When they arrived, they were greeted by an effusive hostess. Her mobcap of the morning had been replaced by another one that was made of a gauzy fabric and bore several ribbons of the same shade as her pale pink gown. She took Victoria’s hand in hers. “My dear Lady Victoria, I am very sorry for our lack of manners earlier in the day. We were never properly introduced. I am Mrs. Eliza Rochester. And this—” she indicated the portly gentleman at her side “—is my husband, Mr. Dexter Rochester. None of us understood who you were until you had gone and Harry told us your name. I must tell you how very honored we are to have the daughter of the duke of Carlisle as a guest in our home.”
Mr. Rochester’s contribution was an expansive “Quite right, my dear. Very pleased to have you.”
Victoria shook her head, very aware of the man at her side, wondering what he would be making of such an effusive greeting. Glancing toward him, she realized that she needn’t have worried. His intent gaze was trained on the small foyer behind their hostess. It, and the stairs that rose upward were empty.
Was he then so eager to see if his Nina was here? She forced herself to concentrate on making a reply to her hostess. “Oh, please, Mrs. Rochester, there is no need to apologize, and it is I who am honored to be here. Your first concern was, understandably, for the well-being of your brother’s son. I do hope all is well with him.”
“Oh, you are very gracious, my lady.” Eliza Rochester nodded her head, setting those ribbons astir. “Andrew is doing quite well, and none the worse for the tumble he took. The doctor says he will be fine once the megrim subsides.”
Jedidiah spoke up. “I am very happy to hear that.”
The woman turned to him, her eyes now growing damp with emotion. “And Mr. McBride. Henry has told us all.” She reached up to wipe a tear away with the edge of her lace handkerchief. “How can we ever repay you for risking your own life to save that of our dear Andrew? What would we do without him, especially with our dear Nina so unwell.”
At the mention of Nina, Victoria felt Jedidiah stiffen beside her. It was true, then. Andrew was Jedidiah’s son. Even though she’d known it must almost certainly be true, the realization pummeled her.
She could hear the barely suppressed emotion in Jedidiah’s voice when he spoke up beside her. “Is Ni—Mrs. Fairfield here tonight?”
Before anyone else could answer, Harry Fairfield’s enthusiastic reply erupted from the stairs above. “No, Mrs. Fairfield is not here.” He hurried down to them. “She is unable to travel at this time.” A hint of melancholy tinged his tone before he went on cheerily, “I have a splendid idea. Why don’t you both come out to the country and meet her? I know she will want to thank you personally for what you have done. Especially as she is from your own country, Mr. McBride.” He beamed at them like a benevolent uncle.
Jedidiah answered quietly, but with complete conviction. “We would be happy to accept.”
The house was only a day’s journey into the country. Under any other circumstances, Victoria would have enjoyed the drive. The warm weather had brought the daffodils and lilies from the ground, their faces turned with wanton abandon toward the sun. She felt that she had bloomed with just the same ebullience from Jedidiah’s lovemaking.
Her gaze went to him where he sat across from her and Betty, reading a copy of the Post. He seemed no more interested in the changes wrought in her than the sun did in the flowers.
Betty’s presence in the clarence was welcome. The maid was able to relieve some of the tension, without being aware of it, with her cheery commentary on the fineness of the weather and the unexpectedness of the trip to the country, which she was very happy about, being tired of London already.
Winter had remained in London, as Jedidiah had been adamant in stating that he would not require the man’s services. He’d added that they would not be there long.
She knew the American was telling her he would soon be on his way. She also knew he would not be leaving alone. Poor Squire Fairfield was riding in his own brougham just ahead of them, unaware that his life was about to be irreversibly altered.
It was with growing sympathy toward the squire that Victoria saw the end of their journey some hours later. The Fairfields’ home was charming, a comfortable-looking brick structure with a sharp roof, dormers, and cutout stone windows. The windows ran the length of the three stories, the top row being gabled and having sculpted white casements. Ivy clung to the walls, and decorative shrubbery graced the drive.
