“Do come in, Laura,” Mrs. Bainbridge said. “Miss Hartwright must leave us for a time. Her brother is in trouble at university.”
Mrs. Archer’s ebony brows lifted as she sat down next to her aunt on the cloth-draped settee. “Nothing serious, I trust?”
Clara folded her hands in her lap, feeling herself under painful scrutiny. She’d only just taken up her position. To leave so soon—and at such a time—would put Mrs. Archer to great inconvenience. Without a companion in residence, she’d be obliged to look after her aunt herself. “I don’t know, ma’am. I must go there and find out. I hope it won’t take more than a few days, and I shall come back directly, but I—”
“Of course you must go,” Mrs. Archer said. “But not this very moment, surely?”
“She plans to leave day after tomorrow.” Mrs. Bainbridge’s mouth flattened into a line. “There will be no point in her coming back.”
Clara’s stomach dropped all the way to her slippers. Was she being dismissed?
“Quite,” Mrs. Archer agreed. “It makes no sense for you to travel all the way back to Devon, Miss Hartwright. If your business with your brother takes longer than a day or two, you may go straight to my aunt’s cottage in Surrey. The housekeeper, Mrs. Crabtree, will look after you until we return.”
It was all Clara could do to disguise her relief.
Mrs. Bainbridge addressed her niece. “Someone must accompany her.”
“Oh no,” Clara protested. “I don’t require an escort.”
“Cambridge is rather far,” Mrs. Archer said.
“I’m more than capable of making the journey. I’ve traveled all over England by rail. And I don’t wish anyone to make a fuss. I only…” Clara steeled herself. “I only would ask that you—if it’s at all possible—see fit to advance me my wages. I’ll need money for my fare, and for my board and lodging.”
Mrs. Archer nodded. “I’ll speak to my husband.”
Clara suppressed a swell of unease. Before nightfall, everyone in the house would know she was leaving. “I’m sorry to put you in this position.”
Mrs. Archer stood. “We shall manage. Won’t we, Aunt Charlotte?”
“We managed well enough before you insisted on hiring a companion for me.” Mrs. Bainbridge rose to join her niece. “I’ve told you, Laura, I’m not an invalid.”
Mrs. Archer took her aunt’s arm. “It makes me feel better to know you have someone nearby to look after you. If you should have palpitations—”
“A maid will suffice in Miss Hartwright’s absence. If her ladyship can spare one.”
Clara walked with them from the room, feeling guilty and anxious and rather infuriated with her brother. It was all she could do to keep her countenance.
She hadn’t lied. Since leaving Hertfordshire four years ago, she’d crossed most of the country by rail and coach. Long, solitary journeys to take up employment in London, in Kent, and even as far as Yorkshire. She’d become accustomed to managing on her own. To dealing with porters, coachman, and innkeepers. A companion didn’t need a companion, Mama said. And it was true enough.
Clara nevertheless quailed at the prospect of the long miles to Cambridge. It would be cold and wet, and her welcome when she reached journey’s end was uncertain.
The starkness of the situation was only beginning to sink in. With it came a depressing realization.
She would be unable to take Bertie with her.
Neville crossed the drawing room to join Clara, feeling a little out of his element. He’d seen her at dinner, seated across the table between Tom and Alex. She’d appeared oddly subdued, just as she appeared now, sitting apart from the others on a small velvet-upholstered settee near the window. Her hands were folded in her lap, her champagne-colored skirts arranged neatly about her.
He glanced to the space beside her on the settee. “May I?”
“Please,” she said.
He sat down carefully. The settee was a delicate piece, made for equally delicate ladies. It gave a creak of protest at his weight. He inwardly winced.
Across the room, Jenny played the piano. A sprightly tune in keeping with the festive feeling in the air. Tom was beside her, dutifully turning the pages of her music.
Nearby, Teddy sat at a card table with Mrs. Bainbridge, Mr. Boothroyd, and Laura. Alex stood at Laura’s shoulder. He bent and whispered in her ear.
“Unfair!” Teddy protested. “You’re not allowed to get help.”
Laura’s eyes widened with exaggerated innocence. “Not even from my husband?”
“Your husband,” Teddy replied dryly, “is a sharper.”
“Come children, enough bickering.” Mrs. Bainbridge laid down a card. “Direct your attention to the game.”
Alex and Teddy grinned at each other, and Laura stifled a laugh. “Yes, aunt,” she said.
To look at them—and at Justin and Lady Helena holding hands by the fire, the three dogs dozing at their feet—one wouldn’t think Christmas was over. They were still aglow with the spirit of the season. All of them merry and bright.
Neville supposed he should be merry as well. But Twelfth Night was fast approaching. Only eleven more days, and Clara would be gone.
He wanted to prolong his time with her. To make it last forever. But try as he might, the brief moments they shared only seemed to pass that much more quickly. He could feel them slipping through his fingers like so much North Devon sand.
Even her scent—that bewitching hint of orange blossom that clung to her so sweetly—there was no preserving the magic it wrought on his senses. The fragrance evaporated from the air the second she left his presence.
“Are you going back to the stable this evening?” she asked.
He nodded. “I must.”
Betty’s milk was beginning to come in, but Neville wasn’t taking any chances. He intended to continue feeding Firefly warm cow’s milk from a teakettle for the next several days, until the foal was nursing successfully.
“I wish I could come with you,” she said.
“Can’t you?”
“Not this evening, no.” Her features settled in a pensive frown. She seemed distracted. Not entirely herself. As if something wasn’t quite right.
His old insecurities rose to the surface. Had he done something to upset her? Said something wrong? Something stupid?
He tugged at his cravat. His evening clothes were perfectly tailored. They nevertheless left him feeling awkward and constricted. He didn’t belong in a black evening suit with a cream silk vest and matching neckcloth, no more than he belonged hunched over a desk all day. He’d far rather be with the horses.