No greeting, no signature. The only reason Joseph knew that it came from Catriona was because the footman she’d sent had stated as much.
He stared at the small note with a frown, his trepidation slowly increasing with every second that ticked by. Something was wrong. Catriona was not very adept at hiding her emotions—or perhaps he had gotten good at reading her—so he could tell that something was bothering her when they’d returned to the ballroom last night. He’d assumed that it was because of what the ladies had said to her and had mentally debated whether he should attempt to console her once more or leave her to work through it herself. But now that he’d gotten this note, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was still weighing on her mind.
“Are you listening to me, Daddy?”
Joseph immediately tossed the note onto the nearby end table and nodded at Dorothea, who was scowling adorably sitting across from him. “Of course, I am,” he lied with ease.
“What did I say?”
Joseph inclined his head to the side. “Excuse me?”
Dorothea did the same thing. “What did I say just now, Daddy?”
She was like him in far too many ways. Sometimes, he saw her mother, before she’d succumbed to her melancholy, when she smiled and laughed. But when she scowled, when she was upset, Dorothea was made in her father’s image.
He loved it about her. He even encouraged her at times to challenge him if she truly believed it prudent. He simply wanted to make sure that she maintained propriety at all times, knowing how valued that was in ladies in society. And since she did not have a female figure to guide her, he didn’t want to take any chances.
When they were home, however, Dorothea let her true self shine, and Joseph welcomed it. And because he knew that he had backed himself into a corner, he broke, rubbing his hand over his jaw as he said, “Very well, I will admit that my mind was elsewhere.”
Dorothea sighed like a woman three times her age. “Well, I suppose I will just have to start over then. Please listen, Daddy. This one is quite important.”
Joseph couldn’t fathom which one of Lord Byron’s poems could ever be seen as ‘important’ but he was happy to indulge her. Dorothea had come to his office half an hour ago to ask him if he wished to listen to her read poems, and Joseph had gladly pushed his work aside to indulge her.
“And wilt thou weep when I am low?” Dorothea began again. Joseph managed to focus through the first few lines before his mind wandered to Catriona again.
Why did she wanted to see him? The pointed nature of the note brought on a sense of urgency, bolstered by his need to know if she was still thinking about what the ladies had said to her. He’d only overheard the last bit about her dress, but judging by the scene he’d come upon, he knew that nothing they were saying had been nice. And she’d broken in front of him. She’d tried to hide it, to pretend that she was fine, but he saw a piece of her that he never thought he’d see. He wondered if anyone had ever witnessed it before.
“Daddy!” Dorothea’s frustration spilled over. She got to her feet and shut her book with a huff. “I don’t like being ignored.”
Joseph shook his head, reaching out a hand. She hesitated but then she took it, allowing him to guide her to his side. “I wasn’t ignoring you on purpose,” he assured her. “I simply had something weighing on my mind.”
“What is it?” she asked.
Joseph hesitated. Should he tell her about Catriona? He’d informed her about the fact that he would be marrying Catriona, but Dorothea hadn’t reacted much to the news. “Miss Wallace sent me a note asking me to see her. And I cannot help but wonder if something was wrong.”
“Oh. So, you wish to go and see her then.”
Joseph nodded.
“May I come with you?”
He shook his head, and her abject disappointment surprised him. “Perhaps another time,” he assured her.
She nodded, but it wasn’t enough to hide her dismay. “How long will you be gone for?”
“Perhaps a few hours at most. As I’m not sure why she needs me, I cannot be certain.”
“You must come back quickly,” Dorothea said. “Before supper, at least.”
Joseph chuckled. “Very well. I will.”
She nodded at that, accepting his agreement. “I’m going to the gardens to continue reading. You should go to Miss Wallace soon, Daddy, or else she might get mad at you.”
Considering that that was a likely chance, Joseph easily agreed. “I will be back soon, all right?”
Dorothea nodded as he stood. She immediately took his hand, and he knew she wouldn’t let go until it was time to part ways. She didn’t like being alone for long, he knew, which was a rather sad state of affairs considering the fact that she was an only child and that he was often busy. So, when they got the chance to spend time with each other, Joseph often indulged her, and Dorothea was always reluctant to go her separate way.
Things would be different when he was married, he told himself. If his marriage to Catriona served no other purpose, at least Dorothea would have one more person in the house to spend time with.
