A sense of foreboding overcame Caroline as she opened the door. The room was dim, the drapes pulled closed and coals smoldering low, giving off heat but no light. The hangings were drawn around the bed, and a stale smell permeated the air.
“Mama?”
“What do you need, darling?” she asked weakly.
Caroline crossed to the bed and peeled back a curtain. “Are you ill?”
Her mother lay in bed, unmoving, staring at the roof of her canopy. “No.”
Caroline opened the bed hangings, drawing them clear to the end and tying them off. She suspected she knew whathad driven her mother to this, but she would not guess in case she was wrong. “What happened?”
“Everyone is speaking about your father’s poor investment. Everyone knew about it, somehow, except for me.”
Ah, Caroline had been correct. She moved to the window and opened those drapes to allow light into the room.
“Even you,” Mama said. “Somehow, you knew. Your father told me he had sold the plantation and didn’t make a profit, but I knew nothing about losing your dowry.”
“James told me.”
“Of course.” Mama sighed. “It is why you spurned poor Mr. Shepherd, is it not?”
“We need money to save the estate.”
Mama pushed herself up by her elbows, her dark blonde hair in disarray. “That is not your responsibility.”
“I cannot abandon my family. Besides, Tristan needs a wife with funds, so it is a moot point.”
“I don’t like it above half.” Mama laid back on her pillows. “I can never leave my house again. To think they were all speaking about me for the last week and I hadn’t any idea.”
“How did you find out?” Caroline asked.
“I went looking for a bonnet yesterday, you will recall, and I overheard a woman speaking about the sinking of your father’s ship in the shop. Soon after, I heard the whole of it. I couldn’t believe it to be true.”
“Until Father confirmed it?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “We are ruined.”
“Not exactly. But you might very well be if you hide forever.”
Mama’s eyebrows shot up. “You would have me attend functions, knowing they gossip about us?”
Caroline sat on the edge of her bed. “James agreed to goto Almack’s with me tonight. He’s going to look for a good match before doing something drastic like dangling after a rich widow.”
“Oh, Almack’s would be good,” Mama said airily.
“I cannot go without a chaperone.”
She sighed. “How can I?”
“With your head held high.”
Mama shook her head. “You are not meant to be the mature one, Caro. You are mothering me.”
Caroline felt a surge of affection for her mama. “I’ve had more time to accept our circumstances. That is all.”
“Perhaps.” Mama stifled a yawn. “Very well. We shall go to Almack’s this evening.”
“Good. I will call your maid and send for some tea.”
