Page 2 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
Louisa regretted her transparent emotions. She wanted them both to enjoy their happiness, not worry about her. “Lady Wade—the dowager viscountess—has offered me the position of her companion. It seems that she is good friends with Lady Ralston, my previous employer, who apparently gave me high praise.”
“Surely that’s not surprising,” Meriel said.
“You are so good with people,” Victoria added.
Louisa smiled distractedly. “But I left Lady Ralston so abruptly.”
Victoria took her hand. “Surely she understood that once I married, you had a secure home and no longer needed employment.”
“You know that wasn’t why I left, or I’d have been here much sooner.”
Meriel frowned. “Then tell us why, Lou. You actually sound like you’re considering becoming a companion again when you don’t need to. Enough with the secrets.”
“I didn’t mean to keep secret the reason I left Lady Ralston. It was just too…painful to discuss.”
They sat on either side of her, holding her hands to give her support. They’d both gone through so much themselves these last months, from meeting their future husbands to finding love. Louisa hadn’t wanted to burden them. But confiding in her sisters had always soothed her soul.
Meriel suddenly stood up. “There’s only one place we can discuss secrets. Willow Pond.”
Louisa chuckled and made a show of reluctance as they pulled her to her feet. “Have you forgotten that our cousin owns our old town house now? And he doesn’t like us dropping by.”
“He won’t even know we’re there,” Victoria said, marching toward the door. “I know where the old gate is in the garden wall. David very sweetly had the lock repaired so that I could visit the pond when I needed to think.”
“You mean he had the lock removed,” Louisa said dryly. “I can’t believe your husband condones trespassing.” But she didn’t continue to protest. She was reminded too dearly of her childhood, when she and her sisters used to retreat to Willow Pond whenever their parents argued.
Louisa followed her sisters out into the elaborate garden of Banstead House. In the silence, their footsteps crunched on the gravel path. No one spoke, as if they fancied themselves invisible. And then the spell was broken by a clatter of carriage wheels out on the street.
The gate, partially hidden by a fall of ivy, opened soundlessly, and Victoria gave a triumphant grin over her shoulder. When the three of them stood side by side on their cousin’s property, their smiles faded and they watched the house carefully for signs of movement. Every window remained undisturbed, so they snuck down a path into the remotest corner of the garden, where the wall formed a corner and shrubbery hid them. Over it all was an ancient drooping willow tree, beneath whose draping branches they passed. Their bench was still there, standing guard over the pond, which was covered in a layer of stagnant green growth.
Meriel used the edge of her cloak to wipe the dirt from the bench, and they all sat down, shoulder to shoulder.
Meriel looked at Louisa. “Do you feel safe enough now to tell us what really happened when you were Lady Ralston’s companion?”
Louisa nodded, but her hesitation must have been evident, because both her sisters took her hands in theirs and offered encouragement with their worried expressions.
“I liked working for her,” Louisa began hesitantly. “It felt good to be needed, since she was confined to her sickbed and neglected by her family. I wrote letters for her, read to her, even sang when she simply wanted something soothing to drift off to.”
“You once said she just needed you to listen to her talk,” Victoria said, smiling.
“Yes, that’s true, but helping her gave me true joy. And then I assisted her granddaughter, who was frightened of her upcoming Season. I never truly realized that some girls don’t know how to behave amongst Society, and are afraid to talk to people.”
“Now, Lou,” Victoria began.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Louisa interrupted, “that I only had to look to you to see those traits. But I saw you as a woman who loved her music more than anything else, not someone ill-at-ease among people.”
“Then I hid it well,” Victoria said dryly.
“Or maybe back then I only understood myself, and couldn’t see anyone else’s fears.”
“Why are you talking like this?” Meriel demanded. “You are the most sympathetic, compassionate woman I know.”
In the dark of Louisa’s mind, she saw an image of her father, who’d always confided in her, had trusted her sympathy. And she hadn’t seen the truth until it was too late.
Louisa sighed and pushed the terrible memories away. “But not compassionate enough to remain with Lady Ralston. You see, I did not know how to deal with the men of her family.”
“You, not deal with men?” Meriel said, clearly baffled. “But men liked you above all of us. You can ride with the best of them, and if Father would have given his permission, you’d probably have had your own pack of hounds for the hunt.”
Louisa gave a bitter smile. “But that was when I was respectable. I had heard whispered rumors that certain men behave differently with female servants than they do with ladies. I honestly never gave it a thought. I was so foolish.”
