Chapter Ten
Carina was impressed that despite all the duties and pressures upon Harriet Cole in the days before her wedding, the bride always managed to spend time with her sisters and Alex, who appeared more like a brother than a cousin to them.
She always came to hug little Orchid goodnight too, and Carina suspected she also looked in on the other children later on.
Lord Sanderly seemed to be perfectly at ease with their noise and affection.
In fact, Carina suspected he liked it. He made a point of giving Alex riding lessons, and teaching him to drive, a privilege the girls envied and yet never complained about.
During the afternoon after Mrs. Baldeston’s visit, when Harriet had joined the girls and Carina for their walk, none of them were surprised to glimpse Alex cantering along the ridge of the hill.
Sanderly rode beside him, while another gentleman rode just ahead.
The girls abandoned their game and swerved onto the hill path at high speed. Even Lily joined in for a few yards before she fell back to wait for Harriet and Carina.
Harriet said briskly, “Never mind. You are just out of practise at running, since you’ve been confined to bed for so long.”
“I won’t be allowed to run soon, will I?” Lily said, her shoulders drooping.
“I don’t see why,” Harriet objected.
“Miss Jasper says it’s not ladylike. Ladies do not run.”
“In public,” Carina added.
“Exactly,” Harriet agreed. “You can do what you like in your own garden! I certainly intend to.”
“On the other hand,” Carina added. “You’ll never feel obliged to run either or feel compelled to keep up.”
Lily looked quite struck. Then, “Who’s the man with Snake and Alex?”
“Mr. Baldeston,” Harriet replied, and Carina’s stomach tightened.
“We met his wife today in the schoolroom,” Lily said thoughtfully. “She is Lord Durward’s sister.”
“How do you know that?” Carina asked, startled.
“Lady G. must have mentioned it,” Lily said. “Or Snake, perhaps.” Interestingly, her pace increased again.
“They’re up to something,” Harriet murmured.
By then, the riders had halted to talk to the younger girls. Carina hung back as she approached, but Lord Sanderly made a point of introducing her along with Lily. Baldeston acknowledged her civilly, and the riders dismounted to lead their horses so that they could all walk together.
Sanderly addressed his betrothed. “Baldeston says Durward went off to fetch his brother home from school, so I doubt he’ll be here for the wedding. “Wolf has arrived, though, and Jonny Berry...”
“Who will you choose? They could both stand up with you, I suppose. After all, I have several attendants.”
Carina was only vaguely aware of their discussion, for despite dreading Durward’s appearance, the certainty of his absence felt like another blow.
It’s as well, she told herself stoutly and kept repeating it in her head. It didn’t help. She wanted to go back to her pleasant little bedchamber and weep. Don’t be pathetic, Carina Jasper. You are here for a reason...
Hastily, she looked around to locate her charges, who were in a huddle around Alex and his horse. Rather to her alarm, Mr. Baldeston walked beside Carina, while the betrothed couple discussed attendants behind them.
“You impressed my wife this morning,” Mr. Baldeston murmured.
It was so patently untrue that Carina blurted. “Just by not being obviously from some dockside stew?” She bit her lip, flushing. “I beg your pardon.”
But Baldeston merely looked amused. “Durward does set up certain expectations, but I’ve never known him to inflict them directly on Society.
No, you simply impressed her. Durward has a habit of surprising us.
For what it’s worth, I believe the Foster mess shocked him into a reassessment of his life. ”
Carina thought so, too, but it rattled her more that Baldeston should discuss it with her. Perhaps that was why she dropped her guard for an instant to ask, “Why did he do it? Fight all those duels?”
Baldeston turned to meet her gaze. “Why do you think?”
Because it was not them who were meant to die. She couldn’t speak the words aloud. It felt too much like betrayal and was something neither she nor Durward had ever put into words.
Nevertheless, Baldeston seemed to understand. “So I have always thought. He has always been self-destructive, ever since I have known him—I think since his parents and his little sister died.”
She could not allow herself to dwell on Durward again, not with such intensity as before. And yet she found herself asking, “How exactly did they die?”
“Some fever or other. They all had it, apart from Duncan who was a baby. Only Marmaduke and Bethany survived.”
“The guilt of a survivor...”
“Partly. They both feel that. But it was Durward who brought the illness home from school.”
Her breath hitched and words spilled. “Oh, no. Poor idiot—” Her voice broke.
“Precisely. I don’t know if he even realizes it.
But from that time on, his boldness became recklessness.
