It was not an especially warm evening for June in that part of Virginia, yet Camden felt almost as if he were ready to melt in the new suit that Mr. Randolph and Georgiana had both insisted he have tailored after winning the Kentucky case. He thought his existing wardrobe to be perfectly adequate, but Georgiana in particular seemed adamant that he should allow himself a celebration in some small way.
“It will be a delightful surprise for mother and father when you come to the dinner they’ve been planning,” she had said, as they had walked from Mr. Randolph’s office just a few doors down to the Burwell family’s most trusted tailor. She helped him pick the material--a task for which he felt sorely unequipped--and gave suggestions as to what cut for the jacket would be most flattering to Camden’s tall, broad frame.
As he stood in front of the long mirror that he had borrowed from his mentor’s room, he could not escape the fact that Georgiana had quite an eye for fashion. It was only the second tailored suit he had owned since coming to study under Mr. Randolph in Richmond. The first had been selected with the assistance of Mr. Randolph and still fit him well. His size had always made it a challenge to find clothing that fit him suitably. This new suit, however, was something else entirely. It was far from ornate, but its matching coat, breeches, and waistcoat seemed the epitome of elegance to Camden. Until seeing himself in front of the mirror he had not fully appreciated just how finely some of the other lawyers practicing in Richmond dressed. Despite the superficiality of it all, in some way Camden saw himself as one of them now, where he had not quite done so before.
But for all of that, it was still too hot. There was nothing to do for that now. Perhaps there would be a breeze to ease his discomfort as they walked to the Burwell’s house.
Downstairs he was greeted by Mary and Mr. Randolph, both of whom seemed to have the same reaction to the new suit that he had.
“It’s a wonderful piece of work, Mr. Page! Indeed it is!” Mary had marveled.
“My niece has done very well. Well, the tailor, I suppose, in reality,” said Mr. Randolph. He gave the young man a look up and down. “Yes, it will do quite nicely, won’t it?”
“Thank you, Mr. Randolph. And thank you, Mary.” Glancing into the office at the clock, Camden said, “Ought we to be leaving about now, sir?”
Mr. Randolph leaned over to see for himself whether the clock had struck the proper hour. “Yes, I suppose we should. It’s not a long walk, of course, but we need not . . .” Mr. Randolph’s voice trailed off as he patted his jacket and the pockets on his vest. “Mary, I seem to have misplaced my tobacco pouch will you--”
“It’s here, Mr. Randolph. You left it in the office and I picked it up for you as I was finishing my cleaning.”
“Ah, well thank you. Mr. Page, let’s be off then.”
To Camden’s relief, a modest breeze greeted them as they stepped outside. He took a deep breath before Mary closed the door and the two men began the short walk that lay before them. On the way, Mr. Randolph discussed one last time when he would make the announcement about their partnership, what he would say, and how Camden should respond. The young apprentice had learned much in the way of etiquette over the last couple of years, but this was virtually the highest level of political maneuvering. Mr. Randolph was in his element and Camden remained merely the student.
They arrived at what Mr. Randolph deemed an appropriate time (concurrently, as it happened, with Senator Hamlinson and his wife). The goal, Mr. Randolph had said, was not to arrive either too early or too late. They were admitted to the parlor where the guests were assembling prior to dinner. Camden and Mr. Randolph dutifully made their way to where their hosts were seated.
Mrs. Burwell was the first to notice their approach and rose to greet them. “Joseph! Welcome and thank you for bringing Mr. Page. Georgiana will be delighted to hear that you’ve arrived.”
The Senator rose, shook Mr. Randolph’s hand, and then turned to Camden. “I regret my failure to congratulate you before now, Mr. Page, but I am very grateful on behalf of our Commonwealth that your diligent work secured a favorable outcome in the recent trouble with our former countrymen.”
“Thank you, sir. It was my honor to have a part in the case.”
“James, dear, Senator Hamlinson has arrived. We should greet him and Charlotte,” Mrs. Burwell interjected, as politely as she could.
“Indeed. If you will excuse us please,” said the Senator.
Turning from the couch where the Senator and his wife had been seated, Camden spied Georgiana, who had just stepped into the parlor doorway. It seemed that every time he saw her she appeared more radiant than the time before and this evening was no exception.
She wore a gown of a style she had described some time ago in French--the exact term for which had almost immediately escaped his memory. It was a brilliant shade of blue that almost seemed to shimmer under the flickering lights of the parlor and around her waist was tied a sash of golden brocade that reached almost to the floor. Even the luxurious cascades of her light brown curls could not draw his attention away from her face, which, to his eyes, beamed as brightly as ever.
They met in the middle of the room and she offered her hand and he politely kissed it.
“The suit is exquisite, Mr. Page. Didn’t I tell you it would be?”
“You certainly did, Ms. Burwell. Your advice proved to be most accurate.”
