Kate wondered if Lady Charlesworth had loved Lord Charlesworth when she first married him. Might it have been a marriage of convenience, too? She certainly seemed very fond of her husband now, and he protective of her, which gave Kate a small spark of hope for the future.
A footman brought in a tea tray and placed it on the octagonal table in front of the sofa.
Her ladyship presided over the tray. “Cream?”
“Thank you.”
Lady Charlesworth poured tea into flowery cups. She gestured toward the array of cakes on the silver tray. “Do have something to eat, please.”
Not hungry, Kate politely selected a tiny iced almond cake. She laid a napkin in her lap and nibbled at the cake, without really tasting it. “There must be something I can do.”
“Perhaps by just being you, my dear. I sense you are a sympathetic soul. I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me, coming here.”
“I’m glad I came.” While Kate sipped her tea, the door opened and two children burst into the room. A girl of about twelve with dark hair in curls down her back followed by a tow-haired boy in short trousers. Lady Charlesworth held out her arms. “These are my other two children, Clare and Frederick. Children, please come and greet Robert’s wife.”
Frederick made a well-practiced bow.
Clare curtsied, her attention caught by Kate’s wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers and ribbons. “How pretty,” she said, edging closer.
“Would you like to try it on?” Kate asked her.
“Yes, please,” she said in a breathy voice.
“Oh, no, my dear. You will spoil your coiffure,” Lady Charlesworth protested.
“Lud, what of that!” Kate laughed. She removed the pin and took off the hat. Placing it on the young girl’s head, she set it at the right angle. “Very fetching! Go and see for yourself.”
Clare rushed to the long gilt mirror and posed, turning this way and that. It was much too big, but she looked sweet in it. Her mother laughed.
“Do you know any card tricks?” Frederick took a pack of cards from his pocket and set it on the table.
“I confess, I’m afraid not,” Kate said.
“I do. Shall I show you?”
“Not now, Frederick,” Lady Charlesworth said. “Please say goodbye. Back to the schoolroom, the pair of you. Your governess will be waiting. We shall go to the park in a little while.”
Clare reluctantly removed the hat from her head and returned it to Kate.
“You have lovely children,” Kate said, after the door closed behind them.
“Thank you. Do you… wish for children, my dear?”
“I do. I hope to have several.” As she said it, a swift, deep yearning filled her.
“How wonderful.” Lady Charlesworth’s eyes widened as she poured more tea into Kate’s cup.
“I suppose it’s because I’m an only child that I like big families.” At this point she had no idea if it would ever happen. Robert needed an heir, but at this rate, they would never make peace with one another long enough to produce one.
“Does Robert want a big family, too?”
Kate had to be honest. “I’m not sure.”
Lady Charlesworth shook her head. “Sometimes men need to be…persuaded.”
“Persuaded?”
Lady Charlesworth smiled. “Women have a lot of power over men, my dear. A clever woman can achieve what she wants with subtlety.” She gave a laugh. “They need never be aware that they have been manipulated.”
