Chapter Four
M ad though the Godwin family could be, after a few days of having everyone assembled in Godwin Castle, preparing for Christmas and attempting to learn more about the curse, Carys decided that she loved it. The castle had never seemed so cheery. Its once quiet walls now rang with laughter, and if one turned the wrong corner at the wrong time, they echoed with sighs of passion and sounds of love as well.
Carys smiled over all of it, even the inappropriate bits, as she dressed early in the morning, the day after the decision to comb through the library. She hummed a merry, yuletide tune as she bathed with the cold basin of water beside her room’s crackling fire. She grinned as she thought back to the surprise several of the family members had expressed as they’d read through old Godwin diaries and uncovered what they thought were long-buried family secrets. And she laughed aloud at the memory of some of the silly things Lord Gerald and some of the others had said in response to those secrets.
She also smiled fondly as she thought about how brave and generous Dunstan had been in the face of his family’s onslaught. So much of the madness that the Godwin men and their new brides had created was directed at Dunstan. The family cared for him so dearly that they were willing to forego all other holiday activities, and their own newlywed company, to find a way to spare Dunstan from the curse’s wrath.
If ever there was a man who deserved the love of his family, it was Dunstan. As she combed and styled her hair in its usual tight bun, fastened her chatelaine to her belt, and pinned the plain brooch she always wore to her fichu, she thought of how gallantly Dunstan had helped his new sister-in-law and cousins-in-law. Dunstan was certainly the sort of man that any lady could feel completely safe and comfortable with, which was more than Carys could say about a great many other men of her acquaintance.
As soon as she finished dressing, Carys stepped back from the looking glass in her room to survey her reflection. She did not usually care about her appearance overly much, but something about the image she saw in the mirror that morning wasn’t quite perfect. She turned this way and that, curious as to what she might look like to others in the house, which wasn’t like her at all.
“Why are you being such a silly goose?” she asked her reflection.
She did not have an answer. She only thought that she could do better somehow.
As silly as she thought herself to be, she removed the ordinary brooch from her fichu and swapped it out for a much more elaborate one from the small jewelry box on her dressing table. The larger, more ornate brooch was a family heirloom that had been passed down through generations of women in her family, all of whom had served as housekeeper of Godwin Castle. It was round, made of silver, and had an intertwining knot with some sort of dark red stone in the center and other, smaller stones of an amber color set in various parts of the silver knot. The edges were worn, but a bit uneven, which had always led Carys to believe that the silversmith who had fashioned it wasn’t as skilled in his craft as he might have been.
Although the exquisite nature of the knotwork seemed to contradict that theory.
Whatever the case, Carys loved the sentimental piece. It reminded her of generations of women who had come before her and who had loved Godwin Castle as much as she did.
Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she headed out of her room, which, unlike the rest of the servants of the house, was on the ground floor, just off the housekeeper’s office, at the end of the hall running the length of the downstairs area.
The servants’ hall was already bustling with activity, even though the hour was early.
“Do you think the family will all come down for breakfast today, or do you think half of them will take trays in their rooms as they have been doing?” Cook asked as Carys swept through the kitchen, checking to be certain everything was in order for the busy day ahead of them.
“Ordinarily, I would say they would take trays in their rooms again,” she said with a knowing grin. “But now that the family has taken it into their heads to turn the library upside down in search of ways to break the curse, my guess is that they will dine in the breakfast room and that they will all be down early.”
“We’d best get a wiggle on, then,” Cook said, chuckling cheerfully.
Carys helped out a bit as breakfast was loaded onto trays, then accompanied the footmen as they carried everything up the stairs to the breakfast room.
She was unsurprised when Edgar spotted her from the other end of the corridor in the servants’ hall and called out, “Cousin Carys, might I have a word with you?” in a serious voice.
“No, you may not,” Carys called out glibly as she started up the stairs. “At least, not until after the family have had their breakfast. I may be required in the library at that point, however.”
“You are too forward with the family,” Edgar called up the stairs after her.
“And you are jealous of the favor they show me,” Carys commented, mostly to herself.
She was a bit surprised when they reached the breakfast room and only Lord Gerald was present.
“What took you so long?” Lord Gerald snapped playfully.
