“Stuart?” she called.
He paused and turned back. “Yes, Jenna?”
“In your mother’s letter. She mentioned ‘the room where I saw my greatest joy.’ I could not imagine what she was referring to. Does it mean anything to you?”
A peculiar expression lit Stuart’s face. “Yes. Yes, it does. Jenna, thank you.”
He turned and slipped out, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“It’s been a week, Pen, a week! And she is slipping further away from us all the time,” Catherine cried. She paced back and forth in front of the desk where the earl was going over correspondence. “Her shoulder is healing, but she grows more despondent with each passing day.”
“Come here, sweetheart,” he said pushing away from his desk.
She threw up her hands and walked around to him. He rose and wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head.
“What are we going to do, Pen?”
“I don’t know. I suppose we have to give her time and some extra space. She’s been through a lot these past weeks.”
“I don’t know that she’ll ever get over this. She’s obviously in love with Mr. Douglas.”
“Well, he hasn’t exactly been beating our door down to get to her,” he pointed out.
“Maybe he is doing what he thinks best for her.”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I hate to see her this way too, but in time she will get better. She’ll put this all behind her.”
“You need to talk to her, Pen. The two of you haven’t talked at length since all this happened.”
He let out a long sigh. “I suppose you won’t let me have any peace until I do?”
She elbowed him in the ribs.
“Ouch! I take that as an order. All right, I’ll speak to Jenna the first opportunity I have.”
A noise from the door caused both their heads to turn. Jenna stood in the doorway, her arm securely fastened in a sling.
“Jenna, darling!” Catherine rushed over to her. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, Mamma. I am going out and didn’t want you to worry.”
Catherine shot her husband a concerned glance then looked back at Jenna. “Out? Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“I’ve rested far too much. If I lie in bed a minute longer I may well lose my mind,” she said with a laugh. “I am only going to the orphanage. I visited it while you were away, and I’ve grown quite attached to the children.”
“Would you like me to accompany you?” Catherine offered.
Jenna smiled. “No, that isn’t necessary, Mamma. I won’t be gone long. I promise.”
Catherine paused and glanced back at the earl. He shrugged slightly. With a sigh, she turned once more to Jenna. “Very well, darling. Don’t overtire yourself.”
She watched as Jenna walked out of the study, then she turned and raised an eyebrow at her husband. “Jenna going to an orphanage? I never recall that being a favorite of hers.”
“I think there is quite a lot we are just learning about our daughter,” the earl said softly.
###
