His Christmas Nymph (8 page)

“Miss Caroline?”

“Come on in, Sally. I’m awake and ready to get dressed.”

Sally came in looking perky and overjoyed. “Your aunt must really love you,” she said, staring around at the opulent surroundings. “This bedroom is twice the size of the one you had at Banbury House.”

She smiled sadly and nodded her head in agreement. “I’ll always miss that house, Sally. It holds so many fond memories for me.”

“Your memories will travel with you wherever you go. That’s the great thing about them, they never leave us and only grow richer with time.”

“You are very right, Sally. Come, let’s try on some of the new morning dresses, and see how they fit. She already had my measurements from last year, but I’ve grown thinner since the last time I sent her those numbers.”

“Thinner but not frailer. You will regain your strength, Miss Caroline. Now that you can thrive her
e amongst those that love you. You will return to your old self in no time.”

“Thank you for the kind sentiments, Sally.”

“Miss, I know I shouldn’t even be asking you this—but there is talk amongst the servants about you and a certain duke.”

“It’s all true,” she admitted. “My almost engagement did happen. My father put a stop to it and revealed the truth of why we had Banbury House to me.”

“And why was that, Miss?”

“My mother was given it as a gift after the Old Duke broke his engagement to her and married the Duchess.”

Sally inhaled sharply. “I never dreamt in a million years that would be the revelation. I…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. My mother’s life was ru
ined by the Rochester’s and I am following in her footsteps.”

“Then, don’t follow. Don’t allow yourself to fall down the same hole. If you love him—if he loves you, don’t let y
our father stand in your way. Mr. Griffiths married that thing even though you told him you didn’t like her. You warned him she would turn into a beast of a woman, and he never took your advice. So, you are not beholden to him in any way. I say you should finally show your father that you are both your mother’s child and your father’s child.”

“My aunt gave me similar advice. I think I should follow it.”

“You should follow your heart, Miss. It will never lead you astray, don’t let anyone or anything change your mind. Now, which frock do you want to wear this morning? Your aunt has been unfailingly kind and generous to you. She’s treating you like you are her own daughter.”

“There is a reason why my mother adored her so. Sh
e said she had a generous heart. As always, Mama was right. Aunt Georgia even bought me jewels to wear! I haven’t had anything but my simple garnet cross for such a long time, and I do confess it still serves me well for everyday use.”

“Ah, but with those jewels yo
u’ll stun everyone at the balls your aunt says she wants to hold here and in Town.”

“I admit, I fancy the gold and amethyst cannetille pendant earrings. I just hope I have the opportunity to wear them.”

They were all quite correct in their advice. She would go after what her heart wanted.

Edward.

That was what her heart wanted. The only question was—did he still want her?

*****
 

Caroline
was out on the grounds playing with her cousins when she heard the carriage draw up.

The crest on the carriage and the colo
ur of livery the footmen wore told her exactly who was paying her aunt a call. Quickly, she left her cousins to their nannies watchful eyes and retreated back to into the house. Coming into contact with Edward wasn’t something she was prepared for in her current state of disarray but then he hadn’t seen her at her best when they’d first met, so he wouldn’t think anything of the way she looked now.

She found her aunt in her Salon. Her aunt was studying a calling card. “The Duchess of Whitney wants to meet with me. I’m just about to tell her man she is most welcome. Do you want to be around for the meeting?”

“I shall sit by your side while you receive her.”

“Good. That’s as it should be. You may invite the Duchess in, Clarkson.”

The butler nodded solemnly and left them.

The duchess and her son, walked into the Salon. The duchess cast an appraising eye across the room. Her aunt and she stood up a
nd curtsied formerly while the duchess and the duke nodded solemnly in return.

“You have a very p
retty home, Lady Georgia,” the Duchess said cordially. 

Her aunt smiled politely. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

“Good afternoon, Miss Griffiths. You are looking much better today than when last I saw you. The colour is back in your cheeks. You are a most pretty girl. I am glad to see that your aunt has taken you under her wing. That step-mother of yours is most undesirable. Alas, I shall not bandy words any longer. Let me get straight to the point of why I am here. I am here to clear my son of all the charges your Mr. Griffiths laid at his door.”

Her aunt nodded her head. “He is not my Mr. Griffiths
, Madam. That dubious honour belonged to my sister, God rest her soul. I must confess, I always wondered what you looked like. I wanted to know the face of the woman who stole my sister’s true love and broke her heart most cruelly.”

