The Hidden Heart (11 page)

“Yes, she was,” Gabriela agreed, a note of pride in her voice. “But I wasn’t sure I look like her. The General said I did, but I couldn’t see it. I thought perhaps he just said it to be polite.”

“Well, you need not worry about that with me,” Richard assured her, “since we both know I am frequently not polite.”

Gabriela laughed. “I like you.”

“Do you? Then you are a most forgiving person, for I fear I have acted abominably where you are concerned.”

“You are sad about your daughter. I understand about that. I’m sad about the General.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning, I forget and think I need to tell Gramps something. Then I remember that he’s gone.” She paused. “Do you ever do that?”

“Yes. I did it frequently right afterward. I would wake up and think, ‘I’ll take Alana for a ride this morning.’ Or, ‘I must tell her about the new puppies down at the kennel.’ Then I would remember that I could not.” He looked down at her and added, “But it got better after a time. Now it almost never happens.”

He said it to comfort Gabriela, but then he was struck by the truth of his words. He had become so accustomed to grief that he had scarcely noticed the ways in which it had gotten better.

“Good.” Gabriela gave him a smile and moved a step away. “I—I’m glad I met you.”

“So am I.” He started to turn back, then paused and said, “Perhaps…”

“Yes?” Gabriela looked at him eagerly.

“I had been about to take a walk around the garden when Baxter told me about the conclave in the drawing room. I am sure they won’t miss me if I take it now. Perhaps you…might accompany me. I could tell you about your father. Would you like that?”

“Oh, yes!” Gabriela clapped her hands together, her eyes shining. “I would like that above anything!”

Richard smiled. “Right. Then run get your coat, and we’ll sneak out the back door.”

T
he minutes crawled past as the three occupants of the formal drawing room sat stiffly, saying little, each thinking their own thoughts. Jessica could not imagine where the duke had gone. It had appeared that he intended to follow Gabriela and speak to her. There were a few faint tendrils of hope inside Jessica that he had decided to accept the girl. She knew that even though Gabriela had taken Cleybourne’s avoidance of her with a good deal of grace, the girl would dearly love it if he paid a little attention to her. On the other hand, she could not help but reflect sourly that he had managed to leave Jessica with the burden of enduring the Veseys’ company.

Vesey said little, clearly bored, and though Lady Vesey made some conversation, it was invariably about herself, primarily the dreadful inconveniences of being laid up in bed with a sore ankle.

“The doctor says it isn’t broken,” she told them, her raised eyebrows bespeaking how little she trusted his expertise. “But I cannot imagine how it cannot be—a mere sprain could not cause such pain.”

Jessica cast a glance at Leona’s ankle, raised up on a pillow, the hem of her dress sliding away to reveal the fetchingly bare appendage. “Remarkable, how little your ankle is bruised or swollen,” she commented dryly.

Leona’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Jessica. “Yes, isn’t it? I am very fortunate that way.”

“Well, country doctors are not always the best,” Jessica commiserated. “Perhaps you should go to London—so that you can see a much better doctor.”

Intense dislike sizzled in Leona’s eyes. “And perhaps you should learn to keep your mouth shut when you are in the company of your betters.”

“Oh, I do,” Jessica replied smoothly.

It took a moment for Leona to understand the insult Jessica had just handed her. Then, before she could make a furious reply, there was the sound of footsteps in the hall, and Duncan, one of the footmen, walked into the room, beaming with delight.

“Your Grace! Lady Westhampton has arrived.” He came to a stop, looking about the room in a puzzled way.

A tall woman entered the room after him. She wore a black wool mantle, trimmed in sable, the hood pushed back to reveal her face. She was a striking woman, with bright green eyes and hair as black as her cloak. “Rich—”

She too stopped as she saw that Cleybourne was not in the room. Her gaze fell on Jessica, puzzled, then traveled on to Leona. She stiffened, one elegantly arched eyebrow flying up in astonishment. The surprise she felt upon seen Lady Vesey was patently not pleasant.

“I beg your pardon, my lady,” Duncan apologized. “I thought the duke was in here. I—I will find him and tell him you are here. May I take your coat?”

“Thank you,” the woman said with a gracious smile, taking off her mantle and handing it to the man before she turned back to face Leona. Her fashionable dress was a vivid emerald that made her eyes seem even greener.

“Well, Lady Vesey.” Her voice was as brittle and colorless as winter leaves. “I must say, it is something of a surprise to find you here.” She gave a short nod in the direction of Leona’s spouse. “Lord Vesey.”

