Caversham's Bride (The Caversham Chronicles - Book One) (34 page)

“She should be preparing for her come-out next spring, and you’d think she would be excited about all the parties, dresses, and young men. Instead, I see her going through the motions. The passion and vitality she had are gone. Sometimes I think she is just a ghost of her former self.”

“How long ago did your father and stepmother die?” Lia asked.

“Two and a half years,” Ren replied. “It was then that grandmother, my mother’s mother—who is Angus’ mother as well—came to live with us. She is a widow and felt her granddaughters needed her. Sarah was but a babe, and understood nothing. Elise, though, took the news hard. On the surface she has recovered, but grandmother and I both agree she’s still hurting inside.”

“It can be rather difficult to accept the fact that your parents will never return,” Lia said. “One day they’re here and full of life. The next they’re...,” she shrugged her shoulders, “gone.”

Ren urged her close, and held her tight. “I forget, darling. You know what she’s feeling, don’t you? Only for you and your brother, the pain is more recent.” Lia fought her tears, and nodded into his lapel. “You and Elise have a great deal in common. Perhaps you can become friends.”

Lia noticed the coach slowing down and rounding a curve. Her husband shifted in his seat, still holding her close. “Here we are,” Ren said, as the vehicle pulled to a stop. He assisted her with her cloak, raising her hood over her head. Then catching her off guard, he leaned over and covered her mouth with his, kissing her senseless, making her forget her nervousness.

She never heard the door open, but felt a sudden burst of cold, damp air enter the coach as Lia disengaged from his hold. A part of her was embarrassed at being caught in a passionate embrace, even if it was with her own husband. The liveried footman dropped the steps, and Ren descended first, offering Lia his hand. He lifted her out of the enclosed vehicle and set her carefully on the ground. She held her hood down to keep the rain from her face as she recovered her footing. She peeked out from under her hood, and got her first glimpse at the impressive structure before her.

In her wildest imagining, she hadn’t expected this. Even on the cold and wet spring day, Haldenwood was clearly more grand than any home she could have conjured. At least one hundred yards across and sixty feet high, the three-story center building had a stone facade with decorative cornices above the many windows. Below each window of crown glass were carved lintels. Connected to each side of the main building were brick-covered additions, newer in design, and looked to have been built late in the last century.

The light rain was nourishing the parterre gardens in front of the home. The scent of freshly-turned soil filled the air as the intricately planned and tended beds appeared in various stages of blooming. In the middle of the drive, a circular, multi-leveled garden was filled with tulips, daffodils, and rhododendrons in flower. Gray-green spikes of lavender waited for warmer weather to burst into bloom. All this surrounded at ten foot tall statue of Jupiter, weathered from a hundred years in his guardian spot, holding a hand out to the drive.

Caught admiring her new surroundings, Lia felt heat rise to her cheeks, even as she shivered from the cold. She wasn’t given much time to compose herself, because soon Ren turned her toward the front of the house where the servants began to line up on the steps in the rain, Ghita at the end, nearest to her. “How did she get here before us?”

“Didn’t you notice? At the last stop, I sent the other coaches on ahead.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve been too worried over whether or not your grandmother will like me, that I never noticed we were completely alone.”

“Never completely, I assure you.”

Ghita stood next to a middle-aged woman who, by her dress, appeared to be the housekeeper. Next to them stood a dour-faced gentleman. Many other servants, from the lowest ranking to the highest, must have known of their arrival, for dozens of them jockeyed for position on the steps in the drizzly rain as she and Ren neared. Just then she realized how wealthy her husband must be to have so many servants in his employ and a home so magnificent.

Ren steadied her, and led her forward, alongside him. “I bring you my wife, the Duchess of Caversham.” Ren’s voice was clear and proud. “I bid you welcome her to our home, and protect her as you have every other Halden since the invasion.” To her he said, “Come let us go in out of the rain. You’re shivering and I do not want you catching a cold.”

