She rocked Rosie for a while before moving to the window in the nursery, looking out over the shadowed garden. She could just make out the apple tree that she had requested to be planted upon her arrival at Kerrington House, for she recalled howPhoebe was fond of picking them, and she wanted to invite her stepniece to do so whenever she pleased.
“I once feared having my own child,” she chattered away to distract herself from the wreckage downstairs. And from the stranger waiting for her.
The stranger who was apparently going to be living with her.
Aside from the impropriety of such a thing, Sibyl wondered why. Would he search her rooms, too? Would he tear Kerrington House apart to find her husband’s papers, ledgers, or whatever would…
Whatever wouldwhat? Whatever would prove that her husband was a gambler?
Most men in London were, and as far as she knew, her husband was good at many card games.
It is clear he is not, you fool.And now Rosie’s safety is jeopardized.
Forcing her worries aside, she continued speaking. “Your Aunt Hermia once told me that motherhood would come naturally to somebody like me. I do not really know what she saw to say that, but she was right. Being your mother is as easy as breathing air, my sweet girl.”
She thought back to the promise she had made to Rosie the day she had been born: that she would never succumb to pressure. Sibyl would fight every day to make sure Rosie didn’t grow up in the same environment as she had with her parents.
Her only wish was that Rosie would one day experience the joy of having siblings. Her sisters had been her best friends, and still were, and she could only hope that she would have more children.
Still, the thought of another clinical, quick coupling with her husband made her think otherwise. Her wedding night had lasted barely five minutes before her husband had rolled off her and retreated to his chambers.
“It is you and I, my sweet girl,” Sibyl promised. “You and I against whatever mess we’re in.”
Although she feared they had been in such a mess for a very long time, all she could do was keep her head high and watch it unfold.
The door opened, and she half expected to see the Duke barging into yet another room uninvited. But she only saw her baby’s nurse, Hannah.
As soon as Hannah saw her face, she frowned. “Lady Kerrington, are you all right? You look as though you have seen a ghost. You are ever so pale.” She moved to Rosie’s empty cot, adjusting the blankets. “Shall I fetch some water for you?”
“I am fine,” Sibyl said quickly, needing to stay calm for Rosie’s sake. She had just soothed her little girl, and she didn’t want to be the one to cause her to fuss again. “Do not worry about me. I heard Rosie cry, so I came to make sure she is well.”
“She is, indeed, My Lady,” Hannah confirmed, smiling. “I myself was on my way upstairs after hearing her cry, but I…” She bit her lip, looking at Sibyl. “I was distracted by the fact that there is a stranger in the parlor. Do you know him?”
Sibyl shook her head. “I do not, but please tell both Banwick and Mrs. Collier that he is to be treated like a guest. He is a friend of Lord Kerrington’s, so he will have whatever he needs during his stay here.”
“Will it be a long stay? I can tell one of the chambermaids to prepare a room close to Lord Kerrington’s.”
Sibyl hesitated. She could see why her nurse was confused, too. “I am uncertain of how long he will be staying here. Regardless, he will need a place to sleep.”
“I’ll pass on the request, My Lady.”
For a minute, Sibyl just stood there, lost in thoughts of the Duke, the aggression of the men from the Gilded Key, and the fact that her husband did not even have money to replace stolen food.
The room faded around her for a moment, and Hannah stepped closer, extending her arms for Rosie.
“It is all right,” Sibyl whispered. Panic was building in her sternum, despite her best efforts to distract herself. “I can handle it.”
I can handle it. I must handle it. Not only my baby’s cries, but… but everything.
But what was she supposed to do with the Duke downstairs?
She did not know when her husband would return, nor how long she was supposed to entertain the Duke, nor why he was adamant about staying in her house.
A scandal would break out, surely.
She was wed, yet another man would be staying at her house while her husband was absent.
Rumors about Lord Kerrington not always returning home to his wife had already spread through the ton, but Sibyl had merely laughed them off, claiming her husband enjoyed his nights in London and she could not stop him.
