by Fanny Finch
And in all of it, there was still one bright spot.
She was going to return.
Chapter 27
The coach was pulling up to the estate and Delia felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. It was too much. She was going to see the Earl again. How would she handle it?
Not only was she anxious to be in his presence again, but Delia knew that she would have to find the right time to tell him of her suspicions. She would have to wisely discern when to share what she believed about the Baron.
And yet, despite all her worries, she longed to see him. She longed to take care of him in the midst of his pain and the agony he must be in for the injury.
She was looking forward to seeing Amy and Grace again as well. They had been such bright spots in her daily life at the estate. It would be a joy to be around them once more. It would be a joy to hear Grace’s laugh, to see Amy’s smile.
She would do all she could to avoid Mrs. Andrews and others. And she would try not to be too upset about missing her sister and nephew. But Delia tried to focus on how she could help the Earl. It had to be her focus if she was going to make it through the confusion of the next few days.
The coach came to a stop and she got out. To her utter surprise, the Earl stood alone in the doorway to greet her.
The moment Delia saw him, she felt her heart drop all over again. He stood, tall and handsome, with a smile that was clearly meant only for her. He seemed to be putting added weight on his left leg to compensate for the pain on the right. She could not help but feel overwhelmed by his presence, even at the top of the staircase.
Taking slow steps so as not to appear too eager, she made her way up until she was before him.
“Miss Caulfield. It is so wonderful to see you again,” he greeted, taking her hand in his own. It was warm and comforting. She felt certain that hers were cold and potentially even sweaty. But she gave it over nonetheless.
“My lord,” she said in reply, curtseying even as he continued to hold her hand longer than what would have been deemed normal had anyone been nearby to see it.
“We have been looking forward to your return,” he said, finally, slowly, letting her go.
“And I have been eager to see how you are doing in spite of your injury,” she told him in a worried rush. “Do you know what happened?”
“Oh, it was nothing at all. A shot spooked my horse. Then it reared and I didn’t realize what happened next, but it turns out that I fell off not from the rearing, but from my saddle. I hardly even noticed. Just a series of accidents,” he replied nonchalantly.
“Strange…” she said.
“Indeed. But it is nothing for now. For now, you must join me inside. We have quite the evening planned ahead,” he told her with great joy, gesturing that she walked in the home ahead of him.
Delia diligently went, despite feeling that it was not her place to go before her employer.
“Now, I imagine that you wish to settle in, but please be quick about it. Dinner is nearly ready and I think you will rather enjoy it,” the Earl of Dulshire promised.
Delia nodded politely and made her way up the stairs to her room where the coachman was dropping her bags. She quickly changed, then made her way to Amy’s room to greet her friend.
“Oh, it is so good to see you again!” Amy squealed with delight as the two hugged.
“And you as well. I have missed you,” Delia replied.
Amy gestured for her to sit on the bed and be comfortable. Delia did at once and opened up to her with her questions.
“Please, tell me about the accident. I have so many concerns,” Delia confessed.
“I imagined you would. Have you the same suspicions which plagued me?” Amy asked.
“About his co-rider?” Delia hinted.
“Indeed. The Earl believed the horse was merely spooked. But the groom found that the Earl’s saddle was faulty, Delia. It was an old component. Not only that, but you know Hamish, the lad who helps the gardener?”
“Of course,” Delia replied.
“He said he saw the hunters. And they weren’t hunting. They were walking by, close to the house, and one let off a shot before they ran off. It was a series of the strangest occurrences and I can hardly think they were entirely accidental,” Amy said, the anxiety mirrored in her eyes.
“As if someone set it all up?” Delia asked.
“Precisely. I mean, can you imagine it? Our groom consistently checks the saddles to ensure they are in good condition. Then the one day the Baron is here, there is a faulty metal loop—which the groom said looked older than the rest of the parts and cannot remember having any pieces that old. And on the same day, two men happen to come by, take a shot in the air, and run off?” Amy listed.
“Oh Amy, I fear that there is truly something heinous at play,” Delia admitted, tears filling her eyes.
“Do not worry. All will be well. We will make sure the Earl is taken care of. We will do all we can. But I have to confess to you that the Baron is still here,” Amy told her.
Delia’s face showed her alarm. She had never imagined that the Baron would stay after behaving in such an apparently dishonorable manor. How could he live with himself when he was causing such horrible things to take place?
“Amy, we cannot allow for this to continue. How can we possibly be ride of this man?” she asked.
“I wish I knew. But if anyone has a chance of warning the Earl, it is you,” Amy replied.
