“Yes, but he will be riding alongside the carriage rather than inside.”
Céleste looked to Aldric. She switched to French, though she only vaguely noted that she’d done so. “Is that a requirement of propriety in England?”She hadn’t heard as much. It wasn’t as though the two of them would have been alone. “You could ride inside. With ... us.”
His demeanor was a little aloof, though not uncordial ... a gentleman interacting with his friend’s sister. “I much prefer to make the journey on my own.”
She’d warned herself back in Paris that Aldric Benick might very well break her heart again. If only she’d listened.
Chapter Thirty-Four
England was going to bea very lonely place for Céleste. France had been, but there was something sharper in the loneliness she’d felt since their arrival in Portsmouth. She wasn’t merely alone; she was also heartbroken. It was a piercingly painful combination.
Aldric had made the journey on horseback alongside the carriage, just as he’d said he would. The only time he’d ever joined them was during a spot of particularly bad weather, the morning of the second day of their journey. And he’d not said a word to any of them. Adèle had been content simply to sit on his lap. If she’d noticed he was not talkative, she hadn’t seemed bothered by it.
But Céleste’s heart continued to break. She’d regained her ironclad control of herself and was outwardly calm and collected. No one would guess she was shattered inside.
“Is this tonton Aldric’s home?” Adèle knelt on the carriage seat looking out the window.
“It is,ma poupette.” Céleste turned to Mrs. Sommers. “She asked if this is Lord Aldric’s home.”
Mrs. Sommers nodded. She had shown herself to be a pleasant companion. Even Adèle seemed comfortable with her. But Adèle not understanding English was proving a very real barrier.
Once Henri and Nicolette returned—Céleste refused to believe they wouldn’t—Adèle could live with them. She would need a French-speaking governess who also spoke English so she could help teach Adèle the language. But Henri’s finances were extremely strained, making the hiring of any additional staff likely impossible.
With those warring realities refusing to leave her thoughts, she’d formulated a plan for herself. She would find a position and send Henri and Nicolette money to offset the cost of caring for Adèle. It would mean she herself wouldn’t be with her family. She wouldn’t be free to join in the Gents’ gatherings or the London Season where her friends would be.
She would be alone, but Adèle wouldn’t be. There was comfort in that.
The carriage came to a stop at the top of the drive. The impressive facade of Norwood Manor loomed over them.
Céleste pulled on her blue cloak, tying it around her neck. She knew the cloak wasn’t the tender and personal offering she wanted it to be, but Aldric had thought of her. She was often overlooked and forgotten, but he had remembered.
A footman opened the carriage door, and they all stepped down.
“My good friend and his wife are likely to arrive in the next day or two,” Aldric said to Mrs. Sommers. “Once they do, I will make whatever arrangements you need to return to Portsmouth.”
She would be in an odd position at Norwood during those two days, neither guest nor servant. But she seemed to sort out the situation very quickly and kept a bit removed while not disappearing entirely.
Aldric’s gaze hovered on Céleste for a moment. Her heart, as foolish as ever, leaped in her chest, whispering of hopes and dreams she was working very hard to pretend she’d never had.
His eyes shifted to Adèle, and Céleste could breathe again.
The little girl set her hand in his. “Tante Céleste says this is your house, tonton Aldric.”
“It is.” There was a touch of very tender pride in his voice. He obviously liked Norwood Manor and felt truly connected to it.
It was a very fine home, with lovely grounds in a very beautiful area. Céleste had met a few of his neighbors during the house party two years earlier. Lord and Lady Grenton were friendly and neighborly. The Beaumonts, a French couple with a neighboring estate, had allowed Céleste to stay with them for a time during that house party.
Perhaps she would do well to call on them again. In fact, if she stayed at the Beaumonts’ home instead, then Mrs. Sommers could return to Portsmouth sooner rather than later. She suspected the woman would appreciate that.
“Can we go see the flowers?” Adèle asked as she walked with Aldric through the front doors of his house. “I love flowers.”
“Perhaps before you go to bed tonight we can go into the glass room and see the flowers there. But it is too late in the day for walking around the grounds.”
“We could see the other flowers tomorrow?” Adèle asked.
“I would love that,” he said.
They continued walking across the entryway and toward the grand stairs. Neither of them looked back at Céleste. Neither of them seemed to evennotice she wasn’t keeping pace with them. She clutched tight to the handle of her violin case.