She turned to Jessica, saying in a carefully neutral voice, “Hello. I am Rachel, Lady Westhampton. I am Cleybourne’s sister-in-law.”

“How do you do? I am Jessica Maitland.”

“She is a governess,” Leona said dismissively.

“A governess?” Rachel repeated blankly.

“Yes. My pupil is the duke’s ward.”

The other woman looked even more at sea. She glanced at Leona, as if for confirmation, and Lady Vesey shrugged.

“Yes. The girl is a relative of Vesey’s.”

“I see,” Lady Westhampton responded, though it was clear from the tone of her voice that she did not. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Maitland. I’m sorry. I am a little startled, I confess. Cleybourne had not told me that he had a ward.”

“Thank you. I am honored to meet you, as well. His Grace speaks very highly of you. And Miss Carstairs, my charge, just recently became his ward.”

“Then that is why he came to the castle—to meet his ward.” Rachel looked faintly relieved. “He sent me a note saying where he was going, but he did not tell me why.”

“He was not expecting us,” Jessica explained. “The duke and Gabriela’s father were friends, and her father died.”

“Oh! You mean the child is Roddy Carstairs’ daughter?”

“Yes.”

“But Roddy died some years ago.”

“Yes. When Gabriela’s parents died, her father named Gabriela’s great-uncle, General Streathern, as her guardian, with the Duke of Cleybourne as guardian if her great-uncle could not serve as such.”

“I see.”

“I have been Gabriela’s governess for the past six years, all the while she has been living with General Streathern. Unfortunately, the General himself passed on a few days ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Rachel walked over and sat down beside Jessica on the couch, her face sympathetic. “That poor child.”

“Yes.” Jessica nodded, thinking that she liked Lady Westhampton. “It has been a very sad time for her. Her great-uncle was more like a grandfather to her.” She went on to explain the General’s designation in his will of the Duke of Cleybourne as Gabriela’s guardian and his instructions to Jessica to bring the girl immediately to Castle Cleybourne.

“Then Richard is to be her guardian?” Rachel looked pleased. “How nice. I mean, well, that will be good all around.”

“I hope so,” Jessica answered equivocally.

The other woman caught her tone and frowned a little. She started to say something, then stopped, glancing from Jessica to the Veseys. “Then…the four of you traveled here together?”

Leona let out an unladylike snort. “No, of course not. We came in our own carriage.”

“Got lost and wound up here, you see,” Vesey explained.

“It was a great coincidence,” Jessica added.

“Yes. I imagine it was.”

Jessica went on. “Lady Vesey fell and injured her ankle this morning.”

“So of course we had to stay here,” Vesey told her. “Couldn’t make poor Leona travel with her ankle in bad shape.”

“Of course not.” Rachel looked somewhat skeptically at Leona’s propped-up ankle.

Irritably Leona twitched her dress down to cover her ankle. “I am in a great deal of pain,” she announced. “Vesey, ring for the footmen. I think I must go upstairs and rest again.”

“Of course, my dear.” Vesey rose quickly to do as she bade.

Jessica felt sure that since Gabriela was no longer here, Vesey had as little desire to linger in the room as Leona did to stay there without the duke. Lady Westhampton and Jessica watched with a mixture of amusement and annoyance as the grand production of removing Lady Vesey from the room played out before them. It required two footmen, a maid to carry Lady Vesey’s pillow and smelling salts, and Lord Vesey to direct the entourage, and it went on for several minutes, ending on a final note of silliness with the maid scurrying back into the room to retrieve the shawl Leona had left behind.

When at last they were gone, Rachel turned to Jessica. “I am very glad to meet you, Miss Maitland. It pleases me terribly to hear that Cleybourne has a ward. It will enliven his life, I think, give him a…a…”

“A reason to live?” Jessica said, without stopping to think.

Lady Westhampton’s eyes widened, and she drew a sharp breath. “What do you mean?” She reached out and wrapped her hand around Jessica’s arm. “Has something happened? Is Richard—”

“I’m sorry,” Jessica said quickly, mentally cursing her unbridled tongue. “I should not have said anything. I didn’t think. I don’t want to alarm you.”

“I would rather be alarmed than unknowing. Please tell me why you said that.”

“I talked to the duke’s housekeeper the other morning, soon after we arrived. I was upset because the duke does not wish to be Gabriela’s guardian.”

“You mean he refused?”

“He said that he would find someone else to do it. In fact, he mentioned your name.”

