by Pearl Wolf
“Do you mind if your sisters join you, Jane?” asked Her Grace.
“I don’t want to spoil your fun, Jane, but I’ve outgrown my riding boots,” said Mary.
“And my riding skirt has a terrible tear that even Amy can’t mend,” added Helena.
Olivia grasped Jane’s hand and turned to her sisters. “This was meant to be Jane’s special day with me.” She lifted her sister’s chin and looked into her eyes. “It’s up to you, poppet. Shall we give these other sassy sisters permission to join us?”
Jane was flattered when she found herself the center of attention within the sea of her sisters. As they pleaded their cause, she looked from one to the other, her eyes appraising them. “All right, you lot can come, but I get to choose my riding clothes first.”
In the rush of preparedness, Olivia found time to warn each of her sisters not to scold and to be attentive to Jane. Her Grace followed her daughters out to where the family coach was waiting. “Kiss your mother good-bye, poppet, then lead the way,” said Olivia.
“Don’t be too long. We have guests for dinner, Livy.”
As Olivia had hoped, Jane was having a grand time as the center of attention within the circle of her sisters. When Olivia whispered something in the riding shop proprietor’s ear when they entered, Mr. Smith gave a slight nod, took Jane by the hand and fitted her for riding boots himself. Her sisters fussed over the styles, arguing on the child’s behalf as to which style was most appealing.
The owner’s wife, an accomplished dressmaker, devoted her full attention to Jane as if she were a grand duchess instead of a young child. As she took her measurements, she said, “I know just the right color for your riding costume, milady. Can you believe it? It was delivered to me for another customer, but you may have it if you like it. I’ll just tell my customer she’ll have to wait for another shipment since I had to use it for a grand lady.”
“That royal blue color for your skirt and jacket is a clever choice, Jane. It matches your eyes, too. With a frilly white blouse, you’ll look charming.”
“Would you like me to trim your riding suit and your bonnet with some black braid, milady?” asked the dressmaker.
“Could you trim it with white and gray braid instead? My pony Sugar is white with gray spots.”
“Jane! You have a pony of your own? I don’t believe it!” said Georgiana in mock horror.
Jane rose to the occasion and, behaving more like an adult than the child she was, said with dignity, “Oh yes I do. And I’m going to learn how to ride her, too! Just as soon as my new boots and my riding clothing are finished.”
The proprietors of Smith Emporium had not had such a profitable day in years. By the time all the Fairchild sisters completed their purchases, and arrangements were made for delivery to Bodmin Castle, they were in high good humor.
Olivia said, “We have just enough time for lemonade and poppy seed cakes next door at the Pig and Whistle. Casper has engaged a private parlor for us, but I promised Mother we’d be home early, so we’ll have to be quick about it.”
“Don’t make such a fuss with my hair for tonight, Jenny.”
“But I thought you said Sir Sebastian Brooks and Mr. Denville were invited to dinner.”
“I did, but there’s no need to dress as though we’re at a ball in London. A simple style, please. And put that green silk gown away. I’ll wear the cream muslin instead.”
“Yes, milady,” Jenny said, suppressing a frown over Olivia’s prim choice. But she well knew it would be useless to argue.
Satisfied at last, Olivia stepped out of her chamber in time to greet Helena and Georgiana, both dressed more lavishly, though in simple country fashion. Helena wore pale blue silk and Georgiana had on a gown of lavender. They entered the drawing room together, to find that Sebastian and Hugh, dressed in formal black, were already there.
Her Grace smiled at her daughters. She turned to her guests and said, “Here are my eldest daughters. I believe you know Sir Sebastian Brooks and Mr. Denville, my dears?”
“Yes, Mother,” said Olivia. “How are you, sir?” She offered her hand and Sebastian raised it to his lips.
“I’m well, ma’am. You and your sisters were in Bodmin this afternoon, were you not? Denville and I caught sight of the lot of you when we returned from our afternoon ride.”
