Page 63 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
A stormy sky would be the most dramatic background, so she used shades of gray, blue, and white to begin creating the impression of clouds and shadows near the top of the canvas.
She’d asked Samuel to pass her more brown so she could begin on the trees and shrubs when she noticed a carriage coming down the drive.
Curious, she watched as it stopped in front of the house and a warmly dressed, relatively unassuming couple disembarked.
Samuel stiffened.
“Who is that?” she asked him.
He pursed his lips and looked as if he might consider not replying. After a long moment, he said, “Mr. and Mrs. Norman, my lady. The late viscountess’s parents.”
“Oh.” What on earth were they here for? Perhaps to congratulate them on their nuptials? That seemed an odd thing to do, in the circumstances.
“His lordship won’t be happy to see them,” Samuel muttered.
Stranger and stranger.
“Then I shall greet them first,” she said, setting her paintbrush down and removing the smock she’d worn to protect her dress. She wiped her hands on a cloth but they remained speckled with paint. “Margaret, fetch my gloves, please. Bring them to the main receiving room.”
As Margaret hastened to comply, Kate hurried down the corridor and met Mr. Giles in the foyer.
“Please have our guests meet me in the main receiving room,” she said, noticing that Samuel was following her like a shadow. “And would you ask for a tray of tea and biscuits to be brought through?”
Mr. Giles bowed. “Of course, my lady.”
Kate went directly to the receiving room, where Margaret waited. She took her gloves from the maid, put them on, andpatted her hair to check that everything was in place, then she sat on a chaise and waited.
When Mr. and Mrs. Norman entered, they stopped and stared momentarily, as if surprised to be faced with Kate rather than Theodore. Mrs. Norman was thin, her lips pinched into a disapproving line and her gray-and-brown hair pulled back so tightly, her features looked gaunt. Mr. Norman, on the other hand, was slightly plump, with thinning gray hair in tight curls.
“Welcome,” Kate said, rising to greet them.
“You must be the new viscountess,” the woman declared, her voice as sharp as her pointed nose.
“I am. I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.” She knew who they were, of course, but didn’t like Mrs. Norman’s disrespectful tone.
The woman’s nostrils flared. “We are Mrs. and Mr. Norman. The late viscountess’s parents.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” She couldn’t think of what else to say. Hopefully it would soon become apparent why they had come to call. Considering the poor weather, it wasn’t an easy effort, even if they lived in the nearby town of South Wye.
She smoothed the front of her dress, wishing she were in better repair when meeting Mr. and Mrs. Norman for the first time. What must they think of her?
“Likewise.” Mrs. Norman’s tone belied that.
“I only arrived at Blackwell Hall yesterday, but it’s already apparent that your daughter was adored by all who reside here,” she said, pinching the skin between her thumb and forefinger in an effort not to fidget with her skirt.
Mrs. Norman snorted. “That can hardly be the case.”
Kate cocked her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.” Mr. Norman’s voice was softer than his wife’s, and something about it made one want to lean closer and confess all of their sins. She could immediately tell whyhe was a vicar. “Lord Blackwell was responsible for Elizabeth’s death. Even if you believe that there was an accident, he was driving the carriage, which seems awfully suspicious. Why him and not a driver? Something nefarious was going on.”
A breeze stirred Kate’s hair, and she brushed it behind her ear, at a loss as to how to respond. From what Theodore had said, he’d cared greatly for his wife. He’d married her despite the fact that his parents would have preferred a different match.If he had been driving the carriage, it was strange, but not completely unheard of. She highly doubted he had anything to do with Elizabeth’s death. Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Norman were still blinded by grief even years later.
“And even if we look beyond that, the only reason they were out in that storm was because of the pressure she was under to conceive. They were visiting the doctor on just such a matter,” he continued. “A friend of mine saw them arguing outside the establishment following their appointment.”
Ah, that made more sense. Even if they didn’t believe Theo murdered Elizabeth, they still felt that his choices had killed her. She didn’t share their view, but she understood why they might need someone to blame. That said, she wouldn’t allow them to speak ill of her husband while in her presence.
“No one here has talked about the late Lady Blackwell with anything other than the warmest of regard,” she said, grateful that her voice didn’t wobble. “The viscount included. I do not believe him to be responsible for her death.”