As if he was already on borrowed, or even stolen time.
No dare, no danger was too great for him to indulge.
And then he honed his shooting skills and believed he could make his opponents invulnerable.
He always did too, inflicting only the most minor grazes. Until Foster.”
“But Mr. Foster will live, will he not?”
“I pray so. I understand he has more chance than anyone gave him credit for at one time.” He smiled slightly. “I have hopes that between your influence and Foster’s near-death, Durward has turned an important corner.”
“Oh no, you misunderstand, sir. I have no influence over his lordship.”
“I think you underestimate yourself, Miss Jasper.”
“No. Did your wife not tell you? I am only the tugboat captain’s daughter.”
Baldeston did not react. “Not only,” he murmured. “Are the children allowed to go into the pond with their shoes on?”
“What? Oh the devil!” Carina raced ahead to whisk Orchid out of the water and berate Rose, who had gone in in the first place apparently to encourage Alex’s horse to take a drink.
IT WAS AS SHE HUSTLED the damp children toward the house that Carina got the nastiest fright since her arrival at Grand Court. A carriage had stopped by the front door, depositing two gentlemen and two ladies.
“Rats,” Carina murmured. “Come, we’d better use the side door.”
Orchid seemed inclined to object, but Carina was experienced enough now to keep hold of the child’s tugging hand.
Even so, there seemed something horribly familiar about the man handing down the ladies from the carriage, and as the newcomers all turned to be welcomed by Lady Grandison, her stomach dived.
Sir Hugh and Lady Mansel.
Carina sped up, all but hauling the children with her.
“Do you know these people?” Lily asked with interest.
“I know who they are,” Carina said repressively.
“I did not know they were friends of Lady Grandison.” In fact, she recalled Lady Mansel being furious about none of her acquaintances managing to secure her an invitation to the famous party at Grand Court in June. Presumably things had changed for her.
“Friends of yours?” Rose asked.
“Hardly. Come, Orchid really needs to be in dry clothes.”
“No, I don’t,” Orchid objected.
“Yes, you do,” Lily said firmly, and took her other hand.
Carina told herself the presence of the Mansels made no difference to her, that she had no reason to ever run into them. They would never know she was here. And even if they saw her, surely they would never deign to recognize the governess.
All the same, she couldn’t help feeling their arrival was somehow ominous. As if life was slipping out of her control yet again.
ONLY HALF AN HOUR BEFORE dinner, which Carina planned to take on a tray in her room— as she had done since the guests began to arrive—Lady Grandison’s maid, Nesbit, appeared with a message.
“Her ladyship requests your presence at dinner ma’am. A male guest has turned up unexpectedly and upset her numbers. She says you should wear the blue muslin and I’m to help you in any way I can.”
“But I can’t!” Carina said, aghast. Apart from anything else, the Mansels would be present...
“Of course you can, miss. You always dined with the family before. There’s just a few more family now. And a few friends. Miss Harriet likes them all.”
Miss Harriet is not the governess! She bit the words back, trying to think what she needed to do before deserting her post for the next hour. She could probably escape as soon as dinner was finished...
“Let me just make sure of the children,” she said, crossing to the bedrooms off the main nursery room. Rose, Orchid, and Lily were sharing one room while the guests were here. Alex had the other to himself.
The girls’ room was empty. “Alex?” she called, knocking at his door. Receiving no answer, she went in to find it empty too. “Drat them! Where did they go?”
“I’ll get someone to find them, Miss,” Nesbit said. “And join you in your bedchamber.”
CARINA WAS WRESTLING with the hooks at the back of the blue gown when Nesbit reappeared.
“Miss Jasper! You’ll tear it!” Tutting, she brushed aside Carina’s hands and straightened the gown, before fastening the remaining hooks.
She then brushed out Carina’s hair and pinned it up in a style that was simple yet becoming.
“I don’t suppose you have a necklace? Even a little locket on a chain? ”
“No,” Carina said crossly. There had been her mother’s, but she’d had to sell it during a particularly expensive bout of Papa’s drinking. “The gown is modest enough for a governess, isn’t it?”
Nesbit, deftly inserting one last pin, said, “It’s perfect for her ladyship’s governess.”
Which unaccountably made Carina uneasy. However, she had no time to inquire further if she was to track down the children before dinner, so she bolted from the room as soon as Nesbit stepped back, calling thanks over her shoulder.
In the nursery across the hall, the door to the girls’ bedchamber still stood open and empty.