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The woman must be mad, and surely they are all aware of it. One cannot have a madwoman for a servant without some knowledge of it. I shall apologise profusely for disturbing them and make my escape at the earliest opportunity.
‘Frances,’ the earl said. ‘What is the meaning of this?’
Kate quailed, but the woman seemed undeterred. She stepped right up to the nobleman, dragging Kate with her.
‘This girl, my lord. This girl is your daughter.’
Chapter 6
Kate
‘Mydaughter? Have you given leave of your senses, woman?’
Kate’s mouth had dropped open at the declaration the servant had made, she realized, and she shut it now with a snap.
I? The earl’s daughter? Is this the truth of my origins?
There were murmurs among the others, and the earl looked apoplectic, his face white except for two spots of red in his cheeks. His eyes flashed threateningly.
Frances, the elderly servant, would not be dissuaded, however. ‘I tried to tell you. I said it again and again, but you would not listen, and they might have turned me out!’
‘What manner of nonsense is this?’ he demanded.
Can it be that the earl and my mother had an affair?
’Twould not be the first time a nobleman trifled with a servant.
‘She’s your daughter, my lord! The babe what died weren’t none of yours. ’Twas that minx Poppy Norwood, I tell you. She’s the one’t done it.’
Poppy Norwood was Kate’s mother’s name, but she knew not what the woman meant by a baby who died. Confusion flared within Kate’s mind.
All the earl did now was glower at them both. The others said nothing.
‘I shall tell the tale, my lord, and you shall see the truth of it,’ Frances said, and so she began:
‘Poppy Norwood was a chambermaid here for going on two years when we learned Lady Inverley was expecting her first child. The household was all aflutter. Babies are most welcome, the joy that children bring, my lord...well. I suppose ’twas due to that, in part, that no one noticed Poppy’d sprained her ankle, if you catch my meaning. She had a fancy for a footman at the time. He’s long since moved on—Joseph? David? His name escapes me.’
Kate sucked in her breath. The footman, once again. So that part of the story was true? But then how could the earl be her father?
‘No one knew it when Poppy had her lying in. I’ve thought long and hard, and considered signs I did not recognize at the time, I fear. She disappeared, that morning, before Lady Inverley’s time came. I believe now she birthed her poor wee daughter then. A still birth.’
The lady put her hand over her mouth in dismay.
Kate frowned, trying to understand, without success.
‘How the grief must’ve taken her, my lord. I saw her, that afternoon. Wild-eyed, she looked. I thought she must have a fever. I wanted to see to it, but then word came of my lady—and all else was forgotten. No one paid Poppy any mind.’
Kate’s frustration mounted.
I do not understand. A stillbirth? But I am here. What can this woman mean? Is her mind addled?
‘I noticed Poppy, hanging about in a corner of my lady’s bedchamber, at one point,’ Frances continued. ‘Watching the countess. I knew not what to make of it at the time—I thought her in awe, perhaps, for the expression on her face...well. I know now ’twas envy in her eyes. The babe born to my lady was hale and hearty, with a strong cry.’
‘I remember that cry,’ the earl blurted, his eyes widening.
Lord Thorburn and the man in red looked at him and then at each other, their expressions conveying interest and bewilderment.
‘We might have let the countess hold her daughter right away, my lord, but for the panic that ensued. The doctor began shouting orders—everyone knew Lady Inverley was in grave danger. The doctor cast about for someone to take the infant so he could see to my lady’s needs, and I confess those of us in attendance went into a frenzy. We loved the countess so.’
