Oswald left with a whistle, bound for the library located in the cellars of the building. Winston remained, staring at the liquid in his glass, unable to drink. It felt as though a race had begun, though he could not admit he was running. The thought of Adeline smiling at Oswald, of her hand in his, filled Winston with a jealous rage so fierce that he could hardly breathe. He wanted to seize her, to spirit her away where no other man could reach. He pushed the glass aside, stood, striding from the room and down the stairs.
Business could wait. His solicitor could wait. He was going back to Greystone.
A servant took his coat and hat, but the entrance hall echoed with the silence of an empty house. Winston frowned, listening for a moment for the telltale sound of conversation which followed his mother wherever she went, even if she was the only one in the room. There was nothing.
“The Dowager Duchess?” he asked the servant.
“Gone out, Your Grace,” the man replied.
“Did she leave a note?”
“Not to my knowledge, Your Grace,” the man said blandly.
Winston moved swiftly through the house, looking into the rooms for Louisa or Adeline. He went upstairs and along the first-floor corridor to his daughter’s bedroom, rapping peremptorily before going inside. Adeline sat beside Louisa’s bed. The child smiled at him as he entered, and Adeline played a hand that made her smile evaporate. Adeline rose, as though to make way for him.
“Louisa,” Winston said, his voice tightening, “are you unwell still?”
“I am much better, Papa,” Louisa said quickly, but a grimace crossed her face as she spoke. Winston’s sharp eye caught the stain upon the linen, red and unmistakable. He turned to Adeline, his voice rising.
“You told me it was a cold. Pain and blood are not the symptoms of a cold. How dare you keep this from me?”
Adeline’s face flushed, but her voice was calm.
“She is in no danger. It will pass in a day.”
“You risk my daughter’s health with your foolishness!” Winston thundered. “You conceal the truth from me, her father. You overstep yourself, madam.”
Adeline’s composure cracked. “You do not understand, and you will not listen. I know precisely what is happening to Louisa. It is natural, harmless, and will cease soon enough.”
“You are no physician,” Winston retorted. “You have no right to diagnose her.”
“I do not need to be a physician,” Adeline flung back, eyes blazing. “I need only be a woman.”
Her words stunned him. He felt a confusion he would not admit. He had lived so long in a world of land, rents, and duty that the private mysteries of women were alien to him. But his pride would not yield.
“You presume too much,” he said coldly. “It is your duty to inform me of information regarding my daughter’s health. What else are you concealing? How can I trust you to care for my daughter when you act not like a governess but a parent?”
“Papa!” Louisa cried. “You are being unfair!”
“Be silent!” Winston snapped. “I see my daughter has also learned insolence, which she did not glean from me.”
Adeline laughed bitterly. “Heaven forbid thatyouwould be insolent. If anything, she has learned rudeness and anger from you because that is all I have seen you demonstrate. Will you please…”
Winston knew he was being irrational, but the fear had him by the throat. His daughter was in pain. She was bleeding.
How dare Adeline pretend to have medical expertise and keep this from me instead of sending for a physician at once!
“I see now why every governess has resigned. You smother your daughter. You make her life intolerable. She is growing up, Winston. She needs air, not chains.”
His jaw locked. She had used the name he had given her leave to use. but he had done it in front of Louisa.
What will Louisa make of that?
“You cannot understand. You have never been a parent. This matter is closed. I am going to send for a physician and then…”
“She does not need a physician. She does not need another man making demands and asking questions. I am quite capable…”
“You are not a doctor!” Winston snapped. “If you know what is wrong with her then tell me.”
