Page 54 of Aurelia

Chapter 11

The sky was cloudless and clear when Arthur rowed her across to the mainland an hour later.

“If we stay until two-thirty will that be enough time for you?” Arthur asked as several men came down the pier to meet their skiff.

“That should be plenty of time. Should we meet back here?”

“That sounds perfect,” Arthur said. “Enjoy your afternoon, my dear.” If he were still harboring any judgment about whom Aurelia was going to visit, he showed no sign of it.

It took her less than a quarter of an hour to reach Miss Pomeroy’s house, which looked well-maintained, although there was something about the tightly drawn drapes that made one think of sadness within.

Rather than knock, Aurelia paused when she reached the front door. It was not like her to hesitate when it came to social matters, but then she had never been in a situation quite like this one before.

Life as the Earl of Addiscombe’s daughter meant she’d faced innumerable humiliations over the years—poverty and gossip, to name a few—but never had she been forced to endure the ire of an angry nation.

Larissa Clifford would have suffered agonies that Aurelia could not even imagine. What would Aurelia want if she were in the same situation?

A friend.

Yes, that was certainly true. And it made her decision easy; now more than ever the woman in this house needed friends.

Aurelia knocked and a few minutes later the door opened and Larissa Clifford’s face registered a second of surprise before a warm smile creased her pretty face. “Miss Burton! How delighted I am to see you. I felt terrible about how abrupt I was to you that day.”

“The situation was terribly upsetting—not to mention dangerous—so I certainly understood your desire to get away as quickly as possible,” Aurelia assured her.

“You are generous as well as brave and kind. Please, come inside.” She opened the door wider, exposing a small entry hall. “I was just about to have tea. Would you care to join me?”

“I would love to,” Aurelia said.

Miss Clifford pulled a wry face. “I hope you don’t mind, but we will need to enjoy it in the kitchen as that is where my only table and chairs are.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“I will lead the way,” Miss Clifford said. “I thought selling everything would take a great deal more time than it did,” she said over her shoulder. “But I sold the last of the furniture—excepting the bed, nightstand, and armoire in my room—yesterday and this morning a man came to haul it away. It is odd walking through the empty, echoing rooms, but it means I shan’t have to bother with getting rid of it all when I am finally ready to leave” She opened the door to a sizeable kitchen and gestured to a battered table and two mismatched chairs. “Have a seat.” She filled a kettle from a jug and then hung it on the tripod over the glowing coals.

“I was so glad to get your letter,” Aurelia said. “I have thought about you often and considered calling, but time has simply sped by and this is my first visit to the mainland.”

“What an adventure to live in that magnificent castle!” Miss Clifford said. “At least it looks magnificent from here, although I’ve not been fortunate enough to see the inside of it.

“It is a remarkable place and the island itself has a great deal to offer.”

“Perhaps I will visit on one of my free days before I leave,” Miss Clifford said.

“That would be lovely,” Aurelia said. “If you do, there is a delightful little teashop in the village of Crewe where we could meet. You mentioned in your letter that you might be here until the end of the year?”

Miss Clifford took a tin from a cupboard. “The woman I am caring for is a kind old lady—one of the few in the area who did not make life miserable for me and my sisters—and has taken a liking to me, so I feel compelled to stay now that she has become deathly ill. And of course, the money is helpful.” She gave a bitter laugh. “Money troubles. Something I never dreamed I’d sink so low to mention in polite company.”

“I’m not sure I qualify as polite company. There are a good many people who believe my presence at Castle Crewe is exceedingly scandalous.”

Miss Clifford laughed. “Yes, you have certainly nudged me off the gossip ladder. I must confess that my sisters and I had not considered how our arrival in such a small village would agitate the local populace. Although I suppose we should have guessed given how ugly things were in our last village. In our defense, we did not have a great many options other than Balcrewe.”

“And now all your sisters are in London?”

“Yes. My oldest sister, Penelope, went there a few months ago to appeal for help from a cousin on our mother’s side.” Miss Clifford’s mouth flexed into a grim smile. “Our mother was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. For years her relatives were delighted to claim a connection to the Earl of Daventry. I am sure you can imagine how delighted they are now.”

Aurelia was spared from having to answer when the other woman stood and removed the boiling kettle.

“It has been fairly awful here, but you are a bright spot, as is Sir Gideon,” she said as she spooned tea into the pot. “And Lord Crewe has been very kind to us, as well.”