Dangerous Secrets (82 page)

Chapter 17

‶
Do hush and finish your eggs,
Kate,″ Hero reprimanded the child, patting the seat of Kate′s chair
as an indication that she should sit upon it.
‶
You shall have what the duke
provides you and count yourself lucky.″

Miranda glanced nervously at the doorway,
grateful that Simon had not yet come down to breakfast with them. After
yesterday′s swift changes in his attitude, she found her sisters′
chatter distracting. He had touched her, kissed her — and then turned cold,
practically snarling as he announced that his mother′s guest would be
staying.

What had changed his mood? Her sisters? The
dowager′s guest? And could she do anything to improve it? She certainly
intended to try, if only she could be certain that she would not cause him
harm.

She had confessed the truth of her virgin state
to Katherine this morning and had since been consumed by a single notion. The
notion, which seemed to have taken root in her imagination, of deliberately
seducing her own husband. Katherine didn′t seem to think making love
could do him physical harm. But she had warned her in no uncertain terms that a
man′s fear could be his worst enemy when it came to lovemaking. Seduction
could make things worse. Or mend them and give Simon hope for the future.

She caught Hero′s worried gaze and
realized that some of her turmoil must be showing in her expression. No one
else seemed to have noticed, though; they were all distracted by each other,
the excitement of being in a new and different environment, and the thought of
more clothes than they had ever had in their lives.

She smiled at her sister, and Hero smiled back,
partially reassured, although Miranda knew she would be on the receiving end of
Hero′s questions as soon as they had some privacy. Thank goodness for her
sister′s discretion, she reflected with relief a few moments later when
Simon entered the breakfast room.

‶
Good morning.″ His voice
was calm and carrying, the voice of an officer, striving to gain the attention
of his men. The chatter quieted at once, and a soft round of greetings met him
as he helped himself to smoked salmon and buttered bread and sat down beside
Miranda.

He seemed in a better mood this morning, but
who knew when his mood might change for the worse? Worrying about him made her
feel as if she were sitting on pins and needles. It was fortunate that there
was no one else but Hero who might notice and question her distress. The
dowager and her guest had breakfasted earlier and left for a ride about the
estates.

Though she forced herself to smile at him as if
nothing was amiss, she was not certain that her performance was flawless.

Before normal conversation could resume, Arthur
entered the room. He stopped a moment upon the doorsill. There was a shocked
expression on his face as he took in the very female, very youthful nature of
the other occupants. He had been away until very late yesterday, in pursuit of
an old book he had heard of in a neighboring town. Miranda could not help
smiling at his expression.

‶
May I introduce you to my
wife′s sisters, Arthur?″

Simon′s voice held a hint of amusement.
Miranda glanced at him obliquely, not wanting to catch his eye. There was no
smile on his face, he seemed utterly earnest in his introductions.

As he took in the names of the five new faces,
Arthur was his usual shy yet charming self.
‶
How very fortunate I am to be
in the company of six such lovely ladies,″ he stammered, and then
recovered. He smiled at Simon, as if making contact with the one person in the
room he understood.
‶
I had no idea how very lively a room could be made
by so much feminine company.″

Simon′s brow rose.
‶
Indeed.
We must remedy that part of your education with a trip to London in the Season,
then.″ His eyes roamed the room, lighting upon the twins, who were
arguing over a pitcher of cream, and Kate, who had risen from her seat once
more and was twirling about, in an ungraceful attempt at the waltz.

Juliet had brightened when Arthur had entered
the room, and she tried to engage him in a flirtation. Arthur, however, as
quickly as his plate was full, began a discussion with Hero about Plato and the
works of the classical writers. Juliet pouted for a moment and then began to
practice her charms on Simon.

He was patient, but with a smile at Miranda, he
reached out to grasp her hand.
‶
How is it to have your family back?″

‶
Wonderful.″ Turning from
the spark of admiration that was in his eyes again, unable to bear the pain of
hoping that her seduction might be a success, Miranda looked at both her
sisters. They had grown up in the few months she had been away from them. Or
had the separation only allowed her to see how very nearly grown they were?

