“I can certainly understand that. It’s like a form of death.” Louisa walked slowly; every step an effort of will.
“Yes, and little Louisa keeps asking why we haven’t put a marker in the cemetery for Finn, but I just can’t bring myself to make a grave for a child who’s still living. I could tell her that it’s because there’s no body, but we made a marker for Bridget, so I can’t use that excuse.”
Valerie sighed, following Louisa into the cool shadows of the house. She’d expected this to be such a happy reunion, but now her stomach was twisting with anxiety due to Louisa’s confession and her own worry for Finn. Valerie quickly rearranged her face into a mask of pleasure as she saw Kit coming toward her down the hall. Whatever happened between him and Louisa, she had no right to get involved. She would talk to Alec and see if he could suggest anything. Maybe Kit would confide in him as he used to, but then again, if he did, it would be a sign that he had no intention of working things out with his wife, since the information would surely be passed on to Louisa, and he knew it.
Chapter 4
Valerie studied her reflection in the mirror as the maid skillfully twisted her hair into an elaborate chignon. She had to admit that it looked well on her. When at home, she normally just pinned up her hair and covered it with a mob cap, but here things were different. The house boasted a huge staff, and a lady’s maid was promptly assigned to Valerie despite her protests. Alec was in the next room getting dressed with the assistance of a manservant.
Valerie smiled as her daughter breezed into the room wearing a lovely silk gown in a shade of dusty rose that highlighted her coloring. Her hair was piled high on her head, several ringlets left loose to artfully frame her face.
“Oh, Mama, isn’t it lovely? Aunt Lou lent it to me. None of my gowns will do here, especially if I’m to be introduced at Court. I have to speak to Dad about ordering some new clothes.” She twirled around the room, enjoying the swishing of silk around her stockinged calves and purposely displaying the low-heeled shoes with stone-encrusted buckles.
“I think you might be right, darling, but let’s not spring this on him just yet. It’s only our first night here, and we have plenty of time.”
They both turned as Alec entered the room, dressed and ready to escort them to the dining room. Valerie never expected dinner to be such a grand affair, but when in Rome… Her clothes suddenly felt dated and shabby, and she wished she would have had the foresight to have a new gown made before making the trip.
The dining room was ablaze with candles, their light casting a muted glow over the polished furniture and the elegantly set table. The room was decorated in shades of cream and gold; heavy damask drapes closed against the summer night and keeping the room uncomfortably warm. Louisa and Kit were already there, looking slightly tense as they greeted their guests. This was so different from the informal dinners they used to have back home. Valerie was just about to comment on the beauty of the room when an elderly woman entered the dining room, her head erect above her old-fashioned ruff. She was short and thin with steel-gray hair and twinkling blue eyes that seemed to miss very little, but the air of superiority emanating from her made her appear six feet tall. She took her seat, studying Valerie and Alec with undisguised curiosity and clearly finding them lacking.
“Aunt Maud, may I present my sister Valerie, her husband Alexander Whitfield and their daughter, Louisa. They’ve only just arrived this afternoon.” Louisa announced, looking unusually nervous.
“So, you are the sister I’ve heard so much about,” observed Aunt Maud with a smirk. “I certainly hope you will talk some sense into Louisa. She’s had a face on her like a melancholy bulldog these past few weeks. Good thing she’s away from Court for the time being, but then, you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Aunt Maud looked around the table, gauging the reaction to her comment with a sly smile playing about her lips.
Valerie felt Alec’s tension, but he said nothing, taking a sip of claret instead. When Louisa said the woman was insufferable, she wasn’t exaggerating. Aunt Maud fixated her gaze on Alec, looking at him as if he weren’t fit to sit at the same table with a person of quality. Louisa gasped at the rudeness, but Valerie tried to hide a smile behind her napkin. Aunt Maud was clearly trying to provoke them, her eyes dancing with merriment as she enjoyed the discord she caused. She was probably bored to tears and liked to make her own entertainment wherever she went. The trick was not to give her the satisfaction. She seemed a little deflated as no one answered back and looked around for a new victim.
“And how old are you, my dear?” Aunt Maud asked, turning her attention to little Louisa. “I must say, that shade is a lot more becoming on you than it is on your aunt. She doesn’t have the coloring for it.”
“I’m sixteen, your ladyship,” Louisa answered shyly, unsure of whether to accept the compliment or run for her life.
“Sixteen, you say? You should be married, my girl. Why, in my day you would have given your husband an heir or two by this age. When Queen Bess was on the throne, girls didn’t go about picking and choosing as they do today. Their fathers arranged a marriage for them, and they obeyed, as a woman should.” Aunt Maud looked regally over the assembled company, daring someone to contradict her, but no one did, taking the wind out of her sails. Valerie thought that if Maud had been as pleasant as a girl as she was as an adult, her father likely would have tried to marry her off at twelve to someone much older and hard of hearing.
“Aunt Maud, our guests have had a long journey, and we’d like to hear about life in Virginia,” Kit interjected smoothly. “Wouldn’t you like to hear about life in the New World?”
“Why would I want to hear about life in that God-forsaken backwater? The only life worth talking about is at Court. Speaking of which, is His Majesty going on Progress this summer?”
