A Change Of Hearts

CHAPTER ONE 1891-1

CHAPTER ONE

1891Neisa rang the bell of the impressive door of the house in Park Lane.

While she was waiting patiently, she looked down at the plant she held in her hand – it was just coming into bloom and was of a particularly rare species.

As it was a gift, she had put some coloured paper round it and tied it with a pink ribbon.

Suddenly a footman opened the door and behind him she could just see a butler.

“Is Miss Waverton at home?” she enquired politely.

“She is, madam,” the butler replied. “May I have your name?”

“I am Miss Neisa Moore.”

The butler ushered her, with some pomposity, into an imposing sitting room near the front door.

It seemed to be filled with everything that money could buy and Neisa looked around with interest.

She wondered what it would feel like to be so rich that you could buy everything you wanted. It was so different to her own life where she and her father had to count every penny.

Her father, the Reverend Patrick Moore, had always lived in a state of penury. Yet despite his poverty, surprisingly, he invariably got what he wanted out of life.

He had fallen head over heels in love with a ravishing girl he met through friends when he first left Oxford University.

The object of his devotion was Lady Elizabeth Stoner, the only daughter of a distinguished Earl, who was finding it difficult to keep his ancestral home in existence.

Deeply in debt and desperate to keep his estate, the Earl was relying on Elizabeth’s charm and great beauty to bring him a rich son-in-law.

Up until that time Elizabeth had been agreeable to whatever her father wanted. Being of a sweet and gentle nature, she preferred to do as she was told rather than think for herself.

Yet, from the moment she saw Patrick Moore things changed and she lost her head as well as her heart.

He was undoubtedly not only the most handsome young man she had ever met, but also the most amusing and interesting.

Patrick had no idea who she was, just that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Although his father had dutifully sent him to London to meet influential people, he had been so caught up in the social whirl that he had not read a newspaper.

So he had never heard of Lady Elizabeth, let alone seen her engagement announcement, when he met her at the home of a friend.

Captivated by Elizabeth’s grace and elegance, Patrick was mortified to learn that she was getting married. Even worse, he discovered that the wedding was the following day to an immensely rich German Baron, who, although getting on in life, had fallen for her beauty just as Patrick had.

Distraught and determined, Patrick took immediate action.

A naturally impulsive man, he borrowed his friend’s horses and carriage and drove at tremendous speed to where the wedding was taking place.

The wedding had been arranged in a hurry as the German Baron wished to return to his own country, and the Earl was keen to seal the deal.

When Patrick walked in through the West door, the Parson was already intoning,

“If any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together in holy matrimony, let him now speak or hereafter forever hold his peace – ”

“I forbid this marriage!” Patrick shouted.

Everyone in the Church turned round and there was a hushed silence as he walked up the aisle.

“I forbid this marriage,” he boomed again, “because the bride is not in love with the man she is marrying, but with me.”

Thinking he was some kind of lunatic, the Parson suggested calmly,

“I think we had now better retire to the vestry and discuss this matter quietly.”

“There is nothing to discuss,” cried Patrick, as he put out his right hand and took hold of Elizabeth’s.

“I love you, Elizabeth, and I know you love me!”

She looked at him adoringly, knowing that what he said was true.

She had wept every night since her father had instructed her to marry the Baron.

One look into her eyes was enough for Patrick.

He did not wait, but holding onto Elizabeth’s hand tightly, he ran down the aisle pulling her after him.

She did not resist.

Before anyone in the Church could do anything to stop them, Patrick had lifted the bride into his carriage and driven off at great speed.

The Earl, seeing the baron’s huge fortune slipping away, was furious and attempted to follow the runaways.

But he was too late.

They slipped over the Scottish border quietly and were married at once ‘by consent’ at Gretna Green.

They then swiftly registered their marriage with the local Sheriff and there was nothing the Earl could do about it.

In revenge he cut his daughter out of his life, refusing to speak to her ever again and stopped the small allowance she had received from him in the past.

Patrick, although wildly happy, was faced with the problem of what he should do next.

They were young, madly in love – but penniless. Just how could he earn enough to keep his wife and perhaps later a family?

He had, when he was at Oxford University, vaguely thought of becoming a doctor but had not really followed it through.

He had learnt first aid and a smattering about the human body and surgery, but not nearly enough to practice general medicine.

Now, because both he and Elizabeth were desperate to get away from England and start a new life, Patrick became a Medical Missionary. He knew that volunteers, both medical and those who could teach, were being recruited to spread Christianity to the far-flung corners of the world and it seemed the ideal escape.

