Page 39 of For a Lady's Fiery Heart
"Why, thank you," Caroline replied.
"Well, I shall leave you in peace, Lady Caroline." Sir Knowles said.
"I shall call you two when tea is ready," Lord Highclere said. Sir Knowles bowed again. He headed out the double doors, just a few paces away from where they had been conversing, and went to surprise Grace. Caroline watched them for a moment, happy to see Grace's face light up. It would seem that they would both make a love match—even though it had taken Caroline a few weeks to realise her growing love for her husband.
She had hoped that Lord Highclere would go and leave her to her letter-writing, but it would seem he was content to continue to intrude on her privacy. "Your sister is a very handsome young woman. She should make haste to grab Sir Knowles up while she can."
Caroline did her best to remain civil but did not care for her father-in-law's tone. "What do you mean? I think there is little chance of Sir Knowles' affections being secured elsewhere. It seems to me that he is very taken with her."
"Yes, that is true. But affection is not always enough. Lady Grace has not the dowry you were lucky enough to scrape together. Pembroke Place can only be traded once. And unless there is another house for your father to barter with, Grace will have little when it comes to dowry."
Lord Highclere went to the window and looked at the young couple as they strolled along the sunlit patio. Grace's maid trailed behind them to act as chaperones. Caroline's ire rose at Lord Highclere's words—although Caroline knew he was precisely on track.
With her father's gambling habits under no better control now than when she had first married James, there would likely be nothing left for Grace when she wanted to marry. Perhaps there was something Caroline and James could do to help her?
Lord Highclere seemed to sense the bent of her thoughts. "I hope you will not think me too ill-mannered if I ask a personal question?" He gave a short laugh. "I am, after all, your father now."
Caroline gritted her teeth.Father-in-law,perhaps. But he had hardly earned a place in her heart as a father figure. He had tried to take that place in her heart by force rather than through trust and honest conversation. She simply nodded, not wanting to be rude.
He cleared his throat. "Well, I shall just come out with it then?"
"Please," Caroline insisted. She went and sat down in the small sitting area, and he followed suit.
"Did your father ask for money when he was visiting?" he asked, pinning her with a suspicious glint in his eyes.
Caroline was at once angered and shocked by his question. She shifted uncomfortably.
"I gave him a little of my allowance, yes," she admitted. She did not want to be dishonest but wondered if James had already told him of the few pounds she had given to her parents before they left.
Of course, she and James had conversed about what was appropriate, and she had had a frank conversation with her father about his actions at the dinner party. He had taken it as well as she could have hoped and had seen that he was altogether happy with the sum given—but James had been right. They could not, and would not, feed into his addictions any longer.
Lord Highclere straightened. "I see. Well, I would ask you to refrain from giving him any more of the Deveroux wealth. He has been given quite enough."
Caroline knew it was unwise to engage her father-in-law in an argument, but her anger was quickly getting the best of her.
"I was under the impression that my allowance was my own to dispense with as I please?"
James had given her a handsome allowance, which she had not touched since their wedding. If she were being honest, she did not know what to do with the funds. Caroline had all the clothes she could ever want and more jewels than she could count, thanks to Lord Highclere gifting her several of James’s mother’s pieces after the wedding.
She had a roof over her head and plenty of food. What else could she possibly need the generous allowance for? However, she was not about to defend herself in her father-in-law's eyes.
Lord Highclere chuckled, but it was not a happy sound. "James may allow you to waste your allowance on your father, but I will not stand for it. Enough of the Deveroux money has been spent on funding his bad habits, and I shall have no more of it."
"Lord Highclere—"
"Please, Caroline. Call me Papa. Or Father, if that is more comfortable," he said with a smile that reminded her very much of a crocodile greedily eyeing its prey.
Caroline raised her chin. "Lord Highclere," she said with more force. "I understand your concern, but I really do not think it is any of your business what I do with the allowance thatmy husbandhas allotted me. Rest assured, I answer to him, and that is all you need worry about."
She rose from her chair and planned her escape from the room as quickly as possible. However, Lord Highclere rose as well, stepping in her way. "Your father has spent enough of my money. It is time you started thinking about the family you have married into and our interests. Your father is past being saved, Caroline."
Lord Highclere looked her up and down and then left the room.
Caroline was speechless. She gave a low growl, pressing her fingernails into her palms. Pain laced up her arm, and she stopped, clenching and unclenching her fists. Her father-in-law had no right to give her an ultimatum. Caroline had already submitted to James, and it was not Lord Highclere's place to tell her what to do.
She strode over to the writing desk but was unable to keep writing the letter to Miss Kemple. Caroline crumpled the letter out of frustration. She threw it in the wastebasket. The cheerful words seemed too disingenuous to even think of sending now.
Caroline walked over to the window, looking out at the garden. She could see Sir Knowles leading Grace around the maze of paths. Caroline stepped over and opened the door, needing some fresh air to help clear her head.