“I haven’t heard to the contrary,” mumbled Kit.
“It would be a great honor if His Majesty chose to visit Willowbrook, although I don’t think your wife is up to entertaining such illustrious company. That’s what happens when you marry beneath your station.” Aunt Maud smiled at Louisa blandly, obviously revisiting an old argument. She seemed to perk up as Kit took a deep breath, finally rattled.
“Enough!” Kit roared, slamming his hand on the table. “Unless you would like to take a tray in your room for the remainder of your stay, you will treat my guests with respect and refrain from making snide comments about my wife. Is that understood?”
Aunt Maud had the decency to look abashed, her little smile erased from her face before glaring at Kit with something akin to hurt.
“Perfectly. I see that your relations have been here for less than a day, and already you’re acting like a barbarian.” With that Aunt Maud swept out of the room, holding her head so high that Valerie wondered how she could see where she was going.
“Welcome to England,” said Louisa, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.
Chapter 5
“Good God, what have we walked into?” asked Valerie as she climbed into the four-poster bed next to Alec. The housekeeper had assigned them separate bedrooms, but unlike most couples of quality, they’d always slept in the same bed, enjoying the warmth and comfort of each other’s bodies.
“Things certainly seem tense,” Alec observed, getting more comfortable. “Louisa looks miserable. Is everything all right between them?”
Valerie paused for a moment, unsure if she should share Louisa’s concerns with Alec, but she normally told him everything, and he might be able to help. Kit and Alec shared a very close bond in Virginia, so Alec might be able to talk some sense into him.
“Louisa thinks that Kit’s keeping a mistress. She found some evidence to support her suspicions.”
“Really?” Alec said, putting his hands behind his head. “What kind of evidence?”
“The damning kind. There’s a letter and an engraved snuffbox. Maybe you can have a talk to him,” Valerie suggested, snuggling closer. “He’ll lis
ten to you. He respects you.”
“Valerie, it’s not my place to interfere in their marriage. I adore Louisa, and I love and respect Kit, but I have no right to intervene.”
“I would want someone to intervene if you had a mistress,” Valerie persisted, although she could see that Alec’s mind was made up.
“Valerie, you are all the woman I’ll ever need, and I have a feeling that if I even so much as glanced at another woman, it would be too late for any kind of intervention. You would kill me with your bare hands and hide my body somewhere where no one would ever find it,” he said with a laugh, kissing the tip of her nose, “and that’s how I like it.”
Valerie couldn’t say she disagreed with Alec. Confronting Kit would only cause tension between the men and ruin their stay. If Kit wanted to confide in Alec, he’d be happy to listen, but to just blunder in wasn’t Alec’s way. She had to admit that she was surprised by Louisa’s handling of the situation. It wasn’t like her to quietly sulk and pray for the best, but then this wasn’t the type of life where a woman had much to gain by confronting her husband. If there really was a mistress and Kit was determined not to give her up, Louisa would have very few options. She could either insist on living apart, in which case she might lose her children, or put a brave face on it and wait until the affair fizzled out; walking on eggshells and praying that her husband would return to her in time rather than relegate her to the ranks of unwanted wives, kept in the country solely for the purpose of avoiding scandal and producing more children.
Valerie couldn’t imagine Kit ever treating Louisa that way, but then again, she’d only known him in Virginia where he was one of them rather than Lord Sheridan, advisor to the King. This was the role he’d been born into, not the one he tried to play in Virginia.
Valerie sighed and snuggled closer to Alec despite the heat. She had doubted his faithfulness only once, but she had been the one to betray him with her lack of trust. Alec had never strayed and never would. His love for her was absolute, which was a rare and beautiful thing in any century.
Chapter 6
Valerie looked up at the leaden sky, judging how much time she might have until the heavens opened up. They’d had several picture-perfect days, but this morning was overcast and terribly muggy, the silk gown sticking to her flushed skin like a wetsuit. The weather wasn’t ideal for walking, but in truth, Valerie just wanted a little time away from the house to think. Despite the numerous rooms, someone always seemed to find her, especially little Evie, who’d finally warmed up to her relatives and wanted to play hide-and-seek constantly, thrilled to have new friends to play with. It wasn’t that Valerie didn’t want to spend time with her niece or sister, but she didn’t want Louisa to see the extent of her concern.
Kit was well-mannered and polite as usual, but she could see that something was gnawing at him and eating him up from the inside. She wasn’t all that sure that Louisa’s assessment had been correct. He didn’t seem like a man overcome with passion for a new love. Whoever this woman was, she wasn’t making him happy. Valerie noticed Kit watching Louisa with unbearable longing in his eyes, making her wish that she could just ask him outright what was going on and put all the speculation to rest. Kit seemed happy to spend time with Alec, but hadn’t mentioned anything, and Alec remained firm in his resolve not to interfere.