“Yes. We escorted our youngest sister Jane, who was fitted for her first riding costume, quite an occasion for her. We were all there to cheer her along. She’s only eight years old, you know.”
“How old is Mary?” asked Denville.
“Mary is fourteen. She’s an accomplished pianist, but you can decide for yourself. She’ll play for us after dinner.” Olivia wondered why her mouth felt so dry.
“I look forward to hearing her then.”
“Dinner is served, Your Grace,” announced the butler.
Sebastian sprang forward and offered his arm to the matriarch. “Allow me, Your Grace.”
“May I?” asked Denville of Georgiana, who had already fallen a little bit in love with the gallant soldier.
“Delighted,” she said and rested her hand on his arm.
“Deelighted!” mocked Helena in a whisper as she linked her arm through Olivia’s and they made their way into the dining room. “She’ll make that poor man melt like butter before the evening is out.”
Olivia stifled a laugh. “Poor Denville. I feel sorry for him. I do hope he doesn’t make the mistake of falling in love with her. He can’t know it, but for Georgie, flirting is just practice for her debut next year.”
Her Grace sat at the head of the table, Denville on her right, Olivia seated next to him. Opposite, Sebastian sat next to his hostess, followed by Helena and Georgiana.
“How long do you plan to stay in Bodmin?”
“A month or perhaps two, Your Grace. We’re on holiday.”
“A charming time of year to visit North Cornwall. The fall foliage is at its best, for the leaves always turn color first this far north.”
“A month or two? What wonderful news. Then you shall both be here for the Fall Assembly in Bodmin. It’s this Saturday evening at seven, in Congress Hall. The country dances are great fun. Do say you’ll join us,” said Georgiana.
Sebastian scratched his head. “We’re both a bit rusty, Lady Georgiana.”
“They’re not hard. Won’t you say you’ll join us?”
“We’ll be there, ma’am,” said Denville, a wide grin on his face.
Sebastian turned to Helena. “Have you heard from your betrothed, ma’am?”
“Kind of you to ask,” she said. “Darlington’s letters reach me through official dispatches, but I have no idea where he is.”
“You aren’t meant to, ma’am,” he said gently.
“Yes, I know that. But it doesn’t make our separation any easier to bear.”
“Separations never are. Take heart, dear lady. He’ll return to you soon.”
Her Grace tapped her crystal wine goblet and rose from her seat. “We shall leave you to your brandy, gentlemen. Join us in the drawing room when you are ready.” She nodded to her daughters.
Mary and Jane, having eaten earlier with their governess in the nursery, were already in the drawing room when their mother and sisters entered. Olivia settled next to her mother, who occupied herself with her needlepoint as usual. It didn’t take Sebastian and Hugh long to join the ladies.
“Mary is going to play for you, gentlemen. You may decide for yourselves whether she has talent. Please take your seats.”
Mary seated herself at the pianoforte while Georgiana stood ready to turn the pages for her.
“Will you allow me to turn in your place?” Hugh asked Georgiana. “My mother used to play and I always turned the pages for her. Do take a seat and enjoy the music.”
“Thank you, sir. How gallant,” she said in a low voice meant for his ears alone.
Sebastian found Jane sitting on a settee by herself. “May I join you, milady?”
T
he child blushed twelve different shades of red. “Yes, sir.”
He took his seat and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “May I say that you are the prettiest sister here tonight?”
Her eyes lit up as though they were Christmas candles and she sat up straighter. “No I’m not. Georgie’s the prettiest.”
He chucked her chin and smiled. “You are the prettiest. Never argue with a gentleman when he pays you a compliment, milady.”
Olivia’s suspicions were aroused once more. He’d ignored her before dinner. He ignored her during dinner. And he was ignoring her now. Then why was he here? She tried to listen to Mary play lively country tunes, but her heart was confused and her mind wandered elsewhere.
At the end of the set, everyone applauded, a signal for servants to enter with the tea tray. “Thank you, Mary. After your tea, you and Jane may say goodnight to our guests. It’s time for you to retire.”
