Page 22 of The Season of Lady Chastity

She understood that in a woman. Not a man.

Chastity’s father had never put his children before his own needs.

Triston, in his youth, hadn’t either; though he’d changed greatly in the last year.

Bastian had listened without rebuff when the gentlemen by the moat had teased him mercilessly. He hadn’t hurled insults back; he hadn’t shouted or stomped in anger. No, he’d taken the time to speak with her—the taunting jests forgotten.

And, in turn, Chastity had not let on how much of the men’s insults she’d overheard.

None of this altered the fact that her acquaintance with Bastian was utterly separate from the ambiguity surrounding the letter she and Pru had found in her mother’s trunk. To make matters worse, if she continued on her course to discover the truth of her mother’s infidelity it would mean ruining Chastity’s standings as a proper lady and, therefore, Chastity’s chance for anything more than friendship with Bastian. Even a friendship with the earl might well evaporate when he learned, if he learned, that she was not Downshire’s daughter.

Her draw to remain in Bastian’s presence could not prevail over her need to learn more about her mother, especially when there was likely no chance of her attraction going anywhere.

A clock chimed in the foyer, giving Chastity the excuse she needed.

“My lord. Bastian. I forgot I am to meet someone this morning,” Chastity said, straining to watch Lady Camden’s retreating form as she walked down the long corridor and away from the breakfast room. “I will see you at our evening meal.”

His frowned deepened. “I suppose I should return with Mother’s tea. Mayhap entice her to walk about the manor grounds.”

Chastity moved past him, not lingering any longer for fear she’d change her mind. “Stay far from the moat,” she called over her shoulder as she walked briskly from the room, following Luci’s mother’s path.

Bastian would be easily located, while gaining a private audience with Lady Camden might prove difficult or impossible if Chastity let the current opportunity pass her by.

Chapter 6

Chastity stood outside the closed library doors. She’d remained a respectable distance behind Lady Camden when she entered the room. Lingering out of sight, she watched as a maid wheeled a tea cart into the room, closing the door behind her when she left. Since then, no one had come or gone. No sound could be heard from within the library. And it appeared that Luci’s mother was quite alone.

What could the woman be doing?

Lifting her shoulders and fixing a pleasant smile upon her face, Chastity grasped the door latch and pushed it wide to reveal Montrose’s impressive collection of books and antiquities positioned on every available tabletop. What Chastity did not see in the room was Lady Camden.

“Hello?” Chastity’s smile slipped as she surveyed the seemingly empty room. “Lady Camden? It is I, Lady Chastity Neville. I’d hoped to have a word with you.”

She moved farther into the library. The cavernous room was situated in the middle of the main wing of Oxburgh Hall and was certainly over two stories in height. Clusters of lounges and chairs dotted the room, creating a half-dozen private sitting areas.

The tea cart was stationed near one such grouping.

Chastity spotted Lady Camden’s feet on the floor, the lady’s back to the door in a high-backed chair.

“Lady Camden?” Chastity called again, making her way toward the woman. “I am sorry for disturbing you, however—” She slipped past the untouched tea cart and around the chair to find Lady Camden’s eyes shut and her hands folded in her lap. “Lady Camden?”

Holding her breath, Chastity pulled off her glove and held her bare finger under the woman’s nose. A soft brush of air had Chastity easing back. Lady Camden was alive—merely sleeping.

Chastity glanced at the door, which stood ajar.

Once again, she wondered if perhaps it would be best to depart and find another, less awkward time to seek a private audience with Luci’s mother.

Chastity had feared gaining an opportunity to speak with the woman. With guests still arriving, surely the marchioness’s time would be further taken by wedding details and seeing to the household of people.

Before she could change her mind, Chastity reached out and nudged Lady Camden’s shoulder. The marchioness’s once raven hair was now shot through with whitish-grey, and her skin no longer held the luxuriously creamy sheen of her youth; however, it was no great task to see the beauty she once was, despite her years as a wedded matron with several children.

Lady Camden didn’t awaken at Chastity’s first prodding.

Leaning in close once more, Chastity poked the woman lightly. “Lady Camden?”

Sufficiently startled, Lady Camden’s eyes sprang open, glazed and confused, and her hands pinwheeled in the air, her palm swatting Chastity soundly in the cheek. Chastity stumbled back as the sting from the blow caused her eyes to water. Her foot caught on a leg of the low table, and with a resounding thump, her bum hit the edge of the hard surface, and Chastity fell to the floor. Blinking several times, she cleared the moisture from her eyes and realized she’d nearly knocked her head on the tea cart.

“Oh, my heavens,” Lady Camden said, her slippered feet coming into Chastity’s line of sight where she remained on the floor. Lady Camden wheeled the cart away and knelt beside Chastity, her hand patting Chastity’s back. “Lady Chastity, need I call for a physician?”