Chapter Seven
The next morning
Ashlyn opened her eyes and, for a moment, lay staring across the room at the window.
The curtains were still open to allow any sunshine that made its way through the clouds to wake her up.
But the glimpse of the clear sky and the stars and the glow of the moon that she had had the night before was gone.
Instead, the sky had turned once again gray and gloomy, with dark clouds and rain pelting against her window in a steady cadence. When will the rain end?
She offered a quick prayer of thanks that they had found refuge here with the earl and his family.
That the earl had seen to Billy’s care. He was just a boy, after all, albeit an impetuous one.
Alice would likely have more to tell her about Billy.
Ashlyn would ask her maid when she came to her room to help her dress.
She got out of bed, slid her feet into her slippers, and wrapped the warm robe around her.
Padding to the hearth, she laid an extra log on the fire and coaxed the flames up again.
From beneath her mattress, she retrieved her diary.
Luckily, she always kept it with her. She padded over to the small writing table on the other side of the hearth, sat, and began to write her thoughts down:
Dear Diary,
Was it a dream or reality that a sweet little girl sleepwalked into my room last night? I gently rocked her to sleep, humming the lullaby that Mama had sung to me, had taught me. She reminded me of the lullaby when we were packing the trunks for my voyage.
Mama told me that one day, I would sing it to my own children. Then she started to sing the lullaby, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
I hugged Mama and wondered if she was just sad that I was embarking on such a long voyage. I reassured her and reminded her that I would be back home before Thanksgiving. And when I returned, I would have many stories to share about my first, and likely only, trip abroad.
Mama had smiled, but something in her eyes was different, as though she sensed something that she wouldn’t or couldn’t share with me.
Papa has always said that Mama can sense and see things that others cannot.
It was probably one of the reasons why she was of so much help to Papa in his practice.
She was a nurse and everything in between.
But sometimes, she told me, she had trouble figuring out what the feeling that she was feeling was. It took time…
Well, maybe what Mama was feeling was Elizabeth falling head over heels for that Italian artist and eloping to Italy with him…
Ashlyn had already written her parents about Elizabeth and her elopement, knowing full well they would not receive the letter until well after Elizabeth’s parents had departed for England.
But she had sought to reassure them that when her cousin’s parents arrived, she would tell them everything, and she was certain Uncle William would make everything right again.
He was Mama’s older brother, and Mama knew how fiercely he loved and cared about his family, no matter his business success.
Uncle William and Aunt Beatrice were no fools, and they would get to the bottom of whatever Elizabeth had gotten herself into.
Ashlyn wrote the words of the lullaby down…and blinked back tears as she remembered what it felt like to hold the child in her arms and then to know the truth about what had happened to her.
Was it a dream or reality that Lord Ravensthorpe stood in my doorway last night, and when I looked up, I saw him watching me with such intensity? I could not quite fathom the expression on his face, but his stormy eyes reflected such sadness, such sorrow.
And then, when he told me about Caro, he shared the tragedy of her loss and the family’s pain… My heart flooded with such a profound feeling for the girl.
Losing her parents at such a young age, especially in such a horrific way, broke my heart. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she must have felt, still feels.
And then spending time with Gabriel in the kitchen, of all places, sipping warm milk and honey and sharing a plate of cinnamon biscuits…
I have never spoken to a man in such an intimate way, in such a private setting, and have never experienced anything like it before.
Then again, Gabriel said he had lost his betrothed in the carriage accident as well. And based on the way he said her name—Juliet—I couldn’t help but feel that he has no interest in replacing her… It has only been three years since that tragedy.
Why are my thoughts drifting in such a direction? Who am I to even contemplate this… Or even think of him as Gabriel and not the earl, or His Lordship?
Because of one special night over a cup of hot milk and biscuits? Who am I to presume anything about this family?
Especially because I am not Elizabeth…
I need to get my head out of the clouds.
I am not a wealthy heiress. Most likely, I will end up married to a physician back home.
I do want to marry and have a family of my own.
In any case, I will be returning to Boston in a few months.
