Ernest chuckled. “Ah, that is understandable, given the village of West Wellow being located there. You are not the first to have similar confusion. Our estate in Wales is called Nefoedd. It means heaven, as in, to describe a state of bliss, in Welsh.”
“NEH-foy-thuh,” she attempted to pronounce the word as he had. Welsh was not an easy language and he was impressed by her acumen.
“Yes, precisely. It is spelled N-e-f-o-e-d-d, but the two letter d’s are pronounced as a th sound.”
“What a beautiful name.”
“Yes, quite.” They held each other’s eyes for a moment until the Dowager Marchioness stirred uncomfortably in her seat, breaking the trance.
Ernest looked to Diana in apology, expecting to see a disapproving look on her face after everything that she had shared with him about her sister’s grief, but instead he found a face that was alight with joy at the prospect of a possible match between them. She nodded her head to him in silent approval and he felt the tension in his muscles ease somewhat.
He still felt guilty for the feelings that he was having, not wishing to diminish his departed wife’s memory, but he could not have stopped his emotional and physical response to the Lady Georgette even if he had been forced to under duress.
This trip may prove to be far more than I could ever have imagined. Here I am attempting to remove Diana from a difficult, possibly scandalous, situation with Gabriel and I find myself being compromised in a similar fashion, though it would be perceived as an appropriate match by society at large, something that Diana and Gabriel cannot presently enjoy.
Ernest felt a pang of guilt at the thought.
His life has never been a fair one and if I were a braver man, I would do something about it.
Ernest looked at his mother and met the steely coldness of her eyes.
If I were a braver man…
Chapter 24
Diana smiled knowingly as she watched Ernest and Georgette make eye contact with one another. It was clear that they found each other interesting and attractive in nearly equal measure. She had not seen such a response in either of them before and she found it to be encouraging. If she could somehow manage to bring a little bit of joy back into their lives, then her time at Westwallow would not have been wasted and her heartbreak would not have been all for naught.
Perhaps one of the Bexley sisters can come away from this experience with a fuller heart than when we left.
The sisters sat holding hands and chatting about a wide variety of things, from Diana’s lessons to the affairs of Kilgrave Manor. Diana held back, not revealing the entire truth about her time at Westwallow Manor, as she did not wish to upset the Dowager Marchioness or make her aware of Diana and Gabriel’s feelings for one another. There would be time enough for such discussions once they had arrived at Nefoedd.
I wonder what sort of place it is, to be named Heaven. It must be very beautiful.
Diana thought about the Dowager Marchioness’ unconcealed dislike for the place and wondered what could possibly have been the cause of her negative feelings.
Perhaps the estate is named Heaven as a matter of jest. Perhaps it is terrible, and the name is a play of irony.
Diana shook her head at this, as she could not imagine the Marquess having a fondness for any terrible place.
Time will reveal its secrets, I suppose.
They rode until they could ride no more and stopped for the night at a travelers’ inn along the roadway. Diana and Georgette had never stayed there before, but the Marquess and his mother had, so were known to the innkeeper and treated with great care and respect. They were given the best rooms in the house, and food and ale were swiftly brought up to them so that they might eat and rest in the peace and privacy of their rooms.
Georgette and Diana were to share a room with one bed, while Frances slept on the floor in front of the hearth to act as a lady’s maid for both girls. The Dowager Marchioness had her own room and disappeared into it rather quickly, pleading a headache. The Marquess had his own room as well, while the driver slept in the stables with the horses to ensure that all was well.
After seeing the ladies to their rooms, Ernest went down to the tavern to drink and speak with the local clientele as men were wont to do, while the ladies were left to rest, away from prying eyes. Diana was grateful for the private time to speak with Georgette more freely. Curling up on the bed, they set the food and drink tray between them and ate and talked.
“So, what has truly happened since we last spoke?” Georgette asked before Diana had even had time to formulate where to begin. “I can see it written upon your face. Something has happened during your time at Westwallow Manor that has changed you and I do not believe it to be Her Ladyship’s lessons in etiquette and form.”
“I have fallen in love,” Diana admitted, feeling that honesty was the best way to move forward. They had told each other everything from the time that they were quite small, and she saw no reason to change that fact now, when she needed her sister more than ever before.
“With the Marquess?” Georgette asked, her face falling at the thought that Diana might be in love with the man that she herself was so drawn to.
“No,” Diana answered trying to hold back the smile of triumph she felt at her sister’s reaction to the idea.
I knew that they would help each other.
“Then with who? Is it the Earl of Appley? It would be most convenient for Father if it were.”
