A moment of solidarity did not mean a lifetime of anything. And she would not make the mistake of confusing gratitude with intimacy or proximity with affection.
A faint cry drifted from the nursery, and relief washed over Beatrice so swiftly she almost wept.
She straightened, already turning around. “I should go.”
Edward stepped back, a hint of surprise flicking across his face, before his expression smoothed again. “Of course.”
She walked toward the nursery, aware—more than she wanted to be—of his eyes following her.
CHAPTER 14
Beatrice had spent most of the morning in a comfortable rhythm with the servants, far more soothing than lingering in the drawing room, waiting to be entertained. Margaret and Sebastian were visiting, and she couldn’t contain her excitement.
A maid straightened from placing a fresh jug of water on the washstand and dipped into a curtsey. “Will this room suit, Your Grace?”
Beatrice glanced around once more. “Margaret will claim that it suits perfectly, and Sebastian will insist that he’s freezing to death within the hour.”
The maid’s lips twitched. “Shall I add another scuttle of coal, then?”
“Yes, please do,” Beatrice answered, amused. “It will save us the performance later.”
The maid hurried out, and Beatrice moved to the window, testing the latch to ensure no draft slipped through. Satisfied, she turned to the small writing desk in the corner. Margaret always wrote letters before breakfast, insisting that it helped clear her mind.
“She’ll ask why I put her in the blue chamber instead of the green one, and I shall say it’s because the blue one gets better light, and she’ll accuse me of fussing,” Beatrice murmured under her breath, a soft laugh escaping her. “And she’ll be right.”
She stepped back, surveying the room one last time, a small but warm anticipation tightening pleasantly beneath her ribs.
Very soon, this room would not feel so quiet.
From there, Beatrice visited the small adjoining nursery, making sure the cradles were in order and the linens were warm. The fire had been coaxed into a steady glow, and the room smelled faintly of lavender and clean linen.
Margaret’s son would arrive the following day with his nurse. The timing had been arranged with careful precision, as Margaret traveled more easily without him and slept better the night before visiting someone else’s house.
Beatrice brushed her fingertips along the edge of the cradle, smiling to herself as she remembered Margaret’s last letter.
I adore my son beyond reason,Margaret had written in a hand blotched in three separate places,but if I must endure another journey with him shrieking at the injustice of daylight, Sebastian will find me delivered to your doorstep in a trunk.
Beatrice huffed a soft laugh at the memory, murmuring aloud to the empty room, “Noon, then. And hopefully no trunks.”
She smoothed the small quilt one last time, imagining Margaret’s wry expression when she inspected the nursery.
She’ll say it’s lovely,and then immediately tell me everything she intends to rearrange.
It was a strangely comforting expectation.
By late morning, she was back in the morning room, sunlight spread like a polite visitor across the carpet. Mrs. Hart had left her a stack of neat notes, each one detailing tasks already completed. Beatrice reviewed them with her usual care, though her mind drifted toward Margaret more than once. It had been too long since she had seen her cousin.
“Your Grace?”
One of the maids approached with a small porcelain vase in hand, the stems inside still wrapped in damp cloth.
“These for the blue chamber, Your Grace?”
Beatrice leaned forward, inspecting the arrangement. “The white roses won’t do; their scent is too strong for Margaret. Use the pale lavender ones instead. The quieter fragrance suits her.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll see to it,” the maid said, bobbing a curtsey and hurrying off to replace them.
Beatrice allowed herself a small smile. Margaret always teased her for noticing details no one else cared about, but those were the very details that made a house comfortable, rather than merely presentable.