Hero had a sparkle in her eye as she talked
about long-dead authors with Arthur. The two seemed almost oblivious to the
noisy chaos that had resumed around them.

The sound of a cream pitcher striking a water
glass resounded clearly through the noisy room. Looking at the twins and Kate,
Miranda realized the breakfast room was not the appropriate place for them.
They, at least, had not grown out of childhood while she was not looking.

She turned to Simon, interrupting
Juliet′s flirtation.
‶
I′m sorry for the disorder. I had not realized
how great a disruption they would cause.″ She smiled.
‶
It
never seemed so obvious at home.″

‶
You had a nursery set up at
home,″ Simon observed dryly, but she did not sense that he was unduly
upset.

Arthur and Hero looked up from their
conversation and laughed together. Arthur teased,
‶
Well it is only a
matter of time, Simon. Soon the nursery will be open again.″

Simon′s hand tensed on hers, then
withdrew. But if she did not know how the subject distressed him, she would not
have guessed when he laughed along with Arthur.
‶
Perhaps we might as well put it
to good use now? I see what you mean.″

The topic resonated with discomfort for her.
Nurseries, babies, making love. She could barely look into his eyes. She hoped
he could not read her mind. As quickly as she thought of setting up a nursery,
the need for a governess fixed one problem that Miranda had not known how to
deal with — the fact that Katherine was not an adequate lady′s maid. She
would, however, make an excellent governess.
‶
Shall I set the nursery up
here? For my sisters?″

‶
An excellent idea,″ he
concurred, just as Kate′s glass of milk spilled onto the damask
tablecloth. The servants leaped to clean the mess, but not one touched Kate
when she began to wail.

Juliet scolded,
‶
Kate, you clumsy thing, if you
had been sitting still like a true lady, that would not have happened.″

Miranda sighed and rose, feeling the familiar
status of oldest sister falling back onto her shoulders. It was a sweet
pleasure. She took Kate into her arms and lifted her up. The child was getting
too big for such comforts, but Miranda needed the feel of her sister in her
arms.

She glanced at Simon, but could not make
herself smile. She would have to make up the nursery, look at the toys, at the
cradle waiting for a baby that would never come. The thought made her want to
cry, so she gave the command to see to the freshening of the nursery to Dome,
ignoring his disapproval as she sailed out of the breakfast room.

‶
Miranda.″ Simon′s
voice halted her in the doorway. She turned reluctantly to look at him.
‶
Shall
we hire a governess?″

She smiled, and answered as coolly as possible
with Kate a squirming weight in her arms.
‶
Katherine will make a better
governess than a lady′s maid. Unless you object?″ She raised a
brow, daring him.

‶
As you wish.″ He added,
one hand on the honey pot and an odd expression that made Miranda suspect the
pot was sticky under his fingers,
‶
There is no reason, is there,
why Betsy might not join your sisters?″

‶
None that I know of.″ She
tried to remain impassive, but she could not help a tiny smile. His mother was
right, he was excellent at running things.
‶
I′m opening the nursery
for my sisters. But if Katherine acts as their governess, it would work very
well if Betsy remains there, with them.″

‶
Perhaps then we might begin to
have decent coddled eggs again,″ he said, turning to his morning papers.

Embarrassment shook her that he knew of the
problems in the kitchen. After all, it was not as if Betsy had been a bad
child. Simply a bit impulsive around the biscuits. Why had the servants seen
fit to tell Simon their problems?

Running the house should be her worry, not his.
One less burden. And she had failed in her duty yet again. Not wanting Simon to
think that Betsy alone was responsible for the trouble, she said,
‶
Cook
threatened to quit yesterday. I don′t know why the woman doesn′t
like children, but I certainly don′t want Betsy around her any
longer.″

He looked up from his papers, then glanced back
at his plate of inedible eggs.
‶
No, we certainly don′t want Betsy anywhere
near the kitchens. Perhaps we might prevail upon the modiste to provide her
with a dress or two, to convince her to stay in the nursery.″

She wanted to strangle him — or kiss him
insensible. How could he be so concerned about others and so unconcerned about
his own illness?

