A Suitable Arrangement, page 21
“We found two men to work on the plaster,” she said. “The great hall will look quite different when you return later today, I think.”
I smiled. “I shall look forward to seeing your hard work in progress.”
“I would like to see yours, as well. Perhaps I can come along with you one of these days.”
It was entirely possible I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t help myself. I was an utter and complete fool, feeling like a king because my wife had given an indication she would like to spend more time with me. “I would like that very much, Juliana.”
“I would too.”
We looked at each other for a moment and, without letting myself think for another moment, I strode over to her, took her hand in mine just as I had done yesterday, and kissed her. She didn’t pull back this time, almost as though she had been expecting it. Dare I hope she had come for it?
I wanted to linger there, I wanted to explore, to say with my lips what I had not yet managed to voice to her. But I would not push my good fortune.
I pulled back and forced myself to look at her this time. “Until this afternoon.”
“Until this afternoon,” she repeated, looking at me in a way that nearly made me send one of the footmen to tell the steward I would not, in fact, be coming today.
I released her hand, allowing myself one quick glance at her as I closed the door behind me. How did she manage to look more beautiful with every day that passed?
I took in a deep breath as I made my way toward the stables. Juliana would be here when I returned. There was plenty of time.
I had my foot in the stirrup, ready to mount my horse, when I noticed a carriage approaching over the stone bridge that led to Lochlarren. I recognized it at once as the Cochranes’ chaise.
I led my horse from the stables toward the courtyard, wondering if I would have to inform my steward I would not be there after all.
The postilion opened the door, and Nelly descended, smiling at me. He shut the door behind her, making it clear she was alone.
“Good morning,” she said, walking over to me and offering me her hand. “I thought to come pay a visit. I have been wanting to, but Mama has been ill, and I decided I would rather not wait any longer.”
“I am very sorry to hear she is ill,” I replied, kissing the back of her glove.
“Are you leaving or arriving?” she asked, noting my attire.
“Leaving, I am afraid,” I replied.
“That is quite all right. I came primarily to visit Lady Lismore. Do you have time for a quick stroll around the castle, though?”
“Of course,” I said, looping the reins of my horse around the nearby wooden post.
She took my arm and led the way to the path that circled Lochlarren. “How are you faring?”
“Well,” I replied. “Occupied with all manner of business, of course. Tenant and castle improvements, for the most part.”
She nodded. “I imagine so. It must be a relief to be setting such things in motion.”
“It is. They are desperately needed, as you know.”
“I do know,” she replied, “for they are the precise reasons you are married now, but not to me.”
I glanced over at her, and she smiled ruefully. “If only you could have waited a bit longer.”
I frowned. “I do not understand.”
She stopped and faced me. “My situation has changed, Sandy. Aunt Georgie died a few days ago.” Her gaze became more intent. “She left me her fortune.”
I took in a long, slow breath. I wasn’t certain what to say. What was there to say? “It was not I who ended things, Nelly,” I reminded her softly.
She nodded, looking down. “I know. But it wasn’t I who arranged so swiftly for an alternative.”
I grimaced, but inside, my hackles were rising. “Straits were dire, Nelly. More dire than you know. I did what duty required of me.”
She looked at me for a long moment, then nodded and turned to walk again. “And how is Lady Lismore?”
“She is well,” I said, aware I was smiling at the mention of her. “Busy with plans for Lochlarren. The great hall will be the first room transformed.”
“I hope not too much transformed,” she replied.
“No, she hopes to restore it to its original splendor even though I gave her free reign to do as she pleases.”
“It is good she has something to occupy her time. It cannot be easy to trade a life in town for one here. I imagine she misses it greatly.”
I only nodded. I didn’t want to think Juliana was discontent at Lochlarren, but perhaps it was more difficult for her than I realized. When I was in town, I craved the fresh air and simplicity of life at Lochlarren. It was entirely possible she felt the opposite. I hated the thought that she might dislike it here.
“I shouldn’t keep Cairnie waiting any longer,” I said as we reached the front of the castle again. “Shall I escort you inside to Juliana?”
Nelly regarded me thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head. “I can find my way.”
It was true. She knew Lochlarren well.
“Very well, then.” I took her hand in mine. “You will make a brilliant match, Nelly. I am certain of it.”
She tried for a smile. “Perhaps so. I simply cannot help thinking what might have been.” She took her hand from mine and walked toward the castle.
I let out a long breath as I watched her make her way to the front door. I hated to see her unhappy, but I couldn’t find it in myself to regret how things had happened. I had been angry at first, of course. To have so much happen in quick succession—Father’s death, the title and debts descending upon me, Lord Cochrane informing me a match between Nelly and me would no longer be possible, and the arranging of a marriage to Juliana—had produced a bitterness in me for a time.
But no longer.
Father had saddled me with a great number of things I hadn’t wanted, but my marriage to Juliana was no longer one of them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
JULIANA
The sound of chipping plaster and the dust it generated surrounded me as I stared through the window, watching my husband as he watched Nelly Cochrane walk to the castle doors. The expression on his face—the wistfulness, the small smile—intensified the heavy feeling in my stomach that had long been growing..
