by Jenna Brandt
Chapter 10
Exhausted from the previous day’s activities, Margaret stretched out her body as she yawned. She opened her eyes to find Sarah entering the room.
Her father had asked if any of the family servants wished to switch households with Margaret. Sarah did not hesitate to accept. Henry welcomed any of her servants who wished to join them, telling Margaret he was willing to do anything to make her transition more agreeable.
“My lady, the viscount sent me up to check on you and to let you know that the afternoon meal will be served in an hour. He has requested, if you are obliged, that you join him for it.”
Margaret focused her eyes and looked at her companion. “Um, yes, tell my… husband that I will be down shortly after I get dressed. And please have a servant sent up to assist me.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
Sarah quickly made her way out of the room.
Jumping out of bed, Margaret looked around for her dressing robe. With fast precision, she slipped it on before exiting Henry’s bedroom and heading to her own new set of rooms. There, she quickly looked around and located the vanity. She walked over and sat down in front of the mirror, staring at herself for several long moments and her disheveled appearance.
Looking down at the table, to find something to comb her hair, to her surprise, she found her own personal items there. Her father must have had her belongings brought over before the wedding.
She picked up her hairbrush and began to comb her hair. She did not want any of the other servants to see her this way. After attempting to pull through the tangles, Margaret gave up and winced. It was no good. Her hair was going to give her away. She tried to shake it into place, but it was no use. She was just going to have to wait.
A few moments later, she heard a door open. She glanced into the mirror to see who it was, but instead only heard soft whispering voices and several giggles, followed by laughter.
She turned to find two of her personal servants. When they realized their mistress was staring at them, they stopped whispering and quickly lined up at attention.
“Good morning, ma’am. We have come here to dress you for dinner.”
“Thank you, girls.”
“The viscount wanted us to inform you that your belongings were delivered yesterday and we placed them in your new chest of drawers. He also had several new dresses made for you as a wedding gift.”
“I think my husband would appreciate seeing me wear one of the new dresses. Bring me a blue one.” Blue was Henry’s favorite color, and she wanted to make the effort to please him.
After Margaret was dressed, she left her chambers and headed towards the dining hall. Several servants passed by and politely addressed her. As she rounded a corner to head towards the staircase, she encountered a girl she had never seen before at Brookhaven.
Wearing a tailored green dress of superior quality, Margaret knew she was not one of the servants. Something about her eyes made her stop the girl by saying, “I would like to ask you a few questions.”
The girl nodded and replied, “Of course, my lady. I wish for you to get to know me, as does Henry.”
She was surprised to hear this girl address Henry so informally. Who was she and how did she get away with it?
As she examined her, Margaret realized she was not really so much a girl as a budding young woman. She looked to be about sixteen and was striking in appearance. Perhaps even the most gorgeous girl Margaret had ever seen.
Her long auburn hair shined and danced like fire around her face, and her petite frame had graceful lines. But her most striking feature were her entrancing brown eyes. It was the girl’s eyes that intrigued her the most. They seemed somehow familiar. Was she related to any of her servants?
Along with her beauty, she had an innocence about her. She was pretty, but Margaret’s fascination with her went deeper.
She looked at the girl for several minutes, inspecting her without saying anything. The girl fidgeted under the scrutiny.
“What is your name, and why are you here?”
Curtsying with her eyes averted, she replied, “My name is Catherine, my lady, and I was on my way to introduce myself when you stopped me. Henry asked me to help you in any way I can.”
“He did, did he? Well, why is it that you address my husband so informally?” she snapped.
The girl’s eyes widened in alarm as she replied, “The truth be, my lady, Henry asked me to do so. He has allowed me to live here so that I can be close to him.”
Margaret was taken aback by the bluntness of the little strumpet. She was telling her new mistress that she had an interest in her husband and was not even batting an eye. She pressed her lips together and clenched her hands at her side.
“You wanted to be close to him,” she said with a forced even tone. “Well, I will take care of that.” She turned away and was going to leave it alone, but her anger got the better of her. She turned back around and added, “How dare you address my husband in such a way! You are insufferable and need to be taught some manners.”
The girl’s lower lip began to tremble and she bit it. Margaret could see that she was trying to hold back tears, but the mortification and hurt that Margaret had just subjected her to won out and the tears forced their way out, cascading quickly down her cheeks. Sobbing, she turned and fled down the hall.
Margaret was not about to have dinner with Henry after this. She returned to her chambers and began to undress.
To think, all this time she thought that he really loved her. What a fool she was to have believed him.
Oh, how she was going to let Henry have it when she saw him. She was so angry that she could have screamed. He had only married her yesterday, and he continued to keep his mistress at the estate, their home. Not only that, but he had asked his mistress to be her new companion. That was downright cruel and mean. She would not have it.
Hearing someone enter the room, she turned around ready for a fight and found Henry.