Carys did not skip a beat as she marched to his chair at the head of the table and said, “I had to make certain every item of breakfast was worthy of you, my lord.”
The footman, Danny, had already placed one of the large silver teapots near Lord Gerald’s place, and Carys lifted it straight away, pouring for Lord Gerald herself.
“Did you have difficulty sleeping again, my lord?” she asked as she prepared his tea the way he liked it, then set it before him.
Lord Gerald grunted noncommittally and sent her a sideways look as she filled a plate for him from the sideboard. “Don’t you dare tell the others,” he said. “I’d rather they all fuss over Dunstan and the curse rather than worry their heads over me.”
Carys brought the plate heaped with all of Lord Gerald’s favorite foods to the table and set it as his place. She then touched his shoulder, like an affectionate daughter would, and even bent down to kiss his cheek.
“You are fit and hearty, my lord,” she said. “I dare say your only problem at present is that your head is filled with plots and schemes to cause trouble in the lives of those you love.”
Lord Gerald grinned and chuckled. “You know me too well, my dear,” he said, patting her hand in turn, then picking up his cutlery. “By the by,” he added. “I have a question for you.”
Twin feelings of affection and dread swirled in Carys’s gut as she traversed the length of the table, making certain every item that was needed for the family’s breakfast was in place. “Oh?” she asked.
Lord Gerald hummed around his first bite of sausage, then asked, “Why have you never married?”
Carys’s face pinched. She’d noticed Edgar having a word with Lord Gerald in the library the day before. Knowing her cousin, he’d brought the matter of her marital state to Lord Gerald’s attention in a way that would certainly prove embarrassing to her.
“That is an impertinent question, my lord,” she said, delaying her answer.
“I am an impertinent employer,” Lord Gerald answered without pause.
“True,” Carys laughed.
She delayed again by walking up the entire length of the table on the opposite side, adjusting the curtains to let in morning sunlight, and only then did she return to Lord Gerald’s side.
“My lord, has this sudden interest in my unmarried state come about because of my cousin Edgar?” she asked outright.
Lord Gerald glanced up from his toast to raise an eyebrow at her. “Now why would you assume that?” he asked.
Carys sighed. “I observed the two of you talking in the library yesterday,” she said. She decided to nip the problem in the bud by continuing with, “Edgar is my father’s father’s sister’s grandson.”
“Yes, I know all about Edgar Pearce’s lineage,” Lord Gerald said in slightly suspicious tones.
Carys believed she had an idea about them as well. “You know he is only interested in my hand because all of his sisters, who had been providing care for him and whom he assumed would care for him in his old age, have recently married.”
“I am aware,” Lord Gerald said.
“Then rest assured that I have no interest whatsoever in leaving my position as housekeeper of Godwin Castle so that I might be his personal housekeeper and future nurse,” Carys said. “I would much rather be your housekeeper and future nurse.”
Lord Gerald laughed aloud, beaming at Carys with affection that extended far beyond their positions relative to each other.
“You are the very best housekeeper and future nurse a man could ask for,” he said, reaching out and grasping her hand for a moment. “But I was not merely thinking of your questionable cousin. I was curious as to why you have never given your heart away to a worthy man.”
“A worthy man?” Carys asked teasingly. “Does such a creature actually exist?”
Lord Gerald laughed again. “I believe they are all off tending unicorns,” he said.
Carys had a sudden, dashing image of Dunstan attempting to herd a flock of unicorns through a green field while a dragon with her face looked on. The image made her smile, despite its ridiculousness. Perhaps because of its ridiculousness. Dunstan would make the perfect unicorn herder.
“What is that smile for?” Lord Gerald asked her.
A flutter of sheepishness stirred Carys’s heart, and her face flushed hot for some reason she could not completely fathom.
“I was imagining what might be involved in tending unicorns,” she said, busying herself by crossing behind Lord Gerald’s chair to walk to the sideboard. She could hear other family members approaching in the hallway, and she wanted to make certain everything was in order for them.
“So you have not given your heart away to some secret lover who lurks in the shadows of the castle, pining for you?” Lord Gerald asked.
“No, not at all,” Carys laughed. “Lord Dunstan and I are merely friends.”