Caroline drew her breath in sharply, the tightness of her corset seemed a little too constricting at this pivotal moment in time. She exchanged a worried look with Edward who
, for his part, looked shaken. And Caroline felt rattled as well by her Aunt’s boldness. Her aunt feared no one—she didn’t know if she should admire that character trait or loathe it. 

“And I always wanted to know what my rival looked like. My curiosity was finally sated four years ago when she came to Whitney Park asking my husband to arrange the
marriage of our children. She made it quite clear she wished Caroline to marry my son—on one condition, they had to be in love. I believe they share a good deal of affection for each other. They like each other more than my husband liked me, so I am content in the knowledge that their union will be a happy and fruitful one.”

“I think the two of them should have the opportunity to speak to each other while we have civil whiskers. Their courtship has been rather rushed. I would
, for my part, hope for it to continue a while longer before they rush into the bonds of matrimony, but I shall allow my niece the opportunity to decide what is best for her,” Georgia proclaimed. 

Edward stood up, and so did Caroline.

They moved to the back of the Salon. He was the first one to speak. “You look very refreshed, and I like seeing some colour in your cheeks.”

“I am very happy here—it has made me most content. My aunt is unfailingly kind and reminds me so much of my own darling Mama. Her husband and children have welcomed me into the bosom of their family.”

Edward stared lovingly at her. He reached for her hands and clasped them between his much larger ones. His strength flowed into her, no matter how much she wanted to accept his admiration for her, she couldn’t get rid of the niggling doubt in the back of her mind that made her think he was only infatuated with her. Not truly in love with her the way she wanted him to be. Slowly, she drew her hands out of his warm grasp.

“Your Grace, I do believe that whatever you have to say to me
can wait. I agree with my aunt. I shan’t rush headlong into something that I find precarious at best. You do not love me the way that two people should love one another, and while I was desperate to take anything offered to me before—I would like us to part now as friends, and nothing else.”

Th
e heartbreak in his eyes dismayed her but she couldn’t take him no matter how much her heart desired him. She had to do what her inner voice wanted her to do—she had to make certain that he wanted her the way that her Uncle Robbie wanted her Aunt Georgia. Now that she had seen true love she wanted it—no, she craved it!

He looked dumbfounded and quite speechless. It took him a few minutes to compose himself. “I will leave you in peace
, then. Good day to you, Caroline,” he said, glancing furtively over at his mother.

She looked away from him, afraid that her resolve would crumble and she’d tell him she was a stupid fool and that she really did want to rush to the altar. Surprisingly enough, her resolve didn’t waver and she heard him distantly leave the Salon with his mother. The room was perilously quiet.

“Are you sure you did the right thing, Caroline, dear?” Georgia asked softly.

“Yes,” she whispered, her heart beating hard in her chest.

She wasn’t sure. In fact, she’d probably just ruined her life, and yet she’d given Edward what he deserved—the opportunity to decide whether or not he loved her enough to pursue her. If it was only infatuation, he would leave it as it was between them.

She could only pray he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

“That didn’t go quite the way I envisioned it,” Genevieve said softly, as they rode back to Whitney Park. He sat opposite his mother as desperate emotions rolled through him. “I can’t believe she actually had the tenacity to refuse you. She’s got pluck to her. I’ll grant her that much.”

“Sh
e didn’t refuse me. She’s only put an obstacle in my path that I shall quickly find a way to maneuver around.”

Genevieve sighed heavily. “My dearest son, why do you persist in troubling yourself with this mercurial creature? She has not seen the treasure in you, so I say let her go before you cause yourself any more grief. It troubles me greatly to see you so affected.”

“All women like to be pursued and some men enjoy the chase,” he mused.

“As I was the one doing the chasing, I do not know,” Genevieve said
, shrugging her shoulders. “However, if you want to continue your courtship of her, you shall have to do it properly. I will write to a few of my friends in the area to assist us with this endeavor. There is more than one way to charm a young lady. The direct approach failed you. Now, we do it my way.”

Edward
didn’t know if he liked the firm tone of his mother’s voice. She had a very determined gleam in her eye, and it should have disturbed him greatly. As it was, he didn’t pay any mind to it—if she had a way of gaining him his heart’s desire than he would throw his lot in with her.

God help him.

* * * * *

The following days went by in a blur for Caroline. Christmas was quickly approaching and yet, she couldn’t take joy in t
he festivities surrounding the Season as her heart was broken. She hadn’t seen or heard from Edward since she’d rebuffed him on that fateful day in the Salon. Perhaps, he had decided to give up on her. It was the sensible route to take, after all, she’d hurt him most foully by pushing him away the way she’d done.

