“Those are captains with experience in sailing through the tumultuous waters caused when the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold currents from the Atlantic Ocean. The captain of my ship is not and as there are already dozens of shipwrecks along the coastline, he did not want to add to that number,” Wyndham explained as he crossed to the sideboard and poured himself a brandy.
“Oh, very well,” Lady Wyndham dismissed with a wave of her hand. “We will simply need to travel by carriage.”
“Carriage!” he cried.
“Yes, or wagon, or horse…” Lady Wyndham frowned. “I am not certain of the terrain from here to there but we will see it done.”
“How long is such a journey?” Caroline asked. She hoped that they would be gone at least a sennight.
Lord Wyndham whipped around to face her. “Mrs. Sutcliffe,” he offered with a nod, as one addressed a servant, before he returned his attention to his mother. “We are not traveling there by carriage, wagon, or horse.”
“Why not?” Lady Wyndham asked innocently.
“It would take a sennight alone to arrive at Cape Agulhas and then another sennight to return. I cannot be away from Wyndview Farm for so long, especially with the harvest so close.”
No doubt that it was because he wanted to have the detailed meeting with his estate manager and then return to England where he’d find his wife and go about begetting an heir and a spare.
Anxiety and discomfort churned in Caroline’s belly. Why did his intentions bother her so much? Not that he wanted a meeting with her father, though that was a concern, but that he would be gone. And that he would be sharing intimacies with the woman he chose to wed.Intimacies she would no longer experience. Intimacies that could relieve the aching need that had been awakened with Lord Wyndham’s arrival.
“Why do you want to stay here when there is so much that you could be enjoying?” his mother asked.
“I want to be available for not only the harvest but to meet with Hallaway.”
“Darling, that will not be for a least a sennight,” his mother promised.
“How could you know when your estate manage does not?”
“Do you think the harvest takes only a day?” Lady Wyndham laughed.
“I know that it does not,” he grumbled.
“Therefore, you should take time to explore.” Lady Wyndham’s eyes brightened. “I know. You shall accompany Caroline to Stellenbosch.”
Panic seized Caroline’s heart. She had no intention of traveling to Stellenbosch. There was no reason to. She needed to remain at Wyndview Farm and had hoped that he and his mother would be away, which they were no longer doing.
Chapter Nineteen
“Why Stellenbosch?” Sterlingasked. He could think of no reason why Caroline would need to travel there. Then again, there was much he did not know about her.
“For one, it is where my family lives,” his mother answered, seeming rather offended. “After my parents were gone, those in Stellenbosch are all I have left.”
He had not meant to insult her and was certain his tone had not indicated such. He’d simply been surprised. But that was not a reason for Caroline to visit, was it? Had his mother thought of someone there who would make a fine husband for her companion?
“They are your family too,” his mother reminded him.
He had not seen his cousins since he was a child and likely would not recognize anyone now or know their names, but he recalled traveling there regularly to visit with his great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. How could he have forgotten something so important from his childhood?
“If it is to visit family, then the two of us should make the journey,” he suggested.
“No, that is not possible,” his mother answered.
“Why?”
“I do not feel up to making such a long trip. I am getting on in years.”
“You just suggested that we travel a sennight to and from CapeAgulhas.” This time he meant for his voice to rise in exasperation. His mother was being rather aggravating and he was not certain what she was truly up to.
“Further, you also just claimed that Caroline was too busy to have accompanied us to Cape Agulhas.” What mischief was she about?
