Then another woman called his name and he’d gone to her without hesitation, demonstrating how much Piper truly meant to him.
Bringing all the heartbreak of the past few years back to the forefront. And with it all, the treasured memories of the years preceding those.
Her brother and their father had both doted on her as a child, but it had been Harry who’d showered her with the attention and affection a child confined to the nursery and lacking maternal love needed. Each day, he’d gifted her with time and companionship. He played games with her. Brought her treats and gifts from town when he went. He listened with admirable patience as she played, or rather fumbled over the piano. While they lived in London during the season, he’d taken her to the museum and the circus.
Back home, he taught her to ride and accompanied her on many long rides around the estate. As she did now with Jane, walking their horses at a sedate pace through the widely spaced trees and enjoying the mottled patches of shade to cool them down after a spirited gallop through the open countryside.
She missed it all desperately.
“Your brother confronted me at Lady Onslow’s ball last month.” Piper sucked in a breath and stared at her friend in surprise. Jane carried on without looking at her. “I know you made me promise never to mention him, regardless I cannot hold my tongue any longer. He insisted I tell him where you’ve been hiding. He said he loves you.”
Piper had once thought so as well.
Then their father had died. Though Harry had been named her guardian, she’d continued to live with her mother. When they’d returned to London the following year, he relocated them from the Aylesbury townhouse on Belgrave Square to another in Victoria Square.
From a child’s point of view, it felt as if he’d abandoned her to Celeste’s care. Logically, she’d known it was unseemly for a young girl to live in a bachelor household without a female companion.
Moreover, he flatly refused to reside in the same building as Celeste.
That was the single part of it Piper had truly understood. Even at twelve years of age. She hadn’t blamed him one bit for that, and in all honesty, envied him the option.
At first, not much changed beyond her residence, even when her mother had remarried to Sedmouth with scandalous haste. As they were mere blocks from one another in London, her brother continued to visit her in the nursery daily. The promise on his lips to secure a wife so that Piper might rejoin his household. He shared his progress, and at one point, it seemed that the dream would come true. Then the lady in question had wed another and nothing had come of it. For five years, nothing had ever come of his efforts.
Until now.
Unfortunately, now was a couple of years too late. Harry might have finally returned to Dinton Grange and wed, but Piper’s reasons for hiding away from the world and from him continued unabated.
Pity they couldn’t vanish as abruptly as he.
That pity reflected in Jane’s gaze now. “He also approached me at Hyde Park. He seemed rather desperate. I expect he truly cares, dearest. Rumor has it, he’s been searching for you all this time.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Then you’re a fool, Piper.” Her friend’s tone was sharper than she’d ever heard. “And a fool to keep running and hiding when you might trust in your brother to help you fix your problems.”
That was the issue, really. Piper wasn’t entirely convinced that she could.
Chapter 2
A duchess but at what cost? I fear what Mother will do if I further prevent her from obtaining the title. Harry, please come soon. I am desperate for your help.
~from the correspondence of Piper Brudenall, Dec 1892
Sugary bliss assailed Piper’s senses as she strolled into the kitchen at Dinton Grange later that afternoon. Jane’s visit left her restless and discontent in her own company. The need to quiet her mind compelled her to the bustling kitchen and the myriad of distractions that might be found there. The aroma of baked treats hanging in the warm air was a pleasant one to be sure. Though she’d been welcomed by similar scents a thousand times in her life, there was something different about this one.
She peered over the cook’s shoulder with an appreciative sniff. “Something smells heavenly.”
“Oh!” The cook gasped in surprise and patted a hand against her generous bosom. A pair of maids stirring pots at the stove giggled at the sight, as did Piper. “Gracious, child, what are you doing here?”
“Where else would I be?” She hugged the woman’s shoulder affectionately, then reached for one of the sugarcoated treats that roused an insistent grumble in her stomach, only to have her hand slapped away. “What are you making, Hilde?”
“Shortbread, ‘tis a Scottish treat.”
Quick as a fox, Piper nabbed one of the warm biscuits from the plate and took a nibble with a blissful sigh.
Scooting her bum onto the work table, she ate her cookie and swung her legs as she watched Hilde roll out another batch of dough for baking. In the past two and a half years, she’d spent many a day doing much the same or even working at the cook’s side. She’d missed being here of late. Another reason to celebrate, rather than regret, her brother’s departure.
For all the time she’d spent in her brother’s or Jane’s company while growing up, she’d spent even more here. In the kitchens where no proper young miss should have been allowed to linger. Beyond Jane, her closest friends could be found within these walls. To the last, they were more loyal to her than they were the actual lady of the house. They’d proven that loyalty by sheltering her when she’d fled London and the impossible situation that confronted her there. Since then, they’d become more than friends. They were her family.
