As the whole family assembled around the table, chamomile tea for all, Katherine began to tell the story from start to finish. What’s more, she even admitted to her love for the duke’s brother.
***
Lord Garret was beside himself, but he knew that he had to be firm and resolute. There was no turning back now. Katherine was gone and she could never return. His only consolation for his breaking heart was the fact that peace could now be restored to Bonhomie.
The duke did not return till later that afternoon. Lord Garret saw as his carriage pulled up in the driveway. In an act of symbolism, Lord Garret went into the study and sat behind the desk, attending to papers that pertained to the upkeep of the house. If his brother contested his decision, Lord Garret would not back down.
He could hear in the hallway as his brother entered the house and Nigel explained everything that had transpired. The duke seemed shocked, and instantly began to console the children. Lord Garret waited patiently; he knew that his brother would come to him. Sure enough, some minutes later, Lord Garret heard the door being flung open.
“What is going on?” The duke asked.
“It needed to be done,” Lord Garret replied.
“Why didn’t you wait for my return?”
“She needed to be banished from this house at once. The locket was discovered in her room. There was no time to delay.”
“I just can’t fathom how this is true,” the duke said, entering the room and seating himself in the chair where Lord Garret usually sat.
“I warned you from the beginning, brother,” Lord Garret said. “I sensed the girl could not be trusted and look what has happened!”
“This is no time to point fingers,” the duke said, his face distraught. “I wished to hear Katherine’s testimony before she was banished. I wanted to ask my own questions. This is still my bloody house, you know?”
“And this is my home as well. And my family. What Katherine did could not be tolerated.”
“I still find it hard to believe,” the duke added softly, looking out of the window. “She was so good with the children. She was good with everyone,” he said sombrely.
Pain constricted in Lord Garret’s chest once more. Although the reality was excruciating, it was still the reality nonetheless. “I blame myself.”
“What?” The duke asked.
“I blame myself, I said. I had my doubts but allowed Katherine to remain. Then she entirely blinded me, and perhaps on purpose.”
“In what way?”
“I told you of my affections, brother. Well, in my absence, these affections grew to love, I must admit. I perhaps lost my reason. I’m quite sure I lost my mind! I was a fool to not realise that all of this was blinding me to the truth. Had I not allowed my heart to be stolen, I think that I would have seen all of this more clearly and done something about it before it was too late.”
“Oh, Garret,” the duke said wistfully, looking down at the desk. “Sometimes we cannot choose what happens to our hearts.”
“I choose!” Lord Garret said adamantly. “I always choose. And on this occasion, I let go of myself. For once in my life, I let go of myself. Now look at the mess that it has made.”
“I knew that you were in love with her,” the duke said. “And although I knew that I could not prevent it, I did fear for what the consequences might be.”
“Clearly, it’s another firm lesson in the repercussions of love.”
There was silence after that as both brothers considered this. Lord Garret was quite convinced that he would never love again, lest he fall prey to deceit and heartbreak once more. It grieved him that he had not trusted his instincts sooner. He should have held back. He should have reasoned himself out of love, if that was even possible.
“I wish to speak to her family,” the duke said.
“Not now. It’s too soon. And what’s more, I’m not entirely unsure that it’s best to leave the matter alone completely. What’s done is done.”
“Katherine became the heart and soul of this house, and you say what’s done is done?”
“Yes, I do,” Lord Garret said resolutely.
“I’m going to go to speak with the staff,” the duke said, getting up from his seat. “The whole matter will be explained in a formal fashion, so that word does not spread in the wrong way.”
“Do what you think is best,” Lord Garret replied, watching as his brother left the room. He sat there for some time before realizing that he was in need of air. Getting up from the desk Lord Garret walked to the door, down the hall, and out into the garden. Although the beautiful sunlight was cascading down, Lord Garret could not feel its warmth. It was as though the world had become flat, in many respects. Walking through the garden, he was able to note what a fine job Hans had done with it.
“I think it’s cruel,” Lord Garret heard a voice say, and turned to find Hans standing there with a rake in his hands.
“Come again?”
“I said, I think it’s cruel. For her to be banished so abruptly.”
Lord Garret felt anger and indignation swelling in his chest once more. “You know nothing of this matter and therefore I will instruct you to hold your tongue.”
