Chapter 4
“I’m going for a walk,” David said as he rose from the table. “You two can make yourself at home and explore the house.”
Gwen looked up from her pudding.
“Can I come with you, David?” she asked.
“Not this time, Gwen.”
“But I want to come with you!”
Henrietta frowned at her sister from across the table.
“Don’t, Gwen. David wanted to be on his own for a while.” She nodded at her brother. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
David smiled.
“Pretty much. I don’t mean to be rude, but I just want to walk around the estate to see if anything needs doing. It’s a very long walk, and you two will get worn out before we get to the perimeter line.”
Gwen pouted.
“But I can walk a long, long way!”
“I don’t doubt it, but our estate in Buckinghamshire is much smaller than this. I don’t want you to get worn out so quickly.”
Gwen snorted.
“I don’t believe you.”
She was argumentative today. Getting splashed by a fish seemed to have upset her more than David expected. Trying not to laugh at how amusing it was to see his sister grumpy over a wet dress, he came around to her side of the table and kissed her head.
“Don’t worry; you can come with me another time. When you’re a little older.”
“I’m ten! I’m not a baby!”
Henrietta sighed.
“Just go, David. I’ll deal with Gwen. She’s being a baby about her dress getting ruined.”
“I’m not being a baby!” Gwen whined. She sat back and folded her arms with a scowl. “People keep calling me a baby, but I’m not!”
“Then stop behaving like one!” Henrietta shot back. “Don’t be so ungrateful.”
David decided it was best to leave now and not get caught up in the sisters’ squabbling.
Henrietta could deal with Gwen, anyway. Slipping out of the dining room and leaving the girls arguing, he spied Nanny Drew and George at the bottom of the stairs.
They were deep in conversation, and David could see that Nanny Drew was smiling at something George was saying.
He cleared his throat as he approached, and the two jumped apart, George slipping on the step until he was sat on the stairs, and Nanny Drew jumped backwards into David. She spun around, her eyes widening before her gaze dropped.
“Your Grace! Forgive me, I …”
“I’m just going to have a look around the estate. I think Lady Gwen needs you. She’s getting a little … upset.”
Nanny Drew sighed.
“Oh, no. She’s been upset since she got her dress ruined. I told her it was being cleaned right now, but she’s still annoyed.”
“Well, she did lose a sudden fight with a fish, after all.”
“I suppose.” The nanny stepped around him. “I’ll go and make sure that she’s alright. I can distract her with something.”
She walked away, and David cast George a sly smile. His valet blushed furiously.
“We were just talking, Your Grace,” he spluttered, dusting himself down.
“Did I say anything, George?”
“What? No …”
“Just make sure you complete your job before you decide to flirt with the other staff members. Nanny Drew does have to keep my sisters out of trouble.” David started up the stairs. “I’m going to need help getting changed, anyway.”
“Oh. Right.” George hurried after him. “Of course, Your Grace.”
It didn’t take long to get changed into clothes meant for walking and putting on appropriate shoes.
Once he was done, David headed downstairs and out of the front door.
He was looking forward to exploring his old family home again; it had been far too long.
Lots of memories were stirring, and David wanted to see if anything had changed.
Of course, the household staff who stayed had looked after everything – his father didn’t want it to go into disrepair on the off-chance that it could be useful in the future – but there were still things to look out for.
And they would have changed something. David was keen to see if his memory was as good as he thought.
Setting off along the path, David took a left instead of following the curve to the right, stepping off the driveway and onto a path created after so many years of being trampled.
With the summer weather as it was, there were no worries of slipping in mud and getting up to the ankles in water.
It could be the most precarious footpath when it wanted to be, but not today.
The last time David had taken this route, he had been clearing his head before he left with his father and sisters to go to Buckinghamshire. He had thought they would never see the house he had been born and raised in ever again.
Only a few months later, David would be entering Society, his mother being very supportive and urging him to make the most of it before he settled down. Then that was put to one side while he had to mourn his mother’s untimely death and live somewhere he only knew as an occasional holiday home.