It took roughly five seconds for Carys to realize the slip in her words. Lord Gerald hadn’t asked about Dunstan at all. His name had not been a part of the conversation. She’d made the leap all on her own, and in doing so, she’d put a downright wicked grin of understanding on Lord Gerald’s face.
“Do not let your imagination run away with you, old man,” she teased her employer as Lord Waldorf, Lady Katherine, Lord Alden, and Lady Bernadette entered the breakfast room.
“ My imagination?” Lord Gerald said as the two couples broke off their conversations to greet him. “ You are the one who was imagining unicorns.”
Carys’s face flushed so hot that she touched the back of one of her hands to her cheek in an attempt to get it to cool.
“Good morning, Father,” Waldorf greeted Lord Gerald moving to take the seat at Lord Gerald’s right hand, which was usually reserved for Lord Cedric. “And how are you this fine morning?”
“Ready to observe the battle that will happen between you and your brother when Cedric arrives and finds you’ve taken his place,” Lord Gerald replied.
Lord Waldorf laughed. “Cedric won’t mind. He’s in the library with his burgeoning wife as we speak.”
“Are they at it already?” Lord Arnold asked as he, too, entered the room.
Carys almost didn’t note the question. Dunstan walked in half a step behind Lord Arnold. Immediately, her thoughts flew back to her vision of him tending unicorns, and she smiled. Dunstan was certainly handsome enough to commune with fantastical creatures. He looked downright dashing that morning in his deep blue jacket and buff breeches. His boots had been polished to a shine, and he’d combed his grey-streaked hair carefully, as if he had someone to impress other than his family.
More distracting still, instead of taking a seat at the table, Dunstan walked straight over to where Carys stood by the sideboard. He winked at her as he helped himself to a plate and began to fill it.
Carys’s breath caught. Worse than that, a beat too late, she realized Lord Gerald and the others at the table were watching her.
“I beg your pardon?” she asked when she puzzled out that she’d been asked a question.
“I asked if you are still willing to help us in our research about breaking the curse,” Lady Kat said, sending a quick look to Lady Bernadette. “Or if you will be too preoccupied with preparations for the coming Christmas party.”
Dunstan turned away from the sideboard to answer, “We could all do both simultaneously.”
“And just how do you propose we accomplish that?” Carys asked, forgetting to address him as formally as she should.
Dunstan shrugged and carried his plate to his place at the table. “It is the great hall that needs decorating for the ball, correct?”
“Yes,” Carys answered, wandering closer to the table.
Dunstan pulled his chair in a bit more and picked up his cutlery. “Then it’s a simple matter of bringing books from the library into the great hall a few at a time so that half of us might read the wisdom of our ancestors and half might assist with decorations.”
“What a splendid idea,” Carys said with a smile.
A brief, awkward smile followed her pronouncement in which everyone who was seated at the table sent looks her and Dunstan’s way.
Again, Carys felt as though she’d put a foot wrong and led the family to the wrong conclusion. But when she reviewed her words and actions for the past few minutes, she had the frustrating sense that everyone watching her saw something about her person that she did not. Perhaps she should not have chosen a different brooch that morning. If they sensed something different about her, that must have been what it was.
“I will join Lord Cedric and Lady Muriel in the library and ask them to select which books you should all read through while decorating today,” she said, a bit more flustered than she wanted to be, before marching toward the door.
“Perhaps Dunstan could assist you,” Lord Gerald called after her.
“I’ve just sat down to eat,” Dunstan said, already pushing his chair back. “But if you need assistance.”
“No, no, I am quite capable of walking to the library alone,” Carys said. “Please continue with your breakfast.”
Carys fled the room before Dunstan or anyone else could come after her, pressing a hand to her stomach as she went. She had no idea why everything felt so out of sorts that morning. She’d begun the day with such elevated spirits. She was still happy to a degree that felt unusual. As certain as she was that her joy was a reflection of the current state of happiness of the entire Godwin family, she had a sense that there were dots hanging about her that she had yet to connect.
It was a simple thing to ask Lord Cedric and Lady Muriel which books and diaries they thought the family should look through. Within ten minutes of Carys’s arrival in the library, she and Lady Muriel had assembled a pile of old volumes to be taken to the great hall. After Lord Cedric and Lady Muriel left to join the rest of the family in the breakfast room, Carys went about finding footmen to transport the books, then maids to clean and tidy the dusty library.