“I know Katherine. She has become my friend,” Hans said, not backing down. “She would never do such a thing.”
“You think because you fancy someone, young man,” Lord Garret said through his teeth, “that that means they’re automatically innocent?”
“I did more than fancy her. As I know that you did the same.”
Hans’ eyes were keen and clear, as though he could see right through Lord Garret.
“What in god’s name do you think you know?” Lord Garret asked, his eyes narrowing in fury.
“I know that Katherine loved you. And I know that that puzzled me. Now, it puzzles me more than ever before.”
Lord Garret did not look away from Hans’ glare. He was too angry to inform the young German that he had loved Katherine. Still did.
Chapter 21
Weeks had passed at Bonhomie and the rain would not stop, almost as a grim reminder of what they all had lost. Lord Garret was keeping to himself much and the children were bluer than ever. The duke felt there should be something he could do, but for the life of him, he didn’t know what that would be.
Katherine had not only brought joy to Bonhomie, she had also brought new hope and life. Although it was troubling for the duke to watch as his brother fell in love with the governess, the duke decided to step back and allow the events to play out as they would. Looking back on things, Lord Roland had to wonder whether or not that was the best decision. Had he intervened, might things have transpired differently?
You bloody idiot. That wouldn’t have changed a thing.
The fact of the matter was that Katherine, however beloved she was, had stolen from the family and that kind of behavior could not be tolerated. The duke could have used the whole incident as a lesson and brought Katherine back on, but what kind of lesson would that be for his children? Would they not then see that it was excusable to do such an egregious thing? There were still parts of the story that Lord Roland found troubling.
For one thing, if Katherine was in need of money, the duke was sure that she would have approached him and asked for it. He was paying her a rather generous sum, so even the idea seemed preposterous. What’s more, if she did need the money, then why didn’t Katherine try to sell the locket in order to obtain it? There was no sense to stealing something and then just keeping it in your room to gather dust.
But looking back on it, the timing made perfect sense. Constance had told the duke that she showed Katherine the locket for the first time and that was days before it disappeared. It had to have been true that Katherine took it. There was no other explanation. Still, something about it all seemed curious and not right. Perhaps, the duke would never know the truth of it.
Seeing as the rain continued to fall, the children could not go out into the garden nor could Hans go o
ut to tend to it. Their meals were quiet and sombre at best, and Lord Garret was a shadow of the man that had walked through that door weeks before. He kept in his room much, and often would not even join the family for tea or breakfast.
Lord Roland had done one thing in the matter which he felt was sound. Days before, he had written a letter to the Chance family, informing them of everything that had happened in a formal and respectful way. There was no reason for hard feelings. In fact, all that Katherine had left in her wake were pleasant memories.
In the aftermath of the scandal, the duke had given Sofia a raise in her pay. It only seemed fitting for a woman that had been at Bonhomie for so long and who had never asked for more. It brought a polite smile to Sofia’s face, but still her strange behavior had not improved and the lady always seemed on edge.
Needless to say, everyone at the estate was on edge. Nothing felt right. The spheres were out of order and the earth had shifted on its axis. That’s how it seemed to the duke, anyhow.
“Will this bloody rain never cease?” Renee said, slaving away over his stove. The duke was making his way to the kitchen to inspect that night’s meal.
“It is a wet autumn,” the duke said.
“All the more reason for fresh stew,” Renee replied.
Of all the people that had lost their spirits after Katherine’s absence, Renee had retained his. The chef seemed to be having a jolly good time preparing all the new, fresh vegetables from the garden.
“What is it tonight?”
“Squash stew with pheasant. Lavender cake for pudding.”
“That sounds marvelous.”
“I think that Lord Garret will be pleased.”
“I don’t know that anything pleases Lord Garret anymore,” the duke bemoaned.
“He is sad that the governess is gone,” Renee said, turning away from his stove. “So is the gardener. Come to think of it, so is the chef.”
“What needed to be done was done,” the duke said in amazement, wondering if Katherine’s departure was still the only topic that anyone could talk of.
“The children, their stomachs are so weak that I can only prepare them porridge for breakfast. That coming from two tykes that once ate strawberry flambé!”
