“Why are you asking, Rosamund?”
But before Rosamund could respond, the door opened, and Lord Rossdale appeared outside. He smiled at Rosamund and reached in.
“Come on, you. Let’s get you out.”
Rosamund giggled and allowed her father to pluck her from her seat, taking her out of the carriage. Rossdale put her on the gravel and then reached in, holding out a hand to Isabel.
“Lady Isabel?”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Isabel replied with a grin, taking her father’s hand with a giggle.
Lord Rossdale helped her out of the carriage. Beth’s breath caught in her throat as he turned to her, pausing for a moment as the look in his eyes darkened. They stared at each other, and then Rossdale held out his hand. Beth slipped her hand into his and felt his warm fingers close around her. The heat travelled up her arm and tickled her skin. Beth was glad she was wearing gloves, although they weren’t doing much to keep away the warmth.
Rossdale helped her out and held onto her as Beth got her balance back. After sitting in a bumpy carriage for so long with just a short walk while changing horses halfway through, her legs were struggling to get their strength back. As she leaned against the duke, waiting until she could stand without falling over, Beth caught sight of Hermia. The girl was openly glaring at her, fury in her eyes, and her hands clenched at her sides. It was a wonder that she didn’t go after Beth again.
That had Beth straightening up and pushing away from Rossdale, wobbling a little as she did so.
“Miss Campbell?” The duke looked concerned. “Are you sure you can stand? It was a long journey.”
“I’m quite all right.” Beth squared her shoulders and looked up at him. “Thank you for helping me out, but I can manage now.”
Rossdale didn’t look convinced, but he let it go. He cleared his throat and stepped away.
“My servants have already taken the luggage inside. I’ll have Ainsworth take you to your room so you can unpack and get changed.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Then Beth realized what he had just said. “Change for what? What are we doing?”
“You’re going for a walk with my daughters and me.” Lord Rossdale smiled. “We always go for a walk around the estate once we get here. You should as well, get some strength back in your legs.”
Beth hesitated. That wasn’t a bad idea. The thought of going for a walk and having a look at her surroundings sounded like something she could do. It was late evening, but it was light enough that the sun would be up for a while longer. But going out with the duke, even with his daughters, meant that Beth couldn’t completely relax. She was on edge being this close to him.
But Beth then saw the faces of Isabel and Rosamund. Both looking up at her eagerly, their expressions expectant. Beth couldn’t let them down. She sighed and nodded.
“All right. I won’t be long.”
Rossdale’s smile widened, and Beth felt the warmth tighten something in her belly. The duke gave her a slight bow.
“We’ll be in the foyer waiting for you.”
Chapter 16
Gerard was looking forward to having a look at his family home. He loved this place. The countryside of the Lake District was always beautiful during the summer, and Gerard could spend days out in the hills. He loved going for long walks, and all his daughters loved going with him. They had grown up with all these rolling hills, so walking for several miles was not a problem.
It might have been a problem for Beth, though. She had only ever been to Norfolk for her holidays, and Norfolk was incredibly flat in the land. The Lake District was something else, so this was going to be interesting for her. Gerard was willing to be patient with her, just as long as she came with them.
He wanted her to come with them. Having Beth around made Gerard feel better. Things were lighter, and it didn’t seem as dark as before. She could make him smile as she interacted with his children, even with Hermia. His eldest child was still fighting back, but it was more subdued when Gerard was around. She seemed to remember that her father could enforce a stronger punishment on her than Beth ever could.
It was just a shame that she had no respect whatsoever for Beth.
Gerard got himself freshened up and changed into his walking clothes and boots, checking himself before he headed back downstairs. Evans would be along with Amelia and her servants later in the weeks, his valet sorting out the final particulars before he came up to Cumberland. So, for now, it was just him, his daughters, and Beth.
Nodding to his housekeeper Mrs Hartley as he left his bedchamber, Gerard made his way downstairs. Isabel and Rosamund were already in the foyer with Hermia and their country nursery maid Christina. The three girls were dressed ready for a long walk. Hermia was practically hopping from foot to foot as Gerard came down the stairs.
“Father, come on! I want to get going!”
“We’re going to wait for Miss Campbell to join us,” Gerard reminded her. “She’s coming with us, and she will want to see the estate.”
Hermia stopped hopping around. Then she scowled at him, practically baring her teeth at him.