When Sebastian offered Jane the plate of sweets, she declined them, much to Olivia’s shock. Was she cured? Perhaps, but she didn’t think so. When Mrs. Trumball appeared to lead them to bed, Jane and Mary kissed their mother goodnight and curtseyed to the gentlemen.
“Mary has a remarkable talent, Your Grace,” said Sebastian when they were gone. “And Jane shall grow to be a great beauty.” He rose and added, “Come, Hugh. We’ll take our leave as well. Thank you for a lovely dinner and an equally lovely evening, Your Grace.”
“So early?” asked Georgiana, clearly disappointed.
“We’re planning to visit The Lost Gardens of Heligan tomorrow,” said Hugh. “Have you seen them?”
“Many times,” answered Helena. “But there is always more to see. It’s vast.”
“Would you and your sisters care to join us on our expedition? I, for one, would consider it a pleasure to escort you.”
“Oh, Mother. May we have your permission? It would be so much fun. We could make it a picnic. I’m sure Cook wouldn’t mind,” said Georgiana, her enthusiasm bubbling over.
Her Grace looked questioningly at Olivia.
“I have no objection, Mother,” she said. “It would be a treat for Mary and Jane as well. They’ve never been.”
“Well, if the rest of you are agreeable, I suppose there’s no harm in it. Join us at nine tomorrow morning for breakfast, gentlemen. You may leave soon after.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Sebastian took her hand and raised it to his lips.
“I’ll see you out,” said Olivia.
She waited at the steps while their horses were brought up. Hugh walked down as if searching for them, but really to give them a moment to themselves.
“What are you up to, Sebastian?”
“I love you, Olivia. I cannot stop loving you, my darling. Let me give you fair warning right now. I mean to do everything in my power to win you back. I won’t give up.” His hands were clenched at his sides, though he itched to use them to crush her in his arms and kiss her.
“Your horses are here. Goodnight,” she said in a strained voice and walked back inside. She went directly to her mother’s chamber and knocked on the door.
“Come in, Livy. I was expecting you.”
Olivia laughed. “Are you clairvoyant, Mother? How did you know it would be me?” Her mother was seated at her desk, finishing a letter. She sealed it with wax and rang for a servant.
“Ask the butler to have this delivered to Sir Henry Tremayne at Heligan.”
When the servant was gone, she turned back to Olivia. “I watched your face all evening, my dear. If nothing else, the strain tells its own tale. You’re still in love with Sebastian.” Her mother stated it as a fact, not a question.
“How is it possible to love a man and find him unbearable to live with, Mother?”
“What’s on your mind, Livy?”
“Sebastian cannot be trusted, Mother. If I were fool enough to wed him, I’d face a lifetime of grief. Unless, of course, I murdered him in the first year of our marriage, which may be a strong possibility. You cannot imagine how horrible he was to me during training.”
Olivia used her fingers to tick off his offenses. “One. He told me the day I arrived he didn’t want me in his academy. Two. He did everything in his power to sabotage me so that I would fail.” Olivia stopped, her breath coming hard, as though she’d done fifty push-ups. “Three. He challenged me to a duel. And I won.”
“Oh, my,” said Her Grace. “You certainly taught him a les son then, didn’t you?”
“Not quite, Mother. I nearly killed him. In fact, when I thought I had actually murdered him, I ran away.”
“You ran away more than once, didn’t you?”
This brought Olivia up short. “I had to come to Chris and Helena’s betrothal ball, didn’t I? But the spymaster couldn’t understand that, could he? Instead, he went out of his way to humiliate me on the dance floor. In front of everyone.”
Her mother shook her head in sympathy.
“And then he denied me the opportunity he gave all the other trainees, to protect the prince of Zarkovia. I went anyway and saved his life, but did he care? Did he? Did he?”
“Lower your voice, Livy. The servants…”
“But the worst of it was when he betrayed me. After all my training, he allowed Viscount Sidmouth to assign me to a mere clerk’s post. I might just as well not have been trained at all. Of what use was it if he was determined to bury me in an office?”
