Chapter 10
Caroline looked around her bedchamber, realising that she hadn’t noticed how few belongings she had. The room looked very empty and, despite the warm weather outside, was cold.
It’s only temporary. And you’re only on the next estate. You won’t be away forever.
“Caroline?”
Caroline turned. Lady Gabrielle was in the doorway, wrapping a shawl around her shoulders. Caroline went to her.
“You shouldn’t be up and about, Mother.”
“I’m sick, but I’m not completely infirm.”
“What if you suffer a fall?”
Lady Gabrielle smiled.
“Stop fussing over me, sweetheart. Your father and I can walk around well enough. We just get tired faster than normal.”
“Even so …”
“Enough. I’m perfectly capable.”
Caroline knew that, but it still didn’t make her feel any better.
Her parents’ strength wasn’t what it used to be, and she did worry about them all the time.
It seemed like every time they got better, something happened, and they were getting sick again.
It was a never-ending cycle, and the physician was confused about why it was happening.
Caroline didn’t know what to do about it.
Not for the first time, she wondered if she was doing the right thing by leaving and going to David to work for him. She didn’t want to leave her parents like this.
“Are you sure I should be doing this, Mother? If you say the word, I’ll stay …”
Lady Gabrielle held up a hand.
“Don’t be silly, Caroline. This will be good for you. You need to get out there and make a living for yourself.”
“It’s for you, Mother!”
“I know, but what if, God forbid, something happened to us? I want to know that you’re settled and capable of being on your own. Besides,” she reached out and squeezed Caroline’s hands, “you’re only over in Bayntree’s house. It’s not far at all. You can come and see us any time you want.”
Caroline didn’t want to think about what could happen to her parents. She loved them so much. It would break her apart if something happened. She swallowed.
“I wish you wouldn’t make me nervous about leaving you before I’ve even left the house.”
“Forgive me, dear. That was not my intention.” Lady Gabrielle led Caroline out of her room and along the hall towards the stairs. “Look, Baxter and Madeleine are going to look after us, and Mrs Marks will make sure we’re properly fed. And you’re not far away at all.”
“What about the labourers? What will happen with them? You know we’ve had problems with them in the past. I don’t want to leave you with that …”
“You let us worry about that. We’ve got a plan set up. Now, come along. Your belongings are packed onto the carriage and ready to go.”
Caroline wanted to ask what plan her parents had for the workers on their estate, but her mother was leading her down the stairs, and she was taking them slowly, holding onto the bannister.
Caroline helped her, half-worried that her mother would slip and end up in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.
You need to stop worrying. They may be unwell, but they’re also tougher than you think. Take a deep breath and trust them. They’re not going to be alone.
Baxter was standing by the carriage, holding the door open for her. Madeleine and Mrs Marks were on the driveway, standing on either side of Sir Geoffrey. The man smiled at his daughter.
“Caroline.”
“I feel like everyone is standing on ceremony for me.” Caroline couldn’t help laughing. “I’m only going a bit down the hill!”
“We just wanted to see you off.” Sir Geoffrey grasped his daughter’s hands. “And I wanted to be sure that you got into that carriage before you changed your mind.”
“Father!”
Laughing, the old man drew her in for an embrace, kissing her cheek.
“I love you, little Caroline. You’re going to be fine. Make us proud.”
Caroline didn’t know how to respond to that except with the obvious.
“I love you, too, Father.”
Caroline hugged her mother, Madeleine, and Mrs Marks, and approached the carriage.
She squeezed Baxter’s arm and gave him a smile before getting inside.
This did feel surreal. In reality, she was just going to the next estate over, but in her mind, it could have been several hours away. How was that possible?
Then again, she had lived on this estate her whole life. Unsurprisingly, this would feel like she was entering new territory.
It didn’t take long for the carriage to arrive at David’s house, and it had barely stopped before the front door opened, and Henrietta was coming out. She waited for Caroline to get out, giving her a warm smile.
“Lady Caroline.”
“Lady Henrietta.” Caroline smiled at the girl’s appearance. “You didn’t need to come and greet me when I arrived.”
“I have to be polite. By the way, thank you for letting us borrow those books. I’ve just finished the first one. It’s so fascinating.”
“I’m glad you like them.” Caroline looked towards the house. “I take it your brother and sister are busy right now.”
