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Frederica laughed.
“I don’t think we could ever call you boring, Lady Bedford.”
“I’m glad you think so, Frederica. Now, off you go. I’ll arrange for tea in an hour or so.”
And with that, Lady Bedford went back inside. Dorothy stared after her, wondering what had just happened. Had her own mother just agreed to her going for a walk instead of leaving her be? She turned to Frederica.
“What have you done to her? She never agrees to anything like this.”
“Maybe she loves me enough to let me do whatever I want.” Frederica shrugged. “Or maybe she saw how you looked and thought some time outside would make you feel better.”
“I don’t know about that, Frederica.”
“Oh, stop stalling. Come on, let’s go for a walk. We can take the path alongside the woods and slowly circle back.”
Dorothy’s mouth fell open.
“But that’s a six-mile walk! I’m not awake enough for that.”
“Oh, you will be, Dorothy. Start walking. You know how to do that, don’t you? Just place one foot in front of the other and keep going.”
Dorothy couldn’t stop her friend from getting her moving. They headed off the drive and around the outside of the garden towards the woods that lined one side of the estate. When she was a little girl, Dorothy did enjoy going into those woods and having fun, running through the trees and swinging off the branches. As a grown woman, she found the walks rather serene.
But she would rather not do that today. She was worn out and wanted to go to her bedchamber and curl up underneath the sheets. And Dorothy would be doing that right now if Frederica wasn’t tugging her along, holding onto her hand as if she thought Dorothy was going to break away and run off.
And she was sorely tempted, but she wasn’t spritely enough to fight back. Besides, whatever it was that Frederica was up to, it felt like it was important.
It was a little disconcerting. Frederica did tend to behave in a way that Dorothy couldn’t quite keep up with, but normally she could keep up with her. Not this time, though, because all Dorothy wanted to do was go to sleep.
“Frederica, what are you up to? And could you please slow down? I can’t keep up.”
“Oh!” Frederica slowed a little, but she didn’t let go of Dorothy’s hand. “Forgive me; I almost forgot.”
“Almost forgot that you were tugging my arm away from the rest of my body?” Dorothy shot back. “What’s the rush? Why do we need to hurry?”
“We don’t. Not really.” Frederica finally slowed down to a walk. “I just didn’t want you to have an opportunity to turn back and not come with me.”
“You’re beginning to scare me a little bit, Frederica. What are you doing, and why do I need to come with you?”
“You’ll see shortly. We’re almost there.”
“Frederica …”
“I promise to explain everything in a short while. But just come with me, alright?” Frederica stopped and turned to her. “Do you trust me, Dorothy?”
“Normally, I would trust you …”
“Then trust me a little longer, please?”
Dorothy snorted.
“Without knowing what’s going on, I can’t.”
Frederica sighed, her shoulders slumping.
“It’s been really difficult not to say anything to you all morning, but we’re almost there, so I suppose it’s good as any time to explain what’s happening.”
“A good time? Seriously, Frederica, I don’t know what’s happening here!” Dorothy’s head was really starting to hurt. “I’m so tired, and I’m not in the mood for games. Just tell me!”