He came to stand in front of her, and with a frighteningly soft voice, he said, “You made Catherine cry, and I will not tolerate it.”
Shaking with fury, she blasted, “You will not tolerate me making that little trollop cry? How dare you come in here and try to make me feel I am in the wrong!” She glared at him with bitterness. “You have put me in an exceedingly humiliating and embarrassing situation and you are telling me that I am to blame? I cannot believe that you can stand here and defend her to me.”
He looked at her with anger in his eyes. “She has done nothing to deserve the way you treated her. She has not cried like that since her mother died, and now thanks to you, she has one more reason to think she is inferior.”
“She is a prostitute, Henry. She may not look like one, but you keep her here so that ‘she can be close to you,’ and that makes her one!”
He grabbed her and shook her hard. “That little girl, that ‘prostitute’ as you call her”—he glared down into Margaret’s eyes—“is my sister!”
Dumbfounded, Margaret stared up at him, then stammered out in disbelief, “But… but she cannot be. That is impossible. You are an only child.”
“I have no legitimate brothers or sisters, that is true, but Catherine is my half-sister. She was sired by my father and a servant.”
“How? When? Why did you never tell me?” Margaret asked in confusion.
“I never told you because I did not know myself until recently. A few months back, I came across some of my father’s papers. Amongst them was a couple of small painted portraits of Catherine as well as a couple of documents regarding her boarding school. At the time, I thought it was a bit odd, but my father had always been a little peculiar.
“It was not until I met Catherine a few days ago that I found out she was his illegitimate daughter. You see, my father had secretly sent her away for schooling. She only got back a week ago because her mother passed away and the funding my father had set up for her stopped. She came back to tell me who she was and to
see if I would continue to support her.”
He continued to hold Margaret, but his hands and arms were in a relaxed grip.
“As far as I know, Catherine is the only illegitimate child he has sired. I offered to send her back to boarding school, but she decided she wanted to stay here instead. I told the servants that Catherine is a distant relative staying with me indefinitely to keep the gossip from traveling between the estates.
“I plan to take care of her and provide for her just as if she were my full sister. I wish that she really were, so that she could have all the privileges I do.”
Margaret felt like such an idiot. She had misjudged and ripped apart a little girl who was only trying to please her brother’s wife because she loved him. It did not matter that she misunderstood their relationship; the fact was that she overreacted without knowing all the information. She had a horrible habit of jumping to the wrong conclusions.
Averting her eyes, she said to his chest, “I am sorry, Henry. Truly, I am. I did not know she was your sister… but I also know that it is not an excuse. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I will apologize to Catherine.”
Placing his hand under her chin and lifting her head, he said, “Look at me, love.”
Obediently, she lifted her eyes to his and saw that the anger had dissipated.
“I am very protective over my little sister. She is all the family I have in the world—besides my godparents—and you, now. But I also am flattered that you got jealous enough to react the way you did. I did not even think that you would care if I took a mistress.”
She glared at him with mischief in her eyes. “You better not even think about that, sir.” She pulled back to playfully hit him, but he caught her arm before she could land the punch.
“Not that I was going to take a mistress, mind you. Come to think of it, I have never even had one.” Lovingly, he tapped her nose and said with all seriousness, “You should know by now that you are the only one for me.” Then, breaking the somber mood, he laughed while running his fingers through his hair. “It is you that I, on the other hand, need to watch out for. I need to make sure you are not making a cuckold out of me.”
With mock anger, she lunged at him and yelled, “You… you cretin! I will have you know that I plan to be faithful to you even if it kills me. And you had better be just as loyal.”
“You have my word, my love,” he said before leaning down and kissing her lips lightly. “I will never betray you.”
“Good. I would have had to beat it out of you if you did.”
“You? Beat me?” he said in an incredulous tone.
She nodded with seriousness. “I am an excellent fighter, Henry. I would advise you to remember that.”
He smiled and baited her, “Would you like to demonstrate your techniques, my lady, on how you plan to take me down?”
She blushed as she realized the full implications of his meaning. She shrugged and replied, “If you wish.”
And with that she ran at him, but instead of getting her shot in, he lifted her up into his arms. He twirled around and around until both of them were laughing with dizziness.
“See how easy I am to defeat, my sweet? I surrender, and you did not even have to throw a single punch.”
She looked up at him and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“I am taking you to someplace where you can show me your techniques, which you claim to be so good at.”
Laughing, she replied, “Well, if you insist.”
“Oh, I do.” And with that, he carried her into her bedchamber.
Chapter 11
Looking at the girl, who was again biting her lower lip, Margaret realized why Catherine’s eyes had looked so familiar. They were like a twin set to Henry’s. “Catherine, I misunderstood the relationship between you and your brother. You see, he never told me that he had a sister. Of course, I should have guessed with those eyes. Only the Rolantry family members have them.”