Louisa, on the other hand, tried to pretend that everything was well, acting normally around Kit, and trying not to commit an act of violence against his aunt. Thankfully, the woman rose late and then took a nap in the afternoon, leaving them to deal with her only a few hours a day. Louisa desperately wished she would just leave, but it seemed the old lady was having way too much fun exactly where she was. The latest disagreement had been about Evie wearing a corset. Aunt Maud felt that the girl was old enough to be taught good posture and bearing, and needed to be trained from an early age that a woman should never equate attire with comfort. Louisa was too speechless to even engage in the argument; to put a two-year-old in a whalebone corset would be considered child-abuse in their day, but in the seventeenth century it was perfectly normal. After all, Evie’s only value, in Aunt Maud’s eyes, was how well she would eventually do on the marriage market. Her well-being and happiness were something that would never even cross the old lady’s mind. She was a mere girl, useful only in furthering the fortunes of the family. If, at some point, the king took an interest in her, Aunt Maud would no doubt recommend sending Evie to his bed in the hopes that the family would profit by being granted titles and estates. Being a girl of nobility in these times was a perilous business, and Valerie hoped that Kit would protect his daughter and do his best to see her happily married when the time came.
Valerie had just made it to a bench under a weeping willow when the first drops began to fall. She didn’t mind. Her green retreat was waterproof and serene, just what her aching heart needed. She was so worried for Louisa, but what could she do to help other than listen and sympathize? In the twenty-first century, she might be able to offer advice, even suggest marriage counseling, but there were no options here except to grin and bear it.
Valerie watched as heavy raindrops plopped onto the surface of the pond, making the water ripple in their wake. The surface of the pond was nearly black, reflecting the quickly darkening sky. Reeds nodded their velvety heads as the wind picked up, causing the rain to come down almost horizontally, soaking everything in its path. It would take some time for the storm to pass, but that was all right. Valerie was warm and dry in her sanctuary, if not overly happy.
She looked up in astonishment as the shaggy branches of the willow parted to admit a soggy Alec. “There you are,” he said, taking a seat on the bench. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Why, is something wrong?” Valerie asked in alarm.
“You just seemed so melancholy at breakfast; I thought you might need some cheering up,” he replied, putting his arm around Valerie and drawing her head against his shoulder.
“As long as I didn’t look like a bulldog,” Valerie answered sarcastically, making Alec chuckle.
“Aunt Maud is something, isn’t she? I wonder if she was always so harsh or if life made her that way,” he mused.
Valerie had never stopped to consider Aunt Maud’s life. Was it possible that she had been a kind and caring soul at some point in her life? What would have to happen to someone to make them so horrid? She would have to ask Louisa. After all, she seemed to have no one except for her “adopted” nephew and his long-suffering wife. Surely, she must have had children of her own at some point, and grandchildren.
“Forget Maud for a moment, Valerie. Actually, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you away from the house. The Sheridans will be going back to town in a few weeks, and I thought it might be a good opportunity for us to escape for a little while.” Alec’s eyes were full of mischief, and his smile conspiratory.
“And where are we escaping to, exactly?” Valerie asked, looking up at him from her vantage point. It was always so comforting to have him nearby.
“To the future. We can see London in the twenty-first century. I have it all worked out. I thought it would be best not to tell little Louisa. She’s excited to visit Court and Kit has promised to introduce her to the king. She’s asked me to have some new gowns made, so that should keep her busy for a little while.”
“London? But I wanted to show you New York.” She had it all planned as well, and it was the next item on the list once they returned home to Virginia.
“It can’t be done, sweetheart,” Alec said gently.
“Of course it can. Mr. Taylor showed me how to set a location. The new time-travel device is more sophisticated and has an option to choose coordinates as well as time.”
“Yes, I know; he showed it to me as well, but that’s not what I meant. I know what you want to do, and it can’t be done,” Alec repeated, taking her hand in his and kissing her palm.
“What exactly are you referring to?”
; “I’m referring to your plan to prevent the accident that killed your parents. Isn’t that what you were thinking?” The look of compassion in Alec’s eyes nearly made Valerie cry, but she fought the tears, facing Alec defiantly.
“You deduced all that from one sentence?”
“I’ve been married to you for nearly two decades, I know the way your mind works. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not, and it can be done. I wouldn’t have to show myself. Maybe you could ask them for directions or something and prevent them from crossing the street at that particular moment. It would save their lives. Oh, just think of it, Alec. They would be alive and well. I would happily return to the past knowing that they are out there, living their lives, even if they don’t know that I’m still alive.” Valerie had dreamed of seeing her parents again. It would be torture not to talk to them or assure them that she was well, but it would be a sacrifice she was willing to make to save them from their untimely death.
Alec just shook his head sadly. “Valerie, have you mentioned this to Louisa?”
“No, but I don’t see why she would object.”
“Don’t you? If you save your parents, Louisa will never seek out Mr. Taylor and come to the past. She will never meet and marry Kit or have Evie and Robbie. By that one act, you will be negating her whole life, and not only hers. If Louisa doesn’t come, neither does Mr. Taylor. Finn would never go to the future and meet Abbie, and we would likely never survive the famine, since it was Mr. Taylor who helped us prepare for the worst. You would be changing the lives of countless people, including us. Have you considered that?” Alec drew Valerie to him, holding her close. “I know you want to save them, love, but you can’t. You simply can’t.”
A Game of Shadows Page 3