They were greeted by a smiling male servant in a black coat and trousers and a crisp white shirt. “Squire Fairfield.” He stepped out of the way for his master to enter the front door.
Andrew bounded in and began to remove his coat. “Has Mrs. Rhodes been baking?” “Victoria watched as he sniffed the air, which was filled with the scent of fresh-baked bread. The squire gave him a disapproving glance, and he subsided, though she could see that his natural ebullience had not been tamed, but only leashed, for he grinned sheepishly.
Obviously accustomed to his young master’s impetuous ways, the servant addressed the squire. “It is so good to see you home, sir.” His polite but curious gaze took in Victoria and Jedidiah as they followed Fairfield into the entrance hall.
Harry turned with a sweep of his hands. “As you see, we have guests. Lady Thorn and Mr. McBride are to be treated with the utmost courtesy and hospitality.”
The servant bowed. “Of course, my lord.” He then took his master’s hat and gloves, before doing the same to Jedidiah. Victoria unclasped the light, short cloak she wore over her traveling dress of burgundy-colored silk and handed it to him, as well.
“Would you be so good as to fetch Mrs. Rhodes?” the squire directed.
“Of course, sir.” He bowed and left them.
Andrew looked up at his father. “May I go and see Mother now?”
“Yes,” Henry told him. “I shall be up shortly myself.”
The boy bounded up the stairs that dominated the entrance hall just as a woman emerged from a door to their left. She came forward with a smile, her hands folded before her plump middle. “Sir, we are so glad to have you home.”
“And it is good to be here,” he replied, then turned to his visitors. “Mrs. Rhodes, these are my friends, Lady Victoria Thorn and her cousin, Mr. Jedidiah McBride. Would you be so good as to look after them for me? Please see that they have suitable accommodations, and anything else they might require.” He turned to them. “I hope you will not think me rude, but I ask you to excuse me for the moment, as I would like to see my wife. I must give her the medication I brought from the doctor in London.”
Victoria nodded. “Certainly. We do not think you in the least rude.”
Jedidiah bowed, his face expressionless. Victoria could only wonder at his thoughts as he said, “I agree. We will see you later, I’m sure.”
He smiled at them. “Oh, for tea, most definitely. Nina will want to meet you as soon as I tell her what you have done for us.”
To Jed, it seemed as if years had passed since they were left in the hall with the housekeeper. In fact, it had been only one hour. He stopped himself then, realizing it had in fact been many years that he had been waiting to face Nina ever since she had deserted him. Now the moment had come.
He squared his shoulders and followed the manservant down to the garden, where tea was being served. He had been through so many changes of emotion in the past two days that he was numb. Trying to imagine what it would be like to finally see Nina again was impossible.
At seventeen, he had felt he loved her more than life itself. Now he knew that had not been true. The feelings he had for her had been a mere shadow of what real love could be. This certainty came from an understanding that he could never really love anyone as shallow and unfaithful as she had been. He knew now that real love was more than physical. It grew out of true respect and admiration. How he had come to this understanding, he was not quite sure.
He was led out through a set of French doors to a flags
tone patio with two enormous oak trees growing on either side. These provided shade and a sense of intimacy. There was a lace-covered table with a silver tea service set up on it and several wicker chairs grouped around it. Only two faced him, and “Victoria was sitting in one of them. She rose as soon as she saw him, her expression unreadable.
Jed looked from her to Harry Fairfield as the other man also stood and came forward with his hand outstretched. “Ah, Mr. McBride, you’re here at last. Come and meet my sweet Nina.”
Suddenly feeling as if time had slowed to a crawl, Jed moved around the end of a rattan lounge that rested in the shade of one of the oak trees. And there she was, lying before him. His eyes took in every detail of her appearance, her too-white complexion, her sunken cheeks, her withered frame, no bigger than a child’s. Lord, he thought, she really is ill, and was surprised by the pang of sadness he felt.