The feeling began as I watched them together. They had walked the castle grounds—something Sandy and I had yet to do—talking with the ease of people who had known each other for a very long time. The lightness in me after Sandy’s kiss goodbye had been eclipsed the moment I’d spotted them through the window.
“My lady?”
I turned and found one of the footmen in the doorway to the Great Hall.
“Miss Cochrane is here to see ye. I’ve left her in the drawin’ room.”
I blinked swiftly. I had been too busy watching Sandy stare after her to realize her reason for approaching the castle. She was here to see me.
“I will come directly,” I said.
He bowed and closed the door. I looked at my bodice and skirts, both generously sprinkled with plaster dust, and brushed at them, managing to rid them of the largest offending pieces. I would have liked to look my best to visit with Miss Cochrane, but this would have to do. I would not keep a guest waiting.
Miss Cochrane was not seated when I arrived at the drawing room. She was walking around the room as someone accustomed to having free rein. She wore a blue pelisse that set off her matching eyes and blonde hair admirably, drat her, and her greeting to me was perfectly amiable and kind. Why could she not be easy to dislike?
“I am so pleased you have come,” I said, wishing I felt the words. I should be happy to become better friends with Sandy’s friends.
“I am glad to hear it, my lady,” she said. “I should have written to inform you of my intention, no doubt, but I am not accustomed to standing upon ceremony with the Duncans, and I find it difficult to change now.”
I smiled, wondering if her words were merely offhand or if she meant for me to realize I was the one in unfamiliar territory here. “Well, you needn’t do so on my account, surely.” I pulled the bell to call for tea. “Shall I inform Iain, Blair, and Magnus of your visit?”
“That is kind of you, but no. I came to see you and Sandy.”
I ignored the annoyance I felt hearing his name upon her lips. Now that he was married, should she not be calling him Lord Lismore?
“He tells me you have many improvements planned for Lochlarren,” she said.
“I suppose time will tell if they truly are improvements,” I said.
She looked around the room. “I hope you shan’t change too much. I have so many happy memories within these walls. I always envied Sandy’s castle and fancied living in one just like it one day.”
My teeth gritted together. Fancied living in this very one, more like. There was nothing pointed in her tone, but her words bothered me despite it. As she spent a good part of the next quarter of an hour conveying her intimate knowledge of all the castle’s nooks and crannies, my temper became somewhat frayed. I was left to wonder whether I would do better to ask her what improvements should be made to mirror the castle’s original state.
“I have been rambling,” she said, setting her teacup down, “I hope you will forgive me. You must be bored to death here after being accustomed to life in town.”
I knew I was being unreasonable. She was not purposely trying to make me feel this way. In my secret disappointment over my relationship with Sandy, I was too quick to see what was not there. Her comments were not intended as a way to cast herself as a better, more familiar mistress. She was merely trying to establish a connection between us and show her affection for the castle.
“It is an adjustment, certainly,” I said, “but there is much to love here.”
She searched my face, as if wondering if there was a hidden meaning in my words. I hadn’t said it with that intent, but it was true. Was her love of Lochlarren purely nostalgic, or was it centered around Sandy’s presence here?
“And I hope Sandy’s brothers have been keeping you company,” she said. “Sandy has been occupied, as I understand it.”
“He has been seeing to improvements beyond the castle walls. I confess I know little more than that.”
She smiled and tilted her head to regard me. “That is no wonder. A woman of the town cannot be expected to know the issues which present themselves in a place like this. It is something that must be experienced firsthand.”
“Which you have done, no doubt,” I said, feeling smaller by the moment.
She laughed. “Since I was a child.”
“I hope to experience it, as well,” I said. “In fact, Sandy just expressed his wish that I come along with him one of these days.”
She raised her brows. “Ah. Is that right?”
I smiled. It wasn’t the full truth, for I had been the one to suggest it, but Sandy had seemed to like the idea. “Yes, in fact, before you came, I was preparing to meet him there.” Also not the full truth. I had considered meeting him today and decided against it. But now, I felt a renewed determination. If I meant to be an exemplary Countess of Lismore, I needed to understand the things Miss Cochrane referred to.
“Well,” she said, rising, “in that case, I shan’t keep you any longer.”
I followed suit, setting down my tea saucer and standing. “You are welcome to stay.”
She shook her head with a smile, then stopped as a thought occurred to her. “Do you mean to ride there? Or take the carriage?”
My mouth opened wordlessly. I hadn’t arranged anything of course..
“I have my carriage,” she said. “I can let you down at the crossroads. The tenant housing is a short walk from there.”
“That is very kind of you,” I replied, sincerely grateful. “Let me fetch my bonnet.”
After a quick stop in my bedchamber for a bonnet and gloves, I peeked in on Augusta to inform her I was leaving. I was relieved to find her asleep—I didn’t think she would approve of me going out to trudge about with Sandy.
