“I would make you the happiest woman,” Hans said playfully.
“Sir, from everything that you have said this afternoon, I doubt that would be true,” Katherine protested.
“I make you happier than duke’s brother, even though my muscles are not as big,” Hans teased, flexing his arm so that Katherine could see.
“These are not bad,” Katherine said, feeling his arm with her hand. His skin was as soft as German cream.
“In all truth,” Hans said, bringing his arm down. “If Lord Garret does not come back for you, I will claim you.”
“Hans!” Katherine protested again.
“You shall see,” Hans added playfully.
“Katherine!” Nigel’s voice called out from the veranda.
“Yes?” She called back.
“There’s a letter for you.”
Katherine’s heart began to race. The letter was either from Elizabeth, her mother, or Lord Garret. It had only been days since he returned to London, so there was a very good chance that it was from him. The very thought of it filled Katherine with so much happiness that she raced to the veranda, unapologetically running at a good clip.
“I’m coming!” Katherine called as she was running, knowing that it was foolish. Nigel could very well see that she was approaching him in a wild, joyful manner.
“Here it is,” Nigel said once she approached.
Katherine pulled the letter from his hand and looked at it, her breath heaving. “Oh, heavens,” she said, noting that it was not the penmanship of either her sister or her mother. “I thank you,” she added, taking the letter inside and rushing up to her room. Upon entering, Katherine lay down upon her bed on her back and held the letter in front of her. A large smile appeared on her face. Opening it, Katherine began to laugh from bliss.
Katherine,
I hope that you are well. When I said that we should write one another, I intended to keep that promise. It is a busy time for me in London and my apologies again for staying at Bonhomie so briefly. Please know that you are always in my thoughts.
Lord Garret
Katherine took the letter and pressed it against her heart. Although the letter was brief, she was quite convinced that she would cherish it for the rest of her days. Not wanting to wait to reply, Katherine got up from her bed immediately and rushed to her desk where she took out pen and paper and began. It was as though the words flowed right through her.
Lord Garret,
Please understand that you are always in my thoughts as well. It pained me to see you go, but I’m not in a position to entreat you to stay. As I suggested, the leaves are beginning to turn now in the garden and Hans has planted all manner of vegetables for Renee to cook. It’s going to prove to be a bounteous autumn and I do hope to see you soon.
Katherine
Katherine frowned to herself. The letter seemed insufficient in her estimation, but words couldn’t truly express what she was feeling. She longed to touch him, to smell him, to feel his breath. Everything that she wanted from Lord Garret was tangible. To try to express any of that in words was a mere waste of time. For a moment, Katherine considered how simple loving really was. You merely loved someone and that was that. There was very little complication in the matter.
“Katherine!” She heard Constance cry from outside her door.
“What is it?” Katherine said, rushing to the door. From what she could hear, Constance was in tears. Flinging open the door, she received further confirmation that this was the truth. “Sweet girl,” Katherine said, taking Constance in her arms. “What’s the matter?”
“The locket!” Constance said, unable to stop the sobbing.
“What?”
“The locket,” Constance repeated. “It has gone missing.”
“But, how?”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid that papa will scold me.”
“There, there,” Katherine said, petting Constance’s hair. “I’m sure it’s just been misplaced. No one knows of the locket but yourself.”
“Oh, he’s going to be so cross with me,” Constance said, pulling back and wiping her eyes.
“Come, let’s go look around,” Katherine said, taking Constance by the hand. She led her up to the attic where Constance opened the chest and, sure enough, the locket was not there. They began to scour the attic, and when that proved unfruitful, Katherine and Constance began to search the house.
“This will be the end of me,” Constance moaned.
“I promise that it won’t be,” Katherine replied.
After endless searching and finding nothing, Katherine was at a loss. Where on earth could the thing be? And how strange that it should disappear just after Constance had showed it to her. There had to be some kind of explanation for it all.
Seeing that they were getting nowhere, Katherine thought it fitting to ask some of the servants if they had seen it.
“Perhaps we should just tell papa,” Constance said wearily.
“Let’s first make sure that no one knows about it. And yes, by the end of day, we’ll inform the duke if it still hasn’t been found,” Katherine said, wanting to delay the pain that Constance would have to go through in telling her father.