The Mission Patrick approached had been founded by a devoted Catholic priest to provide care to the poor and needy overseas. One of the first to be authorised by the Roman Catholic Church, it had a good reputation and Patrick foresaw a great opportunity for a young man determined to work hard.

Patrick’s most valuable assets had always been his boundless charm and good looks and the priest who interviewed him at the Mission’s London headquarters felt sure that both of these would be useful in engaging the natives in the ways of Christianity.

With his air of confidence, along with his Oxford education, the Mission was only too happy to overlook his lack of qualifications and ready to send him off to expound the Gospel as soon as possible.

They had found from long experience that a missionary who could heal the sick was far more likely to win converts than one who could merely offer the natives words and prayers.

And Patrick, accompanied by his beautiful wife, soon proved the old priest’s faith in him to be correct by becoming an outstanding success.

They travelled to many distant countries in the East and spent time in Africa with tribes so remote that they were not even known to the civilised world.

Patrick was able to convert a great many natives or so he believed.

Elizabeth wrote several reports that were so interesting, and in some parts amusing, that the Missionary Society back in England had them printed.

When their little daughter was born, they decided to call her Neisa, which means ‘purity’ in ancient Greek.

Delighted and enchanted by their baby girl, the proud young parents thought she was as beautiful as the love they had for each other.

The fact that Neisa was now an essential part of the Moore family made no difference to their life at all – they merely took her along with them wherever they went.

She learned to sleep comfortably in a cave, on the deck of a ship or in a tiny tent to protect all three of them from insects and unpleasant creatures of the night.

It was only when Elizabeth died of a virulent fever for which even Patrick, who had become proficient in medicine, could find no cure that he decided his wandering days were over and he must settle down.

He recognised that the story of his many adventures abroad would make an excellent series of books, not only because the Missionary Society had told him so, but so had Elizabeth.

Grieving the loss of his beloved wife, he knew he was going to have to write everything without any help, yet he knew that was what she would want him to do.

In the meantime Patrick’s father had managed to procure for him the position of Vicar of the parish where the family house was situated.

The Old Manor had been in the possession of the Moore’s for over two hundred years and they were proud of it simply because it was theirs.

The family estate owned very little land and was in an isolated part of the country, but the villagers welcomed Patrick because they had known him since he was a boy.

As there were very few parishioners, he had plenty of time to write as he wished and he began by writing for the Missionary Society.

In fact, his only real problem was that he was again desperately short of money.

For a moment it seemed his luck had changed for the better as a well-known publisher accepted one of his books on travel. But his hopes were dashed when it did not make him the fortune he hoped for.

However, it made enough to provide Neisa with a better education, though not enough to provide her with the clothes she needed..

A great believer in the power of education, Patrick made sure Neisa had tutors in several languages and subjects that girls of her age were not usually taught, like science.

And they were so happy in their small Vicarage that she did not complain about their lack of money for luxuries.

Meanwhile, Neisa’s Aunt Alice had compensated for what her grandfather, the Earl of Stoner, considered her parent’s disgraceful and outrageous marriage.

She had married a man who, though not titled, was well on the way to becoming very rich through his many business contacts in America.

The young businessman, Clive Waverton, had met the Earl quite by chance at a dinner party and the Earl had been very interested in all his clever plans for the future.

Promptly inviting Mr. Waverton to stay at his attractive ancestral home, he was delighted to introduce his eldest daughter, Alice, to the young man who had so impressed him.

Just as Patrick had done with Elizabeth, the young man fell head over heels in love with her.

This time the Earl made certain that no one should interfere at the wedding and spirit the bride away.

He need not have worried as Alice was as much in love with Clive Waverton as he was with her.

Once married, they travelled to America and it was many years before they had returned to England for a long visit and Alice finally got in touch with Patrick Moore.

A kind woman who had also experienced true love, she wanted to hear all about her sister’s death and also try to heal the breach in the family.

What she discovered was that Patrick’s daughter, Neisa, was almost the same age as her daughter Carol – in fact there were only a few months between them.

The two girls met and formed an immediate liking for each other and it seemed as though the cousins would grow up together.

However, Clive Waverton had too much at stake in America to stay for too long in England.

He also found that his wife’s family and his father in-law, who had grown old and rather grumpy, a bore.

So he cut short the visit, swept up his family and returned to America.

And it was two years before Patrick and Neisa learned that Alice had died in Colorado. After exchanging letters of condolence it became clear that there was no question of Carol and her father returning to England and it seemed that the two girls were parted forever.

Then unexpectedly a month ago, Neisa received a letter from Carol saying that they were coming to London for the Season.

Carol wrote,

“I am now eighteen, as you are, and Papa wishes me to meet with all the smart people in Society. So he has bought a large house in London where he will give a ball for me.