Page 30 of The Lord Next Door
The Shelby gardens were not as extensive as those on the Banstead property, but they were as familiar as Victoria’s own bedroom. She looked out over the grounds, letting bittersweet memories wash over her. She deliberately didn’t look at the stables in the rear of the gardens. Her father had died there, and she needed no reminder of that.
Holding hands like children, the three of them wandered into the remotest corner of the garden, which had become even more overgrown in the last year without a gardener to tame it. They bent low under the hanging branches of the willow tree and found the little pond. No one had kept the fish stocked, no one had cleaned the creeping greenery that had spread across the water’s surface, but there was still something magical about the place. With a high wall on one side, and trees and shrubbery everywhere else, the pond had made them feel that they were in the country, all alone. Roses of varying hues still grew in abundance, now wilder and more entangled than ever.
They’d told each other their deepest secrets here, had come out at night to escape the heat of midsummer, had hidden here when their father was angry with them. And they had always considered it so romantic, because their father had proposed to their mother right here, sitting on this very bench.
But now as an adult, Victoria saw her parents’ marriage in the cold light of reality. And it had not been made of romance. Her own marriage was only a day old, and already it seemed to be following the pattern laid down by her own parents. She was still dwelling on the sadness of that when Meriel tugged on her hand.
“Is everything all right between you and Lord Thurlow?” her sister asked.
Victoria smiled. “Of course. Whyever would you ask such a thing?”
Louisa took her other hand. “Did everything…” Her voice died away, and she looked at Meriel with appeal.
“What she’s trying to say,” Meriel said forthrightly, “is was your wedding night…acceptable?”
Victoria sighed. She had known before coming here that her sisters would inquire. For the first time, Victoria felt that there were things she shouldn’t confide in her sisters. The fact that Lord Thurlow had a mistress was something to be worked out between them privately. And she didn’t want her sisters to worry more than they already were. She would discuss the wedding bargain, because it would make them go back to their lives feeling better about her situation.
“The wedding night was fine,” Victoria said. “I asked Lord Thurlow for more time to get to know him. He agreed.”
Louisa drew her breath in sharply. “You mean he didn’t—you both didn’t—”
“That’s what she means,” Meriel interrupted. “Not quite a true wife yet. Why would a man agree to such a thing?”
Louisa took Victoria’s hand. “Meriel, I’ve never known you to be so cynical. Victoria’s husband is treating her with kindness. What has happened to you since you left us?”
Meriel shook her head, looking toward the pond with a distracted expression. “You’re right, I’m sorry. It is easier to see the worst in people, I guess.”
Victoria’s worry made her soften her voice. “Is it so terrible being a governess at the Ramsgate estate, Meriel?”
“No, no, really, it is tolerable. I am just not used to feeling so…helpless, so inconsequential.”
“It is not inconsequential to see to the education of a young boy,” Louisa said. “Your calling is a noble one.”
Meriel looked at her in shock, then began to laugh. “Oh, Louisa, how I’ve missed your optimism. You’re right, I have to remember who I’m really helping.” She turned to Victoria and took both her hands. “Forgive my pessimism, my dear. Your husband is being kind to you, which I’m certain is quite rare. He sounds like an honorable man.”
~oOo~
David entered the dining room for dinner and found his wife waiting for him. She nodded graciously and he gave her a short bow. Because of her—and her housekeeper—not a single complaint had greeted him when he’d walked through the front door. It was a refreshing, welcome change. One day married, and already things were running smoothly.
Things within the household anyway, he thought with a sigh.
As he seated himself at the head of the table, he found himself studying her now that she was wearing something other than black. Though he would have thought that color improved her complexion, she seemed pale. Had she already had an encounter with his father?
The ever-present notebook remained near her right hand, and he almost wanted to know why she felt it necessary to have it with her everywhere. But that personal a question could lead down paths he didn’t want to go.
Victoria thanked the footman serving them, and the servant retreated to stand near the wall.
“That is a newly purchased gown you’re wearing,” David said.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Surely you didn’t have enough time to purchase a satisfactory amount of gowns.”
Her polite expression faded. A compliment would have been the wiser choice.
“Not that it isn’t a lovely gown on you, Victoria,” he said.
“Thank you, my lord.”