Margaret smiled at the girl who was staring at her with both fear and awe mixed on her face. “What I suppose I am trying to say is that I am sorry. My temper seems to have gotten the better of me, as usual. You see, I continuously jump to the wrong conclusions. I hope that you will accept my apology. I want us to be like sisters, if that is possible.”
Catherine stared at her for a moment and then blinked, replying softly, “I would like that too, my lady.”
She shrugged off the formality. “Please, call me Margaret. We are family now.”
“As you wish… Margaret.”
Gently taking her sister-in-law’s arm, Margaret hooked her own through it, keeping Catherine firmly at her side as she began to walk. “Now, I would greatly appreciate it if you would help me with the running of things around here. I am sure that boarding school prepared you for such an endeavor and your help would be immeasurably valuable, if you will agree to it.”
Catherine stared at her pointedly. “My lady—” Margaret raised an eyebrow at her, and Catherine quickly corrected herself. “I mean, Margaret.” The girl bit her lower lip and continued, “I know that you are trying to be kind to me, but I know that you were taught, since you were just a little girl, how to run a house, and you have been running your father’s estate since you were ten.”
Margaret eyes rounded in surprise and she laughed with amusement. “I see that you have caught me telling a fib. I did not expect you to have studied your brother’s intended wife so closely.” She stopped walking and turned to Catherine, smiling at the girl. “You must be very protective of him.”
Catherine nodded and replied, “Yes, he is the only family I have.”
“I am glad that you love him so. If anyone deserves to be loved so much, it is my husband. Now, what is it exactly that your brother wanted you to do for me?”
“I assume, my lad—Margaret, that he wanted me to be your companion.”
“I already have one, a very good one at that, and I cannot very well have two.”
She saw Catherine’s shoulders visibly fall and her lower lip tremble. The girl was on the verge of tears again and barely holding them back. She quickly finished her statement. “What I mean, Catherine, is that I already have a companion and I would much rather have you as a friend.” She gently took the girl’s chin in her hand and lifted so Catherine’s eyes met her own. “What I am proposing is that you no longer consider yourself an outsider here but what you truly are: part of the family. Take your place at your brother’s side.”
The girl’s eyes grew round as she shook her head vehemently in denial. “I cannot do that. One does not assume a position above their place. I am a servant’s daughter, my lady, and I know and accept that I will spend the rest of my life loving my brother from afar.”
“Listen to me, Catherine. Birth does not make the person. I have seen people who are peasants and illegitimate who are nobler than any titled person has ever been. Frankly, who your mother was does not matter. What does matter is that if your brother could, he would claim you as his legitimate sister. We can make it happen, and no one will ever know the difference.”
Worried that someone might be aware of Catherine’s true parentage, Margaret asked, “Did your mother ever mention you to any of the other servants?”
“No, to hide me from the viscountess, my mother lied to everyone and said that I had died when I was two. I lived abroad with a governess until I was old enough to be sent to boarding school. When I came back after my mother’s sudden death, I went directly to Henry. He advised me not to say anything to anyone about who I was.”
“The fact that you lived your whole life away from here is to our advantage. You already have all the basics down. It seems that the viscount made sure that you had an education and proper training. I will finish it, prepare you, and then introduce you into society as our sister. You will have a title, wealth, and will be the envy of the entire ton. No one will doubt it with our backing, and there will be no one who can dispute it, especially since Henry never
told the servants here at Brookehaven anything about you except that you are a distant relative. We can simply explain that away by telling everyone we wanted to allow you to familiarize yourself before bombarding you with visitors and suitors.”
Getting into the whole idea, Margaret continued, “We will explain that your boarding school was overseas and that you have come home to marry and start your own family.”
Catherine stopped walking and bit her lip. She stared at Margaret for a moment then yelped out, “Me? You want me to be introduced as your sister-in-law?”
Margaret raised an eyebrow and replied, “Of course you. Whom else would I be talking about?”
“I cannot, Margaret. It is a lie and it is wrong.”
“But Catherine, it is not wrong because it is your right to claim your brother as your family. You deserve to be a part of this family. Henry loves you and would be proud to stand by you in front of the entire world, as would I.”
Pure anguish crossed the girl’s face right before she turned away and put her back to Margaret. Catherine’s shoulders drooped forward, and she said in a soft whisper, “Do you know how long I wished and waited for my father to claim me as his daughter? My mother told me repeatedly that it would never happen and to accept things the way they were, but I could not, because part of me could not help wishing for it nonetheless.
“I used to lie in bed every night at boarding school, praying that he would claim me and that I would know what it was like to have a father, to not be something he had to keep secret. I wanted so badly to be a part of the Rolantry family, but he died and it never happened. Then Henry found out about me, and I regained some of that hope. I thought that when he discovered the truth, he would find a way to claim me as his sister. But again, it did not happen.” She turned back around and whispered in a choked voice, “You know what I came to realize?”
“What, Catherine?”
“I came to realize that it was never going to happen, and it would have to be enough to know that Henry loved me.”