Delia nodded.
“Now,” Amy said, “you had best get down to dinner. I do believe you are the guest of honor this evening.”
Delia was taken aback by this news, but knew that she really ought to head down. She wished she could speak alone with the Earl and tell him everything right away, but if the Baron was still present, there was little chance for that.
However, as Delia was making her way down the stairs, a shadow stood in the hallway outside of the library and Delia leapt.
Lord Woldorf gave her a sinister grin. Feeling a chill down her spine, Delia decided it was time she confronted him.
“I must speak with you, Lord Woldorf,” she addressed him.
“Oh, I should like that very much. Shall we?” he asked, gesturing into the library where they might have some privacy.
Delia didn’t like that he was so willing to have an exchange with her. She wondered if it meant that he had been anticipating, or even looking forward to a confrontation.
Nevertheless, she entered the library with the Baron who maintained his grin.
“Now, what is it that I can help you with, Miss Caulfield?” he asked.
“The accident. It was no accident, was it? Two men happened by near the home and shot into the air before running off. The Earl’s saddle, which has never had problems before, managed to break. And he was injured. How is it that all of these things could happen when you were with him?” she asked.
“Why-”
“I’ve not finished,” Delia interrupted, knowing that a woman of her station ought never to do such a thing when speaking with a Baron or any other man. She simply did not care. There was too much she needed to say and had no intention of allowing the Baron to get his own way with his words.
“I’ve heard rumors, my lord, about you. Rumors that the Earl is too kind to consider. Rumors that you once loved the late Countess and that it was her marriage to the Earl of Dulshire that stopped you from getting your way and being together. Is it true?” she asked.
The Baron’s face twitched. He had been amused at her accusations of him having wounded the Earl, but this, she saw clearly, was not to his liking. This was not a topic which he would have liked for her to have addressed.
“You ought to be careful of what you accuse a man,” he said.
“So it is not true?” she asked.
For a moment, he seemed tempted to deny it. But finally, the Baron stood tall and smirked at her.
“I never gave you enough credit. You are far cleverer than I ever would
have imagined. Well done, governess. Well done for figuring me out. You’ve got it. I am all these things and more,” he told her proudly.
“So you admit it? Shamelessly you confess that you made every intention to wound my lord, the Earl? That you wished to be with his wife?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“Of course I did. I hate him,” the Baron said through gritted teeth. “He should never be allowed to find happiness again. He deserves misery, not some fancy title and estate. Not even his affections for you, which will never come to pass as anything. He took from me everything I wanted. Why should I not seek revenge?” the Baron asked openly.
“Because he meant nothing to hurt you. Did he even know that you were in love with her?” Delia asked, her face horrified. It was a deeply personal question, once more something that no governess ought ever to have asked from a Baron. But she had broken inside.
“I care not whether he knew. He took her. And that is enough to hate him,” the Baron replied. With a wave of his hand he brushed her off.
“So you tried to injure him?” Delia began, a catch in her throat the only evidence of her emotion.
“Absolutely. As he injured me. That mechanism was older than anything. And my friends…the ‘hunters’…they did a fantastic job. All we needed was for the Earl of Dumbshire to fall a little differently and everything would have ended,” he spat, insulting the man as he confessed.
“You must leave. You must leave this house at once!” she ordered, overcome by her emotion and anger.
“Or what?” he asked laughingly, a devious expression across his face.
“I shall go to him immediately. I shall tell the Earl what it is that you’ve done,” she threatened, taking a daring step forward.
The Baron laughed aloud then, looking relaxed and satisfied with himself.
“I should like that very much. After all, you are a governess and I a Baron. My voice is louder than yours. Not only that but I have a secret of yours which I have discovered. Should you tell him my confession, I shall have to tell him that you made it up when I confronted you,” he said smugly.
Delia sensed a coldness creeping into her chest and felt her body stiffen.
“Whatever do you mean?” she inquired, fearing the worst.
“I spoke with a Mr. Finchley. You know the man I believe. Did you not work for him as governess to his two children?” the Baron asked, his grin still present on his face.
It was the worst. He had learned the truth about her previous position. The Baron knew her greatest shame and was planning to use it against her.
But Delia didn’t want him to realize how it affected her. She could not allow him to know how intimidated she was by his threat. If he knew, he would win this unfortunate battle of ill intentions and the Earl would never believe a word from her again.
“Do you mean that we are at an impasse?” she asked, head tall and shoulders straight.
“It would seem so,” the Baron answered.
