Once A Lady by Salisbury JR

Author:Salisbury, JR
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
Published: 2021-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

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Kirkcaldy entered his study, the same room used by his father and ancestors before him. Nothing had actually changed in the room in generations. Still hanging on the wall were a hunt scene, a landscape of the estate, and a portrait of the first Duke of Kirkcaldy. The large, ornately carved desk still sat in the same place where it had for more than a hundred years.

He stared at the pile of correspondence neatly stacked in the center of his desk. To the right were the ledgers his estate manager had placed there upon his return. Rather than sit down, he walked across the well-worn rug to the sideboard and poured himself two fingers of whiskey. He returned to the desk and sat down, placing the glass to the side.

Going through the papers, he separated them into different stacks. Business, personal, and what he deemed social—people wanting something from the dukedom. Those he would read last. As he looked closer, he noted one from Lady Caroline's brother, the Marquess of Trent. He set everything else aside to read it first. It had to be important for him to openly send it. Trent and he had agreed the possibility was too great that any correspondence between them might be intercepted by someone the earl might have hired and never reach its destination. This must be important.

He broke the seal and unfolded the missive. His eyes quickly scanned the contents. Something about the earl. Kirkcaldy stopped and reread what he'd just been over. He couldn't believe what he read. Trent advised that the Earl of Carlisle had suffered an apoplexy while in London and was not expected to make a full recovery. If he even recovered at all. He advised if his sister was not still on the continent to have her remain. Same if she'd returned. His family had notified him not knowing how to locate the countess and asked if he would take care of getting word to her. He wrote that he agreed and would write or telegraph when he had more information.

Kirkcaldy rocked back in his chair. He hoped the earl was not suffering. From Trent's missive however, it sounded dire.

Trent's insistence that his sister not go to her husband's sick-bed indicated to Kirkcaldy the man's prognosis was still unknown. He could recover completely, though he doubted a man with the earl's health issues would walk away from it unscathed. Most likely and from what he read into this letter, Carlisle's future was dire, and he didn't want his sister to return until he had a good idea what direction the earl's fragile health would take.

He set the letter down in front of him on the desk and scrubbed his hands over his face. He wondered if this might be a ruse on the earl's part as a way to try and flesh Caroline out of hiding. Trent hadn't indicated actually seeing Carlisle in person.

This was a matter to discuss with Caroline, but he would write

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