Page 14 of The Love Potion
“That explains why she is young, not why they are pushing her to wed so soon.”
Trust the man to see that she’d sidestepped the question.
“Oh dear,” Lord Nathaniel moaned. “Her dowry isn’t what they say—”
“Itisexactly as they have claimed. Land worth a thousand pounds per annum.” A fortune. And if absolutely necessary, a life for Zoe if she never wed.
“It’s not the dowry,” said the duke, his voice low. “It’s the earl, isn’t it? I’ve heard his health is precarious.”
Very.
“And the Countess?” Lord Nathaniel pressed. “She hasn’t been seen much in society these last two years.”
Not at all.
And when both gentlemen noticed that she said nothing, they came to the obvious conclusion.
“Neither is well,” said the duke, “and therefore they wish to see her married before they pass.”
Kynthea looked down at her hands rather than answer. The truth was that both of Zoe’s parents were sickly. The earl had a persistent cough, and the countess had joints so swollen, she could barely walk. They’d both said how Kynthea was a godsend when she’d come to live with them. She eased their pains and acted as companion to their youngest child. But when last winter’s cold had settled into the earl’s bones such that he was freezing all the time, he declared it time to see his youngest child married. He would not wait even one year for his daughters-in-law to complete their confinements. And so it fell to Kynthea to manage Zoe’s come-out, to chaperone and guide the girl when she herself had never set foot in London until two years ago. And she’d never been part of high society at all.
Fortunately, they arrived in Rotten Row before she was forced to give more detail than was appropriate. Having just been chastised for being indiscreet, she would not speak out of turn now. But she didn’t need to. She could tell by the gentlemen’s expressions that they understood the situation. And hopefully, they understood how watching her parents prepare for death placed an added strain on Zoe.
They settled into the queue, and Zoe was clearly excited to gallop away on Rumble. Lord Nathaniel took his place behind her, and Zoe flashed him a happy smile. Kynthea, on the other hand, was all too aware of the dashing equestrians around them. She would not show well in comparison.
“How did your parents die?” His Grace asked from her elbow.
She started at the question. It was not that she’d forgotten he was there—far from it. In fact, she seemed hyper aware of his presence and any shift in his expression. It was the question that startled her, as well as his thoughtful tone.
“I apologize,” he said immediately upon seeing her expression. “I do not mean to pry.”
“No, it’s all right. It was a sickness that grabbed hold of their lungs and never released.” It didn’t help that they had little money for coal to heat the house or good food to help them recover.
“You never caught it?”
She shook her head. She’d often wondered about the vagaries of illnesses. “I was ill for a short time but recovered quickly. My parents died within weeks of one another.”
“And your siblings? What of them?”
“I have only an older brother. He was at sea at the time. He is a captain now in the Royal Navy, and I am quite proud of him.”
“And well you should be,” he said. “My father passed suddenly from an accident. He was racing and the horse stumbled, throwing him. We think the fall killed him instantly. At least that’s better than being trampled by the following horses.”
She shuddered as much from the image as the deadpan way he spoke of it. She’d heard that he’d been eleven years old when he inherited the dukedom. What a shock to a young boy on so many levels.
“It must have been terribly hard,” she said.
“It was,” he agreed. “But sometimes I look at parents who age slowly, dying by inches, and I think at least my father went fast.”
Kynthea nodded. “That is a thought we share, Your Grace. I lost my parents in little more than a month, and it felt like a blow to the chest. The pain of it was horrendous.” As were the difficult discussions with creditors and even a very cruel moneylender. When they were done with her, she had nothing beyond two gowns and a coach ticket to Zoe’s home. She was lucky her aunt and uncle took her in or she would have been in dire straits indeed. “But I see Zoe’s heart break every time she tells her parents of her plans. They talk every day, you know, especially her and her father. She puts on a brave face, but seeing them so frail cuts her deeply.”
“And you too, no doubt,” he said. “What will you do after they pass?”
“If I am lucky, Zoe will hire me as her companion or governess to her children.”
“And if you are not?”
She didn’t want to think about it. She’d been saving her coins with the vehemence of a miser. “Perhaps I will find a husband this season as well,” she said lightly. She doubted it though. And not because she doubted her worth. She would be a good wife to any man she married, but it was hard to stand out next to Zoe’s stunning beauty. And given her lack of dowry, the best she could reasonably hope for was a quiet life in Zoe’s shadow.