Henrietta’s smile faded, and she sighed.
“David’s comforting Gwen at the moment.”
“Comforting? What happened?”
“Gwen’s been going back and forth with her emotions. We’ve all been devastated by Father’s death, even now, and it’s hit Gwen the hardest. She suddenly started crying during breakfast, so David’s giving her a cuddle.”
Caroline felt a pang of sadness for the young girl. Knowing she was still in pain about losing her parent was heartbreaking. She had no idea how she would feel if anything happened to her mother or father.
“Should we leave them to it? I don’t want to get in the way …”
“You’re going to be living with us from now on, aren’t you?
It’s going to be difficult to avoid.” Henrietta led her into the house.
“I can understand how Gwen feels. I have a lot of conflicting emotions about how I should feel now that Father’s dead.
I even felt awful for feeling happy when I had dinner at your home. ”
Caroline smiled.
“You don’t need to feel guilty. You loved your father, and he would want you to carry on and live life to the fullest. He would certainly want you to carry on your piano playing. It’s exquisite.”
Henrietta blushed. They entered the house, and Hadleigh took Caroline’s hat and coat. He gestured towards the morning room.
“His Grace and Lady Gwendolyn are in the morning room.”
“I think we should leave them for now, Hadleigh,” Henrietta said, glancing at Caroline. “Why don’t I show you the schoolroom, Lady Caroline? It’s just down the hall.”
“Alright. But you don’t need to be calling me ‘lady’ all the time. Just Caroline will be fine when it’s just us.”
Henrietta nodded.
“Very well.”
They made their way through the house, and Henrietta entered a room just beyond the study.
Caroline followed, surprised at how bright and warm it was with such dark furniture.
There were two desks in front of a blackboard and a piano towards the back of the room.
There was also a huge bookcase filled with books.
“It doesn’t seem to have changed over the years, except that it’s brighter than I remember.”
Henrietta laughed and pointed at the windows.
“I’m not surprised. The staff couldn’t access the windows to clean them outside because of the ivy twisting and getting in the way. Hadleigh said the gardener hadn’t been doing his job, so they got a new person in to completely cut all the ivy down.”
Caroline stood in the middle of the room and looked around, feeling a wave of nostalgia coming back.
“I haven’t been in here in ten years. David was meant to be doing his lessons, but he would always sneak us in. Eventually, his governess gave up and let all of us stay as long as we had lessons as well.”
“That wasn’t with Miss Kimball, was it?”
“No, I think her name was Hagarty.”
Henrietta frowned.
“I vaguely remember her. I do recall coming in here when I was about four or five, but I can’t remember much.”
“You were probably too little to do any work at all, so you must have gone back to play.”
“Probably.Or to poke at the piano. I loved it, even at that age.”
Caroline could imagine if Henrietta could play as well as she did at her young age. She would love to play like that, but she struggled to get her hands to play together.
“I’m not going to be teaching you piano, am I?”
“No, I’ve got a piano tutor. David sorted that out once we moved. He’s going to be coming in three times a week.”
“That’s something,” Caroline murmured.
She wandered over to the blackboard, noting the chalk and the board rubber. It had been a while since she had used chalk, but she remembered it being really dusty. Caroline made a mental note not to wear dark clothing.
The sound of someone in the doorway had Caroline turning, and she saw David and Gwen entering the room. Gwen was pale with reddened eyes, but she wasn’t crying. David looked solemn, although his expression softened when he saw her. Caroline couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
This was daunting, but she could do this. She knew it.
#
David was glad to see Caroline. She seemed to lighten up the room right now, especially after having a moment or two with Gwen. Gwen had been happy and carrying on as normal, only to stop smiling suddenly and start shaking. Then she burst into tears, saying she missed her father.
It broke his heart to know that his little sister was hurting.
David understood it all too well. He also missed his father, and it was difficult to let his emotions pass by when they hit him.
But David could cope with those emotions, for the most part.
Gwen couldn’t; she was going back and forth so suddenly that the poor thing couldn’t cope.
David wished he knew what he could do to make her feel better.
Maybe there wasn’t really anything he could do except give her cuddles when she needed them. That was all he could do.
Caroline crossed the room, giving Gwen a warm smile.
“Good morning, Gwen.”
“Morning,” Gwen mumbled. She looked a little nervous. “Am I having lessons today?”