“Yes. The older lady had been treating my children poorly. If not for a woman I had recently met, I would have never known about Mrs. Jacobs’s unforgiveable cruelness.”
“Oh, dear,” Countess of Danvers gasped. “I pray your children were not harmed.”
“Not to worry, my lady. The twins are too young and will not remember anything in a few years.”
“I must confess,” Dominic added as the servants brought in the first course, “I have met the new nursemaid, and she is an angel sent right from heaven. Adam and Amanda adore her.”
“How lovely.” The countess smiled as she picked up her spoon. “It is always wonderful to have such a person to care for our children.”
“Indeed it is.” Trevor nodded.
Trey turned to the countess. “I trust you had a similar nursemaid for your child?”
The older woman’s cheeks darkened in a blush. “I did, although I probably spent more time with Elizabeth than the nurse.”
Trevor paused in thought, not wanting to voice his opinion yet. If Louisa was indeed the Danvers’ daughter, why would she go by another name?
“Forgive me, Lady Danvers,” Judith began, “but who is Elizabeth?”
“My daughter.” Sadness clouded the older woman’s eyes. “She died when she was in her twelfth year.”
Judith frowned. “Accept my apologies for not knowing.”
“I thank you.” The countess looked to her husband and squeezed his hand. “It was a difficult time, but we muddled through the heartache together.” She turned her focus to Eliza. “And Miss Watson was a godsend to us during that hard time. She had been Elizabeth’s close friend in school.”
Wellesley reached his hand and patted Eliza’s.
Trevor bunched his hands under the table. What was going on? Frustration pounded through him almost as fast as it had when he couldn’t get the right answers from Featherspoon. If Eliza was such a close friend, and her uncle was the one who kidnapped Louisa, wouldn’t Miss Watson know?
“How fortunate for you to know Elizabeth,” Trevor said as politely as he could before eating a spoonful of soup.
Smiling, Miss Watson didn’t say anything. Although Trevor could tell the young woman soaked in the attention well.
He quickly continued before anyone else spoke next. “And by the time you and Lord Wellesley start having children, I’m certain my nursemaid will be available to work for you.” He shrugged. “By that time, my children would be in need of a governess.”
“But Kenbridge,” Lord Hawthorne interrupted. “I’m certainLouisa—” he said louder—“would love to be the twins’ governess as well.”
Miss Watson’s spoon hit the porcelain bowl, drawing everyone’s attention to her. Suddenly, the pinkness Trevor had noticed in her cheeks only a few moments earlier had disappeared and her skin took on a paler color. There was even a slight shake to the young woman’s hands.
“Oh, my dear. Are you all right?” the dowager asked.
“I… um, yes, I’m fine.”
“You will have to forgive her,” Wellesley said quickly, patting his fiancée’s hand again. “Miss Watson has a bittersweet fondness for the name Louisa. For about seven years, the whole family has felt this way.”
Miss Watson grasped his hand and tightened her fingers. Wordlessly, she shook her head as she aimed her glare at Wellesley. But it seemed the man didn’t notice her silent plea as Trevor had.
“How so?” Dominic asked.
“Miss Watson never called my cousin by her Christian name, Elizabeth. Eliza always referred to my cousin as Louisa.”
Excitement shot through Trevor, but he tried not to show it. He swung his gaze to Trey and Dominic, who looked as elated as Trevor felt.
“Why is that, I wonder?” the dowager asked, who looked remarkably at ease and calm.
The countess chuckled. “Elizabeth thought hers and Eliza’s name were too much alike, so my daughter went by her middle name, Louisa.”
“What an odd coincidence,” Trevor’s mother added.