Before the couple had a chance to delve into any deeper topics, however, the tinkling of a small bell signalled that dinner was beginning. They proceeded across the hall into the dining room where Senator Burwell, accompanied, Camden now saw, by the Governor’s wife, proceeded to seat himself at one end of the table. Camden wheeled around to see that, in fact, Governor John Tyler was in attendance that evening. It seemed to Camden that Mr. Randolph had somewhat underestimated the collective prestige of the guests who had been invited that evening. Upon entering the dining room, he was happy to see that a seat remained next to Georgiana, and he quickly took the chance to seat himself there. Mr. Randolph took the seat across from them.
The first course came promptly after all of the guests had taken their seats and Camden suddenly found himself famished. He had long since learned, however, that his appetite must not govern his table manners, but rather vice versa. He soon discovered that the gentleman seated on his other side was a former business partner of Senator Burwell and had also been acquainted with Camden’s own father. He would have preferred to devote all of his time to Georgiana, but also knew that to avoid conversations with the other dinner guests would be seen as decidedly ill-mannered.
“You know,” Georiana confided to him during a lull in the dinner, “my uncle tells me that he intends to make an announcement this evening that concerns me in some way.” As she inclined her head closer to him, he caught an effervescent whiff of perfume from her hair. “But I’m sure I don’t know what he could possibly have to announce that would concern me. Do you?”
“I think so,” Camden said, “but I find it difficult to believe that you don’t even have a suspicion about what it might be. Are you not usually the one with all the prescient insights? Is the queen of wit preparing to abdicate her throne?” He found that he quite enjoyed being the one to tease her for a change and judging by the playful fire in her eyes it seemed that she was equally amused.
“Well, you certainly don’t intend to keep me in the dark do you, Mr. Page? That would be positively barbaric of you!”
“You may insist upon my noble intention to keep my mentor’s announcement in confidence until such time as he chooses to reveal it, Ms. Burwell.” He mustered up his most serious courtroom tone of voice, the overdone pretentiousness of which was too much for Georgiana, who let loose a short burst of unrestrained laughter before hiding her face behind her handkerchief.
“Are you all right, my dear?” came her mother’s inquiry from the end of the table.
Composing herself, Georgiana said, “Yes, I’m quite well, Mother. Mr. Page simply said something that made me laugh.”
“I’ve never known you to be the jocular sort, Mr. Page,” the lady of the house continued. “Perhaps at some later time you will have the opportunity to regale us with some amusing story.”
“I fear my rhetorical abilities may be at their height only in the courtroom, Mrs. Burwell.”
A polite smattering of chuckles hopped back and forth amongst the guests near their end of the table. As Camden turned toward Georgiana she was just replacing her handkerchief, but turned away quickly. A moment later she whispered, “If you look at me just now, I fear I shall burst out again.” She cut short the last word, almost if the feared breach of decorum had been ready to leap from her throat straight onto the table.
Over the course of the rest of the dinner the young lovers caught up on all their usual topics of conversation. The Kentucky case and other duties had kept Camden occupied almost around the clock for the past couple of months, leaving the two of them very little time together. He recounted to her some of the details of the cases he and Mr. Randolph had been working on, stopping to explain some of the finer points of law with which they had contended. For reasons that escaped Camden’s understanding, Georgiana never seemed to tire of such topics. She brought him up to date on her latest reading and he marvelled at the sheer number of books she was able to read in such a seemingly short time. He also learned some of the more interesting bits of family life in the Burwell household. It was so unlike his own upbringing that it remained for him a source of almost endless fascination.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The last course having been served, Mr. Randolph looked over toward Senator Burwell and said, “Senator Burwell, with your permission, I have an announcement to make.” The Senator nodded his approval and Mr. Randolph stood up at his chair drawing the immediate attention of all the guests.
Camden looked over at Georgiana who was smiling tentatively. It was clear to him that although she was hopeful that the announcement would be a happy one, she truly did not know what to expect.
Mr. Randolph began to speak: “Many of you have congratulated me and Mr. Page this evening for our comportment during the case between our Commonwealth and the new Commonwealth of Kentucky. Speaking for both of us, I would like to say that such expressions of gratitude have been more than ample compensation for the many long hours we put into the case.”
Mr. Randolph paused briefly to take a sip of his wine. The nodding of heads around the table told Camden that what they had heard so far was pleasing.
Mr. Randolph continued: “Your appreciation of our joint performance, however, cannot equal that of my appreciation with the performance of Mr. Page. He has shown remarkable aptitude for the law and has proven himself to be indispensable in at least a dozen different ways. I could not do what I do were it not for his diligent work day by day. That is why I count it a great privilege to announce to you all tonight that I have extended to Mr. Page an offer to become partners in law and he has graciously accepted.”