He looked into her face, and was further surprised by what he saw. There was a defiant expression in her dark eyes as she faced him. It was as if she were waiting for him to denounce her to her husband and child, but refused to be cowed.
He thought of Andrew. If nothing else, he had learned the boy was close to both of his parents. How would Nina’s inevitable death affect him?
All these thoughts ran through his mind in the beat of a heart. He listened as Squire Fairfield introduced him. “My dear, this is the man I told you about. The one who was so brave in risking his own well-being to save Andrew from harm.”
She held out an incredibly small hand, her eyes having taken on a pleading expression. “You have no idea how very grateful I am to you Mr…. McBride. My family, my son, mean everything to me.”
He felt a stab of sympathy. As he took the cold fingers in his. He told himself not to let her get to him this way. She had duped him, cheated him, taken the one thing that might have made a difference in his life, that might have made him feel as if he had someone. Why should he care about her now?
But something held him back, kept him from denouncing her there and then. Yet he could not completely refrain from giving her an inkling of his pain. “Mrs. Fairfield, I have met your son. He’s quite a boy. Given an opportunity, any man would be proud to claim him for his own.”
She jerked her hand back, and at the same moment a violent fit of coughing seized her. The spasms racked her tooslender frame. With shaking hands, she pressed a handkerchief to her lips to try to muffle the sounds.
Harry Fairfield fell to his knees beside her. “Nina, my heart…” The agony on his face showed that he would have taken this upon himself to spare her. When finally the attack settled somewhat, Nina met her husband’s gaze with a pitying one of her own. Her free hand reached out to cup his cheek tenderly. “Oh, Harry, what a trial I am to you.”
Jed found himself unable to keep watching them. He had not expected to see such deep and moving affection between them. In his memory, Nina was a cruel and selfish being who would do whatever she must to gain her own ends. This new image of her did not add up with the one he ad held for so long.
He did not know he was seeking Victoria until his eyes found her. She was looking from him to the Fairfields with compassion and something else he could only have described as regret.
At that moment, Harry Fairfield drew his attention by saying, “I am going to take my wife up to her room now. I think she needs to have some more of the medication the doctor sent. It will soon have her feeling stronger.” The desperation in his voice was obvious, in spite of his cheery words.
Jed watched as he lifted Nina easily into his arms and carried her into the house. The situation was not the way he had thought it would be. Nina seemed neither unloving nor cruel. Andrew was completely happy and well adjusted, his concern for his mother’s health aside. It appeared that Harry Fairfield had been as good a father as any boy could ask for.
He wanted to turn to Victoria, to take her into his arms and relieve his frustration and sadness in her warmth. He knew he could not do that.
With an unknowingly wretched groan, Jed turned and made his way across the patio to the garden. He had to be alone to think.
Victoria watched Jedidiah leave with a feeling of utter despair. It was obvious from his reaction to seeing Nina again that his feelings for her were not as dead as he had believed.
When Victoria came down to tea, she’d been shocked to see Nina Fairfield. That she’d once been a beautiful woman was still apparent in the delicate features of her face and the doelike quality of her dark brown eyes. Now her face was too thin and shadows hollowed her eyes and cheeks. Her amazingly lustrous dark hair, which had been carefully arranged in the latest style, seemed too heavy for her slender neck to support.
Victoria had seen the agony and indecision on Jedidiah’s face as he looked at his lost love. Did he see her as she had been when they were young? There had been such bitterness in his voice as he spoke of Andrew. Was he thinking of all the things he had missed, of how his life would have been if Nina had stayed with him? Was he wishing they could share what little time she might have left?
Victoria could only believe he was. Obviously finding out that Nina was so ill had completely destroyed any hope Jedidiah might have harbored that they could be together. That did not mean he didn’t wish things were different.
The thought was more painful than Victoria would have imagined.