“Do you love him, dear?”
Her mother’s question startled her. “Do I love him? I can’t sleep for wondering. The food I swallow tastes like sawdust for wondering. In my head I argue with him all day long for wondering. How can I trust a man who betrays me time and again, Mother? A man who is domineering? A man who sees all women as fit only to scrub floors? I hate him Mother. I hate him.”
“If that were true, my darling daughter, you wouldn’t be here trying to convince me. You do love Sebastian, don’t you?”
Olivia fell on her knees and buried her head in her mother’s lap. “If this is love, Mother, why does it feel so painful? Why does it hurt so much?”
“Love is painful, but not always, Livy. Shall I tell you a secret? Your father can be a difficult man. He’s opinionated. He’s obstinate. He’s overbearing. He’s domineering. He rarely admits he’s wrong. Yet I love him with all my heart. Yes. Even when we disagree, and that’s more often than any of you know, my dear, for we hide our disputes from our children, I love him.”
Olivia looked up in time to see a stab of grief furrow her mother’s brow. “What is it, Mother?” she asked in alarm.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Thursday, The Twenty-fourth of October
“I’ve never told this tale to anyone, my dear,” said the duchess. “Perhaps it’s time I did. It may help for you to know it now. Come sit beside me, Livy.”
She had never seen that look on her mother’s face before. There was steel in it, but there was also pain. She rose up and drew a chair opposite her mother. “What tale is it you wish to tell me, Mother?”
Her mother drew in a breath and said, “When Mary was two years old, your father shocked me enough to want to take my children and leave him forever. No, Livy. Don’t take my hands in sympathy. It makes the telling harder.”
“What had Father done to distress you so?”
“He fell in love with another woman.”
“Oh, Mother! How that must have hurt.”
The duchess nodded. “Hurt? I was devastated. I bore him an heir. I presented him with four beautiful daughters. I shared his bed. I listened to his sorrows and shared his joys. What more must a wife do?” Her words were tinged with bitterness.
“Who was she, Mother?”
“She was a beautiful eighteen-year-old. Your father was nearing fifty by then. Anxious to make her mark on the stage, she saw him as the key to her success. When the affair came to my attention, your father had established her in a London town house while I remained at Heatham raising our children.”
&nbs
p; “Good God! How you must have suffered. How long did the affair last?”
“Two years. When I determined to leave him, he begged me to stay and promised he would end it. Little did I know the chit had already become a stage presence. She no longer needed his support and was glad to give him up. She kept the London town house and all the jewels, of course.”
“And you forgave him?”
Her mother’s smile held irony. “No, my dear. Not right away. I’m afraid I was vindictive. To repay his villainy, I determined to make him suffer, something I have been ashamed of, from that day to this, for it denies my true character. I agreed to let him come back into our family for the sake of our children, but I did not allow him back into my bed for three more years.”
Olivia was stunned, for she had always supposed there was nothing but love and contentment between her parents. At the recollection of her own dilemma, a crack of laughter escaped her lips. “You forgave him in the end, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I forgave him dear. Jane was the result of our reconciliation.”
“You are so brave, Mother, to have borne such a humiliating trial. I wish I could be like you, but I’m not sure I can.”
“Is Sebastian past forgiveness, my child?”
A high phaeton with the Heatham coat of arms emblazoned on both doors, carried Olivia and Jane, seated opposite Georgiana and Helena to the Heligan Gardens. Mary begged off the excursion, preferring to stay home with Her Grace, though her sisters knew her passion for music was what kept her from all other pursuits. Their driver Casper was perched outside on the high seat in front while two footmen stood behind. Four matched bays led the coach, while Sebastian and Hugh rode astride their horses, one on either side of the vehicle.
The mood was festive as the sisters bantered. Though Olivia did not feel much like participating, she joined in out of loyalty to Jane. She could not rid her mind of her father’s betrayal. She now understood his indifference toward his youngest daughter Jane. Clearly, the child was a painful reminder of his fall from grace.