Camden felt a rush of color to his face as polite applause filled the room. He did his best to scan the room and at least nod in thanks, until his gaze came back around to Georgiana. She was not clapping, but instead held her hand to her mouth in amazement. He could just make out the words “Oh, Cam,” from behind her fingers as tears of joy began to well up in her eyes.
“Hear, hear!” cried Senator Burwell. “We must have a toast!” The guests rose to their feet and raised their glasses as the Senator said, taking on the air of one of his floor orations, “To the partnership of Mr. Joseph Randolph and Mr. Camden Page. May it be long and prosperous!”
They drank and offered some further words of congratulations before the Senator spoke once more. “Now that our dinner has ended, I hope you will all remain and enjoy yourselves. Mr. Randolph and Mr. Page especially, we certainly must continue to congratulate you both properly if you will accompany me and the Governor to the drawing room.”
As the guests rose, Camden took Georgiana by the hand and leaned close to say, “Have I done well, my dear?”
“Quite well, indeed, my love,” she intoned back. “But I have known for a long time that you are capable of and deserve nothing less.”
Leaning back but keeping hold of her hand he wanted nothing more in that moment than to embrace her. Despite his rising passion, however, he settled for once more kissing her hand, a gesture far less intimate than the one he intended, but one also far less open to criticism.
The ladies left for the parlor and Camden found himself in the drawing room with the men, where Mr. Randolph was doling out generous helpings of tobacco from the pouch he had almost misplaced earlier that same day.
“Ah, Mr. Page. You’re just the man I was hoping to see.” The voice sounded only slightly familiar, but when he discovered its source, Camden realized that it was Governor Tyler.
“Please accept my congratulations again,” the Governor said, giving Camden a lighthearted slap on his shoulder. “And having offered my congratulations, I hope you will now allow me to ask of you a favor.”
Camden did not quite know what to expect. He had met the Governor only very briefly prior to the Kentucky case and had seen him only once or twice since then.
“Certainly, Governor Tyler. What sort of favor is it?”
“Well,” he began, “it actually concerns your new partner. You see, the Commonwealth yet again needs his services. But he hesitates.”
“And not without some reason,” Mr. Randolph interjected as he slid over next to Camden and the Governor.
“I have asked Mr. Randolph to represent the interests of the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of the delegation to the Republic of Vermont. Envoys from several states will travel there shortly to persuade the Vermonters that it would be best for all Americans if Vermont were to join our confederation. The longer the dispute persists, the greater are the chances that they will join themselves with Quebec instead.”
“I see,” said Camden, although he did not quite fully see. “And you believe that Mr. Randolph should be a member of the delegation because . . .”
“Because, Mr. Page, Virginia still enjoys a place of prominence within the confederation. We cannot speak authoritatively for all the other states, but what we do say will carry weight.”
“I see the reasoning, sir, but how Mr. Randolph fits in remains unclear to me.”
“He thinks,” Mr. Randolph inserted, “that I have something of a reputation not only in Virginia, but throughout our young confederacy. I’m not certain I agree.”
“Oh, hang your modesty, Randolph! You know I’m right!” The Governor sounded angry, but his facial expressions told Camden that it was a friendly frustration. “If I were in your shoes, the only thing that would concern me would be the prospect of leaving my young partner to handle the law practice all by himself.”
“Then that, Governor, is where you and I are so different. The last thing that worries me is leaving Mr. Page to his own devices.”
“That is rather high praise, indeed, Mr. Page. Here is where I need your assistance, if you will grant it. Convince your partner that he should go as part of the delegation to Vermont. His presence, I judge, is crucial to the Commonwealth.”
Camden collected his thoughts for a moment before he started to speak. “The trust you place in my powers of persuasion has not escaped my notice and it is an honor that you come to me with this request. I tend to agree with you that Mr. Randolph is a man of considerable influence, despite any suggestions of his to the contrary. In that sense, I understand why you would view his presence in Vermont as beneficial to Virginia.”
“However . . .” Governor Tyler said.
“I know, however,” Camden continued, “that my mentor and partner rarely changes his mind once he has made it up. To assault his position once he has entrenched himself is almost always a forlorn hope. I dare not waste my time or his--or yours--with such odds against a favorable outcome.”
“Is that really what you think, Mr. Page?” Mr. Randolph asked. Camden sensed that the puzzlement in his voice was sincere. “I had thought that you surely would have wanted me to remain here, rather than leave you more or less on your own.”
Camden glanced over at the Governor and could almost see the gears turning in his head. “Of course I would prefer for you to stay, Mr. Randolph. I am still young and have much to learn, but I believe that the guidance you have provided me thus far would help me to weather your absence had you chosen to go to Vermont. If the best interests of Virginia will be enhanced by your presence--and I do not doubt for a moment that they would be--then I do not want to be the one who prevents your going.”
