Chase, Loretta - Not Quite A Lady by * * * * *

Author:* * * * * [*, * * * *]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-02-06T08:47:35+00:00

* * *

Though the matter of Pip was settled, Darius continued unsettled for some time after Tyler left his study.

He doubted Lady Charlotte would faint because a boy’s eyes didn’t match. He also doubted that the menses explained what had happened. Though she’d seemed to recover herself, he was sure she was not altogether well when she left him to puzzle over Lady Margaret’s belongings.

He recalled the illness everyone talked about, the so-called “wasting sickness” Lady Charlotte had suffered years ago. They all said it was like her mother’s ailment. But “wasting sickness” was merely one of those exasperating terms that covered a multitude of ailments. Consumption, cancer, diseases of the heart, and many others all qualified.

Brooding in his study would not answer the question, he told himself. He might as well do something productive with his day, and go to Altrincham, as he’d intended to do yesterday before the provoking encounter with Morrell.

In the entrance hall, Darius found Lady Lithby conversing with a woman of neatly unexciting appearance who appeared to be not much older than she was.

“Ah, here you are, Mr. Carsington,” said Lady Lithby. “I was told you were in the study with a workman. I did not wish to disturb you when you were busy.”

Now what? “Disturb me with what?” Darius said.

“Good news this time,” said Lady Lithby. “Mrs. Endicott is your new housekeeper.”

His new housekeeper was plain and whippet thin, but her unremarkable brown eyes were bright and intelligent. Her curtsy was as crisp and neat as her attire.

“She comes not a moment too soon,” Lady Lithby went on. “Our guests arrive in a fortnight, and Charlotte and I shall not be able to come to Beechwood so often or stay so long as we’ve been doing. But all is in hand. By the end of the day I shall have brought Mrs. Endicott fully up to date. Then we may leave a great many matters to her.”

At that moment, the boy Pip hurried into the entrance hall, the young bulldog at his heels.

“Good heavens, I’d altogether forgotten her,” Lady Lithby said. “I hope she hasn’t been up to mischief.”

“She wanted to play in the master bedroom, your ladyship,” the boy said. “Mr. Tyler told me to take her out because it isn’t safe there. Something could fall on her, he said. He told me to stay out, too, until he got all the broken plaster taken down and cleared away.”

“She is not allowed in the bedrooms,” said Lady Lithby. “You naughty girl,” she admonished the dog. “You know you are not allowed upstairs.”

Daisy only gazed at her blankly, tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, with its crooked teeth. It was hard to look at her and keep a straight face.

“It’s a waste of breath scolding her now,” Darius said. “She’s a dog. To all intents and purposes, they have no past. She wandered because she was bored. She must have been very bored to climb all those stairs.”

“Ah, yes, how could I forget?” Lady Lithby said with that easy laugh of hers.

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