Delia didn’t think she could hold to it. She needed the Earl to know the truth about his enemy. Even if it meant revealing her own history. And yet, she would have to figure out a way to tell him so that he knew she was not merely making up a lie against the Baron to justify herself.
“But I shall do as you request and leave you. I care not to dine with such…careless…governesses as yourself,” the Baron mocked, leaving her feeling crushed all over again.
Delia didn’t know what she could possibly do, but she was certain that she could not allow the Baron to wound her this way and be content to accept it.
Chapter 28
Having seen Miss Caulfield when she arrived, the Earl was still reeling from how his heart had been moved by her reappearance. She was still captivating him indescribably. It had been nearly impossible to allow her to depart from him when she left to settle in.
But she had returned once more and joined him in the dining room.
“Have a seat,” he instructed, seeing that she was still waiting. She must have been told that there would be a surprise for her. Indeed, she was looking all around and waiting for something to be revealed.
The Earl noted that she had changed into a new dress. Perhaps something from her sister? It was a deep red color, but not the sort that begged for attention. Rather it was the sort that subtly caused her features to come out more strongly.
Before long, the footmen were coming and filling their glasses. Soon after, soup was brought.
The dinner was going splendidly. The Earl had noticed a change in Miss Caulfield’s demeanor since she had come down, but he tried not to let it affect his spirits. Most likely she was simply overwhelmed.
However, watching Grace run into Miss Caulfield’s arms the moment she entered the room, had been a pleasure he could not express.
“I missed you, I missed you!” Grace exclaimed.
The Earl saw that Miss Caulfield had tears in her eyes. She scooped up the child and held her close. She then seated the child beside her and helped Grace with which spoon to use for her soup.
Seeing such joy in his daughter was something he had never anticipated before.
Throughout the dinner, more and more evidence came to light of how deeply Grace had been impacted by her governess. It was evident that the child knew the woman as more than just a teacher, but nearly as a mother.
This truly did more and more to warm the Earl’s heart towards the young woman. As he gazed on her face when she spoke with Grace, he sensed her love for his daughter. He sensed their closeness and the way that she cared as no other had. He saw that she was a woman made for children.
The Baron had departed quite suddenly, claiming that he had business to attend to that evening, but the Earl knew that Miss Caulfield would be glad for that. The two had not seemed fond of one another when he had spoken to each of them about the other, so it seemed best.
However, the moments which passed wherein Miss Caulfield would look up at him with her large green eyes and that bright smile, he sensed a hesitation. Almost as if she was looking around the room for something that might pounce upon her. A gentle paranoia, perhaps?
But nothing could be so terrible as to cause her such a struggle, could it? The Earl thought not. He considered how she might have felt a strain with his injury, but beyond that there could be nothing to create anxiety. She was back now and she was safe.
“Was the baby very small?” Grace asked, inquiringly, as Miss Caulfield told her about her nephew.
“Oh yes! Very small. He is not so big and grand as eight years old. But you were once as small as he,” Miss Caulfield replied.
Grace looked at her with curiosity. “Did you ever see me that small? Did you know me then?”
Miss Caulfield gave an awkward smile. “No, my dear. I fear I did not. But I have seen you as the strong and beautiful young woman that you are now,” she answered, the smile turning genuine.
Once more the Earl was struck, considering how Grace considered Miss Caulfield to be a great impact on her life.
The duck was brought out and Miss Caulfield’s eyes widened with delight. Maurice simply stared down his nose at her as he deposited the bird on the table.
But before long, it was forgotten and she was indulging in the food and Grace clapped her hands with excitement, causing her golden curls to bounce.
“Was the baby as big as the duck?” Grace continued in her questioning.
“Nowhere near!” Miss Caulfield exclaimed. “I think I might never have seen a full-grown man so large as this duck.”
Grace burst into fits of giggles at that and pointed out to Miss Caulfield that her own father was larger than the duck. The governess looked up at him for a moment under her thick lashes with a shy affection that warmed him.
Was it possible that she might feel for him what he had felt for her? Was it possible that Miss Caulfield had shared his interest? He felt the spark of hope.
He was older than she, to be sure. He could not say exactly how much, but she was cert
ainly no more than twenty, maybe twenty-one. Would she even care for a man possibly ten years her senior?
And yet, why not? It was common enough for young women to marry men older than themselves. But many of those men had not been married already. Many of those men had remained bachelors until such a union.
Yet Miss Caulfield was worth his time to learn of her interest. She was worth the confusion and challenge of getting to know. She was worth everything if she brought his daughter so much joy as she had. Indeed, Miss Caulfield would be of interest to him no matter how he fought against it.
