“Why ever not?”
“It’s not my fault. They’ve stayed out of sight, and Dauntry dissuaded me from approaching them. He seemed to think it would be a weak move. Yes, yet more chess. I’ll meet them today, one way or another.” She stood. “I’d better go back, but if you get the chance, please raise thesubject of Diane. It’s not just idle curiosity. I have a feeling there’s something lurking there.”
“Whatever can you mean?”
“If I knew, I’d be further forward. There are all kinds of oddities at the Abbey, Ruth. According to Dauntry, there’s money unaccounted for, though that could be because the fifth viscount had a very haphazard way of dealing with paperwork. It’s early days, but I sense something peculiar about him. He’s spoken of as a devoted son, but it seems he spent little time at the Abbey.”
“That’s certainly true in recent times.”
“You see? I intend to get to the bottom of it, as well as turning the servants to my side, taking over control of the Abbey, and wooing Isabella from allegiance to the dowager.”
“All in a day?” Ruth teased.
Kitty chuckled, but wasn’t feeling humorous when she said, “I’ve a lifetime.” She hugged Ruth. “As I said, nothing is amiss is my marriage, and I’m relishing all these challenges. Thank you, thank you, for putting me in the way of it. I’ll visit frequently as I take my driving lessons, and in a few days, you and the family must visit me.”
Ruth’s hug was fierce, but did she, like Kitty, feel a divide? They weren’t schoolgirls anymore, and their situations and stations were now very different. And they might not even be in accord on all matters. How was Kitty to cope without Ruth’s support?
Chapter 21
Kitty reentered Beauchamp Abbey by the comfortable back door, hoping to find Braydon in his office. However, Worseley told he her he’d not yet returned.
He was taking a very long ride.
Was he escaping both the Abbey and his wife?
Kitty was tempted to go back outside and stay out until he returned, but that would be childish. She went upstairs, determined to take up her duties to the house and the family.Which one first?
At the top she was confronted by a black-clad woman. For a moment she wondered if it was the dowager, but, if so, she’d been mistaken in all her impressions.
“The dowager Lady Dauntry wishes you to visit her, my lady.”
Ah, the Irish maid, as was confirmed by a slight accent, and sent with a summons. Not at all surprising that Sillikin was staring.
“Of course,” Kitty said pleasantly. “In a little while.”
She went on to her rooms. Perhaps she was seeing skirmishes where none existed, but she’d go odds the dowager knew Braydon was out and hoped to get Kitty alone.
Henry was waiting to take the gloves and cloak.
“I’ve been commanded to the presence,” Kitty said. “I’ll go, but after a meaningful delay.”
“You don’t want to wait until his lordship returns?”
That sentence was open to various interpretations.
“I don’t know when that will be, and it might be best to meet woman to woman. Am I suitably dressed?” The sage green gown was rather plain.
“Perfectly adequate,” Henry said, “but you could wear the shawl.”
“The cashmere?”
“The house is chilly between rooms. Let’s see.” Henry took the shawl and placed it around Kitty’s shoulders, as if it had been an everyday one. Then she crossed it at the front, as a simple woman might do, and tied the ends at the back.
“I can’t wear such a shawl like this,” Kitty protested.
“A viscountess may do as she pleases. A wealthy viscountess may be careless of expensive items.”
A wealthy viscountess.The pin money arranged in the settlements was generous, and this house was very fine, but if Isabella had spoken the truth about her inheritance, there might not be funds for extravagance.