Jed wandered across the grounds, uncaring of where he was going. Thus it came as a surprise to him when he heard someone call out his name. “Mr. McBride.”
He turned and saw young Andrew racing across the grass. The sun shone on his blond hair, and he wiped a golden lock from his eyes as he came to an abrupt halt in front of Jed. He smiled a friendly, curious sort of a smile. “Mr. McBride, I thought you would be having tea with Father and Mother.”
Jed looked at the boy, took in his long, strong limbs, his relaxed, confident stance, his direct gaze, and was swept by an overwhelming sense of pride. He had fathered this human being, this fine male specimen. In the most fundamental way, they belonged to each other.
He forced himself to act casually, for he did not want to bring the truth out until he had talked to Nina. Why this was so, he wasn’t sure. “Your mother was not feeling well.”
Andrew’s expression darkened with sadness for a moment. “She has not been well of late. Father is quite worried, as am I.”
“I’m sure you are.” Jed spoke gently, in view of Andrew’s concern.
With the resilience of the young, Andrew changed the subject. “I usually take tea with them. But Mother thought it might be more restful for you and Lady Victoria to have it without me.” He grinned with devilish amusement.
Jed felt himself smile in return. He couldn’t help it. The boy had an infectious sort of a temperament. “I would not have been bothered by you,” he said honestly.
Andrew’s grin widened. “It’s quite all right. I have been to the stables to see my horse, Shadow. The trainer is working with him.”
“How is he doing?” Jed hoped Andrew was not trying to get back on the animal before it was truly ready.
The boy scowled now. “I think he’s doing very well indeed. I wanted to ride him again now, but Father will not hear of it. He says he’ll be sold if I even so much as mention it again, until he says it’s safe.”
Good for him, Jed thought. It seemed as if Harry Fairfield, though extremely loving, was not overly indulgent. The boy was certainly a credit to him. But Jed did not want to think about that. He would have been a good father, if given the chance.
Again Andrew changed the subject. “Father says you are a sea captain.” His sea-green eyes glowed with admiration. “How exciting that must be, to sail the seven seas, fighting pirates.” Andrew waved an imaginary cutlass.
Jed had to look down for a moment to keep the boy from seeing the amusement this brought. “There isn’t much pirating going on these days. It’s really much more routine than that. Many of the ships are steam-powered now, and don’t even have to wait f
or the wind to take them.”
“Is your ship steam-powered?”
Jed shook his head. “No, steam hasn’t managed to come up to the speed of the fastest wind vessels yet.”
Those eyes locked with Jed’s. “Is yours one of the fastest?”
Jed shrugged, but his pride was evident in his voice. “You could say that. My ship, the Summerwind, has won its share of races.”
Andrew’s expression became more openly admiring, and Jed had to fight down the urge to reach out to him, to say he was his father. He pushed the inclination aside. His gaze was assessing as he asked, “Would you like to go to sea?”
Andrew looked out across the greensward, his gaze focused on high seas and wind-filled sails that only he could see. “Would I like to go to sea?” Then he sighed and turned back to Jed. “No, my mother is ill, and I would not want to leave her.”
Jed’s heart turned over in his breast. God, what a fine, loyal young man he was. He looked into those eyes the same color as his own and marveled that any being could be so much like himself. And yet so different. Where Jed knew he was detached and watchful, Andrew was open and warm, inquisitive and spontaneous. Nina, as wrong as she had been to keep Andrew from him, had given the boy a good life.
That didn’t mean she should get away with what she had done. Didn’t he have a right to know his own child, his flesh and blood? Didn’t Andrew have a right to know his own true father?
Jed knew he had to talk to Nina. He had the feeling that only then would he be able to come to grips with the confusion that held him hostage.
At dinner that evening, Victoria addressed Squire Fairfield directly, being careful not to look at Jedidiah, who sat across the table from her. “I find that I have business to attend in London, sir. I hope you will not think me rude if I make my departure in the morning.”
Lady Thorn Page 23
