The Lady's Maid (40 page)

She felt the fight draining from her. She was suddenly tired and dispirited. ‘And if I wish to leave?’

‘You may do so at any time, of course. But I would insist that you had somewhere to go. I won’t allow you to roam the countryside like an itinerant farm labourer.’ He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. ‘There is just one condition.’

‘What is that, sir?’

‘That you continue to call me Edmund, as you did in front of that scoundrel Damerell.’

Even if Kate had wanted to leave Westwood Grange, it would have been made impossible by Molly’s condition worsening from a mere chill into pneumonia. Kate nursed her devotedly, sleeping on a truckle bed that the housekeeper had brought down from the old nursery and placed in Molly’s room. Dr Smith called daily, but there was little that anyone could do except watch and pray. For days Molly’s life hung in the balance, and at times Kate almost gave up hope, but
Molly
had youth on her side, and her condition slowly began to improve. Kate was awakened one morning by the sound of her voice asking for food. After that her recovery was surprisingly rapid and soon she was able to get up and sit in a chair by the window, where she had a view of the dovecot and the rose garden. By the middle of June, Molly was almost completely well again and able to go out for short walks in the grounds.

One afternoon they were returning from one of their excursions when they met Amy and Letitia, who were out riding. Amy reined her horse in so sharply that it caracoled, sending a shower of dried mud over Kate’s skirt.

‘Oh, dear,’ Amy giggled. ‘Now you’ll have to change your clothes, Miss Coggins. And you have so few.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Kate said evenly. ‘Dirt will brush off.’

‘No,’ Letitia said, wheeling her horse round so that its flaring nostrils almost brushed Kate’s face. ‘Mud sticks, Miss Coggins. Or so I’ve always been told.’ She curled her lip. ‘But then, you aren’t really Miss Coggins, are you? You don’t know who you are.’

‘And Papa saw fit to take you into our home,’ Amy chortled. ‘You must have bewitched him, Miss Kate Nobody.’

‘Yes,’ Letitia added gleefully. ‘They say you are part gypsy and you can foretell the future.’

‘And put curses on people,’ Amy said, pulling a face. ‘Why don’t you go and join your gypsy folk,
Miss
Nobody? They’re camped near Maiden Castle. Papa says they should be moved on, so why don’t you go with them?’ She dug her heels into her horse’s flanks and rode off down the lane at a gallop.

Letitia leaned over in the saddle, eyeing Kate with contempt. ‘My sister is right. Why don’t you run away and join the travelling people? Now that your little playmate is recovered, there is no need for you to stay on at the Grange. Neither Amy nor I want you here, and if you choose to stay, I promise you that we will make your life utter hell. Do I make myself clear?’ She urged her horse forward and made use of her crop to encourage the animal into a trot and then a canter.

Molly stared at Kate in dismay. ‘Why are they being so horrible to you, Kate?’

‘They’re just jealous, although they have no need to be, Molly.’ Kate took her by the arm. ‘Let’s get you back to the house. You mustn’t overtire yourself.’

Molly fell into step beside her. ‘Are you going to marry the squire, then?’

‘Whatever gave you that idea?’

‘It’s what the servants are saying below stairs.’

‘No wonder Amy and Letitia resent me so much. I had no idea.’

‘It was cruel of them to say nasty things to you. They’re just hateful, spoilt girls.’

‘Yes, they are spoilt and spiteful, but I can’t altogether blame them for not wanting me to marry their father,’ Kate said, recalling her father’s wedding to Honoria. ‘It is not easy having a stepmother come into the home.’

‘Maybe not, but that doesn’t excuse their treatment of you, Kate.’

‘But they are right in one thing. I don’t know who I am. All I know is that my mother was a lady and my father a soldier, or so the Romany woman said. It is a very strange feeling to discover that you are not who you always thought you were.’

Molly stopped, holding her side. ‘It’s just a stitch. It will pass.’ She leaned on Kate’s arm, taking deep breaths. ‘That’s better.’

‘We’ve walked too far today,’ Kate said, feeling guilty at the sight of Molly’s pale cheeks.

‘I know the answer,’ Molly said, grinning. ‘You must pay a visit to the gypsies before they go away, or you may never have another chance to find the old woman and make her tell you what she knows about your mother and father.’