I need to remember that my life, my future, is back home, in America…
~A
She pushed aside her thoughts of Caro and the earl, just as a light scratch at the door sounded, followed by the door opening to admit Alice’s entry.
“Miss, you’re awake! Good morning! You’ll be glad to know I’ve already gotten familiar with everything,” she said, bustling into the room, carrying a tray with something that smelled divine.
Oh, goodness, Ashlyn thought, closing her burgundy leather diary and slipping it beneath her mattress. She felt a little guilty—she often confided in Alice, but she couldn’t share this with her. Not yet, in any case. It was too new, too raw, and besides, she had no idea what any of it meant.
“Good morning, Alice,” she said, getting up from the desk and walking to the armchair. “Of course you have. You’re truly a wonder, and you adapt to any surroundings.” She chuckled.
Alice smiled as she set the tray down on the side table next to the armchair. “Mrs. Fitz, the cook, insisted you have these biscuits and this chocolate to help you warm up. Such a kind woman—both she and the housekeeper, Mrs. Flinters.”
Ashlyn took a sip of the chocolate and closed her eyes in pleasure. It tasted even better than the chocolate she had had at Gunter’s in London with Elizabeth. “Oh, this is delicious. I must thank Mrs. Fitz and ask how she prepares it.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Alice said with a smug grin. “I already got the recipe from her.” She tapped her temple. “She mixes cream with almond milk and marzipan so it’s very thick, then she adds a touch of cinnamon and orange flower water to the chocolate at the very end.”
“Oh, what a delicious blend,” Ashlyn said as she dipped the biscuit into the chocolate.
Alice moved about the bedchamber, retrieving a gown made of chintz in pale yellow from the armoire, undergarments, and other items. “Mrs. Flinters told me that the earl himself went to retrieve the carriage at dawn this morning with his men. They brought back your trunks, miss. Two of the maids helped me go through the clothes, and we washed and pressed everything. Your other things are all drying, and we’ll bring everything up here later.
Oh, and Mrs. Flinters reminded me this morning about your breakfast with the countess.
Once you’re dressed, I’ll escort you to the breakfast room,” she added with a wink.
“I asked about Billy this morning, and one of the footmen, Theo, said he was on the mend, but we were both too busy for us to speak of more than that,” she continued. “I didn’t get a chance to ask what he was healing from, but as covered in mud as he was, I suppose it could’ve been most anything.”
“Yes. Thank you for checking.” Ashlyn wasn’t sure what would happen.
Billy was too young—and now that she knew his age, she certainly couldn’t allow him to continue driving.
They were without a carriage and were lucky they had survived, considering the wrath of that storm.
She wouldn’t chance fate twice. And certainly not after what Gabriel had shared with her last night.
“I hope to visit Billy later. Gab—the earl told me he would take me to see him.”
Alice gave her a curious smile. “He’s a good man, His Lordship is.”
Ashlyn hoped the fire in the hearth and the chocolate explained the heat in her cheeks. She quickly lifted the cup to her mouth and kept sipping.
“Oh, and dear Mrs. Flinters inquired as to my comfort,” Alice said as she continued to putter about.
“Can you imagine that, Miss Ashlyn? A big, important earl’s house like this, and they care about the servants, and their guests’ servants.
Believe me, that’s not what we heard when me and Mary arrived in London, with you and Miss Elizabeth.
We heard the English were a bunch of snobs.
But that’s not true at all. Oh, and now I’m thinking about Mary and Miss Elizabeth, and I pray they are faring well. ”
“I pray for that too, Alice,” Ashlyn said. “When we get back to the hotel in London, I hope there will be a letter from Elizabeth and that it will tell us of her happiness.”
“Aye, and hopefully the letter will get there before her parents do, so you’ll have something good to tell them,” Alice said in a wry tone as she set the clothing out on the bed and from the washstand retrieved a comb and brush. She placed a hard-backed chair near the hearth.
Ashlyn didn’t care that Alice voiced her opinions to her in the privacy of her bedchamber.