It was Nigel that they approached first, and he assured both of them that he had not seen it anywhere, nor did he know of its existence. Katherine reasoned with herself that if Nigel didn’t know of the locket then perhaps no one would. Still, their sleuthing continued and Katherine approached Sofia next.
Oddly, when Katherine questioned Sofia about it, there was a shocked and fearful expression upon the maid’s face. Katherine thought it strange at first but tossed the thought aside. Sofia was certainly no thief; she was sure of it.
After all their options had been exhausted, Katherine finally told Constance that, indeed, she was going to need to tell her father that very evening. It was an item of incredible importance and since it was missing, the duke needed to do some investigations of his own in order to get to the bottom of it.
Since he was in his study and hard at work, both Constance and Katherine reasoned that mentioning it over supper was the appropriate time. Then, the duke would be relaxed and perhaps less upset to hear about the loss.
“I feel like god is punishing me,” Constance said, her head hanging low.
“There, there. God isn’t punishing you.”
“But doesn’t it seem as though he is?”
Constance sulked for the rest of the day as the evening approached. Although Katherine was sad to see the girl so low, her thoughts still lingered on the letter that she had received from Lord Garret. She wished to carry it in her pocket at all times.
***
As Lord Roland sat down to dinner, he noted that his daughter looked sad and sullen. He had not seen such an expression on her face since her mother died, and what’s more, Constance refused to make eye contact with him. Not liking to see her in such a state, he inquired after her mood immediately.
“What is the matter?” The duke asked. Constance gave no reply. “Daughter, speak to me.”
“Constance has had a trying day,” Katherine said, and he turned towards her, hoping that someone might give him an explanation. “Speak, Constance,” Katherine added, then the duke turned back towards his daughter.
“I have mum’s chest of jewelry,” Constance began to say glumly.
“Yes,” the duke replied, willing her to continue.
“And I keep it up in the attic. Because I like to play there with my dolls and whatnot.”
“Continue.”
“Well, one of the most important pieces of jewelry, one that you have always asked me to look after, it has gone missing.”
The duke’s eyes went wide with shock. Constance didn’t even have to mention it for him to know that the particular piece of jewelry was probably the locket. It was an item not only worth a great deal of money, but it also had significant sentimental value since it was his wife’s favorite piece.
“Constance, w
hat are you trying to tell me?” The duke said, not wishing to jump to conclusions.
“The locket is gone,” Constance said, dissolving into tears that fell down into her soup bowl.
“This cannot be,” the duke said, shaking his head.
“I fear that it is true,” Katherine interjected. “She showed me the locket days ago. We were playing and having a good time. It’s so odd that it has since disappeared,” Katherine said, fear written on her face.
“It’s more than odd, it’s pitiful,” the duke said, anger overtaking him. He was not one to get angry with his daughter, indeed not with either of his children, but with such an item of value in question, the duke could not hold back. “Constance, I command you to go to your room at once.”
“Papa!” Constance protested.
“Do you hear me child?” The duke said, his voice icy. “Nigel will bring you up your supper.”
Still a mess of tears, Katherine watched as Constance slowly walked to her room.
“I do not believe it is her fault,” Katherine suggested softly.
“It most certainly is her fault. I gave her that box with the express orders that she care for those pieces. It’s an abomination that she brought it up to the attic, of all places. The jewelry should have been kept in her room under lock and key.”
“How could she have known that this was going to happen?”
“Because I warned her to be careful,” the duke said, continuing to eat his soup. Even though his daughter had angered him much, he wasn’t going to let it spoil the evening entirely. Still, his mind was racing with how he might proceed.
Surely, that locket was still somewhere under his roof and the duke was going to do everything in his power to find it. He sighed to himself. Katherine was trying to reason with him but it was going to take some time. The duke needed the situation to cool off and he couldn’t do that with his daughter in his sight.
The rest of the meal was undertaken in silence. Harry looked like he was on the verge of tears as well. And if the locket could not be found, what would Lord Garret think? Seeing how angry the duke became, he imagined that his brother would be doubly so.
Such silly nonsense. It’s just a bloody locket.
As the duke continued his meal he found that he was coming to his senses, and even momentarily regretted sending his daughter up to her room. She was, no doubt, still in tears. Were he not still frustrated, he would go up to her room to console her.