Kate thought hard. The squire had gone to Poole on business and was not expected home until late evening. Amy and Letitia were out riding and would be unlikely to notice that she was missing. This might be her one and only opportunity to discover her true identity. She hugged Molly. ‘I’ll do it.’

‘And I’ll cover for you. If anyone asks where you are, I’ll say you have gone into Dorchester to get me some more linctus.’

Chapter Twenty-three

EDMUND HAD GENEROUSLY
put a suitable mount at Kate’s disposal, although she had not so far ventured out on her own. One of the under grooms saddled the animal for her without question and she was barely able to conceal her relief as she rode out of the stable yard. She took the back lanes, avoiding the main road as much as possible as she did not want to be seen and give rise to even more gossip. Edmund would find out soon enough that she had disobeyed him, but she did not care. Her need to discover more about her parents was greater than her fear of censure. She simply had to see the old gypsy woman, who might not reveal anything more than she had at the hiring fair, but it was worth a try. She flicked the reins and encouraged the horse to canter.

She could smell the scent of woodsmoke from the camp fires long before she saw the caravans and the sturdy piebald ponies grazing at the roadside. As she rode into the encampment, Kate was aware of curious glances from the Romany folk, but no one approached her. She dismounted and tethered her horse to a fencepost. A small child was watching her and Kate went up to her, smiling. ‘I am looking for a woman called Zolfina. Do you know her, little girl?’

The child turned and ran towards a woman who had just stepped down from one of the vans. ‘Excuse me,’ Kate called out. ‘Can you tell me where to find the woman Zolfina? I must speak to her.’

The gypsy came slowly towards her. ‘I saw you at the hiring fair. You are so like your mother, it gave me quite a turn.’

Kate’s breath hitched in her throat. ‘You were with the gypsy woman who told me about my real mother.’

She came closer. ‘Yes, I am her daughter. My name is Dena, and you are Katherine.’

‘You must have known my mother. I’m desperate to know more about her.’

‘Come to the vardo,’ Dena said, beckoning to her. ‘We can speak privately inside.’ Without waiting for a reply, she led the way with Kate following close on her heels.’

The inside was spotlessly clean and Kate was amazed to see how much could be stowed in such a small space. Dena motioned her to take a seat.

‘Please tell me all you know.’ Kate sank down on the padded bench as her knees suddenly refused to support her. Her hands were damp and her pulses racing. ‘My mother – who was she? Please tell me everything you know about her.’

‘I know very little, except that she was a lady and her name was Clara. You must understand that she was in a bad way when my mother found her by the Winterbourne river. Who knows what the poor lady had been through, or why she was wandering alone in her condition.’

‘She must have told you something. Her surname, for instance?’

Dena’s lips curved in a wry smile. ‘You have never given birth. It is not the time for making small talk. She was very weak and I think she knew that the end was near.’

Kate’s throat constricted and she swallowed hard. ‘Did she know that she had a daughter?’

‘She held you in her arms, and she asked my mother to bless and name you. She wanted you to be called Katherine, after her own mother.’

‘And my father? Did she tell you who he was?’

‘Your father was called Alexander. He was an army officer, and he was killed in the Crimea. They were not married, but I think that, according to your customs, they were engaged.’ Dena went to open a small wooden cupboard. She took something out of a box and laid it in her palm, holding her hand out to Kate. ‘This was on her finger. She begged my mother to keep it for you, and we have honoured her dying wish. I knew that one day you would come to claim it.’

Kate took the ring, hardly able to believe that she held something which had once belonged to her mother. She could barely focus on the heart-shaped emerald surrounded by fiery diamonds. Her eyes misted with tears. ‘This was hers?’

‘It was the only thing of value she possessed. She slipped away soon afterwards, but peacefully and with your father’s name on her lips.’

Kate slid the ring onto her finger. ‘I feel so close to her that I can almost see her.’

Dena angled her head. ‘As I said before, you are very like her.’

‘Such a sad and lonely end.’ Kate kissed the ring. ‘My poor mother.’

‘In a way she was lucky,’ Dena said bitterly. ‘My mother brought you into the world shortly after my own child was born. My baby was taken from me when she was less than a day old.’ She covered her face with her hands. ‘I still feel the pain of it. I wished that I could lie down next to Clara and join her in the world of the spirits. I did not want to live on without my little girl.’