She was an intelligent woman. She was four years older than Ashlyn, who had yet to turn twenty, and had been with her since Ashlyn was twelve.
But she had always been wise beyond her years.
Ashlyn wished Mary had even a fraction of Alice’s wisdom so she could truly be of help to Elizabeth if things went awry.
“As soon as you finish your chocolate, I’ll help you dress your hair, Miss Ashlyn.
Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll remember to call you Miss Vickers or Miss Elizabeth in front of others.
” Alice walked over to the open wardrobe.
“I’ve hung some of your favorite day dresses here—clean and pressed, of course,” she added, picking out a dress with small blue flowers.
“I’ll have to thank Mrs. Fitz. These cookies—I mean biscuits—are delicious,” Ashlyn said with a smile. “It’s hard to keep the subtleties of our language differences straight.”
“Oh, you’re right, miss,” Alice said. “I’m afraid I made a couple of mistakes myself, and offered apologies when I got stares instead of answers.
I’m glad we’re only hiding your identity and name and not that we’re from America.
I think that would be next to impossible.
Imagine me trying to speak like an English maid.
” She burst into giggles, so infectious that Ashlyn chuckled as well.
“Yes, my cousin has put us in an awkward situation,” Ashlyn finally said, getting up and sitting in the straight-backed chair. “I’m finding it a little more manageable, although I hate lying. Especially to these good people.”
“Miss Elizabeth loves you and has a good heart, but she does have a knack for putting our tails in a spin,” Alice said with an arched brow.
“Ha! That’s a good way of putting it. And she does have a good heart.” Ashlyn grew quiet for a few seconds. “Sorry. She’s like a sister to me, and I miss her.”
“Yes, I know you do. You two could pass as twins,” Alice said, brushing out Ashlyn’s long hair.
“Since the weather doesn’t look like it’s changing anytime soon, we’ll probably be relying on the kindness of this lovely household for a little while longer,” Ashlyn said with a sigh.
She would pen a note to Mr. and Mrs. Crutchins—Billy’s parents—and give it to the countess to post. Billy’s family deserved to know where he was, in case the lad hadn’t informed them—which, now that she thought about it, seemed likely.
Ashlyn inwardly winced when she thought about the tangled tapestry that Elizabeth’s lie had already twisted into knots.
However, she couldn’t solve any of these problems until she faced the family and received more information about Billy.
“I should get dressed and join the family for breakfast.” A strange chill went up Ashlyn’s spine, some sense of foreboding.
For a moment, she sat still, trying to make sense of it.
Unable to relate it to anything she had experienced, she decided it must have been a chill.
Alice swept Ashlyn’s dark, burnished-brown hair up into a loose chignon, allowing soft, dark curls to frame her cheeks and neck. “I found your pearls in the trunk, miss,” she said, holding the necklace out. “They always look especially lovely with your hair.”
“Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you. I’m glad I didn’t take much else with me.
And it was smart of you to keep my jewels in your reticule.
” Most of the more expensive pieces that Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle had gifted Ashlyn remained in the hotel safe.
Fleetingly, she wondered if her cousin had left hers there, too, or if she had taken them.
As Alice worked on her hair, Ashlyn’s thoughts drifted to the handsome man who had peeped into her room last night.
The Earl of Ravensthorpe was unlike any man she had ever met before.
He had entered her room in search of his niece, and remarkably, the small child stayed asleep after he moved her back to the nursery.
It was obvious he was concerned for the child’s welfare.
From the way he spoke of his sister, Olivia, they must have been close.
Ashlyn couldn’t even imagine such a tragedy.
To have to pass one’s child to someone else, knowing you would never see it again…
She shook her head, unable to comprehend the pain his dear sister must have endured.
Ashlyn accepted the proffered looking glass Alice had handed her and studied her image.
Giving a quick pinch to her cheeks, she said, “I’m ready, and I’ll take you up on escorting me because I’m certain to become lost.” She had to admit, the biscuits and chocolate had barely whetted her appetite.
She was hungry. But also, nervous to be spending time with the countess…