Thus addressed, a slender woman clambered down from the cart and dragged her portmanteau from behind the seat. She struggled, since it contained all her worldly goods, including a couple of books. But she managed to get a firm grip on the handle and worked it free of the cart, letting it drop to the ground. She glanced up, but all she received was a frown.
It took some moments, but she finally arrived on the front doorstep, dragging the case behind her, and with a sarcastic curl to her lips. “Thank you for your help, Ernest.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You will address me as Your Grace.”
She straightened. “I am your stepmother. I shall address you by name. And in case you’d forgotten, you are an Earl not a Duke. The correct appellation for those outside the family is my Lord.”
He sneered at her. “Since you’re now outside the family, a mere penniless Dowager—which is the same as being a nobody—you had best remember your own words.”
“What’s this then? She livin’ ‘ere?” Mrs Ashe frowned. “Ho no. I don’t want none ‘o that.”
“What you want, woman, is of no matter. What I say is what will be done. This…this woman will now reside here, in the Dower House, as is proper for the widow of the late Earl.”
“You seen the state o’ this place?” Mrs Ashe opened the door wider. It was dark, smelled of damp and there were noticeable cobwebs dangling from a few beams.
“I couldn’t care less,” said the Earl. “She matters not one whit. As a matter of fact, neither do you.” He turned away and walked back down to the cart. “From this moment on, both of you have ceased to exist as far as I’m concerned. I shall not visit, nor answer any messages you might think to send. To the Kilham estate, along with the residents of Kilham Abbey, you are nobody. Live or die. I don’t care.”
He mounted the driver’s bench once more and gathered the reins in his hand. “I never liked you,” he said to the Dowager Countess. “My father married beneath him; pickings from the gutter. I hated his taking you for a wife because I know you trapped him into marriage, and I hated that you changed everything. You took him away from me. If you thought you’d get the Kilham money and estate when he died, you underestimated me. He left you without a penny. You’re nothing now. And nothing you’ll stay for the rest of your life. Which I trust will be a short one.”
He clicked up the horse and drove away, disappearing down the lane that led back to the Abbey, leaving two women watching as he left.
“Man-milliner.” The old woman spat after him. “Dunno ‘ow ‘is father sired ‘im.” She shot a look at the young woman standing in the doorway. “Ain’t got much. Yer goin’ ter find it rough, and I ain’t callin’ yer my Lady. Yer ain’t fancy no more an’ yer better get used ter it.”
Dragging all she owned behind her, Lady Gwyneth, Dowager Countess of Kilham, stepped into the dark and murky shadows of her new home, wondering if this was, in fact, where she would die.
Chapter Two
Adalyn looked up at the brilliant blue sky as she walked back to Wolfbridge Manor from Mrs Barnsley’s cottage. Her wedding was scarcely a week away, the Christmas celebrations would come right after that—and then she and her new husband would leave Wolfbridge for their new home.
“Isn’t a beautiful morning?” Giles fell into step beside her.
“I couldn’t ask for better,” she smiled, tucking her arm into his.
“You are content, my Lady?”
She chuckled at the question and the formality. He was, and always would be, her dear Giles. He would give her to her husband at her wedding. And yet, still he persisted in referring to her as my Lady. Except when he was concerned enough to forget her title.
“I never imagined I would be this happy, Giles. And it’s all thanks to you.”
He shook his head. “We make our own happiness. I did my duty to Wolfbridge, and you found your heart here. I think we are both well pleased with the outcome.”
“I cannot argue with you on that point,” she agreed. “You do know that leaving is going to be very hard for us, Giles. Daniel and I have such strongly rooted attachments here. To the people of Wolfbridge, to you, to Jeremy, Evan and Trick…and to the Manor itself.”
He gazed ahead, looking at the manor house as she spoke. “It does that, doesn’t it? A silent but inevitable lure.” He turned to her. “You and Daniel. You are decided then? You will go north?”
She nodded. “We have little choice. Now that Daniel has come into his inheritance—and that was by default, as you know.”
“When you’re the only heir left, there is no other legal way to resolve the estate. I understand.” He shrugged. “I’m happy for you both that you will have a home to make your own.” He paused. “But there is still the matter of his stepmother…”
“I’m very aware of that.” Adalyn sighed. “Living with permanent invalid isn’t something I’d imagined facing, to be honest. But we’ll know more once we get there. Daniel tells me he’s been in communication with people he knows at Nordean Swale. One is his stepmother’s doctor.”
“That must be useful?”
“It is. At least I think it is. Mrs Fitzroy did suffer extensive damage to her skull and her brain. She possesses some awareness of her surroundings, but is bedridden for the most part. She cannot speak well; just enough to communicate if she is in pain. She has a nurse, and the doctor checks on her regularly…more often if she displays any concerning symptoms.”
Giles touched the