“Mine?” Lady Westhampton looked surprised, then thoughtful. “Well, I suppose I could…but it would be much better for him if he did it.”

“That was Miss Brown’s thinking. She explained what had happened to him four years ago and why he might not want a child around.”

The other woman nodded sadly. “Yes. Richard has never recovered from my sister’s and niece’s deaths. He loved them dearly.”

“He would not even meet Gabriela. He said he thought it would be better for her, given that she would be going to another home.”

“Oh, no!” Rachel looked stricken. “I’m not sure who to feel sorrier for, Richard or that poor young girl.”

“Miss Brown said you had told Baxter that the duke was…well, she seemed to think that you feared he would do himself harm.”

“Yes, I did,” Rachel said candidly. “I love Richard very much. He is like a brother to me. The past four years have been hard for him. And recently, he seemed to get even worse, as though he had finally given up hope of his life improving. Then, when my servants forwarded that note from him, I was terribly worried. He hasn’t lived here in so long, I didn’t know why he had decided to come here—and at this time of year, the anniversary of Caro’s death. It gave me chills. That is why I came. I was visiting my brother Dev and his new bride, and I had planned to travel on to Westhampton House for the holiday. But I was so worried…”

“May I speak to you candidly, Lady Westhampton?”

“Yes, I wish you would.”

“I think that your fears were not unjustified.”

A spasm of pain crossed the other woman’s lovely features. “He plans to kill himself?”

“I went to the library the other evening to get a book to read, and I passed his study. He was sitting at his desk, drinking, with a case of dueling pistols on the desk before him. He said that he was merely cleaning them. But the way he looked at the gun in his hand, and with what Miss Brown had told me…”

“Oh, no! I was afraid of this. There was something about that note—I felt as if he were saying goodbye, and not just for the holiday.”

“I think that may be why he is refusing the guardianship. Perhaps even why he would not meet her. It would indeed be kinder to her not to know him at all if he will be dead within a few weeks.”

“Or days.” Rachel looked infinitely sad. “Oh, dear, poor Richard. I don’t know what to do. I thought to invite him to Christmas with us, but I am certain he won’t come. And if he has his mind set on self-destruction…”

“I don’t think he will do anything like that with Gabriela in the house.”

“Yes, he is a very responsible man.”

“I think he will put it off at least until she and I have gone on. When he finds another guardian.”

“I can influence that. If he asks me, I shall just say no, and then he will have to find someone else. Or perhaps…” Her face brightened. “I shall tell him that it is a rather large thing, and of course it would involve my husband, so I must ask Lord Westhampton’s opinion. I can put him off until after Christmas that way. Then, if I refuse, he will have to look for another, and that will take another bit of time.” She sighed. “I only wish we could stop him instead of just delaying it.”

“I would not give up hope, my lady. The other evening, when I thought he might be about to do himself in, I was able to distract him.”

“Distract him?” The other woman looked slightly puzzled.

Jessica nodded. “The duke and I—well, I tend to annoy him somewhat.”

“Richard?” Rachel looked amazed. “But he is an affable man. Not very sociable anymore, I will admit, but he has never been one to be cross.”

“No doubt he is not with other people, but he dislikes my manner. My outspokenness. We wind up arguing every time we talk.”

“Oh. Well.”

“That is how I distracted him. I criticized him for trying to do away with himself, and he grew quite angry, and we had a somewhat heated discussion. He wound up slamming the door.”

“My goodness.”

“But it turned him away from his thoughts about death.”

Rachel regarded Jessica for a long moment, the faintest hint of a smile beginning to form at the corners of her mouth. “Is that your strategy, then—to keep him angry all the time?”

Jessica chuckled. “I am afraid that even I am not capable of doing that. Still, he did go riding about the estate yesterday, which Baxter seemed to think was a very good sign. It was the first time he had done it since he returned home. If he can be made to participate in life more, it seems to me that it would be good for him. Sometimes, when you are surrounded by loving people, they can try too hard, take away too much of one’s burdens, be too sympathetic, so that one never has to just pick up and keep on with life.”

“Perhaps you are right. He is a well-loved man. Perhaps we have all kept him too protected.”

“And if he will only get to know Gabriela, it might help them both tremendously.” She paused, then added with an impish grin, “Besides, now that Lady Vesey is here, I will have plenty of help in keeping him aggravated.”

Her words startled a laugh from Rachel. “What is that woman doing here? I know that Richard cannot stand either one of them. He cannot have invited them to stay here.”