“No, it is not the Earl, either.” Taking a deep breath, Diana steeled herself to tell the truth. “I am in love with a stable hand at Westwallow named Gabriel Rowen.”
“A stable hand?” Georgette asked indignantly. “Diana, what are you thinking? Have you taken leave of your senses?”
“It is possible, yes,” Diana nodded in agreement, feeling quite miserable about it.
“Father and Mother will never allow it.”
“I know.”
“And where is this Gabriel now?”
“He remains at Westwallow.”
“I take it that the Marquess and the Dowager Marchioness do not know of this or he would have been dismissed from their service by now.”
Diana shook her head. “The Marquess knows that we have feelings for one another, but the Dowager Marchioness does not. It is the reason that we are taking this trip to Wales, to put some distance between Gabriel and I. The Marquess planned a dance for Gabriel to find a suitable bride and has hopes that the blacksmith’s daughter will find favor if I am away, out of sight. The Earl of Appley was supposed to join us on this trip so that he might continue to pursue his courtship of me but was called away at the last moment.”
“Will he be rejoining you later on?”
“I do not believe so, as it sounded quite urgent.”
“So, you are left with no suitor and a heart filled with pain and regret.”
“That is the sum of it, yes.”
“I see. Well, it is a good thing that I am here now, for I will keep you on the straight path. I am all for love, as you know, but not a love that will bring about the ruin of our family.”
“I know. It is why I have not gone away with him to Gretna Green.”
“Did he ask you to do such a thing?” Georgette asked, in horror at the notion.
“No,” Diana shook her head. “He would never ask such a thing of me. The idea was mine and mine alone. He is an honorable man.”
“But not honorable enough to keep his feelings to himself, or had the good sense not to feel anything at all?”
“One cannot help who one loves. You know that better than anyone. You were simply blessed to fall in love with a man of standing.” The moment that Diana mentioned her sister’s deceased fiancé she instantly regretted it.
“But cursed with a lack of time.” Georgette’s tone had suddenly lost all color and life, her face paling once more at the thought of her lost love.
“I am sorry, Georgette. I should not have been so foolish as to speak without guarding
my tongue. I am so very sorry.”
“You speak the truth, no matter how painful the memory of it might be. I am grateful for the time that I did have with him, but that time is gone, and we must now look to the future.”
“I am glad to hear that you feel that you have one to look to.”
“I owe you my life,” Georgette admitted, taking Diana’s hands in her own. “Had you not stopped me from jumping off of that cliff, I would have made the worst mistake of my entire life. Thanks to you, I still have a life to make mistakes with.” She smiled gently in gratitude, though the sorrow was still there in the depths of her eyes. “And to keep you from making a terrible mistake of your own.”
“I believe in love, Georgette. I believe in marrying for love and nothing less. You taught me that. Am I now to surrender such an ideal and settle for someone that I do not love, all for the sake of social standing?”
“I am afraid so, my darling sister. I know how rare and precious such a thing as love is, but you cannot under any circumstances wed a stable hand. There is nothing for it but to find you a more suitable mate, if not the Earl of Appley, then someone else.”
“The Earl of Appley is a good man, better than most in many regards, but he is not Gabriel.”
“No one will be, my dear. You must move past this and I cannot believe that I am saying this, but Father is right. The sooner that we have you wed, the better for everyone involved.”
“I had hoped that you would understand,” Diana murmured, crestfallen.
“I do understand. That is why I know just how dangerous such a love can be. Had my own love not been a nobleman and had only been a soldier, I know without a doubt that I would have surrendered all good sense and run away to be with him. When he died, I would have been left without family or friend to aid me in my time of need. I will not have the same for you.”
“You would not have been alone. You would have had me. Mother and Father would have come around eventually.”
“No, they would not have, and you would not have been allowed to associate with me. I am blessed beyond belief that such a fate was not mine to be had, but if you continue in your current course of pursuing love with this pauper of a man, then it will most assuredly be your fate.”
“He has a family. I would not be alone.”
“Do you believe for one moment that if you run away with this man, this stable hand, that the Dowager Marchioness or the Marquess will allow the Rowan family to stay on at Westwallow? They would be forced to dismiss them all because of your own selfish actions. The rules of propriety would dictate it. Not only would our family become societal lepers, but so would the people of Westwallow for being connected with the entire sordid matter.”
“The Marquess would never be so cruel.”
“He would not have a choice.”
Diana arose from the bed in anger and walked over to the fireplace to gaze into the flames.
“This is wrong,” she murmured into the heated air.
“I would agree, but it is the realities of life, and as such we must make allowances.”
