Chapter 20
After the scene with her parents, Emeline went upstairs to her old bedroom and undressed.
The lavender foulard gown she had chosen the day before now held too many memories.
Hart holding her in his arms, deftly opening the fastenings…
And now, when she pressed her face to the bodice, she inhaled his stirring scent.
Face facts, she chided herself. Hart is gone.
A search through one of her trunks turned up a corset and a simple, if somewhat outmoded, brown-striped day dress that she could wear. Once she had changed, Emeline rolled up the voluminous lavender gown, stuffed it into the trunk, and closed the heavy lid.
Thunk!
If only it were so easy to pack away her memories of last night.
Standing in front of the cheval mirror, she pinned her ebony locks atop her head. With the addition of a plain tan bonnet, she was ready. Just as she picked up her reticule and turned to go, Mouette appeared in the doorway holding a tray.
“Oh…you are leaving.”
“Yes.” In her mother’s embrace, Emeline felt a sense of release. “Oh, Mama, I don’t know what will happen next, but I have to make a change.”
“You are determined to leave the house on Chesterfield Street?” She set down the tray of tea and brioches. “Your papa wants you to know that he owns the house, so if you change your mind…”
“I won’t stay there, now that I know the truth, and Louise will agree with me.”
“Darling, promise that you won’t leave London without sending word to us.”
For one sweet moment, Emeline let herself lean on her mother’s shoulder. “I promise.”
To Emeline’s surprise, she found that Bertram was waiting outside the St. Briac home, walking the two horses around Grosvenor Square. When she stepped out of the front door, he brought the gig around to fetch her.
Once again, Emeline was ruled by intuition. “How kind you were to wait for me. I shall return with you to Wigmore Street.”
The thicker traffic was a welcome distraction as they wound their way back to Hart’s new house.
She really didn’t know what she expected to learn there but hoped that a frank conversation with Mrs. Peachey might prove enlightening.
Earlier that morning, when the housekeeper had tried to talk to her about Hart, Emeline had been in a state of shock, but now her mind was clearer.
It felt as if her life was a puzzle at that moment, with many of the pieces missing. Perhaps Mrs. Peachey could help her.
“Oh, Miss St. Briac!” exclaimed the older woman when Emeline appeared unannounced on the library threshold. Today the draperies were open, and sunlight, freshened by the night’s rain, streamed into the room. “You’ve come back.”
“I had to talk to you. I hope you don’t mind.” Emeline approached her with a tentative smile. “You tried to tell me about Lord Jasper this morning, but I could not listen then.”
Mrs. Peachey’s worried expression softened. “I don’t mind a bit. Are you hungry?”
She managed a smile. “Thank you, but I have eaten.”
“Tea, then?”
Without waiting for a reply, the housekeeper poured a fresh cup for Emeline. They sat facing one another in a pair of wing chairs that flanked the fireplace where a fire burned low.
“As you may know,” Mrs. Peachey began, “I have known Lord Jasper since he was a babe. When William and I first came to Caversham Castle, I oversaw the kitchen staff and William was being trained as a groom. We watched the boys grow up.” She paused. “You knew, of course, that they are twins?”
“Yes, I did know that. But his lordship has told me very little else.”
Mrs. Peachey was twisting her hands in her lap. “They were very different lads, not only in looks but in nature as well. From an early age, Lord Austell was quite stiff. Always keen to please their father, the duke.”
“Well, I suppose he understood all along that he was heir to the dukedom,” remarked Emeline.
“Perhaps, though I never heard anyone speak of it until the occasion of their lordships’ fifth birthday. It was all very odd! I heard that the duke was waiting for the boys to grow up a bit before he talked seriously about his heir.”
“Odd indeed,” mused Emeline.
Mrs. Peachey leaned closer. “Some of the other servants whispered that His Grace was holding back the heir’s identity in case one of them proved sickly or slow-witted.
Then he would have a choice.” She reached for her own teacup and drank the small amount remaining.
“I must say, we always expected it to be Lord Jasper. He was the handsome one. Black curls, the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen, and such charm! ”
“He sounds like he was a compelling character from the first,” said Emeline. “I wonder then why the duke was so hard on him?”
“His lordship has told you that, then.” The housekeeper nodded slowly.
“I can’t really answer, except to say that Lord Jasper was a bold lad.
