Chapter 15
Unexpected arrivals.
Ocean View Villa, Little Valentine, 21stJanuary 1816
Alice woke with a start, momentarily disorientated as Lill bustled into her room carrying a breakfast tray. For a moment the events of the previous days muddled in her mind, the urgency of her journey to town and the stress of the robbery still vivid in her memories, yet she felt oddly light-hearted and content.
“Wakey, wakey, slug-a-bed. It’s gone midday.”
Alice hauled herself upright as Lill set the tray down on her lap. The tantalising scent of fried bacon wafted from the plate and her stomach rumbled. “I can’t believe I slept so long.”
Lill moved to the windows, drawing back the curtains to reveal a blustery morning as Alice remembered why she was so happy, why the coming day filled her with anticipation. Aubrey had proposed. They were going to be married. She stared down at her plate, a stupid smile on her face, barely taking in Lill’s excited chatter.
“Hardly surprising after all the excitement of the past few days. You looked worn to a thread when you arrived last night. I can’t stand it another minute, though. I want to know everything that happened. Every blessed detail, so don’t leave anything out.”
Alice, who had finally picked up her knife and fork in happy anticipation of the feast before her, abruptly remembered the shocking and wonderfully intimate moments with Aubrey in the carriage and turned scarlet.
“Oh, ho!”Lill said, pulling up a chair beside the bed, her blue eyes alight with curiosity. “I especially want to know what’s turned you that colour. Lord above, you’re the colour of a ripe tomato.”
Alice set down her knife and fork and reached for the cup of tea Lill had prepared for her, taking a bracing sip before she replied.
“Aubrey proposed,” she blurted out.
Lill gave a shriek of delight, leaping to her feet and reaching to hug Alice, almost upsetting the entire breakfast tray as she did so.
“Oh, my love! Oh, Alice, that’s… that’s…” Lill burst into tears, fumbling about in her apron pocket until she finally pulled a handkerchief from up her sleeve and gave her nose a vigorous blow. “I’m so h-happy for you. He’s a good man, Alice.”
Alice nodded, about to reply when Lill froze, her eyes growing wide.
“Lord above! Tell me you said yes? Youdidsay yes, didn’t you?” she demanded, looking so alarmed that Alice laughed.
“Of course I said yes, you ridiculous creature. I’m not an idiot.”
Lill sat down again with a thud and gave her nose another hard blow. “Well, I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Neither did I!” Alice retorted. A slightly uneasy silence settled between them and Alice stared down at her hands, pleating the fabric of the counterpane. “Lill. I’d never goanywhere without you. Aubrey took it for granted that we came as a pair. That is,ifyou want to? I’ve never expected you to workforme. We were always a partnership before, despite you being housekeeper, but if this feels different—”
“If Iwantto!” Lill exclaimed, folding her arms and looking indignant. “Where you go, I go. Besides, I’d like to know how you’d get along without me. But I’ll not be working in the kitchens. I’ll be your lady’s maid and valet, all in one.”
Relief flooded Alice. “Of course, love. I’d expect nothing else.”
“Well, that’s all settled, then. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
Alice grinned, feeling for the first time that a happy, secure future might actually be within their grasp. Outside, the clouds gathered on the horizon still, but inside, the world felt bright.
Hatherley Hall, Little Valentine, 21stJanuary 1816
Aubrey watched his sister as she struggled to comprehend the news of his impending marriage. He had slept late and kept to his room for most of the day, needing some time on his own after all the worry and exertion. Having decided Vinnie ought to be the first to know, now he’d done his duty and confronted the duke, he’d finally run his sister to ground in the library where she had curled up with a book by the fire. As it was close to four, he’d ordered tea to fortify them.
“But you hardly know her!” Vinnie twisted a lock of auburn hair around her finger as she often did when in a state of agitation.
Aubrey stirred sugar into his tea, praying his sister would be as welcoming to Alice as he had promised she would.
“Actually, I know her very well. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the past weeks.”
Vinnie’s expression cleared. “That’s what you’ve been up to! I knew there was something, but I thought you were with her brother.”
Aubrey hesitated. He would explain everything to Vinnie, he promised himself, for he suspected that she would be delighted by his unconventional choice, but it was a lot to take in. That he was getting married was a big enough shock for now. “Well, yes, I was.”
