Chapter 13
The candle flickered as the breeze came through the window, almost going out. Caroline shifted the candlestick to keep it out of the way of the breeze. It felt nice, but she didn’t want to light the candle again; she didn’t want to run out of matches.
She should have gone to sleep ages ago but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Not when Frankenstein had captured her attention.
It was beautifully constructed, and the imagery was remarkable.
Caroline had struggled to stop when she had to do her duties.
While Henrietta and Gwen wouldn’t have minded, she wasn’t here to read.
She was almost done. Just a few more pages, and then she would stop. Her eyes were beginning to close of their own accord, but Caroline wanted just a few more pages.
Sleep could wait.
The sound of wheels crunching on gravel outside had Caroline looking up from her book. Was someone coming to the house? Who would be visiting in the middle of the night?
Unless …
Slipping out of bed, Caroline went to the window. She had a view overlooking part of the drive, so she couldn’t quite see the front door or the carriage. But she could hear the voices before someone went into the house.
It was David. He was home.
Smiling, Caroline pulled away and snatched up her robe, which she shrugged on. She should be sleeping at this time of night, but knowing that David was back left her too excited to think about sleep.
That gave her a momentary pause. Why was she acting like she was his wife or something? She was one of his employees, so she shouldn’t behave in such a manner.
But he’s also a friend. Who wouldn’t want to be excited to greet their friend after not seeing each other for ages?
Taking a moment to compose herself, Caroline picked up her candlestick and left her room, heading along the hallway until the top of the stairs came into sight. She could hear David now, his voice floating up the stairs.
“I’m just going to have a drink before I retire, Hadleigh. You can go to bed now. I’ll put the candles out.”
“I don’t mind staying up for a while longer, Your Grace.”
David laughed.
“Not when you look like you’re about to keel over. Are my sisters running circles around you?”
“I wouldn’t say that. Lady Caroline is doing well in keeping them busy.”
“I didn’t doubt that. I’m sure that will change once they realise I’m here.” Then footsteps reached Caroline’s ears. “You go on up to bed, Hadleigh. I’ll be fine.”
“Very good, Your Grace. Goodnight.”
Caroline looked around the corner and saw Hadleigh disappear from sight.
David was nowhere to be seen, so he must have gone into the drawing room already.
She headed downstairs, her bare feet padding on the stairs.
When she entered the drawing room, David was at the drinks cabinet, pouring whisky into a glass full of ice, his back to the door.
For a moment, Caroline didn’t know what to do or say. Something kept her transfixed in the door like a fool, unsure what to do. This left her a little bewildered. Why was she behaving like this? It wasn’t like this was the first time she had seen him.
What was wrong with her?
David turned, raising his glass to his lips. Then he saw her and paused. His expression brightened.
“Caroline.”
“Your Grace.”
David smiled, and Caroline’s heart missed a beat. Why was it behaving like this now? It was annoying.
“How many times have I said you don’t need to call me that when we’re not in public.”
“I don’t want to fall into bad habits in public,” Caroline pointed out.
“Well, I’m sure we can manage that. But, certainly, for tonight, it’s just David.”
He sipped his drink and went over to the settee. The fire had been lit despite the warm summer evening, and the flickering flames bathed David in an orange glow. Caroline couldn’t help being fascinated at how regal and elegant he looked.
Had something changed in the last couple of weeks? Caroline thought something was different for some reason, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Caroline?”
“Hmm?”
David was peering at her.
“Are you alright? You’re staring into the distance there.”
“Oh.” Caroline felt her face warm and shuffled from foot to foot. “I suppose I’m just a little tired. It is late, after all.”
“Why don’t you retire, then?”
“Because I wanted to see who had arrived.” Caroline approached him, gathering her confidence. She shouldn’t be so nervous around him. “Now that I’ve seen it’s you, I wanted to greet you.”
David’s smile was warm, his eyes drifting over her. Caroline was glad she had done up her robe, but she was feeling a little too warm now.
“Well, I’m glad you came down to see me. It’s a nice welcome home greeting.” He waved at the settee across from him. “Why don’t you sit down? I want to hear how things have been going with my sisters. They’re not causing too much hassle, are they?”
