Page 13 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
“That’s right, yes,” Horatia replied.
A note of sadness entered her voice, and she pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve and raised it to her eyes.
“Poor Gwendolene. She looks so pretty there… so happy,” Lavinia’s mother said, and the dowager nodded.
“She was always blessed with happiness, until the end,” she said, turning away and shaking her head.
Lavinia looked up at the portrait. Therewasa look of happiness in Gwendolene’s eyes, and in the baron’s, too. It was not the look he had given her on her arrival. There had been no spark there, no depth of joy, only emptiness and loss.
Lavinia felt terribly sorry for him, even as she was not sure what she could do to help alleviate that suffering. She hoped her presence might be a distraction for him, though given the disastrous start they had made, she was not certain they would be anything more than passing ships.
“Don’t upset yourself, Horatia. Let’s go back downstairs. I think we’ve seen enough of the house for now,” Lavinia’s mother said.
The two of them carried on along the corridor, disappearing through a door at the end. But Lavinia lingered for a few moments, looking up at the portrait of the brother and sister. She was still curious as to the locked door, and making herway back downstairs, she found herself standing outside it, pondering as to what lay behind. Reaching out, she turned the handle.
The door refused to open, and she wondered if perhaps she could ask Daisy to unlock it for her. But as she turned away, Lavinia was startled by the appearance of the baron. He was standing silently behind her. She had not heard him approach, and now she blushed, knowing she had been caught doing something she should not be doing.
“Can I help you?” he asked, his tone curt and accusatory.
“I… I’m sorry, I was… lost,” she said, and his eyes narrowed.
Lavinia felt afraid. She had already made so many mistakes since her arrival at Sarum Lacy House, and now she had made another…
“That door doesn’t lead anywhere,” he said, and Lavinia nodded.
“Oh… I see… I thought perhaps… it might’ve been a shortcut. I’m sorry, Your Grace… Your Lordship… My Lord,” she said.
The baron shook his head.
“Your bedroom is that way, I believe,” he said, pointing along the corridor, and Lavinia nodded.
“Yes, it is,” she said, and turning on her heels, she hurried off, her heart beating fast, and once again feeling utterly foolish.
Lavinia couldn’t help but question Daisy later on as she helped her dress for dinner.
“The locked door? Oh, yes, that’s Miss Gwendolene’s bedroom, Miss Stuart. No one’s allowed in there. On the day she died, His Lordship locked the door. He has the only key. As far as I know, it’s just as it was on the day she died. Even the bed isn’t made,” Daisy replied.
Lavinia felt terribly embarrassed. It was no wonder the baron had looked at her so angrily. Once again, she had overstepped the mark, and made a mistake she now regretted. But she has been curious, and curiosity was often her downfall.
“I see… he caught me trying to go in,” she said, and Daisy’s eyes grew wide with astonishment.
“Was he angry?” she asked, but Lavinia shook her head.
“He didn’t shout at me. But the look in his eyes… he was… disappointed, I think,” she said, for the baron’s expression had been difficult to read.
Daisy shook her head.
“You need to be careful, Miss Stuart. It won’t do to upset him,” she said.
“I don’t want to upset him. I just want to… understand. I saw her portrait earlier in the long gallery. She was so beautiful. It all seems so cruel. Her life snatched from her in that way. I just don’t understand… it makes one think,” Lavinia said.
Gazing at the portrait earlier on, Lavinia had had a sudden sense of dread. She and Gwendolene were not so different in age or circumstance, and yet the baron’s sister now lay in her grave. How cruel life could be, and how easily it could be snatched away. It was a reminder, if any was needed, of the fragility of circumstance. Lavinia’s own life had changed dramatically, but while fortunes could be made, they could be lost, too.
“It does, Miss Stuart. Poor Miss Gwendolene. We all miss her so very much. But none more so than His Lordship,” Daisy said, shaking her head.
Lavinia nodded.
“It must be so difficult for him,” she said, opening her jewelry box to choose a bracelet and necklace to wear for the evening.