“How can you, of all people, say such a thing? How can you, of all people, believe such a thing? You have fought for the argument of love more fiercely than anyone I have ever known, even to the point that it was quite Shakespearean.”
“And where did such passion lead me? Where did it lead you? It led us both to the most excruciatingly exquisite pain known to mankind. It led to heartbreak. That is all that it will ever lead to for either of us if you continue on this course. When it comes to love, neither of us have any fortune at all.”
Diana turned around at this and met her sister’s eyes with a more compassionate light.
“And what of the Marquess? I saw the way that you were both looking at each other.”
“That is another story entirely. The Marquess is an appropriate match. Gabriel Rowan is not.”
“I am aware that is the belief of our society, but it is not mine.”
“Whether it is yours or not is insignificant. Father will never allow it and if you love our family at all, you will not be so foolish as to elope.”
“You know that I love our family.”
“Then it is settled. You will never see this man again. When we are finished in Wales, you will return home with me and never visit Westwallow again until you yourself or the stable hand are wed. Are we in agreement?”
Diana wished to shout out that she did not agree, that she did not agree at all, but she knew logically that her sister was right whether her heart wished to admit it or not. The arrangement was what was necessary to protect them both and their families.
“I do not know if I can keep such a promise.”
“You have no choice.”
Chapter 25
When they arrived at Nefoedd, Diana and Georgette went their separate ways to their own respective bedchambers. Frances would serve as lady’s made to them both during the duration of their stay. Georgette, as the eldest, would be waited upon first, then Diana as the youngest. Diana entered her room alone without her trusted friend and companion for the first time since leaving Kilgrave for Westwallow. It was a lonely feeling after the argument Diana and Georgette had at the inn the night before. They had not spoken of anything of worth since.
A maid entered behind her, pulling her out of her melancholic reverie. “I have come to light the fire for you, My Lady,” the young woman informed her, curtsying with her eyes modestly averted toward the floor.
“Thank you…” She had no notion of the woman’s name.
“Sarah, My Lady. Sarah Perkins is the name.” She curtsied again in answer.
“Thank you, Sarah.” Diana nodded her consent for the maid to proceed.
The girl sounded English and not Welsh, as so many of the other staff had upon their arrival, but Diana did not recognize her from Westwallow.
She must have been hired then brought here. I wonder if she knows Gabriel.
Diana had once been anxious to learn more about the place of Gabriel’s birth. Now, after her argument with her sister, she knew that she had to leave such fanciful notions behind her. Still, her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself asking more about the girl.
“Where are you from, Sarah?”
The girl looked up startled, then smiled. “England, My Lady. Westwallow, to be exact. I used to travel with the family back and forth, but now I stay here with my brother, David. You met him when you arrived as he was the one holding the horses.”
Diana nodded. “Do you like it here?”
“Oh, yes, My Lady. I far prefer it to Westwallow.” The girl ducked her head quickly as if she had unintentionally said too much.
“Your secret is safe with me.” Diana smiled kindly. “Do you mind if I ask why you prefer it here?”
The girl began to look quite frightened and started hopping from one foot to the other much like a child who needed to use a chamber pot. “Begging your pardon, My Lady, but I would rather not say.”
“As you wish.” Diana released her from the conversation so that she might return to her work, but she could not help wondering why the girl was so frightened of a simple question. She decided that she would have Frances make some inquiries on her behalf. No one should be that frightened without good reason and it was rather disconcerting to see it in someone so young.
Thus far, the Welsh manor house had seemed much as any other found on a country estate and the girl had said that she was happy there, so it was most likely not anything that was on the estate. She had grown frightened when being asked why she had left Westwallow, so it had to be something pertaining to the English estate and its people.
Was it something that she herself has done or something that was done to her or neither?
Diana shook her head. She was focusing too much attention on the matter of the maid in an effort to not think about what was truly bothering her. Her sister’s words had been harsher than expected. She knew to anticipate far worse from her parents an
d society at large, but from her own sister, she had expected a bit more understanding. Sighing, Diana inspected her room and found a place for her belongings until Frances had time to deal with them appropriately. She would have done it herself, but Frances would have been greatly displeased if she were to try.
Diana walked over to the window and peered out at the gardens below. They were a bit less formal here than they were at Westwallow. Diana liked the wilder feel of it and looked forward to spending time exploring its secrets. The sight of it soothed her somewhat, but not completely. Her heart still felt as if a piece of it had been ripped off and thrown to the winds. She was beginning to fear that it would always be so.
The Enigmatic Lady in the Ivory Tower Page 16
