During the day, it was harder to avoid him as he was present with them much more in order to spend time with James. Victoria would catch him glancing her way, but he did not speak much to her. He seemed to be keeping his distance, which should have been fine. It should have made things better for her, really.
But it only added to her torment.
Some days, usually in the afternoon, if she was able to slip away for a short time, she would go out for walks to get fresh air and clear her head. Somedays, it felt like she was suffocating being in the house with Lord Harford. It was on one such afternoon that she was making her way to the front door to go on a walk when the house’s bell rang.
She paused as the butler appeared and hurried to open the door. Victoria thought perhaps she should step out of the room to avoid running into whoever was calling on the family that day, but before she could take a single step, the butler pulled open the door, and two figures stepped inside.
The blood drained from Victoria’s face when she recognized Cressida and her brother. She stood frozen in place, uncertain of what she should do. Her instinct was to turn and run before they noticed her, but when Mr Hutches’ eyes landed on her, she knew it was too late to escape.
“Ah, Miss Clifford,” he said with a slow grin. “What a pleasure to see you. Are you on your way out?”
Victoria blinked, momentarily tongue-tied.
At length, she managed to stammer, “Uh…uh, yes, I am, Mr Hutches. If you will excuse me, I will get out of your way….”
“Nonsense,” Mr Hutches replied, moving closer to her and effectively blocking her path to the door. “You should not venture out alone. Allow me to accompany you….”
“Oh, that is not necessary, thank you,” Victoria hurriedly said. “You came here with a purpose in mind. Do not let me deter you from it.”
“Yes, be serious, Alvin,” Cressida snapped. “We are here to see Edward. You cannot let yourself be distracted by the help….”
“To what do we owe this intrusion?”
Victoria gasped and looked up the staircase to find Lord Harford descending toward them. His brow was furrowed, and he was frowning, and it was clear he was far from pleased to see the Hutches siblings in his house.
Cressida’s demeanour instantly shifted, and she put on a sugary-sweet expression that made Victoria cringe.
“Good day, Edward,” Cressida purred, slipping closer to him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “I hope you do not mind that we are calling on you today.”
Lord Harford arched a brow and scowled. “As a matter of fact….”
Mr Hutches stepped closer to Victoria at that moment, and Lord Harford’s eyes locked on the movement.
“You will have to excuse me, Harford,” Mr Hutches said. “I was just about to escort your lovely nanny out on her walk.”
Lord Harford’s gaze widened, and he looked at Victoria in surprise. “Is that so, Miss Clifford?”
Victoria did not know what to say. “I…I was not…I mean…I was just….”
Mr Hutches took her hand and hooked it around his arm. She instinctively tried to pull away from him, but he held firm. Lord Harford’s eyes narrowed.
“I must insist on accompanying you as well,” Lord Harford snapped. “I cannot allow Miss Clifford to go out unchaperoned.”
Victoria blinked, surprised. Cressida narrowed her eyes for a second but then quickly put her sweet façade back in place.
“I would not mind a walk,” she said with a grin. “Let us join them, shall we?”
Edward took a deep breath and appeared hesitant to answer, but slowly nodded and said, “Yes…we will all go.”
Mr Hutches clenched his jaw but did not say anything to argue against Lord Harford or Cressida. Victoria knew this was a bad idea. A horrible idea, really. There was no way that this could end in anything but awkwardness and anger.
Still, she was in no position to tell any of them no. Victoria hated how helpless she was around these people, Lord Harford included. Hated how she had to bite her tongue so as not to offend those considered better than her when she was truly their equal.
“Let us go, then,” Cressida declared, shooting Victoria a subtle glare before taking hold of Lord Harford’s arm. “It is such a lovely day.”
Victoria gritted her teeth but kept her lips pressed together as Mr Hutches led her out of the house behind Lord Harford and Cressida. She did not speak as they made their way to the park. Cressida took on the task of filling the silence herself, chatting on and on about some nonsense regarding a ball that took place a few nights prior.
It was mostly gossip she spouted and judgmental jabber that Lord Harford did not seem to be listening to at all. Still, she continued to talk and talk, apparently enjoying the sound of her own voice.
