Mrs. Brougham nodded. “How long have you known, child? Since you took your tumble down the stairs, I’ll warrant—when Dr. Cheam was called?”
“You mustn’t tell anyone.”
“Surely Susie knows. It’s almost a month since Dr. Cheam’s visit.”
“I’ve not told her.”
“She’s been tending to your bedsheets. But then, she’s very young. Perhaps she’s not realized. But someone will notice—and soon. You wouldn’t want one of the chamber maids to know before Lord Devereaux, surely?”
“I-I’d rather Charles didn’t know.”
“He’ll find out eventually.”
“He won’t be pleased,” Olivia said, cringing at the memory of Charles’s written words. “H-he told me he didn’t want a child.”
“Does he think a child springs from a woman uninvited?” Mrs. Brougham let out a huff. “Men! They play as much a part in begetting a child as women—more so, for they’re always pestering a woman to engage in intimacy.”
Oh, heaven!
Olivia clamped her mouth shut as another tide of nausea rippled through her.
“Oh, forgive me, I’ve shocked you,” Mrs. Brougham said. “But you mustn’t set any store by what Lord Devereaux tells you.”
“He wrote it down.”
“Foolish boy! But I’ve lived long enough in this world to know that men are all talk. They’ll assert an opinion or make a promise merely to put an end to a conversation, with no intention of holding the opinion or keeping the promise.”
“All men?”
“Without exception. They’re the most insufferable creatures.”
“Wh-what about Mr. Brougham?”
“He doesn’t exist, Lady Devereaux. I’m neither married nor widowed. My address as Mrs. Brougham is merely a title afforded to housekeepers.”
“Why didn’t I know that?” Olivia said, shaking her head. “I’ll never learn it all—or be a proper lady.”
She let out another sob, and the housekeeper squeezed her hand.
“That’s enough of that, my dear,” she said. “You’re mistress of Penham and deserve the respect that comes with the title. You’ve done admirably in the short time you’ve been here. In a matter of weeks, you’ve learned how to run a house, managed the works to the garden, learned several hand signs, and even taught Mrs. Groves to bake a passable pie! Not to mention the gift you’ve purchased for his lordship. In my ledger, that makes you far greater than any fine lady that Lord Devereaux might have brought here instead. Now, why don’t you come back inside with me, and we’ll see about that tea?”
Olivia shook her head. “I’d rather remain outside for a while.”
“But…”
“Am I not the mistress of Penham?”
Mrs. Brougham smiled. “That you are, and I’m glad of it. Very well, come inside when you’re ready and I’ll have a pot of tea waiting for you. That is, if I’ve not poured it over the numbskull of a husband of yours.”
She winked, then gave Olivia a motherly kiss on her forehead before she returned to the house.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Bloody hell, sir!”John cried as Olivia disappeared around the side of the house. “I told you not to come to conclusions about Lady Devereaux.”
Charles raised his hands to admonish his valet, then lowered them again. John was, after all, in the right. But the sight of Olivia, with Carlton’s hands all over her, was enough to boil his blood, and it was all he could do to restrain himself from smashing his fist into his steward’s nose.
He approached Carlton, but Mrs. Brougham stepped in front of the steward, her eyes glittering with anger.