“Of course not.” Caroline put the candlestick on the table and sat down. “They’re really bright children. They always get their schoolwork done, and there are no complaints.”
“No complaints? How on earth did you manage that?”
“I don’t have them in the schoolroom for several hours a day. Just the morning, and then they do what they want in the afternoon.” Caroline shrugged. “I know it’s not ideal and not what you would have wanted, but it’s working with them to be more productive.”
David shrugged.
“I’m not about to argue with that. Not when I remember my time with a governess. We could spend up to eight hours in the schoolroom, not including having lunch.”
“Eight hours?”
“Don’t you remember? I was always messing around, so my time got extended.”
Caroline vaguely remembered. It had been a while, so she vaguely remembered David having to stay home a few times because he had to do his schoolwork.
“Well, if you don’t pay attention …”
“I like learning, but it got very boring. And it took time away from spending it out in the sunshine with my friends.” David chuckled.
“I’m sure Henrietta and Gwen are pretty much the same.
Having Gwen, especially, sit down and do her work is impressive.
Their last governess was good, but even she had a problem with Gwen not sitting still. ”
“She’s a smart girl. She just needs to have something to use her energy on.”
“I suppose.” David sipped his drink. “I’m sure they’ll be telling me all about it in the morning.
Would you mind if they don’t have any lessons tomorrow?
I want to take them out riding, something we haven’t done in a long time.
I think it’s about time we start doing that again. Maybe take them on a picnic.”
Caroline remembered Gwen talking about how David would do this with them when she first started riding. She hadn’t been able to cope with being in the saddle for long as she kept wanting to get down, so David made it into something fun with a picnic.
She wished that she had a brother who had done that with her.
#
David was exhausted. The travelling had taken a lot longer than he anticipated after a wheel broke and they had to wait for a replacement. They had been lucky to break down not too far from a carpentry workshop, and he had a spare wheel that would work.
David didn’t think they could time it more perfectly, especially when they were moments away from going into the middle of the countryside, where there was barely anything around for several miles. That wasn’t a place to break down.
He should be retiring to bed himself, but now that Caroline was up and talking to him, David didn’t want to go anywhere. Seeing her was soothing, much to his surprise. It felt good to come home and find Caroline there.
Slow down. She’s the governess now, not your lover or wife. Remember that.
David inwardly sighed and pushed away his thoughts, sipping his whisky as he focused on Caroline.
“Did you get the book I got for you?” he asked. “It’s the first of three volumes, and I thought I would send you the first one to see if you liked it.”
“Have you read it yourself?”
“Not yet. You’re the book lover, so I thought I’d get your opinion on it.” David smiled. “You’ve been staying up reading, haven’t you?”
Caroline bit her lip.
“Am I that obvious?”
“I’m afraid so. I remember you saying that you would stay up until the early hours just reading, and then you would be so tired the next day.
” David chuckled as he thought back to their youth.
“You did end up falling asleep on us quite a few times. We would be having fun playing, and then I’d look over, and you would be sleeping upright. It was quite amusing.”
“That’s not fair!” Caroline blushed. “I didn’t do anything of the sort. I was just resting my eyes.”
“While you were snoring?”
“I don’t snore!”
David laughed. Caroline’s bashfulness was really cute. He sat back and crossed his legs at the ankles.
“You do snore, and I could hear you very clearly. It was funny.”
Caroline groaned. Then she slapped her hands and started to get up.
“Right, if you’re going to tease me, I’ll just leave you to it.”
“Please don’t.” David realised that he spoke a little too quickly, and he cleared his throat when Caroline arched an eyebrow at him.
“I wanted to hear what you’ve been doing while I’ve been away.
I doubt we’ll get a chance tomorrow. My sisters will want my attention, and we won’t have a moment to ourselves. ”
Caroline looked like she would say something about it, but she nodded and sat back down instead.
“Alright. But any comments about my supposed snoring, and I’m going back to my bedchamber.”
“Fine by me.” David held up a hand in a pledge. “I won’t mention your snoring or anything connected to it. I promise.”
Caroline didn’t look convinced. But she still settled back down, smoothing her nightgown and robe over her knees.
“Why don’t you tell me about how things went? There is only so much you can put in letters, and I’m sure there is more to tell.”