What she presumed were the butler and housekeeper came forward and Ren said to them, “Milton, Mrs. Davies, we can make introductions to the staff when we take my wife on the tour. Right now, I’d like to get her warm, and the staff out of the rain.”

The two nodded and they moved into the entryway where they were divested of their damp outerwear. “The family is waiting in the drawing room, Your Grace, in front of a roaring fire,” said the butler.

“I shall see to some fresh hot tea and biscuits,” said the housekeeper as she bustled off down the hall.

“Come, wife.” Ren lead her toward the entrance of the drawing room. “We have the family yet to meet.”

She knew she was gawking, but she couldn’t help herself. Lia was immediately struck by the opulence and warmth of the entryway, even though the day was gray and dreary. The walls were papered in a leaf pattern of mauve and green on a pale yellow backdrop. Carved wooden moldings crowned the doorways and were stained to match the handrail of the grand staircase. Overhead, a multi-tiered crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Around her, every vase, large and small, held freshly cut blooms—their mixed scents wafting upward, filling the room. It reminded her of Caversham House. Someone in the household, Lia thought, was a dedicated horticulturist. A footman opened the door to the drawing room and she was immediately enveloped in the cozy warmth of the room, and it felt wonderful.

“Lia! Lia!” Her brother ran to her, bringing her out of her reverent awe. Reaching out for him, she held him tight, placing a kiss on his head.

He looked up, his dark brown eyes sparkling, an impish smile on his face. “Our coach went faster than yours. We’ve been here for hours. What took you so long?”

“Just because you can go faster doesn’t mean you should,” her husband replied. Ren embraced her, adding, “It was safer for your sister that we take a slower pace.” That seemed to satisfy her brother.

Her husband led her to a petite silver-haired lady wearing a red silk turban and a gray bombazine dress with white trim. Her hazel eyes held an amused expression, and she smiled warmly. Ren stepped forward, bowed, and gave the woman a kiss on each cheek. Taking the elderly woman’s hand, he said, “Grandmother, I would like for you to meet my wife, Lia. Lia, this is Lady Beatrice Sewell, my mother’s mother.”

Her new grandmother-in-law took both of Lia’s hands and placed a kiss on each, then kissed her cheeks. Lia studied the other woman’s hands, and knew then who so lovingly tended the gardens.

“The flowers are breathtaking, ma’am. You need not have troubled yourself on my behalf.”

“There’s not much else for an old woman to do around here,” Lady Sewell replied. “I have discovered I enjoy working in the dirt and watching things grow.” The older woman leaned forward to hug Lia, and whispered, “Besides, it keeps me out of trouble, and terrifies the gardeners,” she added with a mischievous smile.

Ren led her to the next person in line. Lia considered herself tall, but the older of her husband’s sisters stood several inches taller. A willowy brunette, whose long straight hair hung down her back, her light brown eyes were flecked with gold and held no emotion. Her smooth, creamy complexion had a healthy glow kissing her cheeks from being out of doors. With her delicately arched brows and symmetrical features, she was truly beautiful.
If only she would smile,
Lia thought
.

Her husband hugged the girl, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “This is my sister, Elise.” He turned to Lia, “And this is my wife, Lia. It is my wish that you two become friends, Elise. You have a great deal in common.”

Elise nodded and curtsied low. “Welcome to your new home, Your Grace,” the young woman said, still with no trace of a smile.

Evidently, Lia was the only one who heard the tinge of sarcasm in her new sister-in-law’s voice because no one reacted. Still, she understood the girl, having gone through some difficulties herself recently. Lia knew, to adjust to changes as big as this, it took time. She hoped the attitude she saw in her new sister-in-law now didn’t foreshadow a difficult time ahead for the two of them. “Please, call me Lia.”

The girl nodded, turning her head away to inspect some imagined thing on her skirt.

Next to Elise, cross-legged on the floor, sat an impish golden-haired child with a riot of curls cascading over her shoulders to graze the floor. With her head in her hands, she appeared bored, waiting for the grown-ups to acknowledge her presence.

