She leaned against the door, catching her breath. She hadn’t run like that in a long time. “Only enough to verify that itisthe gentleman who is visiting Lady Bellamny.”
“Lord Wolverton?” Her friend lowered the letter she had just opened as Louisa nodded. “I am still amazed that Matt has allowed Wolverton to remain in your mother’s chamber.”
“As am I, but according to my maid, who had it from Reid, Mama was in a dreadful fever, calling for him, and they could not make her calm enough to get the fever down.” Louisa moved to sit next to Charlotte. “My mother is in love with him.”
“I know. Alice, Eleanor, and Madeline heard them declare their love, as they put it.” Charlotte squeezed Louisa’s hand. “The question is will she marry him?”
“I wish I knew.” Louisa sighed. “I overheard them talking. She is concerned about my sisters and me.”
“I see you’ve picked up the Carpenter habit of eavesdropping.” Her friend grinned.
She returned the smile. “It does have its uses, and the children are correct. It is practically the only way to find out what is going on when Matt decides to start hiding information.”
Since their families had been combined, she and her sisters had never been happier. Even Theodora had stopped getting into so much trouble. It was as if they had just been waiting to join Grace’s family to make them complete. “I want her to be happy. If this Lord Wolverton can do it, then I think we should do everything possible to help achieve that end.”
“I agree.” Charlotte angled her head to the side. “Won’t you miss her?”
“Of course, but I shall marry in the next few years, as will my sisters, and it would be selfish of us to demand that she remain here when we will soon be gone.” Yet would her sisters feel the same? They were younger, especially Theo. They might not realize how much their mother was willing to sacrifice for them. “I need your help to think of a plan. Then we must present it to the others.”
“You’re right, of course. Whatever is decided will affect us all.”
“And Matt must agree as well. I know he will not allow my sisters and me to permanently leave his house, and I do not think any of us wish to live elsewhere. However, there has to be a way to accommodate what Mama truly wants with what he believes is best for us.”
“Let’s give it some thought. Once we have developed a scheme, we can present it to him and Grace.”
Louisa mused about how her sister-in-law had thought she could never wed because of her brothers and sisters. Then Grace had met Matt and they’d fallen in love. If anyone knew how important it was to be with the man she loved, she did.
A knock came on the door and May, Charlotte’s maid, entered. “Her ladyship is well enough for visitors, my ladies.”
“I wonder if Lord Wolverton is still here,” Charlotte whispered.
“I suppose we will find out.” Louisa rose. “Let’s go see how Mama is faring.”
The twins and Madeline were leaving the parlor as Charlotte and Louisa arrived. “How does she look?”
“She is tired and pale.” Madeline’s lower lip trembled as if she was about to cry. “She fell asleep while we were talking to her. I am afraid. I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“Come here, sweetie.” Louisa wrapped her arms around her sister. “Reid says she is on the mend and will soon be well. You would not have been allowed in if she was not recovering. Mama will soon be right as rain, just like Walter is.” Madeline nodded, but tears glistened in her eyes. “Why don’t you think of something to make her feel better?”
Alice, who with her twin, Eleanor, had been holding on to Charlotte, piped up, “We can give her the handkerchiefs we’ve been working on.”
“The flowers will make her feel better,” Eleanor added.
“There, just the thing.” Louisa gave her sister a hug.
“What about Richard?” Madeline asked. “He seems to make Mama happy. Maybe we can keep him here.”
Oh, dear. Well, theyhadbeen eavesdropping if they knew his first name was Richard. “Let me think on it. Perhaps there is a way to give him to Mama as well.”
Reid ushered Charlotte and Louisa through the door. Lord Wolverton sat in a chair near the window reading a newssheet. She glanced at Charlotte, who grinned. “My lord.”
Setting aside the paper, he rose. “My ladies?”
“We”—Louisa waved a hand at Charlotte—“would like to thank you for helping to take care of my mother.”
“I was happy to have been of assistance.” As he responded, his gaze strayed toward the door to Louisa’s mother’s bedchamber. A shadow clouded his eyes. “She is still weak.”
“I think we are the last ones, and we shall not remain long.”