Never afraid of anything or anyone, not even the duke.
There was talk belowstairs that the boy would not submit to his father’s strict authority.
So many rules! And…” She paused, sighing.
“I suspect that in time, His Grace began to turn against his little son.”
Emeline’s heart ached for that little boy. “How sad. And yet, knowing Hart now, it does not surprise me that he stood up to his father, even at a young age.”
“After the duke announced that Lord Austell was the firstborn twin, inheriting the title and estates, His Grace focused on training Lord Austell for his future. I felt that Lord Jasper was ignored. Made to feel as if he didn’t matter, wasn’t good enough.
The duke was very cool to him, and the spirited child I had known seemed to turn inside himself.
Indeed, he stopped speaking for nearly a year!
What saved him was a stray dog he found one day on the road.
He announced that the dog would be called Felix, and from that moment on, Lord Jasper began to smile again, at least with some of us.
” Mrs. Peachey’s expression was poignant.
“He just learned to plow his own furrow, so to speak. Lord Jasper has led an exciting, adventurous life, but at the same time, he’s always been wary of attachments.
No doubt those early years, when he was rejected at every turn, took a toll. ”
“I see.” Even as Emeline felt a swell of compassion for Hart, she tried to quash it. “Thank you for telling me this. It does help to explain some of his lordship’s actions, but I must be grateful that he has left London.” Tears blurred her vision. “I was…beginning to have feelings for him.”
“I understand.” Mrs. Peachey bit her thin lower lip. “I could throttle him for doing this to you.”
Their eyes met. Of course Mrs. Peachey must have guessed! After all, Emeline had spent the night under this roof. In Hart’s own bedchamber. Heat climbed up her cheeks. “You…know?”
“I had to take the sheets off before anyone else saw…the signs.”
Emeline turned her face away for a moment, then drew a breath and met the older woman’s soft gaze. “I hoped that he loved me, but even now I wouldn’t take it back, Mrs. Peachey. You see, I mean to live an independent life. Unmarried. And so, I wanted to have that one time…with Hart.”
“I see.” There was deep compassion in her thin, weathered face.
“I love him, and I hate him, at the same time,” Emeline said despairingly.
“It is just as well that he has gone to Lisbon, I think. I care for Lord Jasper almost as if he were my own son. I didn’t agree with the treatment he received from his father, the duke.
That’s why I chose to leave Caversham Castle and serve Lord Jasper when he reached his majority and left university.
” Mrs. Peachey stared into the distance for a long moment.
“However, I know his lordship very well and I fear he isn’t capable of giving you… what you deserve.”
“That’s just what he said!”
She nodded. “Lord Jasper may be a rake, but I have never known him to lie.” Patting Emeline’s hand, she asked, “And why did you return here today, miss? Simply to speak to me?”
“Actually, I would like to see the chest that Hart left behind in his bedchamber. The small, red one labeled Woodcroft Priory.” Emeline leaned forward.
“You see, I am still fascinated by the antiquities I’ve been learning about at the British Museum.
Before I leave here forever, I would like to have a look in that chest in case there are artifacts inside! ”
Mrs. Peachey nodded slowly. “Lord Jasper did leave it behind…”
“With a key in the lock!” confirmed Emeline.
“Yes, he may have intended that you should examine the contents. I will fetch the chest.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Peachey.” She was grateful to be spared a return to Hart’s bedchamber with all its memories of last night.
After the housekeeper had left the library and started up the stairs, Emeline rose and began to peruse the volumes that remained on the shelves.
To her surprise, she found herself looking at many of the same books she had studied during her days in the Reading Room at the British Museum.
It was one more reminder that Hart hadn’t needed her help at all.
It seemed it had all been a ruse, from the first time Papa had brought Hart to meet them.
Disillusionment pricked her as she leaned against the polished bookshelves. Had every moment of connection between them been false?
Just as she had made up her mind to go home and forget about Hart and his artifacts, Mrs. Peachey reentered the library, carrying the little red chest. She set it down on the side table near Emeline and waited expectantly.
“I hope you don’t mind if I watch as you open it,” said the housekeeper. “I suppose it is my duty.”
“Of course. But I must tell you, I have been thinking about it, and it is best if I end my involvement after today. I must face reality and continue on with my own life.”
Mrs. Peachey’s expectant expression faded. “Oh, I see.”