“She isn’t family, Father,” she snapped. “I’m not going for a walk with her.”
Not this again. Gerard had told Hermia to stop with the behaviour in the carriage on the journey over. That had resulted in a long and sullen travel companion who sulked in the corner staring out the window with such a dark scowl that Gerard thought the wind had changed and she was stuck in that look forever. He fixed Hermia with a sharp look.
“She is part of the family while she works for the family, and you will not be disrespectful while you are here.”
“I can,” Hermia shot back. “You know my feelings on that witch.”
“Hey!” Rosamund protested. “Miss Beth is not a witch!”
“Be quiet, Rosamund.”
“I was going to say the same thing about you, Hermia,” Isabel said sharply. “Why don’t you just close your mouth and do as you’re told? You’re not going to get your own way.”
Gerard raised his eyebrows at Christina, who shook her head as if to say she had nothing to do with their outbursts. He turned to Hermia, who was looking defiant. He smirked and folded his arms.
“Your aunt is looking forward to having a visit from all of us while we’re up here. I’m sure she would love an extended visit from you, Hermia.”
Hermia’s eyes flashed. She stormed towards the stairs.
“One of these days, Father, I’ll be gone, and you’ll regret the way you’ve treated me.”
“You want to be treated like a lady?” Gerard said sharply. “Then you act like one. You know what you need to do for that.”
“Then you can go on the walk yourselves.” Hermia tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m going to my room.”
She practically ran up the stairs, disappearing on the floor above. Gerard thought about going after her, but that wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Other than Hermia getting angry again and Gerard frustrated that he couldn’t get through to his daughter. She was so focused on having nothing to do with Beth, and Gerard couldn’t get her to change her mind.
He didn’t know what to do with her. Attempts to talk to her separately and interact with her through music had failed. Hermia seemed to figure out what he was up to and she would just walk out of the room. Gerard didn’t know what else to do. Maybe Beth would have an idea, or he would have to send her away. A change of scenery and guardian to make Hermia realize that she was going through all of this the wrong way.
That was a last resort. Gerard didn’t want to send Hermia away. But she was pushing him, leaving him with very little choice.
“Your Grace?”
Gerard blinked. He had been staring at the stairs after his daughter that he hadn’t noticed that Beth had appeared. She was standing on the stairs looking at him nervously, wearing a dress of dark green muslin with a matching bonnet and gloves. Gerard didn’t care for green, but on Beth it suited her.
“Forgive me, I ... I didn’t see you there.”
“I see.” Beth paused. “Am I dressed appropriately?”
“Very appropriately.”
Gerard had to stop himself from staring. Some of these fashions showed off particular parts of the body a little too much. Gerard didn’t want to be seen gawping at Beth’s breasts in front of his children. He cleared his throat and beckoned her down.
“You’ll be fine. I’m sure we can help if you get into any trouble.”
“Hopefully, there won’t be any trouble.” Beth paused as she saw the girls. “Is Hermia not joining us?”
“She’s gone to her room,” Rosamund said grumpily. “She’s being silly again.”
Gerard sighed. Sometimes, he wished that his youngest daughter would think before she spoke. She was far too blunt at times. Beth hesitated.
“Shall I go and get her, Your Grace? Or if you prefer that I don’t come with you …”
“You’re coming with us.” Gerard cut her off. There was no question about it. Beth was coming with them. “You need to stretch your legs as much as we do, and there’s still plenty of light. It’ll be fine.”
Beth still hesitated. Then Isabel and Rosamund decided for her. They hurried over, grabbed Beth’s hands, and dragged her towards the doors. Gerard watched them with a smile as Beth tried to protest, but was taken out into the open air.
This was going to be interesting.
#
Beth couldn’t believe how busy the estate was. It was huge, and there were a variety of farms and cottages on the land. Everyone did their bit to keep everything going. Whatever crops, food, and animals were grown was distributed throughout the estate.
Lord Rossdale had explained that being out in the Lake District, it made it harder for people to come to them with much-needed supplies, so they became self-sufficient to look after themselves. Everyone chipped in, from the littlest of children all the way up to the eighty-year-old man who lived alone with his chickens.
This included Hermia, Isabel, and Rosamund. They joined in fetching and carrying, bottling fruit ready to be made into jam and helped with making bread. Hermia also helped with picking the vegetables in the various fields without complaint. That part had startled Beth as Hermia was always complaining about what she was doing. And yet she was the first one out to go and contribute to the estate.