She sat eating her breakfast in a haze, while her aunt eyed her worriedly.

“Somehow, this letter of yours was mixed up in my pile of missives, Caroline.”

Her aunt handed her the missive. She put down her teacup and started reading it, instantly recognizing the script as belonging to a friend of her mother
’s.

“It seems my mother’s old friend, Lady Wallsworth has returned to the Count
ry. She was taking the waters in Bath. I can’t imagine why she’d come home at this time of year.”

Georgia smiled at her. “She was known
as Lady Sully when I knew her. She was named for the old Celtic Goddess you see. Her parents were quite the characters as you can imagine. I understand that her mother now lives with her. What else did she have to say, Caroline?”

“She wants me to come and spend the afternoon with her and the Dowager. She says that they can’t wait to have my company, they have many things to discuss with me.”

“They sound very fond of you, Caroline. It’s a wonder they didn’t ask for you to go with them to Bath that would have been a grand holiday for you.”

“They did.” She looked away from her aunt’s serious gaze. “Papa wouldn’t allow it.”

“What’s this,” Robbie said finally lowering his newspaper. “Why ever would he keep you from such a golden opportunity? Your Papa is a daft and selfish man.”

“”I think he believed that Mama’s old friends would steal me away from him.”

“Humph,” Robbie said, going back to studying his newspaper.

“That man needs a good thrashing. I never thought he could be capable of such things back when Margaret chose him as a husband. She thought she was getting a sensible minded, kind hearted
, gently natured man. I see he failed in two of those three departments since her untimely passing. You should go, Caroline. We’ll muddle through this afternoon without you. Your cousins will feel the loss most keenly, and they’ve rather come to depend upon you the last few days. It would do my heart good to know that you are among old friends.”

Caroline sipped at her hot tea, staring intently at the bluebell pattern on the teacup. If only she could avoid
this latest social interlude. However, she didn’t think she could get out of making Lady Wallsworth and her mother happy for a few hours.

Mrs. Finch had gone to see her daughter in Brighton so she had little to occupy her time aside from Fanny who was so wrapped up in the season and planning for her wedding that she’d barely seen her.

She suddenly realized how small her social circle was. She swallowed her mouthful of tea, and looked over at her aunt. “I will endeavor to make you and Lady Wallsworth happy.”

“Darling girl, that’s the spirit. You just need to spread your wings a bit. And you can catch up on a bit of your reading while you’re there as I’m sure that Lady Wallsworth’s mother will want you to either read to
her or play on the pianoforte. Of course, if she’s hard of hearing now you’ll have to play and speak loudly.”

Caroline smiled, she could pound the keys with the best of them but she wasn’t the best player of her age. That would be Fanny.

Caroline for her part had always preferred the guitar or the harp to the pianoforte. 

“I would be most hono
ured to spend the afternoon with the Countess, it should be quite diverting.”

Her aunt nodded her head enthusiastically. “You should have a smashing good time and it will give you the rare opportunity to rest and relax
, so you’ll be ready for the Christmas Country Ball tomorrow night. Your cousins have kept you hopping the last few days. They quite like having such a delightful cousin. They simply adore you, Caroline, much as Robbie and I do.”

Her aunt had somehow managed to pull together a grand affair in the form of a Christmas Country Ball to happen tomorrow night. She wondered if anyone would show up
, seeing as her aunt had more or less been forgotten by the ton in the years since she had moved to America. However, many still remembered her as the youngest daughter of the Earl of Thoresby.

“I rather wanted us to rehearse the Christmas Pantomime again but I guess the boys know their parts well enough.”

“Are you still set on them coming down to perform it for the guests’ tomorrow night?”

“I rather am. I think they would love to see it. We can perform it in the great Drawing Room.”

“It sounds perfect to me as long as you think the boys can handle it.”

“The boys are wondrous thespians. They will do you and Uncle Robbie proud. I’ve managed to convince Fanny to play the pianoforte just as she used to do when we
were children. The only thing missing is Arthur and Christopher, and of course, dear Mama.”

Georgia’s eyes filled with drowning sadness.  

“I can’t wait for everyone to see you in your ball gown tomorrow night, Caroline. You will set the tongues of everyone who is anyone around here on fire. Robbie will have to keep the suitors at bay.”

