Chapter 37
Kalina
Waking up alone in her bed, deliciously sore all over, Kalina reached out to touch the indent her husband’s head had made in the pillow beside hers. She wished she knew how long he stayed.
She wished he would stay until the morning.
Things had been going rather well last night until they’d run into her parents. The joy that she’d felt upon seeing them again, even her father, had not been matched by her husband. Especially not when it came to her father. Which she could not blame him for.
Part of her was happy she’d been able to see her parents, and it had made her realize how much she missed them and her brother…
but part of her wished that Nathanial had not seen them.
Though at least he was not angry with her afterward.
At least, he had not seemed to be. If anything, he’d been more passionate than ever before.
After Margaret helped her get dressed, Kalina made her way down to the dining room, joining the rest of the family in the meal. Nathanial smiled when she came in. All three of her sisters-in-law brightened.
It was a lovely meal as she received a recounting of everything the girls had done the day before.
All of them were making progress on their lessons, especially Fiona, who seemed to have finally settled in with the idea of learning.
She was enjoying working on her reading now that Miss Temple had found a book on animal husbandry for her to practice with.
Nathanial promised Julianna a trip to Newmarket for the next day to pick out a horse, which Emma and Fiona could come along as well. Kalina made herself smile at Nathanial’s offhand comment that she could choose a horse as well.
Absolutely not.
But perhaps she could choose two… and a gig… She did not want to ride a horse, but learning to drive two of them might be easier for her. If nothing else, she could hang back with Emma, who also did not seem particularly enthused by the idea of having her own horse.
Fiona, of course, was already demanding one for herself. Nathanial’s lips twitched, but all he told her was, we’ll see.
After breakfast, the family scattered to their separate diversions.
Nathanial brushed his lips over Kalina’s before going to his study to work.
The girls had their lessons. For once, she did not have any events to attend during the day…
she could have opened the door to visitors and announced herself at-home…
Instead, she decided to visit her family.
It felt almost odd to return to the house she’d lived in at the beginning of the Season.
The house had not changed, but she had. The home no longer felt like her home.
Perhaps because she had not been there long enough for it to feel so, but that did not explain everything.
She had been at Hereford Hall for even less time, but that was where she thought of when she thought ‘home’ now.
“Your Grace.” Darcy, her parents’ butler, bowed low when he opened the door.
Kalina wanted to tell him not to, but she also knew there was no point.
He was very proper, and the way his eyes shone with pride as he straightened told her that he was happy to be able to address her as such.
“Welcome back and best wishes on your recent nuptials.”
“Thank you, Darcy.” She smiled at him. “Are my parents home?”
“Your mother is in the kitchen, speaking with Chef Julliard.”
“Thank you.” Kalina did not require an escort in her parents’ home, and Darcy just bowed, letting her go on without him. As she was walking down the hall to the back of the house, sudden pounding footsteps alerted her to her brother’s presence even before he called her name.
“Kalina!”
Turning, she beamed widely as her brother appeared and practically threw himself at her for a hug. When Darcy had said only her mother was home, she’d assumed Ashwin would be with her father, and she was thrilled to see her little brother. She hugged him back tightly.
“Ashwin.”
“How are you?” He pulled back and looked at her closely, looking her over with intent scrutiny in his dark eyes. It was a look that was very reminiscent of their mother.
“I am good.”
“You are? The duke is treating you well?” The question was asked with all the somber seriousness and protectiveness of a man, not a youth. When had her little brother become so grown up?
“He is, I promise. I am very happy with both my marriage and my husband.” She did not even have to lie; she was very happy.
She would be even happier if her husband’s feelings for her grew, if he fell in love with her.
But even without that, she was happy right now.
“I am looking forward to introducing you to his sisters.”
Ashwin snorted and rolled his eyes.
“More sisters. Just what I always wanted.” Despite the sarcasm threaded through his voice, she could hear the fondness in his tone. Laughing, she reached up to tousle his hair.
And she did have to reach up.