David hadn’t wanted to enter London Society after that, but his father told him he needed to do so. After all, he was the heir and needed to ensure things were secure for the dukedom. Now his mother was gone, David didn’t really care about that anymore.
He would rather have the woman he loved dearly back than find a wife. But he had to do as he was told, and after his mourning period, David joined the rest of the ton. When he returned from London, his home was not the place he had loved so much.
There was another reason why he had come back to Hertfordshire. It felt like home. Buckinghamshire had never felt like that; it was merely a replacement for what David wanted, but even as a grown man, his father had forbidden him from returning to Hertfordshire.
He said that nobody needed to bring up the past and that it should be left alone. With how much he hated the place now, David wondered why his father kept it going as if they were to return at any moment.
The old duke would be turning in his grave if he knew that his children had returned to the home his wife had passed away in. But he wasn’t here anymore, and David had decided if he was going to be the duke and be his sisters’ guardian, he would do it where he wanted.
Duke of Bayntree. Even though it had been some weeks since he inherited the title, David still couldn’t get used to it. He was expecting to be called Lord Whistler, a title that would probably not be used again for a while.
When David thought about a duke, he thought about an older man, not someone close to his age. It felt odd. Joseph found it amusing, but his friend found many things amusing. He had been trying to lift David’s spirits after everything that had happened.
He would be arriving in a couple of days to stay for a while. That would make things better, and David would have his friend around to distract Henrietta and Gwen. Gwen was more affected by her father’s death than her older sister, and she could go from happy to tearful in the blink of an eye.
Her emotions were all over the place. And Henrietta, while composed, would sob when she thought she was alone. David was at a loss for what he could say or do. Joseph always knew what to say.
And it would lighten up the mood at the house. Hopefully.
Reaching the top of the hill, David turned and looked down at the manor house.
He had forgotten how high it was and how tiny the huge house looked.
Despite being mostly flat, Hertfordshire seemed to find the hills right where David’s ancestors had built their house.
Why they would build in a valley rather than on a hill, he had no idea.
He wasn’t about to argue with the long-dead architects.
At least he had a magnificent view. He couldn’t argue with that.
Making his way along the path, the sun beating down on his face and the breeze gently ruffling his hair, David found his gaze focusing on Caroline’s house.
It seemed a bit closer now; the land around the house spread out dark and desolate.
It looked like things hadn’t been kind for the family.
Either that, or this was them working to get things ready for the summer and their crops weren’t planted yet.
Deep down, he suspected that things weren’t going well. Sir Geoffrey would be an old man now and wouldn’t be able to keep everything going on his own. David felt a pang of sympathy for the man.
He made a mental note to send some of his own servants over to help so things got going again. He didn’t mind paying extra for it and helping out a neighbour, especially a fun and kind old gentleman like Sir Geoffrey Fairfax. David liked him and his wife. They were good people.
Did Caroline know what was going on? She had to. Hopefully, she was close by so she could help. David couldn’t see her moving so far away and abandoning her parents. She wouldn’t allow it.
Just as he was thinking about Caroline, a figure appeared on the path ahead of him, wearing a hat and dark blue dress. She stopped, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked down at David’s house. Even from where he was, David could see the frown on her face. She looked tired.
Wait, is that …?
David took a closer look. It couldn’t be. She was older, but there was no mistaking that face he had seen every day for years.
She was here.
#
Caroline looked down at David’s old house, wondering if David would ever return.
He had told her before the family left that his father couldn’t bear to stay here after his wife died, and they had to leave.
He was reluctant to do so, but Caroline had promised they would see each other again.
He could move back, after all, when he was older and had his own family.
The house was being looked after, so it wouldn’t be a waste.
She missed her friend. They had spent so much time together, and David had been willing to lend a hand whenever it was needed at her house.
They had been close, and despite moving to another county, Caroline had thought they would meet in London.
She would be entering Society a couple of years after him, so she would have someone to look after her.