“She might as well be,” she muttered, before covering her mouth. “I did not say that, Your Grace.”
“Of course not,” Adelaide assured.
“She will not allow anyone to touch her. I have tried many times to comb her hair, perhaps apply some rouge to her cheeks, but each time she smacks my hand away. She does not want to be helped, I fear.”
“But she cannot do it herself, is that it?”
Mrs. Johnson nodded her head. “I know that you might want to help her, but don’t,” she warned. “It is not worth it. It will be easier for all if you simply let her be. She does not go anywhere or see anyone, so it is best that we let her do as she pleases.”
As Adelaide had no intention of making everything difficult, she simply nodded.
CHAPTER 11
Cassian did not know what had possessed him to ask his wife to accompany him into the village, but he had a feeling that it was his mother’s fault.
He was furious that she had gone down for breakfast that morning. She had always made a point of being absent, but he knew that she would go to see Adelaide and unsettle her. She seemed to revel in it, and Cassian knew that his wife was uncomfortable.
“I know what you are doing,” he hissed when she joined him. “Do not be awful to her.”
“I am merely warning her of what happens to ladies in your presence,” she countered. “You should be thankful that I did not tell her howthiscame to be.”
She pointed to the leathery skin of her cheek, which made his stomach turn.
Adelaide was not to know what had happened that night; he had made that much clear. And he knew that the only reason his mother had not said anything was that it was a bargaining chip. That was why he wanted to keep his wife far away from her.
“Are you nervous?” he asked his wife as they traveled into the village.
“A little, yes,” Adelaide replied.
He could sense her trepidation, but he did not know if it was pure concern about what was to come or the effect of her encounter with his mother.
“I should explain what happened at breakfast.”
“There is no need. Mrs. Johnson told me what you would want me to know. I am sorry that your mother is… that she is in the predicament she is in.”
Given that she had not run away from the estate screaming, she had to have only been told what was necessary, and Cassian was grateful to his housekeeper for that.
“She was not always this way,” he explained. “She will say some outlandish things, and she is in no fit state to care for herself, which is why she remains with me. Withus, I should say.”
“And that is also why I am not allowed to run the household, yes?” she asked, seemingly unfazed by it all. “She wishes to retain control?”
“Precisely. I apologize, for I should have told you before, but I knew that you were reluctant about this union, and I did not want to push you further from it. I wanted to help you.”
“I understand. It is what had to be done, and there is no changing that. I can only hope that, with time, she comes to accept my presence here.”
Cassian thanked her, but he did so with gritted teeth. He knew that there would be no changing his mother’s mind; she hated what was taking place, and she would until the day she died.
It was not the kindest thing, but he hoped that day would come sooner rather than later. She was a tortured woman, and since she would not accept help of any kind, the kindest thing to do was to let her rest.
“But everyone else is lovely,” Adelaide continued. “I am already feeling more at home, thanks to them.”
“That is good. I am proud to have servants who like what they do.”
“And would it be too much to ask if I want to make a few changes to the house?”
“It would be. My mother insists that everything remain as it is, especially the?—”
He did not say it. He did not need to. Adelaide had seen what remained of the west wing, had seen the scar on his mother’s face. She had no doubt concluded what had happened, and he was simply grateful that she had not blamed him for it.
