Daisy looked back up at her with large, hopeful eyes.
“You are incorrigible.” Grace ate the last of her egg then gave Daisy the small piece of meat. “Go find something to do that won’t get you into trouble. I must change.”
Wagging her tail, Daisy followed her mistress to her room, dragging the footman with her. Grace sighed in resignation. “George, you may leave her with me for a while.”
He bowed. “Thank you, my lady. We’ll try the walking again later.”
She stared down at Daisy and wrinkled her brow. “Very well, you may come with me, but you must behave.”
By the time she’d repeated the story of her absence to her maid, Bolton, the tub was ready.
Sinking into the warm water, Grace found twinges in muscles she didn’t know she’d had until making love with Worthington. Her throat tightened, but she stopped herself from weeping again. She’d gotten what she wanted and more, much more than she expected. She would just have to remember him with happiness and affection. That is the only way she could think of him now.
Worthington was perfect in every way. If she could marry, he would be the one. But if she wed, she would lose the guardianship of the children she’d fought so hard for and they’d be separated from one another. She clinched her teeth remembering her aunts’ and uncles’ scorn in thinking she could raise the children. The court battles that had cost so much in money and emotional pain. Yet, she had made a promise to her mother that she would keep the children together. Even if she had not, she would have fought to keep her family whole. They had already lost so much. They would not have survived being separated from one another. What joy could she have found if she’d left them? Thank God her grandfather had finally taken her side and ended the contretemps in her favor.
By the time Grace entered her study, Daisy was lounging in front of the fire, and Charlotte sat at the other end of the partner’s desk working on accounts. “I thought you were to practice your music?”
Charlotte pressed her lips together. “I wanted to see how much I could get done without your help. After all, once I marry, I’ll have to do it on my own.”
“Humph. Well I suppose you have a point. Do you have selections ready that you can play and sing without your music?”
She started to roll her eyes. Grace glared and Charlotte stopped. “Sorry. Yes, I have a few ready, and Dotty and I have been working on a duet we can play together.”
Grace took her seat and opened the letter on top. For several minutes the only sound was the scratches of Charlotte’s pen. Once Grace had gotten through all the business correspondence, she started on her personal letters. “Charlotte, listen to this. My friend Phoebe, Lady Evesham, is increasing. She’ll be in Town but not going about much. She has given us a letter of introduction to Madame Lisette, whom, I will have you know, is the most exclusive modiste in Town. If we arrive a couple of weeks before the Season, Phoebe has arranged for Madame to design all your gowns.” Grace put down the letter and glanced at her sister. “Isn’t that good news?”
Charlotte’s face was wreathed in smiles. “Yes, indeed. Dotty told me Miss Smithton wanted to go to her last year and could not get in.”
Grace resisted a grin. Dotty, Charlotte’s best friend, was coming out this Season as well. Miss Smithton, a year older than Charlotte and Dotty, had considered herself the reigning neighborhood beauty until Charlotte and Dotty began going to the local assemblies and some private parties. Miss Smithton was indeed beautiful and knew it, which put off many of the young men. Charlotte’s fair hair contrasting with Dotty’s black tresses made a stunning pair, which caused many young men to gather around them. Grace was glad they would come out together.
Her sister picked up a heavy glass paperweight, lifting it up and down for a few moments. “Grace, do you think Dotty may come with us to Madame Lisette’s?”
“My dear, I am sure Lady Sterne will have sorted Dotty’s wardrobe.” She saw no reason to remind Charlotte that the Sternes were not quite so plump in the pocket as the Carpenters. “You may go shopping with her at Pantheon’s Bazaar.” Grace took out her calendar. “We must bring our trip forward by a week.”
Charlotte glanced at her pensively. “Grace, wouldn’t it be nice if you and I left early, and the children could come as planned?”
Sitting back, Grace toyed with the feather end of the quill, passing it over her cheek and lips until it reminded her of Worthington’s kisses. She put it down. “I’d love to be able to give you that treat. Let me talk to Jane and the others. If they think they can handle the rest of the children without me, we’ll do it.”
Jumping up in a very unladylike fashion, Charlotte rushed to Grace, hugging and kissing her. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love them all, but sometimes . . .”
Grace returned her sister’s embrace, pushing a stray curl behind Charlotte’s ear. “I understand, my dear. No one could think badly of you for wanting some time without all of them hanging on one and listening at the doors.”
Charlotte stepped back and frowned slightly. “Do you ever wish it?”
Smiling, Grace took her hand. “Of course I do. But I wouldn’t give any of you up. Not for anything.”Not even for Lord Worthington. “And we are very fortunate. Unlike many, we have the funds to order life as we will. All of you girls have good dowries, and the boys have easy competences. Indeed, I could not wish for more.”
“We’re lucky we have you.” Charlotte grinned and squeezed Grace’s hand. “I’ve finished the accounts and they all balance. May I ride to Dotty’s house?”
There’d be no gallops for her sister in London. Grace glanced at her and nodded. “Yes, as long as you dress warmly and take your groom.”
Charlotte kissed Grace again and skipped, before remembering to walk out of the room at a sedate pace.
She put her head in her hands, which was how Jane found her. “Grace, my dear, areyou going to tell me what is bothering you? You’ve been in a brown study all day.”
She glanced up. “It is nothing, really. There’s just so much to do, and now I must take Charlotte to London a week early for her wardrobe. Do you think, between you, Nurse, Miss Tallerton, and Mr. Winters, you could manage the rest of the children yourselves for that week?”
“I do not see why we cannot.” Jane’s brow wrinkled. “The boys mind Mr. Winters well and the girls love Miss Tallerton. Where will you stay? You’ll not want to be alone at Stanwood House with Charlotte.”
Grace shook her head. “No, that would not be at all proper. I shall write Aunt Herndon and ask if we may visit with her for the week. It will be a good way for Charlotte and her to get to know each other better. My sister is a good girl, though one could hardly call her biddable.”
