Chapter 3
“Just be careful, Gwen!” David called as Gwen balanced on the stones around the edge of the pond. “I don’t want to have to rescue you when you fall in.”
“When I fall in?” Gwen straightened up and stared at him in annoyance. “You don’t have much faith in me now, do you?”
“After the last time?Of course not. I had to rescue you from the lake, remember?”
“It’s just a fish pond!”
“And when you do fall in, don’t squash the fish. I’m sure the gardener won’t appreciate getting the dead ones out.”
Gwen stuck her tongue out at him and hopped to another stone. Nanny Drew was nearby, hovering, so David didn’t need to run over to make sure his sister didn’t fall in, but he was still feeling on edge.
Sitting beside him, Henrietta smiled and swatted her brother’s arm.
“Don’t worry about her so much. She’s ten, not two.”
“But that pond is still deep enough to drown in. And there is pond weed at the bottom.” David gestured at himself. “Trust me; I’ve fallen into that pond before. I didn’t drown, but that pond weed is incredibly clingy. It took what felt like forever to get it off me so I could get out.”
“I figured you didn’t drown; otherwise, I’m talking to something that shouldn’t exist, and that’s a little scary to think about,” Henrietta grunted.
She sat back in her chair, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt.
“You don’t need to worry about Gwen. She’s got more confidence and agility than you ever did at that age. ”
“How do you know? I was twelve when you were born.”
“It’s what Mother used to tell me. Father agreed as well. He told me of all the incidents you got yourself into when you were younger than us. Hearing about them makes me wonder how on earth you got to adulthood. How many times did you break your arm climbing the same tree?”
David groaned.
“You make me sound like I shouldn’t be let out of the house.”
Henrietta grinned.
“Well, you shouldn’t.”
David swatted his sister’s knee, which had Henrietta giggling.
Over by the fish pond, Gwen had hopped around the stones lining the pond's edge and now was lying on her belly, her chin propped up on her hands as she watched the fish swirling around just beneath the surface.
Nanny Drew was now sitting on a nearby bench, not looking concerned at all.
David knew he was being a bit over-protective towards his sisters, even when it came to something innocent like jumping across stones, but he couldn’t help it.
Now he was their guardian, he had to add another role to the one he already had as their brother.
His father was the one who gave them orders and discipline.
He kept them in line. David had never done that before; why would he?
Now their father was dead, and David had to do something he never expected.
Not like this, anyway. He thought if something happened to his father and he passed, Henrietta and Gwen would be grown up, and the role of guardian would be more reduced than it was now.
It wasn’t something he wanted; David didn’t want to be a father figure.
But he didn’t have a choice. He was responsible for his sisters. David loved them, but he had a feeling this would be a lot harder than he thought.
He missed their father. He had been a more sombre man since his wife passed, but he doted on his children.
He gave all his love to them even when he felt sad that their mother couldn’t be with them.
Now he was gone, and David felt coldness around his body.
It felt like uncharted waters, and David wanted to get out.
“David?”
“Hmm?”
Henrietta leaned over and poked him in the arm.
“Are you there? You started staring into the distance.” His little sister peered at him. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
David sighed and shifted in his chair.
“My apologies, Henrietta. I’ve been … things are not easy for me.”
Henrietta looked sympathetic.
“It’s this house, isn’t it? You remember what happened that day, don’t you?”
David didn’t need to ask what she meant by that. He nodded.
“I do. It’s not something I’m inclined to forget in a hurry.”
“Then why did we come back here? I barely remember what happened that day, so the memories aren’t that stark with me, but you … why did we move here instead of staying in Buckinghamshire?”
David scowled.
“I can handle the memories coming from here. The ones with Father … I keep remembering … when he fell, and I saw … that look in his eyes and how …” He shook his head. “The visual memories are worse than the ones I have here.”
Henrietta looked sympathetic. She reached over and took his hand.
“I can’t imagine how it felt. When I wonder how I would feel if I saw something like that … it sends a shiver down my spine.”
“It still does,” David grunted.
“I wish there were something I could do to make it feel better for you. I don’t like thinking about you …”
“It’s fine. I can handle it.” David squeezed his sister’s fingers. “I’m just glad you and Gwen didn’t witness it. That’s something you shouldn’t have to see.”
