“Lady Caroline, I want to assure you, first of all, I am employed by your brother and no other.” Lady Lutton was out of breath. “Lord Burchester was merely the one who gave my name to Lord Sudbury and I am grateful to him, but I would never break the confidence of an employer.”
Caroline’s stride slowed.
“Thank you, Caroline. My legs are much shorter than yours and I’m afraid I don’t have your youthful energy.”
Caroline came to a stop when she reached St. James Square and turned and faced Lady Lutton who was quite red-faced from the brisk walk.
“How did Lord B-B-B-Burchester know we would be at the g-gallery?”
“You must believe me, I have no idea. I did not tell him, I promise you.”
“How c-can I trust you?”
Lady Lutton looked down. “I’m afraid you can’t. My duty is to your brother, not you, unfortunately. I will always be obliged to report everything to him. That is the function of a chaperone.”
Caroline waved a hand in dismissal. “I d-dont c-c-care about Edmund. What about Lord B-B-B-B—Phineas?”Phineath.
“As I said, I will disclose nothing to anyone besides your brother.”
“You didn’t tell the earl we would b-b-be at the gallery? Or about other m-m-matters?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Are you the m-m-mistress of the earl?”
“No. I told you I have no attachments. Lord Burchester just knew of my situation and offered to help me find suitable positions. He is very kind.”
The Sudbury carriage rolled up alongside them at that moment, Phineas hanging off the back with the footman. He jumped down and took off his hat.
“Your carriage, Lady Caroline.”
She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t accept his hand but climbed into the carriage on her own and Lady Lutton followed her.
Caroline could no longer hold back her tears, and she surprised herself by sobbing the whole way back to the Sudbury town house. She almost never cried. And when she did, she cried in private, alone, away even from Jones, with Lavinia as her only witness. What was happening to her?
Lady Lutton let Caroline cry and did not try to hush her up or comfort her. She did offer her a handkerchief for which Caroline was grateful as she did not seem to have one in her own reticule. She would need to remedy that in the future if she continued to be be as soft as a spongecake. Crying in public!
Lady Lutton followed Caroline into the town house. As Caroline began to ascend the stairs to her bedchamber, Lady Lutton spoke for the first time since they had left St. James Square.
“Lady Caroline, I will talk to your brother now. But I want you to know, outside this house, all secrets are safe with me.”
Caroline had paused to listen and now she continued climbing the stairs. She heard Lady Lutton knock on the door to the library and ask to enter.
Hours later, when Caroline came down to dinner, Edmund gave her a searching look.
“I heard you were upset with Lady Lutton and accused her of telling Phineas you would be at the gallery.”
“Yes.”Yeth.
“Well, she didn’t. I told Phin. He had come round to talk about organizing some cricket for when it got warmer, and I mentioned it to him because he had said he wanted to show you his favorite pictures, remember?”
“Y-you told him?”
“Yes. If I knew you objected to him that much, I wouldn’t have. But why have you taken against Phin so strongly, Caro?
How could she tell Edmund she couldn’t be around Phineas? Edmund would ask why and she couldn’t tell her brother that. Her mind raced. She had gotten it all wrong. She was so anxious about her secrets being discovered that she saw plots everywhere.
“N-n-no, I haven’t taken, I mean . . . I will have to apologize to Lady Lutton.”
