you do your vicar?”

There were a few sheepish looks shared between husbands, wives and friends. They knew he spoke the truth as well as he.

Grace’s eyes grew wide and she was the only one who did not look away from him, other than Elizabeth and Jordan. He had shocked her, of that he was certain. Would she think poorly of him after he finished. Would she reject his offer of marriage in the end, because of this?

“Frankly, I don’t want to be a vicar.”

A few more parishioners gasped. Lord Crew began to smile, which helped relieve some of Matthews’s concern about his future with Grace.

“I could work to fix the concerns that have risen over the past few days. I could visit each member of this community and explain my actions until I brought everyone back to the church. But it angers me that I should have to do so. Miss Cooper has been a member of this community since birth. There was an attempt on her father’s life. While he lay in his bed, close to death, I remained by her side as her minister. The only other person in the house was Perkins, Mr. Cooper’s valet. I did not know if anyone would come back to the house and try to kill Mr. Cooper again, nor was I sure he would live through the night. What kind of minister would I be if I had left the family alone? It never occurred to me that Miss Cooper’s reputation might suffer because of my actions. She was barely aware I was there because she would not leave her father’s side.”