And to think his sisters had been practically begging their father to come out with them, but the old duke had said they were to stay and finish their studies. They could go out riding later if they finished what they had to do. If they had been there …
David didn’t want to think about it.
“So,” Henrietta removed her hand from his, settling back as she watched her sister draw circles on the water’s surface with her finger, “what do you remember of your time here? It must have brought back enough good memories for us to return. I’m surprised you didn’t take us to our house in Cornwall with the beaches nearby. ”
“I’ve got fonder memories here. I spent my childhood running around with my friends and, inevitably, getting hurt all the time.”
“I’m surprised Mother and Father let you out of the house.”
“So am I.” David pointed towards Caroline’s house, just in view on the hill. “See that house over there, just on the horizon? My neighbour Caroline lived there. She and I spent almost every day together when we were your age.”
“You did?” Henrietta raised her eyebrows. “I thought you and Joseph spent all day together.”
“We did. But Caroline and a younger girl were also with us. We did get into mischief.” As if it was a reflex action, David flexed his arm. “To the point where I kept breaking bones and coming back with so many bruises, I’m surprised I wasn’t completely black and blue.”
“Did I ever meet her?”
“You did. You were quite fond of her, actually.”
Henrietta frowned.
“I can’t remember her. So many memories before we left here are lost to me. It’s a little scary that I can’t remember much before I was five.”
David smiled.
“That’s normal. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Can you remember anything before you were five?”
“A few bits and pieces.Just snippets. I don’t know how anyone can remember anything as a toddler with great clarity.”
“Maybe they just have better memories.”
“Maybe. I do have a lot of Caroline, though. She was focused on her family and worked hard, but she also came to join us with our escapades.” David thought about Caroline, and warmth filled his chest. “She was probably the most adventurous out of us. She climbed the trees first; she was the first across the river, and she always came up with the ideas.”
Henrietta laughed.
“And yet you’re the one who kept getting hurt.”
“Can you blame me for wanting to impress?”
“So, even at that young age, you were trying to impress a girl.”
David shrugged.
“I start as I mean to carry on. What’s wrong with that?”
“You’re awful, David; do you know that?”
David winked, which just had Henrietta groaning. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked at Caroline’s home.
“Do you think she’s still there? Maybe you should catch up and reminisce about old times.”
“I doubt she’ll be there, Henrietta. She’s only a couple of years younger than me. She’ll be married and have a family of her own by now.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t look for her as a friend, does it?” Henrietta asked. “Maybe her parents are still around. You never know.”
David shook his head.
“I doubt it. Her father was already forty when she was born, and I know her mother had her when she was already in her thirties.”
“Any reason why they left it that late?”
“From what Caroline told me, her mother couldn’t get a pregnancy to come to full-term. She had so many miscarriages, and those that did survive birth didn’t pass the age of seven.”
Henrietta gasped, a hand going to her mouth.
“Oh, my goodness. It was that bad?”
“A smallpox epidemic was going around when Sir Geoffrey and Lady Gabrielle were starting a family. Lady Gabrielle contracted it, but she pulled through. Since then, she’s struggled to hold onto a pregnancy. Her little boy also got smallpox and didn’t make it.”
Henrietta looked horrified.
“Oh, that’s horrible. I can’t begin to imagine how they must have felt after all that. And they managed to have a child?”
“Yes. They had pretty much given up on having children again when Lady Gabrielle became pregnant with Caroline. They were numb to it by this point, so they didn’t bother with any precautions as they expected to lose this one. Then Caroline was born, and they did everything to ensure she survived.”
David remembered Caroline telling him the story before, and he felt awful retelling it.
Caroline’s family had desperately wanted a big family, but life ensured that didn’t happen.
They had fussed over Caroline and tried to coddle her, but she never let them.
It had taken a while for them to back down and let her live as she wanted, but David could see where they were coming from.
When you only had one child you never thought you had …
“I’m beginning to wish that I had never asked now.” Henrietta shifted in her chair. “I feel like I’m going to cry over something I can’t do anything about.”
David chuckled.
“You’re far too delicate, Henrietta. Do you know that?”