But thinking it best to leave the matter until the morning, the duke retired to his study where he sipped brandy and smoked upon a cigar. He would need to question all the servants about the matter. If someone at Bonhomie was stealing from him then they would be banished at once. The duke did not tolerate such behavior in the slightest.
His mind momentarily went to the newest servant at the estate; Hans. Could the German be responsible for this? And if so, what would he want with a bloody locket? Of course, he could sell it for a fine sum, but why on earth would anyone do such a thing when they enjoyed happy employment in a wealthy home? Never in his time at Bonhomie had such a thing occurred.
It also dawned on the duke that perhaps thievery wasn’t present at all, but that the locket had been merely misplaced.
“M’Lord,” he heard a voice say at the door.
“Come in,” the duke replied, far too gruffly. Pushing the door open, the duke could see that it was Katherine.
“She is still in her room.”
“Good, that’s where I told her to go,” the duke said, sipping his brandy.
“She’s inconsolable.”
“She should be.”
“Perhaps it’s best to soften your perspective on this,” Katherine said, standing in front of his desk.
“And why the devil should I do that?”
“Because I truly don’t think that it was her fault. When she showed me the jewels, she displayed to me how much she cared for them and kept them in order. If they were stolen, wouldn’t someone take the whole chest and not just the locket?”
“The locket was the most valuable piece in that chest. Whoever stole it must have had knowledge of it, if it was stolen at all. I’m not entirely doubtful that Constance didn’t just misplace it.”
“Please know that she is just as upset as you are,” Katherine went on. “Perhaps dealing with this situation using a light hand is best for all.”
Lord Roland stopped to consider Katherine’s words. Yes, she was right. There was no reason to fret and make his daughter’s nerves worse.
“I shall have a word with her tomorrow,” the duke said, nodding his head. “You may be excused.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Katherine said, giving curtsy. As the governess left the room, the duke was free to consider her words even further. It was true; there was no reason to stir things up even more than they had already been stirred. The duke would have a good night’s sleep and return to the issue in the morning. It seemed that everyone at Bonhomie needed a good night’s rest. Although the duke was partially grateful that his brother was not around to witness it all, the other part of him almost wished that Lord Garret was there. It seemed like his brother, although he would be incensed, would also know what to do.
The following day, Lord Roland found that he felt refreshed and had gained a better perspective on things. Coming down to the breakfast room, he noted that Constance was still sullen and kept her eyes down upon the table.
“Daughter,” Lord Roland said, taking his seat.
“Yes, father,” she said softly.
“We are to have an important family discussion this morning.”
“Very well,” she replied.
The duke looked over at Katherine and she warmly smiled at him, encouraging him to do what he was about to do.
“I’m no longer upset with you,” the duke began, and watched as Katherine’s eyes went wide with wonder.
“You're not?” She asked.
“No.”
“Hooray!” Harry cried, throwing his hands into the air.
“Although the heirloom is quite important to this family, it’s still just an object. A triviality, despite its financial worth. We know that it was your mother’s favorite piece, but that does not mean that we have lost the memory of your mother.”
“Well said,” Katherine added.
“What is most important at Bonhomie are the people sitting around this table,” the duke said, making eye contact with each one individually. “I will do my best to get to the bottom of how and why the locket disappeared, but there’s no more need for sulking or being sad. All is forgiven.”
The duke watched as everyone around the table smiled, and there was an overall sense of deep relief. Breakfast was served and the children ate heartily. They even teased one another and told funny stories. The duke sat back and watched it all. Yes, he had done the right thing. As head of the household, his family’s happiness was of the utmost importance. He never wished to see Constance cry again in that same way that she had.
Chapter 19
With so much good fortune in London, Lord Garret thought that the time was ripe to return to Bonhomie once more. The anticipation for seeing Katherine was so great that he could scarcely contain himself. He and Katherine had been exchanging letters for several weeks, and every time that he opened a letter from her, it was as though the foggy clouds of London would break open and the sun would shine through. He had kept every one of them, being sure to store them and catalog them by date. Her penmanship was nearly as beautiful as the rest of her person.
Risky Rules of a Passionate Governess Page 21