“I shall get my stick and be ready,” Robbie murmured, lowering the newspaper so he could smile at them both.

“I should go and get myself ready for this afternoon,” Caroline murmured, as she finished off her tea. She stood up and moved around the table to kiss her aunt. Georgia smiled up at her.

“You are a good girl. I sorely wish that we had made the crossing years ago to whisk you away from that dreadful man.”

“He’s not that bad, Aunt. It’s Gertrude. She was a horrible influence on my father and made him quite tiresome. She brought out the worst in him instead of cultivating the best in him like Mama did.”

“He doesn’t have the right to keep you away from so many things th
at would benefit you socially. He was setting you up to be a spinster, darling.”

She smiled at her aunt once more and left the breakfast room without saying anything further. Her aunt was dead set against her father and she could understand her prejudice—and yet, she and her father would be forever linked together by the grief they’d felt when they’d lost so much in such a short amount of time. She’d watched her father go completely grey overnight, and witnessed him change from a virile man into the shell he was today. He used to be strong and stalwart, now he looked as if a light breeze could knock him over.

He was a broken man—and she didn’t think she could break him even further by taking herself completely out of his life.

She just wished that Gertrude h
ad never come into their lives. If she hadn’t, things would have been so much different. Whether or not her father would have attempted to debut her on the marriage mart was another matter entirely. She knew he wanted to keep her close and the thought of sharing her with anyone else least of all a husband frightened him badly.

That and the fact that he would have had to rely completely on her aunt in o
rder to afford the whole thing. His pride was the only thing he had left and he couldn’t quite bend it far enough to accept what he viewed as charity.

It didn’t take her long to change for her visit to Lady Wallsworth’s. Sally hovered over her constantly, and her worry was palpable in the air.

“Sally, pray do me the favour of airing your concerns with me.”

“I don’t want you wearing yourself out, Miss Caroline. I think taking on this Christmas Pantomime and deciding to accept Lady Wallsworth’s invitation was sheer folly. You’re not up to this kind of thing.”

“What do you mean by this kind of thing?”

“You’re not acc
ustomed to so much excitement. Why I’d never forgive myself if you caught your death straining yourself so much.”

“It will do m
y body and soul good. You needn’t worry that all of this traipsing about will wear me thin. I am nothing like my mother.”

“You’re entirely too much like the Lady Margaret, God rest her beautiful soul. This is why I am saddened to see that your aunt won’t take better care of you. You need your rest. You shouldn’t be gallivanting about today, you should be taking it easy, an
d resting well, before tomorrow’s gaiety.”

As Sally finished fixing her hair, she reached back and grabbed her hand. “Don’t worry, Sally. I’m hearty and hale. My heart might be breaking but my body is not. I will probably outlive you.”

Sally snorted. “That will be as it should be. I’m much older than you, and I’d like to know that you’ll live past me. I’d like to know that one of Lady Margaret’s children had a long happy life. In fact, I want you to swear that you’ll sit by my deathbed when it’s my time to go.”

“I swear I shall, dearest Sally. Now, will I do?”

“Lady Wallsworth wouldn’t give a tinker’s fart how you looked. She took you wearing that old wardrobe that your father provided for you and she’ll accept you as you are now, a veritable country Princess.”

“You a
re quite right, Sally. Now I have to tackle the next few hours without losing my mind. I simply don’t know how I’ll get through the talking bit. I feel so scattered these days.”

“You’ll handle yourself fine,” Sally said, helping her into the warm velvet pelisse that went with the dress s
he wore. “You shouldn’t fret so. Lady Wallsworth simply adores you.”

“When I return home, I daresay I’ll retire to my bed without dinner, Sally. I don’t think I’ll feel like dressing for it and summoning the energy to do it justice.”

“Aye, Miss Caroline.”

She sat in quiet reflection, as the carriage rolled over the roads between Cleeve Hall and Lady Wallsworth’s home, Wallsworth Abbey. Whenever she was alone with her thoughts she brooded over Edward. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

As the carriage drew up to Wallsworth Abbey a queasy sensation overcame her. She didn’t know why she expected something to go awry once she entered the large house but she did.

Lady Wallsworth had never been anything but kind to her so she didn’t fear her—she just couldn’t put her finger on it, something wasn’t quite right.

The doors opened to the Abbey and her stomach sunk as her eyes swept over the man who stood waiting for her.

Edward. 

“Oh, Fiddlesticks,” she muttered under her breath using one of her aunt’s favourite frustrated exclamations.