‘But you did, Mother. You survived and lived on to become queen of the Roma.’

Kate turned her head and saw Josie standing in the doorway. ‘Josie! I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?’

Josie smiled. ‘As you see, I have joined my people. I have discovered my roots, Kate. I always knew that I was different, but I did not understand why. Now I do. I am more my mother’s daughter than I am my father’s child.’

‘Then Sir Joseph really is your father?’ Kate stared at her in disbelief; she could hardly take in Josie’s altered appearance. Her long, dark hair hung loose around her shoulders and framed her oval face. She wore a simple gown of dark green calico with a brightly coloured crocheted shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and she looked happier than she had in a long while.

‘I was very young,’ Dena said swiftly. ‘He was like a god to me in those days, and I gave myself to him willingly. I thought I was in love, but I have paid
dearly
for my folly. Now I have my first born back again, and my life is full once more.’

Kate leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Josie. ‘Oh, Josie. I am so happy for you, but – I thought you and Harry …’

Josie’s dark eyes brimmed with remorse. ‘I am so sorry, Kate. I lied to you again and again. I don’t deserve your friendship.’

‘I thought you had gone to him. You told me that you were getting married.’

‘Lies, Kate. It was all lies. Well, most of it anyway.’

‘He didn’t propose to you?’

‘I tricked him into it. He never wanted me. I knew that he was in love with you but I allowed him to think you were a wanton and had run away with Sam, and when he discovered that was a lie I told him you had gone to live with the squire. I admit it all, my dear. I was an evil person then. I sent Sam away from me, even though it broke my heart, and I was mad with grief. I barely knew what I was doing, and I wanted you and Harry to suffer as I was suffering. Can you ever forgive me?’

Kate sat down again, dazed and hardly able to believe what she was hearing. ‘You were my friend, Josie. How could you do such a thing to me?’

Dena poured some dark liquid into a cup and thrust it into Kate’s hands. ‘Drink this, child. It is a cordial made from herbs and roots; it will not harm you. It will revive your spirits. Don’t be too hard on Josie; she has suffered too.’

Kate sipped the sweet but slightly bitter brew and
found
it surprisingly refreshing. She put the cup down on the table, giving herself time to gather her scattered wits. ‘I do forgive you, Josie. But if what you say is true and Harry loves me, why did he just take your word for it? If he truly loved me, wouldn’t he have tried to win me?’

Josie’s eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. ‘He thought that you were beyond his reach, and it was all my doing.’

Kate closed her eyes in an attempt to blot out Harry’s face. ‘He is still engaged to you, Josie.’

‘You must go to him,’ Josie said, taking both Kate’s hands in hers. ‘Go to Copperstone and tell him that everything I said was untrue. Tell him that I’ve run away to be with my own people and that I release him from his promise to marry me.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Kate cried, snatching her hands away. ‘How could I face Harry after the lies you told him about me, and why would he believe me anyway? That is the most stupid thing you’ve ever said.’

‘If you’re too cowardly to take the initiative, don’t blame me if you never see him again.’

‘Sometimes I almost hate you, Josie.’

‘Stop.’ Dena stepped in between them. ‘Squabbling like two little girls won’t help. If anyone should speak to him it is you, Josie. You made the mischief and you should make amends for your cruel lies.’

Josie threw up her hands and laughed. ‘My mother is my conscience, Kate. I expect she is right. I will think about it, but first there is something that you can do for me.’

‘You have a strong streak of Damerell in you, my child,’ Dena said, pursing her lips. ‘I fear that you are more like your father than you are like me. But I will leave you to sort this matter out between you.’ She nodded to Kate as she left the vardo, giving Josie a stern look as she went.

‘It’s true,’ Josie said, shrugging her shoulders. ‘I am more like Joseph than I would care to admit, but I am not a bad person. I will ride to Copperstone, Kate, and I will confess my sins to Harry …’

‘No, don’t do that.’ Kate shook her head. ‘I was born out of wedlock, and I know now that I have no hope of discovering the true identities of my poor parents. I am not a fit bride for a man in his position.’

‘I won’t have that. You are a far better person than I.’