“Good morning, Mother,” Lord Williams bent to kiss her cheek. “Allow me to introduce Mr. Brinton and his eldest daughter, Miss Brinton. They will be staying with us while Mr. Brinton’s youngest daughter is ill.”
I curtsied. “It is a pleasure to meet you, your ladyship.”
“You are both very welcome,” Lady Williams said. “With the fatigue of so long a journey, and arriving here so early, you must be exhausted. Gregory, you have sent Sundson to prepare some rooms?” He nodded. “Good. If you will follow me, I shall show you to them. I am certain you desire to freshen up, and I shall have some food sent to you there, if you would like.”
“Thank you,” my father replied.
I followed Lady Williams and my father to the door but paused and looked back. Lord Williams stood where we had left him, watching us, a frown on his face. He inclined his head, then turned and moved farther into the room. I hurried to catch up with my father.
Twenty-Four
Lady Williams led us up a massive staircase near the entry hall. At the top of the first landing she directed us to a door on the right. “Mr. Brinton, this will be your room. Your daughter’s room is next to yours.”
My father nodded. “Thank you, your ladyship.” He entered the room and closed the door.
“Miss Brinton, if you would follow me.” She opened the door to the room directly above the breakfast room and stood aside to let me in. The ceiling was as high as it had been downstairs. Light blue ornate trim framed the pink walls and a writing desk stood in front of one of the windows that ran the length of the room. A wardrobe and vanity claimed the wall on either side of the burning fireplace and a large bed stood near the door, flanked by small tables. But the best aspect was the curved white bench situated in the alcove created by the bow window.
“Oh,” I murmured in delight.
“I am glad that you like it.” She scanned the room. “Your trunk is here, but I see it has not been unpacked. Perhaps your lady’s maid was delayed in the kitchen.”
I regarded my not-quite-old trunk. “I do not have a lady’s maid, your ladyship. The maid who would normally have accompanied me was needed at home to tend to my sister’s illness.”
“Of course. I shall send my own lady in to help. Someone will be found to assist you before the day is over.”
“Thank you. You are most kind.”
She smiled. “Not at all. It is the greatest pleasure to have company.”
Once she’d left, I sat on the bench. The whole of the front of the estate stretched before me, acres of grass and copses of trees.
A knock sounded at the door. For an instant, I thought Lord Williams had come to inquire after my comfort. Just as quickly, I dismissed the idea. “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal a nicely dressed older lady and a young maid. “Excuse me, miss. I am Mrs. Field, Lady Williams’s lady’s maid.”
“Of course. Please come in.”
The other maid silently set a tray of food on one of the tables and set about unpacking the trunk. Mrs. Field watched her until, seeming satisfied she would do a decent job, she turned back to me. “Would you like assistance out of your dress? You’ll feel better after washing.”
“Yes, thank you.”
A basin was filled with warm water. After refreshing myself and changing out of my traveling gown, Mrs. Field and the other maid left and I sat in the alcove with my food, my back to the river, mesmerized by the view.
When I finished eating, I wrote letters to both Louisa and my mother, including a note for Alice, then opened the door and peeked out. No one was around. I knocked quietly on my father’s door to see if he’d join me on a walk about the grounds, but there was no response; he was most probably napping. I made my way downstairs alone.
In the entry hall, I studied the paintings of people I didn’t know, their eyes seeming to follow me as I moved about the room. There were busts of marble in each of the corners as well. I strolled slowly, stopping to study each one.
“The statues are Roman, from the first and second century.”
Lord Williams’s voice startled me into stepping away from the statue I’d been close to touching. “They’re beautiful.”
“I hope your room is to your satisfaction.”
“It is. Especially the view from the alcove.”
He nodded. “Is there anything else you need?” His tone was formal, a host checking on his guest.
“No. I was just. . . . My father is asleep but I am not tired.”
“My housekeeper will give you a tour to acquaint you with the estate.”
He didn’t offer to give me the tour himself. Perhaps he had pressing business that couldn’t wait. Or perhaps he no longer wanted anything to do with me. I couldn’t blame him for either. “A tour would be most welcome.”
Lord Williams rang, and within a few moments his housekeeper appeared.
“Mrs. Duval, please provide Miss Brinton with a tour of the house.” Then he left. There was no lingering glance, no smile, no parting word.
I ignored the sense of loss stirring within me. I had not wanted him when he offered for me. I had begged for him to release me. So why was I feeling as though I had fallen from the wall and had the wind knocked out of me?
Mrs. Duval smiled. “Since we are here, it seems a good place to begin. The main portions of the house were first constructed during the reign of the Tudors. . . .”
I followed her to the front of the room.
After showing me the entry hall and the wood-paneled dining room, she led me down the right wing containing the antechamber and drawing room, all the while explaining about Jacobean wings, which had been added more recently and changed the original square house into a U shape.
Mrs. Duval paused before the last door of the wing. “Since you have already seen the breakfast room and his lordship is occupying the study next to it, this is the last room of consequence on this floor.” She opened the door to a good-sized room with a large piano commandeering its far corner. “This is the music room, constructed within the last few hundred years. It contains the piano you see there, along with a harp, a violin, and a flute.”
I stepped past her. “Is it much used?”
“Her ladyship played every day before the passing of the late Lord Williams. The current Lord Williams enjoys the room when there is company.”
For all the time we had spent together, I could not say if Lord Williams enjoyed hosting house parties. It seemed one should know if a man preferred a large gathering or the intimacy of a few close friends. I walked to the piano and ran my finger along its polished wood. “Is there often company?”
“Often enough.” Mrs. Duval’s clipped tone suggested she would reveal no more about the family than she saw prudent. “This room is at your disposal for the duration of your stay.”
I touched the keys longingly. Alice would love this room. She might even be more amenable to practicing if she could do so on such a fine instrument.
“When you are ready, I will escort you upstairs.”
We made our way up the large staircase. Instead of heading to the right, which would have brought us to my bedchamber, Mrs. Duval opened the door to the room directly in front of us. “The ballroom,” she said, stepping aside.