By the time the family finished their meal and entered the great hall for the activities of the morning, the slightly giddy, definitely unsettled feeling in Carys’s gut had only subsided by a fraction. The moment Dunstan came over to join her by the table filled with greenery and red ribbon underneath the massive windows that looked out to the Channel, those fluttery feelings returned tenfold.
“You look lovely this morning,” Dunstan greeted her as she fiddled with ribbon. “Have you done something different with your hair?”
“No,” she answered with a shrug. “Have you?” she asked in return with a teasing smile.
Dunstan laughed, and the most attractive blush painted his cheeks. “It’s Cedric’s fault,” he said bashfully. “Last night after supper, he insisted that as long as I was bathing and washing all that ancient dust from the library off, I might as well have my hair cut as well.”
Carys blinked in surprise. “Did your cousin cut your hair?”
“No, no,” Dunstan laughed. “His valet did the job for me.” He smoothed a hand over his hair, then asked, “Do you like it?”
Carys felt as though she’d been backed against a wall. Yes, she liked Dunstan’s hair. She liked everything about his appearance. But she’d never had to make a comment about it before. He’d never asked her for her opinion on something so banal…or so personal.
“It suits you,” she said, smiling, then turned to carry the handful of ribbon she’d gathered over to where Minnie had already begun decorating one of the trees.
She took no more than two steps before catching her foot on the edge of the carpet and tumbling forward.
“Careful!” Dunstan called out, reaching for her.
Without being entirely certain how, Carys fell into Dunstan’s arms, clinging to him as though she’d nearly fallen out the window instead of simply tripping on the carpet. Her heart beat wildly against her ribs, and her brain seemed to stop functioning entirely. She breathed in sharply, drinking in the scent of whatever soap Dunstan had used to bathe and a hint of musk and leather with it. That, coupled with the heat of his body around hers, made her alarmingly swoony.
“The Curse of Godwin Castle strikes again!” Minnie cried out from across the room. “That was the very spot where poor Ruby nearly fell and broke her neck just yesterday.”
“It’s a frayed spot on the carpet that both ladies caught their foot on,” Lord Waldorf pointed out, rolling his eyes.
“What foul demon interfered with the carpet to make it fray, though?” Minnie asked.
Lord Waldorf sighed. “Now you’re just teasing me, sister-in-law.”
A few of the others laughed at the exchange. Carys forced herself to laugh as well, though the sound was high and nervous.
“Are you well?” Dunstan asked with genuine care, his face as pink as hers felt.
“I have not been molested by demons, if that is what you are asking,” she replied, trying desperately to be witty rather than flustered.
Dunstan laughed, but something wasn’t right about the sound, or about the way he let go of her as if she’d suddenly turned to fire.
Of course, that might have also had something to do with the fact that Edgar had just appeared in the great hall with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of some sort of punch. He must have witnessed Carys’s slip. He glowered at her and Dunstan as if they’d behaved inappropriately.
“There is much to do,” Carys said, brushing a hand over her gown, as if falling into Dunstan’s arms had made it dusty.
“There is,” Dunstan agreed. His gaze lingered on her face for just a bit too long, and he smiled. “You are…er, that is a lovely brooch you are wearing,” he said.
“This?” Carys pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her pounding heart under the heirloom brooch. “It’s nothing. Just a family inheritance.”
“It’s pretty,” Dunstan said. “It suits you.”
“Thank you,” Carys said, smiling in return.
Complete, utter, awkward silence followed.
Until Lady Katherine called out, “Napoleon! There you are. Come out from under there, darling.”
“I should work,” Carys said, rather lamely.
“So should I,” Dunstan agreed with a wink.
They turned away from each other simultaneously and walked in different directions. Carys winced as she headed for Minnie and the tree that needed decorating. What was wrong with her? She’d never felt awkward or anxious around Dunstan before. He was her very best friend in all the world. Perhaps it was the presence of the family all around them that was making her question her place and the appropriateness of her behavior.
Yes, that had to be it. Because it most certainly could not be the other thing, the thing she had never let herself consider. Admitting even the slightest bit of deeper affection for Dunstan would be an utter disaster.