The Brontës: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of a Literary Family

by Juliet Barker

He was finally ordained as a priest on 21 December 1807 in the splendid surroundings of the Chapel Royal of St James, Westminster.95 Patrick was now in a position to be looking actively for promotion to his own parish but, at this moment, he had little incentive to do so. He had fallen in love with the young daughter of a local farmer and was intent on marrying her. Mary Mildred Davy Burder96 was the niece of the lady with whom Patrick lodged. The eldest of four children, she was eighteen years old, twelve years younger than Patrick; she lived with her mother, brothers and sister at a large farm, known as The Broad, just a mile across the fields from St George’s House, halfway between Wethersfield and Finchingfield. Her father had died shortly before Patrick’s arrival and her uncle, Mr Burder’s brother, who lived at nearby Great Yeldham, had assumed responsibility for the family. According to Mary’s daughter,97 Mary met Patrick when she was sent with a present of game to her aunt’s house. She was in the kitchen, preparing it for dinner, when Patrick walked in. She was pretty and lively, and there was an instant and mutual attraction. The ‘errands and messages to “Aunt Davy’” became more frequent and Patrick returned her visits, walking with her round the woods to The Broad. Some fifteen years later, Patrick was still to remember her as ‘affectionate, kind, and forgiving, agreeable in person, and still more agreeable in mind’.98 They shared an interest in books and Patrick ...