“Of course, though they share a bathroom. Isabella’s room is on the other side of the house, alongside the dowager’s.”
“What of guests?”
“There are three additional bedrooms on this floor but no extra bathrooms. It seems there have been few guests in recent years.”
Shame over the errant viscountess, or a lack of interest in company?Kitty didn’t ask. Though they were alone, she felt as if they were being overheard.Lurking servants who were merely curious, or a lurking dowager?
The dressing room was lined with wooden cupboards and drawers, but her trunks were only half unpacked. Henry must have slipped out when she heard them approaching. Perhaps that was why she’d sensed someone.
They progressed on into the viscountess’s bedroom. She’d expected it to be grand, but again it was of a practical size. The bed made up for it, being tall with heavy, mustard-colored hangings trimmed with a long gold fringe, which again managed to clash. The coverlet and window curtains were in the same bilious color, and the flowered carpet was a dazzle of white and blue. The blue was picked up in the painted walls.
“That yellow could have changed with time,” Kitty said faintly.
“Or Diane Dauntry didn’t have a good eye.”
“Perhaps that’s why she and the dowager were at odds. If so, I have some sympathy for the dowager.”
“There is ground between snowy perfection and garish havoc.”
“Some people never choose the middle way.”
Sillikin began an exploration, and Kitty did the same, wandering idly from bedside stand to upright chair, absorbing the fact that this was the viscountess’s bedroom. Hers alone? She and Marcus had shared the one room and the one bed.
“You’re troubled?” he asked. It was as if he could read her mind.
“Merely warm.” She took off her cloak. He moved to help her, but it was already done. Was she going to have to learn to be less self-reliant? She shed her bonnet and gloves as well, laying all on the bed. She hadn’t worn a cap for her wedding and now felt underdressed.
“If the previous Lady Dauntry returned, how would people distinguish between her and me? She can’t be the dowager, can she?”
“No. There can only be one. She’d be Diane, Lady Dauntry. It’s unlikely to be an issue.”
“Does anyone know where she is?”
“Not that I’m aware.”
“If she’s heard that her husband and son are dead, she might return. She might be concerned for her daughter.”
“Somewhat late in the day.”
He was unsympathetic, but Kitty was increasingly curious about the previous occupant of these rooms. The decor suggested turmoil, and it couldn’t have been easy to abandon children.
“I wonder if she even knows she’s a widow.”
“A point,” he said. “I’ll ask my secretary to look for any correspondence. I have the impression there’s been none since she left, but the paperwork is not in good order.”
“Your predecessor was disorganized?” She was sure Braydon was the complete opposite.
“He didn’t employ a secretary and was often absent.”
“Perhaps not surprising,” she said. “This is not a comfortable house.”
“And yet he is presented as a devoted son and father.”
“Why didn’t he seek a divorce? He must have wanted to remarry.”
“Perhaps he didn’t. He had his son.”
“Or didn’t want to expose another wife to his mother.”
