Nellie tactfully brought the affair to a close. When the last of the guests left, she hurried to her bedchamber.
It had been Lilly’s afternoon off. The maid came in some minutes later. “The butler told me you rang for me, Your Grace,” she said with a bob. “I’m most dreadfully sorry. I didn’t expect you’d need me ’til this evening.”
Nellie explained about their departure in the morning as two footmen carried in the trunk. “Did you have a pleasant afternoon?” she asked in her dressing room as she considered what should be taken. Had the laundry woman sent back her gray morning gown?
Lilly flushed bright pink. “I did, yes. I…we went to see the troop reviews in Hyde Park. It was ever so exciting.”
Nellie was only half-listening, but she noticed Lilly’s flush, and it gave her a moment’s worry. “Fanny went with you?”
“Oh, no, Your Grace.” Lilly bent her head over a hatbox. “No sense in asking Fanny. She wouldn’t come.”
“Mm?” Nellie concentrated on the last-minute things which must be done. She acknowledged Charles’s suggestion to engage a secretary to be a sensible one. She would look for a suitable person on her return to London. There were several letters to be sent concerning the salon. And she must call on her mother. How long did Charles intend to stay? She would send a footman with a note of apology to Mrs. Perlew at the children’s orphanage she planned to visit tomorrow. James could pick up the boxes of food and clothing promised in the carriage and deliver them.
On the trip to Leicestershire, Feeley and Lilly accompanied them in the coach. The fourgon, piled high with their luggage, had been sent on ahead. Their conversation was desultory, focusing on the clement weather, the state of the roads, the quality of the food at the posting inns where she and Charles had separate chambers.
The warm breeze blew in, ruffling Nellie’s hat, as Peter, seated in Nellie’s lap, put his head out the window to sniff the country smells.
When it was necessary for the coach to stop for the dog, Nellie expected Charles to be annoyed, but he didn’t seem to mind the dog. He even offered to take Peter for a short walk. She admired his patience when the dog dallied too long. For the last few miles, the conversation turned to pets from their pasts, Charles’s beloved dog, and Jason’s boyhood faithful friend.
They were not far from Shewsbury Park when forced to stop again. Nellie climbed out with Charles and Peter to stretch her legs. It was cramped in the coach. She wished she could rest her head on Charles’s shoulder, but even if things were better between them, it would not be seemly in front of their servants.
Returning to the coach, Nellie was aware of a furtive movement as she settled back inside. She glanced at Lilly, who clutched her hands in her lap. Feeley stared intently out the window. Nellie dismissed it as nothing, turning her mind to what awaited them at Shewsbury Park.
*
Charles folded hisarms and eyed Feeley with some disfavor. What was he up to? The Irishman couldn’t help himself around a pretty girl. His valet’s bright blue eyes returned his warning glance with a questioning lift of his brows. Charles shrugged inwardly and turned instead to Nellie, a veritable picture in her violet-gray pelisse and high-poke bonnet, the dog in her arms.
He allowed his imagination to create a new picture. Replacing the dog with a baby. His son or daughter. He allowed himself to dwell on that very pleasant outcome and began to think of ways to bring it about. It made for rather distracting daydreaming, and daydreaming it was, for Nellie looked as untouchable as usual. He admitted his pride had made things worse, but Nellie’s failure to take him at his word had brought him low. His feelings were too raw to put into words.
Disgruntled by the state of affairs, he watched the passing landscape for familiar landmarks. He wouldn’t beg his wife if she didn’t want him. Ah, the coach began to climb the steep hill. The one he’d skied down in winter and rode dangerously fast down on his first horse. From the top, it offered an excellent view of his estate.
Aware he was remiss, he offered Nellie a warm smile. “Almost home.”
Her lips trembled into a smile. Was she uneasy about what awaited them?Mother! Fear struck at him again like a knife.Dear Lord!She must not be desperately ill. Jason was inclined to exaggerate.
As soon as they arrived, Charles went straight up to see his mother in the bedchamber she now occupied, after she was moved back from the dower house. He fought to hide his reaction to finding her considerably changed.So thin!She barely lifted her head from the pillow. His heart thumped, and he swallowed the lump in his throat as he took the chair beside her bed. “How are you, Mama?” he asked, using his childhood name for her he now considered himself too old to employ.
“I cannot look well if you call me Mama,” she said with a faint smile.
“Nonsense. You look far too well to be languishing in bed. What does the physician say?”
She clutched the sheet. “He wishes to bleed me again.”
Charles reached for her hand. He felt the tension as he pressed a kiss to the pale skin threaded with blue veins. “I shall consult the doctor. And speak to Jason.”
“They have gone to church,” she said reprovingly.
“So the butler tells me. I am remiss, but I was eager to see you.”
She nodded. “You are forgiven, dear boy. How are you? You look tired.”
“Just the trip, Mother, I am fine.”
She gazed at him shrewdly. He could almost see the questions ticking over in her mind. “How is Nellie?”
It pleased him that his mother called her Nellie. “She is extremely well. Concerned about you, naturally.”
“Tell her to come and see me. But not for a few hours. I slept badly last night and need to rest.” She closed her eyes.
