Rhys found Cat upstairs in her room, sitting on her bed with her laptop, her door open.She rarely closed it, leaving it ajar as if to make sure they knew she was always available.
“Cat,” he said, from the doorway.
She looked up at him, smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.“Yes?”
No makeup, no fancy hair, no posh clothes and she was beautiful.“The girls would like you to come with us.”
Her gaze met his and held.She seemed to be searching for something before she smiled again, an even smaller, sadder smile than before.“I do have work I should do.You go and the girls will tell me all about it later.”
“If I hurt your feelings—”
“You didn’t.”
“I know it hasn’t been comfortable the last few days, and I’m sorry if I’ve made it worse.It’s just that I’m finding this difficult to navigate.My feelings—”
“We’ll be back in London before we know it.It’s best to keep it professional.”
The drive to Baslow was short, the late afternoon sky already deepening into indigo.Frost clung to the hedgerows, catching the last of the light, and Jillian sat next to Rhys up front with Olivia buckled in the back.Olivia chattered during the drive, but Jillian was quiet, staring out the window, fingers restlessly twisting the cuff of her coat sleeve.
Rhys caught her reflection in the passenger window.Something in her expression tugged at him.He made a mental note to get her alone for a moment so they could talk without interruption.
Baslow’s high street was strung with modest Christmas lights, the lights white and delicate, swaying in the chilly winter breeze.The shop windows glowed with wreaths and candles, and the scent of roasting chestnuts permeated the air.
“Look!”Olivia pointed excitedly as they parked.“There’s a reindeer in the window!”
“It’s not a reindeer,” Jillian muttered, but without her usual bite.“It’s just a wooden carving.”
They walked along the pavement, the three of them wrapped against the cold and then left the village for the Christmas market on Chatsworth’s grounds.The girls were talking now, comparing Langley Park to Chatsworth which they could see ahead.
“Ooh, Chatsworth House is much bigger,” Olivia said.“And its outside is golden.Which is much prettier than brick.”
“I like Langley Park,” Jillian answered.“It feels more like a home.Chatsworth is like a palace.”
“Some people say Chatsworth has one hundred and twenty-six rooms, while another source has said it has over three hundred,” Rhys said, wondering how the girls would react to a place so vast.
“No one needs three hundred rooms,” Jillian said.
“Or one hundred,” Olivia added.
“The Cavendish family are important people, and they have entertained important people throughout history.”
“Any kings or queens?”Olivia asked hopefully.
“Mary, Queen of Scots stayed at Chatsworth several times as a prisoner from 1570 on—”
“Any willing guests?”Jillian asked.
“Princess Victoria, before she was Queen Victoria, visited at the age of thirteen.”Rhys looked down at Jillian.“Just about your age.”He smiled at her then added, “She returned eleven years later with Prince Albert.There have been others but those were the two that always impressed me the most.”
It was a good brisk walk to the market, but once there they discovered close to one hundred market stalls, many with food and drink.They wandered through the stalls, examining everything that caught their eye, pleased to see so many vendors with homemade gifts.
“Cat would have liked this,” Olivia said in a small voice, as they left a stall that featured lovely handknit jumpers.
“Did you see that one cardigan that looked like the one she always wears?”Jillian asked the others.
“The blue one with big buttons?”Olivia asked.
“No, but she would look pretty in blue,” Jillian said.