It was rather disconcerting to be gone for such a short time, then have a revelation about how big her little brother had become. Somehow, with all the excitement of the Season and her focus on her father’s mission, she had not noticed until now.
“I am going to see Mother. Do you want to come?”
She was only a little disappointed, considering what she wanted to talk to her mother about, when her brother shook his head and stepped away.
“I am in the middle of my studies for the day. Father wants me to go to Oxford next year, and I need to make sure I can pass the exam. I just heard you come in and wanted to make sure I did not miss you.” He gave her a doleful look. “This is the first time you’ve come by.”
“Well, you can always come visit me. And meet your sisters. I think you’re going to adore Fiona and her fox.”
Ashwin’s eyes rounded.
“Her fox?”
Kalina could not help but laugh.
“We will have you all over for supper soon,” she promised. “A family event.” As soon as she was certain that her husband’s temper would manage an entire evening with her father. Perhaps she was being overly optimistic in saying soon, but that was what she hoped for.
At the very least, she would find a time when she could introduce Ashwin to her new family. She did not think Nathanial would blame her brother for anything that had happened.
“I look forward to it.” He wrinkled his nose, but she could see the curiosity gleaming in his eyes. He might be torn about the idea of meeting more people, wondering whether or not they would accept him, but the mention of a fox definitely interested him.
Giving her brother one last hug, feeling buoyed by the encounter, Kalina continued on to the kitchens.
A familiar but surprising scent filled her nose as she got closer, and her eyes widened.
She had not smelled that since India—and even then, they had never had that scent in their own home. It had always been in others.
Quickening her pace, she came to the kitchen and found her mother there with Chef Julliard and one of the kitchen maids, directing them on adding the next ingredients to the curry. The spicy scent brought sudden tears to Kalina’s eyes and an unexpected wave of nostalgia for India.
All of them turned and looked up as Kalina came in, and the chef and maid immediately dropped into a bow and a curtsy.
A wide smile brightened Mama’s face, and she opened her arms, coming around the counter with them spread wide.
“Kalina!”
“Mama.”
They hugged, and Kalina clung for a long moment, breathing in the scent of her mother’s rose perfume combined with the simmering curry. Over her mother’s shoulder, she could see the chef and maid smile and exchange glances before turning back to their task.
“What are you doing here?” Her mother pulled away enough to look her in the face. “Were we expecting you?”
“No. I just… I wanted to see you.”
“Of course. You’re always welcome here. Come, come, let’s go sit down. Chef and Mandy have this well in hand.” Her mother gently shooed her out of the kitchen and along the hall toward the back parlor.
“You have them making curry.”
Her mother hesitated a moment before answering. “I do.”
“Why? We never ate curry in India.” They entered the back parlor, and Kalina went to her favorite chair, sitting down and frowning at her mother. It was not that she disapproved; she just did not understand.
“Because I knew we were always coming here,” her mother said, sitting down in the chair she always took, opposite Kalina.
“I wanted to ensure that you and Ashwin had a palate for English food.” She sighed, looking down at her hands.
“And I suppose I was doing my best to reject my family the way they had rejected me after I married your father.”
“Why?” Kalina asked. She’d always been curious, and for the first time, it seemed that perhaps her mother was willing to open up and talk about it.
When Kalina had been younger, the topic had not been explicitly forbidden, but she’d never felt that she could ask.
“Father has been doing his best to work his way back into his family’s good graces… why not you?”
“Oh, I tried. At first.” Mama sighed, a heavy, heartfelt sigh.
“They were so angry at me for not following through with the marriage they’d arranged for me.
My parents could not handle what they called my rejection of them.
They did not see it as me claiming my own life; they did not care that I had fallen in love.
I had rejected the match they’d made for me, so they rejected me.
Very much the same way your father’s family rejected him, but they were far away, and my family was close.
I tried, over and over again, but after you were born and my mother would not even look at you, I decided I was done. ”
She lifted her gaze now to look at Kalina, sadness and warmth in her eyes.