“Hmmm,” was all Mr. Randolph said in reply. He nodded to himself before silently backing away and seating himself in a corner to smoke his pipe.
“That was a splendid piece of work, Mr. Page,” Governor Tyler said. “If you ever think of going into politics you might have a knack for it.”
“Thank you again, sir, for the kind words. At present, politics carries very little interest for me.”
“As it did for me for quite some time, young man. It was only very recently that I left the practice of law for politics and it has been, so far, a good change. Time will tell.”
“Yes, sir. It always does.”
The Governor excused himself to have a private word with Senator Hamlinson, leaving Camden more or less to himself. He was about to sit down next to Senator Burwell when Mr. Randolph waved for him to come over to where he was sitting.
“Yes, Mr. Randolph?” Camden said as he sat down.
Mr. Randolph offered him the tobacco pouch, but Camden politely declined. Despite helping to grow and cure the stuff, he had never been overly fond of tobacco.
“What if I told you I’ve decided to go to Vermont after all?”
“I think that would be a noble thing to do. Have you changed your mind, then?”
“Yes, I must say that I have. Your forlorn hope was not so forlorn after all, eh? Besides, however much I might value Governor Tyler’s opinion, I value yours more.” Mr. Randolph paused to puff a few times on his pipe and then blew one of the better smoke rings Camden had seen. “You’re young, true; but you have a certain amount of wisdom beyond your years. When I said that your ability to function without me was the least of my worries I meant it.”
“Thank you for saying so. I certainly do not feel the same confidence in my own abilities that you seem to see.”
“The Governor has scolded me for my modesty and now I must do the same for you. Mr. Page, you are more than an adequate attorney; you show the insight of a man with years of experience. You also have the common sense that seems to flee from so many in our profession. In fact, if I hadn’t offered you a partnership, I’m quite certain you would have left me to strike out on your own before too long. A talent such as yours cannot remain in a position of subordination indefinitely.”
“You flatter me--”
“Enough of that! You needn’t thank me for simply stating what we both know to be true. If you want to show your appreciation you will make the most of the opportunity, both for your career and for your . . . other prospects.” He gestured with his head in the direction of Senator Burwell, making his meaning more than abundantly clear.
The hours passed on into the night and Camden found more satisfaction than he had expected in being invited to play cards with this group of important men. About the time he supposed they must all soon take their leave, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the distinctive contours of a female form hovering just beyond the edge of the doorway. Turning his head slightly, he realized that it was Georgiana. Having caught his attention, she beckoned him with a single, delicate finger and he gladly rose to meet her in the hallway. She wheeled around to the side of the door, out of view of the other men who were busy at their cards and their tobacco in any event.
He took her hands in his and said, “What is it, Georgiana?”
Peering up into his eyes she said, “I had to speak to you privately before it would be time for the guests to leave. And--”
Without warning she stretched onto her toes and kissed Camden gently and lovingly on the cheek. “And I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment you arrived.”
The fleeting thought entered Camden’s mind that he ought to be blushing for the second time that night. He banished the thought immediately. This was the woman he loved more than anyone or anything else in this world and no pure sign of her affections should cause him any embarrassment.
“What was it that you wanted to speak to me about, my love?”
“I’ve congratulated you on the partnership already, but there’s more that I feel compelled to say on the matter.”
“Oh, what’s that?” Camden asked. But as soon as he asked the question he surmised her intent.
“That my father’s esteem for you is higher than ever before is obvious. I know you are not the sort of man who uses his position to gain advantages for himself, but for our sake--for my sake--I hope you will see that to do so in our situation would be no failure of character.”
“I have so far delayed asking your father for your hand, but that has been for our sake. To ask too soon might have been disastrous. The time will be right soon, I think.”
Georgiana took a deep breath and released Camden’s hands. “To delay too long might also be disastrous. You know as well as I do that most of my friends have already been married. My father will not consent to my remaining unattached much longer than he already has.”
“I must act sooner than I feel ready.”
“Yes,” she said as she grasped his hands again.
He pulled her gently toward him. Just at the moment that she rested her head on his chest the intimate moment was interrupted by the voice of Charlotte Hamlinson, who emerged from the parlor a moment later. Georgiana drew back quickly and Camden shoved his hands into the pockets of his waistcoat.
“Congratulations again, Mr. Page,” the elderly woman said as she passed by the couple on her way to the drawing room. “I do hope my husband is ready to go. I am rather tired.” It seemed that the woman had noticed nothing--not, Camden thought, that there was anything improper for the woman to have noticed.
It was the last moment the two would have together alone. Within a few minutes the hosts had said their farewells to their guests and Camden and Mr. Randolph began the walk home. Despite telling himself that it was not possible, as he stepped out into the late night air, Camden felt as if the new suit somehow fit him better than when he had arrived.