“I am well, thank you. I hope you had a pleasant journey?”
“Does one ever?” She gestured to her groom. “Barker? Have that trunk taken around to the servants’ stairs. They will tell you where they have put me. Where has my maid got to? The servants’ hall? Someone find her. I must change.” She turned back to Nellie. “I trust I am in the blue chamber?”
“Yes, the blue, your usual bedchamber.” Nellie was relieved that she’d been forewarned by Catherine. “Grove will see to anything else you might require.” Nellie felt the need to assert herself as mistress of the house. “I’ll arrange for tea after you’ve changed.”
“Where is my nephew?”
“Charles has gone to assist a tenant with his leaky roof.”
“One would think him a gentleman farmer rather than a duke.”
Nellie smiled. “He sees it as his role. He’s very much liked by all his tenants.”
“Well, as long as he takes part in the hunt. The fox hunting community expects it. Both of you must be there.”
Nellie firmed her lips. “I shall tell your sister you have arrived.”
“Yes, I’ll be along to see her shortly.” Frances caught her arm as Nellie turned away. She looked suddenly older and fearful. “How is she?”
“She feels better. The new medicine has helped a good deal.”
Frances gave a sharp nod and strode through the front door. “There you are, Dove. How are you? Putting on a little weight? We’ll have to get you out riding. Nothing like it for the midriff.”
Dove nodded serenely and bowed his head. Amused, Nellie knew he would do no such thing.
She climbed the stairs to Catherine’s bedchamber, where she rested after her outing in the fresh air. She peeked in. “Your sister has arrived.”
Catherine smiled. “That will turn the house upside down. Don’t let Frances ruffle you, dear. She’s all bluster.”
“I’m sure she won’t.” But Nellie sensed that Frances considered herself more a part of this house than Nellie. The servants all snapped to when she gave them orders. And Frances was well aware of it.
In a few days, the foxhunt would take place on their land. Although Charles insisted Nellie was not to take part, she felt awkward about it. No one knew of her pregnancy. The meet might judge the new duchess harshly.
While it had drizzled the last two days, the morning of the hunt, the skies were a vast blue canopy, viewed with a sigh through Nellie’s bedchamber window.
Charles, who had been called downstairs, returned as she sipped her chocolate. He sat on the edge of the bed. “Percy Hanbury’s farmhand has just come to see me. Hanbury is the fellow whose roof I’ve been helping to fix. It appears he has fallen off it. I must ride over and see how things are there. These people tend to treat their own ills, which isn’t always wise.”
“The poor man. Will you be back in time to ride out with the meet?”
“I’ll endeavor to,” he said, kissing her. “But I might be a late starter.”
“My, what will Frances say?” Nellie smiled up at him. “Only last night at dinner, she spoke of how important fox hunting was for the community.” She bent her head over the cup. “I suspect it was for my benefit.”
He placed a kiss on her hair and eased off the bed. “Not as important as a man’s life,” he said as he left the room.
Nellie gazed after him, thinking of what an exceptional man she had married. Then she called Lilly to help her dress.
After breakfast, she visited Catherine, who confessed to having a bad night. “I am a little tired, Nellie.” She took Nellie’s hand. “I know you don’t intend to ride today. I think in your condition, that’s wise. They will go at quite a pace.”
Nellie kissed her cheek. “You rest. I will come to see you later in the morning. We can have luncheon together.”
As Nellie went down the corridor, Frances appeared, wearing her green habit.
“You aren’t dressed for the hunt?”
“I am not planning to ride,” Nellie said, stifling her annoyance. She was sure that Charles had told her.
“You must at least make a showing.” Frances frowned. “Charles isn’t here, and with the host absent, it will look like a dreadful snub. Charles will be embarrassed.”
Nellie tensed. “He hopes to join the hunt before the end.”
“But what if he doesn’t? You know Charles. He would rather fix the man’s roof. In his absence, you must act as hostess, and acknowledge the Master, Mr. Doveton Grey.”
“Very well.”
Frances eyed her. “You really should consider taking part in the hunt in Charles’s absence.”
“I am against fox hunting. I refuse to witness the killing of an animal in such a cruel fashion.”
Frances raised her eyebrows. “Then don’t witness the blooding,” she said in a more reasonable tone. “Leave the hunt before the fox is caught. Charles will most likely have joined us by then, and no one can be offended.”
It was clear that Frances didn’t anticipate a refusal. She left Nellie and walked away down the corridor. “You’d best hurry,” she called over her shoulder. “Everyone will soon have arrived, and the huntsman will bring the hounds around.”
Nellie stared after her. She could refuse. The woman held no sway over her. Her own mother-in-law was in agreement. But was Frances right? Nellie was not yet known by many people here. Would she be viewed as someone who disdained country life? Country people loathed that attitude. Would her absence cause gossip? Her article had embarrassed Charles when his friends discovered it. She would hate it to happen again.
Frances’s suggestion seemed a sensible one. Nellie could take part and leave the hunt before the end. She hurried to Catherine’s bedchamber to discuss it, but Jane whispered that her mistress slept.
Dressed in her dark blue habit, Nellie stepped out onto the porch. She formally welcomed the elegant Master, Mr. Doveton Grey, who, in a red coat, graciously returned her greeting from atop his white horse.
Men in black riding coats and women