“Well, well, what have we here?” her husband said. He lifted the child high, forcing squeals and laughter from her. “You haven’t grown a bit since I’ve been away. How on earth do you plan to map the American continents if you don’t grow first?”

He set the child on her feet and she straightened proudly. “I’ll grow, Mildred says I have to be pa-sent.” Her sapphire blue eyes looked up to her brother with pride. “She says I must also eat all my vegetables. They don’t always taste very good, but I eat them anyway.”

“That’s a good girl, then.” Ren led the girl forward, and took Lia’s hand in his other. “Sarah, I would like to introduce you to my wife, Lia. Lia, this is my youngest sister, Sarah.”

“Elise says you’re going to have a baby. Is that true?”

Lia choked, caught off guard with the little girl’s direct question. She looked to Ren for some guidance on how to manage this line of questioning. He shrugged, then nodded, and she replied, “I believe so, yes. We are. Your brother and I, that is,” she corrected.

“Oh, good, then I will have a little brother or sister. Can I name the baby? I’m very good at naming all the baby animals when they are born.”

“Ah..., Your Grace,” she looked to her husband, needing his assistance.

He stepped in to rescue her. “No, sweetness,” Ren replied, “The new baby will be your niece or nephew, not your brother or sister.
I
am your brother and
Elise
is your sister. My wife, is.... I can’t believe I’m doing this,” her husband mumbled. Staring at his sister’s up-turned, inquisitive face, Lia knew he was as uncomfortable as she with forming an answer for the child. “Lia is your sister-in-law.”

“What’s an in-law?”

“Through our marriage, my wife becomes your sister in the eyes of the law.”

The child looked satisfied with that answer, temporarily. She looked back to her big brother, and pointed at Luchino. “Then, who is
he
?” she asked.

“That’s Lucky, he is my wife’s brother, which makes him my brother-in-law.”

“Is he my in-law, too? You’re not married to him,” the observant child stated.

What followed next was an explanation that wound up so convoluted that her husband gave up attempting to finish. “They’re your new sister and brother, and leave it at that,” he said in frustration.

A smiling Lady Sewell stepped forward. “I’m sure your wife must be tired from the journey. I will show her to her rooms.”

Elise came forward, saying, “I’ll do it grandmother. This way you do not have to take the stairs up until time to dress for dinner.”

“Thank you.” Ren smiled down at Lia. “Why don’t you rest a while? I’m sure I have some estate business waiting for my attention. I will see you before dinner.” He placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before she left. As she followed her new sister-in-law up the stairs, Lia heard him tell Sarah to show Luchino around. Her brother’s voice drifted off as she climbed higher, but she could tell he didn’t seem too excited to have a girl showing him the way.

“It was kind of you to show me to my rooms, Lady Elise,” Lia said.

“Grandmother has a difficult time climbing the stairs, Your Grace,” her new sister-in-law said. “I was coming up anyway, since I’m going back to the barn and must change into my breeches.”

She said it so casually, as though it was normal for a young woman to wear men’s breeches. Or perhaps the younger girl wanted Lia to be shocked by her actions and attire. Well, if she thought to frighten her into remaining at arm’s length, the girl was in for a surprise. Lia never backed down from a challenge.

Lia wondered at the causes of her new sister-in-law’s aloofness. She had to think of a plan. Maybe if she took an interest in Elise’s hobby with the horses it might help to bring down the girl’s defenses.

Midway down the long hallway, Elise stopped in front of a door. “These are your rooms,” she said flatly. “I hope you find them to your liking.” With that, her new sister-in-law turned, and walked away, leaving Lia to wonder at the girl’s attitude. Especially as she’d volunteered to show her up.

“Thank you,” she said to Elise’s back, as a footman appeared from nowhere and opened the door to her room. Crossing the threshold she decided her sister-in-law needed time to adjust to her presence, but in a non-threatening way. She would suggest outings to the village perhaps, when the weather warmed, and after Ren’s cousin was captured. Maybe Elise could show her the shops and introduce her to the shopkeeps.