Beth had never met a family like this. She was sure no other family in Society worked like this. They would make sure the workers did it all themselves and then take the money. For Rossdale’s estate, it was nothing like that at all. It was like the family had grown into dozens of people in one big area.
And Beth liked it.
The next two days passed very quickly. Beth got the children through their lessons, and almost as soon as they finished their lunch, the girls would be off doing various tasks around the house or going out to the fields. Hermia went off on her own while Isabel and Rosamund dragged Beth along with them to join in. Beth didn’t mind; she liked helping out, and it was a pleasure to do it with Isabel and Rosamund. The two children were really sweet, and Beth found herself drawn to Isabel. She was very bright, very sweet, and very kind. It was hard not to like her. Rosamund was just downright adorable, even if she was blunt with her talking.
If only Hermia were the same. But Beth knew she had plenty of time to win her around. Hermia wasn’t going to make her lose the battle now.
Now, on a very balmy afternoon, Beth was sitting in the garden shelling peas. Isabel was sitting beside her, taking the potatoes off the stems and dusting the dirt off before dropping them into a wooden box at her feet. Beth watched her as Isabel dusted the dirt off her hands before she reached for a handkerchief and blew her nose.
“Do you and Rosamund enjoy this, Isabel?” she asked.
“Of course, we do.” Isabel wiped her nose and put her handkerchief away. “It’s our way of helping with the work, so we can feel like we’re doing something.”
“I know you like to be kept busy, but this?”
“It’s a necessity.” Isabel gestured at their surroundings. “When winter comes in, this place may look beautiful, but it can get a little cut off from everyone else. We just need to make sure we’re ready for the storms.”
“And there’s a lot of snow here.”
“Let’s put it this way, if there was snow now, it would be up to your knees.”
Beth stared. That was bad. London got snow, but never anything like this. Then again, being so flat with so much activity, it would be no surprise that the snow wasn’t as bad as it was further north. She slit open another peapod. She had no idea that all these vegetables could be available in the middle of August.
“The Season in London starts in November. Don’t you go down for it?”
“Father does. For politics.” Isabel made a face. “He hates doing it. And we miss him when he goes. Then he comes back over the Christmas period to celebrate Christmas with us before we go down to London with him just after New Year.”
Beth could see how that worked. There wouldn’t be much to do for little children in London, especially in the winter months. And Christmas in the Lake District had to look beautiful, especially with all the snow. She did love a white Christmas.
“When’s Hermia going to have her first Season?” she asked as she tipped the peas into the bowl in front of her. “Two years until she steps into Society, isn’t it?”
“Yes. If she stops her current behaviour.” Isabel lowered the potato she had been cleaning and sighed. “I heard Father talking to her about it before. She isn’t going to get her Season at all if she doesn’t start behaving as she’s supposed to.”
Beth felt a tightening in her gut. She hadn’t realized it had become that bad. Lord Rossdale had said that Hermia was on thin ice, but he hadn’t said this.
“Oh, dear.”
“What?” Isabel was peering at her. “Miss Beth?”
“It’s …” Beth sat back. “I have a feeling that it’s my fault Hermia’s the way she is. She dislikes me, and she doesn’t want me around.”
Isabel raised her eyebrows. Then she shook her head.
“You have nothing to feel bad about. It’s Hermia’s fault that she’s not got the conduct becoming of a lady. She needs to change herself. Whether you’re here or not has nothing to do with what she’s doing.”
“You think so?”
“Of course. If it wasn’t you she was trying to lash out at, it would be someone else. She’s been doing it for a year now.” Isabel swallowed and bit her lip. “Mother was a good person, and we all miss her. But I think Mother also spoiled Hermia a little too much. Now she can’t do as she had before, and as you’re someone different, you’re the perfect target to lash out at. You just need to stop her getting under your skin.”
Beth stared at the child sitting beside her. Isabel had said many things before that were far too intelligent for her, but this was something else. Beth was just startled at the rational thinking of an eleven-year-old girl. She kept surprising Beth the more they spent time together.
“You know, Isabel, you’re far too wise for your age.”
Isabel shrugged.
“I notice things. That part I did get from my mother.”
“I don’t want to be mean about your sister, but I wish Hermia was like you.”
What A Wicked Duke Demands (Historical Regency Romance) Page 21