Her fork stilled midway to her mouth. “Why?”
“I am only curious.”
“What would you like to know?” She set down her bite of fish, untasted.
He sipped his wine. “Why was she with you in the first place? Sir John wrote specifically that he planned to take no servants from Bath. And do you not find it odd that no one has responded to the death notice Dr. Parrish sent to theBath Chronicle? Unless you have received something in the post you did not mention?”
With a nervous glance at Mrs. Turrill at the sideboard, Lady Mayfield said, “I already told you it was a decision made at the last minute. Miss Rogers was my companion in Bristol. She moved with us to Bath, but left us soon after. We had not seen her for some time when she appeared at our door. I all but begged Sir John to allow her to come along. I had always been fond of her and I hated the thought of going who-knew-where with no companion.”
James waited until Mrs. Turrill left the room with a tray of dishes, then leaned forward. “Your husband was not companion enough?”
“Mr. Lowden, you cannot pretend ignorance about the nature of the relationship. You showed me the letter, remember? The marriage was not a love match.”
“On the contrary, I have reason to believe it was a love match, at least on Sir John’s side.”
The woman bit her lip. “I would prefer not to discuss marriage with you, Mr. Lowden.”
“Very well. Back to Hannah Rogers. Sir John acquiesced and allowed her to come along?”
“Yes, as should be obvious.”
“Had she no family? No one who might be wondering what has become of her? No one to come here in hopes of visiting her grave—or to mourn her loss?”
“First of all, there is no grave to visit, as her body has yet tobe recovered. As far as her family, I understand there is only one parent living and the two of them were estranged.”
“Have you written to this parent? To inform him of his daughter’s fate? Estranged or not, he would want to know.”
She cocked her head to one side. “How do you know it is a father I speak of?”
He shrugged. “An assumption.”
She looked as though she didn’t believe him. She said slowly, “I have not written personally, but I do know the parent has been informed.”
“Oh? How?”
“We did receive one letter from a friend of Hannah’s who saw the notice. He wrote to say he delivered the news to her parent in person.”
“What friend is this?”
“I hardly think it would matter to you.”
“May I see this letter?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Your curiosity astounds me, Mr. Lowden. Apparently, you have a great deal of time on your hands.”
He made no rebuttal but watched her closely, studying her irritated face. The mantel clock ticked once, twice, thrice.
Finally, he shook his head. “How much you conceal, my lady. One wonders why.”
The next morning, Hannah brushed out her long hair, thinking back to her dinner with Mr. Lowden, as she had done for much of the night. In fact, she’d had difficulty falling asleep because their conversation kept repeating itself through her mind. He was clearly suspicious of something, but she did not think he guessed that the lady’s companion he’d asked so many questions about had been seated directly across the tablefrom him. She hoped her replies had laid his questions to rest. Though somehow, she doubted it.
She went upstairs to the nursery and was surprised to find Danny alone, with no sign of Becky. Danny lay awake in his cradle, contentedly cooing and kicking his legs. At the sound of her voice, he turned his head and smiled his gummy grin. Love surging through her, Hannah scooped him up as gracefully as she could and changed him herself, although without full use of both arms, the task took twice as long as it should have.
Afterward, she carried him downstairs to look for Becky. As she passed, she heard voices coming from the morning room. James Lowden’s voice and Becky’s. What in the world?
He was saying, “How did you become a nurse, Miss Brown, if I may ask?”
Becky faltered. “I ... in the usual way, I suppose.”
