“Will we see her?”
“Unlikely. She keeps to the dower house and has done since shortly after my marriage.”
The aloof woman had always intimidated her. Rebecca said, “I heard she relocated there, but I thought, perhaps after...?” Recalling what Kitty had told her about his wife’s death, Rebecca trailed off.
“No. She has made the dower house her own, with new furniture and carpets. Even had a glass conservatory built to one side.” He pointed it out. “She likes living in her own home—queen of her own snug castle. Says she has no desire to uproot herself again when I might decide to...”
He let the sentence dangle, unfinished, and she stole a glance at him, noticing the red flush above his collar. She guessed at what he’d started to say—“I might decide to marry again.”
They turned up the long gravel drive flanked by topiaries that led to the main house. “I can understand her sentiments,” Rebecca said. “A home of one’s own sounds appealing to me as well.”
Head tilted, he turned to appraise her. “Have you been unhappy?”
“Oh no. Do not mistake me. I am not complaining. The lodge is a comfortable place. We are grateful for it.”
“But it’s nothing to the vicarage, I realize.”
“The vicarage was not ours either. Simply part of Papa’s living while he served the parish.” She shrugged with resignation. “It is part and parcel of a clergyman’s life to depend on the generosity of others. And of a woman’s too, if she does not have independent means of her own.”
“Or marry.”
Heat toasted her cheeks. She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, every possible response that rose to her tongue too mortifying to utter.I have never had that chance.No one has asked. At this point, that seems unlikely. ...Worse, he might think she was hinting that she still yearned for such an offer.
Filling the awkward gap, he said, “You have barely lived in the lodge the last few years. Where did you reside?”
Relieved for the change of topic, Rebecca replied, “My first situation was with a Mrs. Brocklehurst. She had a commodious home and rarely ventured from it, until ill health prompted her to seek a cure in Cheltenham. That is where I first met Lady Fitzhoward. I remember she seemed interested in where I was from and asked me about Swanford. She even hinted that if I was ever in want of a new place, I should let her know. So when Mrs. Brocklehurst died, I did.”
“If it’s not too impertinent, may I ask if you sought those positions for the financial benefit, or for the opportunity to live elsewhere?”
She looked up at him, taken aback by his astute question. “Both, if I am honest. I hoped living elsewhere would put less strain on John’s limited finances.”
Memories of John’s erratic behavior, his shouting and recriminations, flickered through her mind. “And yes, many were the days I longed to be anywhere else but here.”
She wished the last sentence back as soon as she had said it, fearing he would ask why. Instead he asked, “And I imagine Lady Fitzhoward has a commodious home as well?”
“I suppose so. Though we rarely stay there. She prefers to travel—spa towns, seaside resorts, and the Continent. She spends more time in fine inns than in her own home. At least for the last year or so.”
“I wonder why?”
“She is recently widowed. I take it the house holds more sad memories than present comfort.”
“That I do understand.”
She looked over at him, but he kept his face forward, his profile grim.
They walked in silence for a few moments, then he asked, “What is Lady Fitzhoward’s Christian name, by the way? I have been trying to place her.”
“Marguerite.”
He frowned and slowly shook his head, the name clearly not familiar.
Soon they arrived at Wickworth, a three-story Palladian house with a pedimented portico supported by four columns. He led her up the stairs and into the entry hall, which was much as she remembered, then through the ground-floor rooms, where the furniture sat covered by white Holland cloths to protect it from construction dust.
She noticed a gaping hole between the library and drawing room.
Following her gaze, he explained, “Marina thought the drawing room too small, so we were going to enlarge it by annexing the library.”
“Where were all the books to go?”