“Their appetites will return. I’m almost done selecting the new governess.”
“This time,” Renee said, yielding his soup spoon, “make sure she is not so beautiful. It causes all manner of chaos!” Renee said with a laugh. Lord Roland was grateful for the man’s sense of humor in such trying times. And yes, the duke would make sure to find a governess that was not so outwardly beautiful. But he did desire to have someone with the same beautiful heart. “Someone who looks like the new dust maid,” Renee suggested.
“Oh, Renee,” the duke scolded.
“The new dust maid; that is what you want your governess to look like.”
It was unkind to make fun of Milly so. The dust maid was hired on because the last one fell ill, and Milly’s sole task at Bonhomie was to dust things. And as Renee had stated, she was not the most comely of young women. Constance had told the duke that Milly had “horse teeth,” for which he scolded her.
Seeing that dinner was looking well for that evening, the duke left the kitchen in order to attend to other duties. Passing Lord Garret in the hall, he saw that his brother’s hair was awry and there was a book in his hand. He looked like bloody Hamlet of Denmark.
***
“Good afternoon,” the duke said to Lord Garret as they passed one another.
“Indeed,” Lord Garret replied, unsure of what else to say. He was intent upon returning to his room and continuing with his book. Reading had been a great outlet in the past couple of weeks, but unfortunately, books only reminded Lord Garret of Katherine.
As they passed, Lord Garret could tell that his brother was looking at him intently, but he barely looked up to meet his gaze. In fact, Lord Garret found that he barely met anyone’s gaze anymore. He was too deep in his own thoughts. Since Katherine had left Bonhomie, Lord Garret was well aware of the change. Everything seemed dull and dark and the clouds never ceased. From time to time, Lord Garret considered returning to London, but that would be more of the same.
There was a brief moment when Lord Garret almost wrote Katherine a letter, but then he considered how utterly foolish that would be. He did what needed to be done and that was the one thought that helped with the pain of losing her. Walking up to his room, Lord Garret found Milly standing there with a fearful expression upon her face. Would the anxious glances of the Bonhomie staff never end?
“Your Grace,” Milly said with a nod of the head.
“Yes?”
“Something has happened.”
“What is it?” Lord Garret asked.
He watched as Milly rifled through her pocket to pull something out. When she held it up, he could see that it was that bloody locket. “I found this.”
“Not again!” Lord Garret exclaimed, frightening the dust maid even further.
“I can’t quite explain it. It was in a servant’s room, behind a piece of furniture.”
“Give me that,” Lord Garret said through his teeth, examining the jewelry to ensure that it was the same piece. Sure enough, it was. “I’m growing tired of all this.”
“I heard the story about the locket after my arrival here, and that’s why, when I found it, I became rather afraid.”
“Who is it this time?” Lord Garret asked.
“It was found in Sofia’s room.”
Lord Garret lifted his brow and his heart began to quicken. Something about this new discovery made sense, but Lord Garret couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Where is she now?” Lord Garret asked.
“I don’t know, M’Lord.”
Lord Garret walked back down the hall resolutely. Something was terribly amiss and his instincts told him that this latest discovery was tied into Katherine somehow. Searching the estate, Lord Garret finally found Sofia cleaning in Constance’s room.
“Go and fetch my brother,” Lord Garret said to Milly.
“Yes, Your Grace,” she said with a curtsy before running off. “What’s the meaning of this?” He said to Sofia. She practically leapt upon hearing his voice.
“Oh, Your Grace, you gave me such a fright!” Sofia said.
“Answer me. What is the meaning of this?” Lord Garret asked again, holding up the locket. Sofia’s face went incredibly pale.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Are you lying to my face?”
Within no time, Lord Garret heard another pair of boots enter the room and he knew that it was his brother.
“I . . . I don’t know,” Sofia repeated, stepping back.
“Brother, this was found in her room,” Lord Garret said, showing the duke the locket.
“How can that be?”
“Did you find the chest and take this out? We placed the locket that Katherine stole back it to the chest, which we hid within the estate,” Lord Garret explained, thinking it impossible that Sofia could have found it. But considering all that had transpired at Bonhomie, Lord Garret was beginning to think that anything was possible.
Risky Rules of a Passionate Governess Page 24
