Page 4 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
“Trust me,” Victoria whispered in her ear. “You’ll meet a good man and everything will make sense again. You’ll find a wonderful purpose—love and starting your own family.”
“But maybe I won’t,” Louisa said, drawing away from them. “Or maybe that’s not all I want. I just need…something, and I came close to finding it at Lady Ralston’s.”
“So you think becoming a companion again will help you find the peace you’re missing,” Victoria began slowly.
Louisa shrugged. “Maybe. I just know I have to do something, or remain miserable.”
“You do know the tragedy that befell Lady Wade’s grandson, my husband’s dear friend Simon?”
Louisa gasped, even as his handsome face appeared in her mind. “I have been wallowing in self-pity so much that I’d forgotten. I’m going on about my own insignificant problems, when that poor man lost his sight. When I try to imagine myself in his position, how much everything would change, how people must treat him…I am overcome with sadness and horror.”
“Do you know what they call him?” Meriel asked, shaking her head. “The Blind Baron.”
“How cruel!” Louisa murmured, her thoughts beginning to coalesce. Yet she suddenly frowned at her sister. “Baron?”
“It’s his lesser title. And your problems are not insignificant!” Meriel added indignantly. “But you need to make an objective decision. Lord Wade is living with his grandmother, your prospective employer.”
“He is such a kind man,” Louisa said thoughtfully. “And he used to be so lively in Society.”
“I used to think him a lot like you,” Victoria said. “He knew everyone, and had friends everywhere.”
Louisa frowned.
“David and I visited him before he left London, and he was trying to act like he could go on just fine.”
“Was he really?” Louisa asked, shocked and impressed. “That is true courage. Even the disfigurement alone—”
“He’s not disfigured in any way, unless you count a scar on one temple. His bruises have surely faded. He is as handsome as ever. But he wouldn’t accept our invitations. I think he didn’t want to be pitied.”
“That is understandable. He must be led about like a child. Even something as simple as eating—do you think he has to be fed by someone else?”
Both Victoria and Meriel looked stricken and sad.
“He must be terribly depressed,” Louisa said. She remembered his easy grin, the way he made every woman feel at ease and charmed. He had a shock of blond hair that occasionally fell over his forehead, and the deepest dimples when he smiled. She couldn’t imagine his laughing green eyes vacant.
“He doesn’t act depressed at all,” Victoria said. “Resigned yes, but still struggling to be cheerful. I think he’s very brave.”
Louisa couldn’t help her curiosity. How had such a joyful man changed? Their home must be full of sadness after such a tragedy. Was that why his grandmother needed a companion, someone to lift her spirits?
And what about Lord Wade himself? Louisa remembered the way he’d helped Victoria fit into her husband’s world. Victoria had hosted a reception to discuss the arts, and Lord Wade had made it a success by bringing all his eligible friends. He was a man who enjoyed helping people. Who was helping him?
Meriel rolled her eyes. “So do you need help packing your bags?”
Louisa slowly began to smile.
ChapterTwo
Enfield Manor was a pretty little mansion in the country just north of London. Louisa waited in the entrance hall, her reticule in her hand, and felt more nervous than she’d thought she would. She didn’t know what she’d expected—black crepe hung from the door as if someone had died? But the butler greeted her with civility, and the occasional servant who wandered by had nodded pleasantly.
But still her unease remained. She reminded herself that she wasn’t desperate for the salary. If this didn’t work out, she had a home to return to, even if it was her sister’s.
But she didn’t want this employment to fail as her last had. Her memories were overshadowed with the guilt of having abandoned an elderly, bedridden lady. Through correspondence with the granddaughter, Louisa knew that someone kind had taken her place as a companion, and she consoled herself with that.
But she realized that she was becoming far too familiar with guilt. What had happened to her excitement about being useful, about seeing Lord Wade again?
She straightened her shoulders and waited for the housekeeper. She fully expected to be shown to her room and introduced to her employer at another time. Then a smiling older woman dressed in black with a white lace cap perched on her head entered the hall.
“Miss Shelby?” the woman said. When Louisa nodded, she continued, “I am Mrs. Calbert, the housekeeper. Welcome to Enfield Manor. I know you must be tired—”