I climbed up into the carriage beside Miss Cochrane a few minutes later, hoping Sandy had been genuine when he had welcomed my presence. He would have it sooner than he knew.
It was my first time leaving the castle grounds since my arrival, and I was reminded of the state of the roads as we rumbled over the bridge. As I looked over my shoulder when we reached the end of the bridge, the view of the castle in the back window made me smile. It was truly feeling like home now, becoming more beautiful to me by the day.
It was only a few minutes before we reached the place Miss Cochrane had mentioned.
“Look,” she pointed through the open door and across a field. “I can see Sandy just there.”
She was right. I recognized him easily, and the man beside him too, even from this distance. They had their heads over a paper.
“Thank you very much for conveying me,” I said, stepping down and turning back toward her.
“Of course. The remainder of your journey should be quick enough.”
We said our farewells, and the equipage continued on its way. I turned my gaze toward Sandy again, wondering if I should walk back to Lochlarren rather than show up unannounced in this way.
No. I would take my chances. Hadn’t Miss Cochrane said experience was key in coming to an understanding of estate matters?
I looked around, trying to determine the fastest way to arrive at my destination. The road curved around and passed through the village, but there was a sort of path through the field before me—a much shorter route. If I took the road through the village, I would lose sight of Sandy and perhaps not be able to find him again.
The path it was.
I lifted my skirts and stepped into the expanse of green rows. It looked to be a farming field of some sort. Hopefully, I would soon be able to identify the different crops grown on all the tenant farms.
I followed the dirt path for a few minutes, but once I had traversed three-quarters of the distance to Sandy, it nearly disappeared, and the plants changed. I came to a stop in front of the less forgiving plants. I had come this far, though. Going back would mean tracing my steps and then being obliged to take the road into the village.
Sandy’s head turned toward me and his steward’s, too. Sandy shaded his eyes with a hand as though trying to determine my identity.
I gave a hesitant wave and again lifted my skirts, stepping into the greenery. The plants brushed against my skirts and stockings, their tips clinging to the fabric. I tugged and continued on my way, glancing up to find Sandy coming toward me, his hand waving.
I winced as something poked my ankle, but there were less than a hundred feet left. It wasn’t until I had gone ten or twelve more steps that the burning began to take hold. It was centered in my ankles, but my legs and arms began to sting, as well, with every brush against the plants surrounding me.
As the pain built, I stopped and looked around, but at this point, the way forward was just as short as the way back to the crop field.
“Juliana!” Sandy was hurrying toward me, pushing the brush out of the way. “What are you doing?”
I winced again, trying for a smile. It was not quite the greeting I had hoped for. “I came to join you.” I sucked in a breath as one particularly strong sting pierced my wrist. “What fiendish plants are these?”
He reached me and took the hand I was inspecting. “Nettle.” He showed me his hands, which had raised, angry red bumps where he had pushed aside the plants.
I pressed my eyes shut as the burning intensified. “Is nettle your name for the devil’s own garden?”
He grimaced as he pulled back the edge of my glove and looked at my arm and wrist. There were raised areas of red all over, just as he had on his hand.
“You needn’t have come to me,” I said, feeling guilty even as my ankles throbbed.
“Nonsense. I have boots and a sturdy coat.” He looked at me for a moment. “I shall carry you the rest of the way.”
I shifted, trying to move my ankle away from one of the leaves poking it. “That is not necessar—” I sucked in a breath as my movement brought my foot up against an even sharper sting.
Sandy stepped toward me, put one arm around my back and the other under my legs, scooping me into his arms. And then he trudged through the nettle toward the village.
As I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold on, my face burned almost as intensely as my legs and arms. Nelly Cochrane would never have got into a scrape like this. She would have sensed innately that nettle was nearby.
“See if Mrs. Lorne has any chamomile, Cairnie,” Sandy said breathlessly as we reached the edge of the nettle.
The steward nodded and disappeared as Sandy set me down gently so that my back rested against the stone wall of a thatched cottage. I tried not to wince at the throbbing sensation all over my arms and legs, but Sandy’s brow furrowed as he watched me. “Where is it the worst?”
“My legs and ankles,” I said, closing my eyes to concentrate on the pain.
He nodded and took my wrist again, inspecting it. “You are developing hives.”
“As are you,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Not nearly as bad as yours.” He showed his own wrist, comparing it to mine. It was true. His was covered in small red dots, while mine had patches of raised, stretched skin, pink in the center, and white on the edges.
Mr. Cairnie came around the corner, holding a jar in his hand. “Here, my lord.”
Sandy took it from him with quick thanks, then instructed him to return to Lochlarren to see Mrs. Boyle was informed of my state. “She will know what to do.”
Mr. Cairnie nodded and soon disappeared again.
Sandy crouched down, kneeling before me as he opened the bottle. “Let me see your leg.”
The pain was intense enough that he might have been a stranger from a brothel and I would have obeyed his instructions—anything to have the cool ointment he held relieve my pain.
