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Chapter 15
That day, Catherine could sense something amiss. Usually, her instinct was correct. She knew the day before she gave birth to Matilda that it was going to happen. She had even gotten a sense and been right about her husband proposing to her. When it came to her instincts, they were among the few things that she could trust in the world. So, on that day, when she witnessed her maid acting strange, she capitalized on her instincts and decided to see if there was something she knew that Catherine needed to know as well.
She had been in the library reading a book on an old Queen. The maid was dusting rather conspicuously, going over the same book multiple times.
“Harriet, you have been dusting that one book for ten minutes. What is on your mind.”
Her body flinched the second that Catherine had begun speaking, which only solidified her assumption. She could have been wrong, and the woman had been suffering from some sort of family issue, but Catherine found that to be unlikely. Her movements were just too obvious.
“Nothing at all, um, the dust was just rather tricky for that book.”
Catherine closed hers and set it on the table next to her. “You are lying. You are a worse liar than my daughter. At least she knows how to give eye contact when creating false narratives.”
“I mean not to lie to you. I just would rather not lead you into concern.”
“That is too late, respectfully explain.”
Harriet fiddled with her duster as she slowly turned around to face Catherine. The woman almost seemed like a child in leading to her confession.
“I have, along with some others, seen Charles out spending time with a merchant’s daughter. I know that you have hopes of him getting together with Matilda, but he does seem rather smitten with the girl. People are talking about it.”
Catherine pursed her lips together and tapped her fingers on the book next to her. The rattling of her fingernails looked as though they made the nerves of Harriet run in all directions. “You are sure of this? Is it Charles making advancements, or do you think it is the merchant’s daughter who is stealing his attention?”
“If it is the girl, then she is doing a really good job. But I must confess…”
“It is Charles.”
“Yes.”
“I also get a sense that Matilda is pulling away from Charles.” She did not know why she was telling Harriet but needed to speak it aloud to organize her thoughts.
Harriet hesitated and then said, “It is not something that I pay very much attention to, as your daughter is sometimes hard to read. But I must agree. She does seem rather aloof to Charles in general.”
“What would you do?” Catherine asked, genuinely interested in what someone on the outside like Harriet would have to say.
It seemed as though that question brought her nerves down somewhat. “I do not think that you can force love. So, it is a tricky situation. I do not envy you.”
Catherine forced a smile. “Indeed. You are fired.”
It was then that the maid’s mouth nearly hit the floor. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You’re fired. I will not have a maid spreading rumours, gossip and what have you. It is unacceptable. Also, no one is to give me advice on raising my daughter. Leave your dusty and be gone.”
Harriet looked as though she wanted to cry but was too shocked to do so. She was out of the room within seconds. Shortly after, Catherine rose from her chair and decided to bring the matter to the Earl.
As she walked down the hallway, passing flowers, paintings and other staff members, she kept her chin to the air and wished that she did not have to bring the issue to Matilda’s father. Catherine prided herself on settling things by herself, especially when it came to her daughter. The Earl was much better at dealing with work.
But when it came to Charles, things were apparently slipping away faster than Catherine had anticipated. It was Matilda’s fault, surely. Catherine knew that the attention of a young man was as fleeting as a squirrel looking for food. It was Matilda’s job to keep his attention and become the woman that he needed, but instead, some merchant’s daughter was fulfilling that duty for her.
As Catherine approached her husband’s study, but a few feet away, she slowed her steps, using that extra time to decide how to go about explaining the situation to him. He had always tended to take Matilda’s side with things in the past, tending to go easy on her when the situation called for the opposite. That irritated Catherine. If the Earl had just been more pressing on the matters of marriage when it came to Matilda, she might have taken things more seriously. Instead, he would allow her to bury her nose in books, books that did nothing to help her cause.
Catherine gave a light rap on her husband’s open door, and he looked up from his work in an instant.
“Catherine, I presume something has happened given the time of your visit today.”
Her husband was a punctual man who never strayed from his routine. When he was tied to his work, he did not expect to be disturbed for anything unless it was of a serious matter.
“Yes.” She softened her voice in an attempt to get her husband quickly on her side. “It is about your daughter Matilda.”