Belatedly, she realized just what
Katherine′s new position entailed — and curtailed. With her attention on
four young ladies, the healer would have little time for brewing teas, or
searching through her dusty notes for remedies for whatever ills Simon might
possess. Had Simon foreseen that when he agreed to her solution?

***

Inexorably, the house party moved closer, as
the dowager took every opportunity to remind her.
‶
Will you have a
carved swan or a goose?″

‶
For what?″ Miranda was
puzzled. The food had been selected and preparations begun already.

‶
Ice sculptures, of
course.″

‶
Whichever you feel works
best.″ She gave a standard answer to almost all these questions that the
dowager put to her. She could not take interest in the upcoming weekend; the
thought of it filled her with dread.

‶
I do wish you would take more
interest, my dear.″

The dowager′s irritation showed and
Miranda felt contrite.

‶
I cannot help but dread this
event, as you well know. But even if I did not, I would be content to allow you
to make all the decisions. Simon himself told me how skilled you are at such
things.″

‶
Did he?″ The unexpected
compliment from her son seemed to quiet her objections to Miranda′s
disinterest. For a moment. And then she sighed and reached out to pull a cobweb
from the shoulder of Miranda′s dress.
‶
I suppose you did not forget to
have a suitable gown made in which you might dance?″

‶
Of course not.″ Miranda
had endured half a day of fitting, pinning, and poking, much to her
sisters′ amusement.
‶
My gown is quite suitable.″ She remembered the
warm flare of interest in Simon′s eyes as he kept her amused during the
tedious fitting.
‶
Even Simon approved.″ Not enough to come to
her bed, unfortunately.

‶
Well enough, then.″ The
dowager seemed satisfied by that confirmation of Miranda′s wardrobe.
‶
And
what jewels will you wear with your new gown?″

Miranda′s heart sank.
‶
Jewels?″
She had nothing at all.

‶
Yes. I know that you were a
young girl for your first Season, and that your parents were not wealthy. But
that should not matter to the Duchess of Kerstone. Have you asked Simon about
the Watterly jewels? There must be something suitable there.″ The
dowager′s hand had strayed to her neck, her fingers played with the plain
locket that hung there.

‶
I do not know. I had not
thought ... ″ Miranda remembered her mother′s beautiful swan
necklace, the one she would have pawned if that wretched beast of a thief
hadn′t stolen it from her, along with the candlesticks. That necklace
would have been perfect for her new gown, which was a beautiful scarlet hue.
But it was forever lost. She hoped whoever had bought it appreciated the fine
workmanship as much as her mother had.

The dowager nodded briskly.
‶
Well,
then, see to asking Simon about it. We cannot have you starting rumors that the
Watterlys are not well-set. Not with five girls to bring out in the next ten
years.″

A light masculine harrumph of laughter made
both women look toward the doorway. The American stood there, smiling.
‶
Five
girls to bring out? I pity the duke.″

‶
He needs no pity, Mr. Watson.
He is an excellent duke.″ The dowager seemed unnecessarily sharp to
Miranda′s ears.

Mr. Watson merely nodded.
‶
Don′t
mean anything bad by my words. Indeed, I envy him his family.″ His gaze
swept over the papers on the dowager′s writing desk and flickered to her
face briefly.
‶
I′m
sorry to have bothered you ladies. I thought I′d find a little company
for my walk.″

Miranda smiled to herself. The man was
obviously enamored of the dowager, although Simon′s mother seemed
completely unaware of his feelings. She grasped the excuse to leave the
dowager′s company with alacrity.
‶
Indeed, we were just finishing
for the day, Mr. Watson.″