Page 101 of The Fortunes of Ashmore Castle

Afton appeared during the last exchange. ‘Off you go, Sam,’ he said firmly, and the footman hurried away, still looking anxious. ‘He thinks he’s going to get into trouble if his lordship appears in public improperly dressed,’ Afton said, following Giles into his room. Seeing Giles’s amused quirk of the lips, he went on, ‘Poor Sam! He came to me last night when you’d all gone in to dinner to say that Lord Cordwell wouldn’t let him dress him. He kept taking the things out of his hands and putting them on himself.’

‘Shocking!’ Giles said, and exchanged a grin with his manservant.

Alice travelled to the church in the second carriage with Arabella and Miss Kettel. Arabella held her hand, and unexpectedly fell asleep on the short journey with her head on Alice’s shoulder. In her other hand she clutched the felt pig, Pepper. Her face showed new planes, making her look older than her years – twelve or thirteen, past the first stage of childhood – and the black dress did nothing for her. Alice wondered what would happen to her in the coming years, a penniless girl without a title.

Miss Kettel leaned forward and spoke to Alice over the sleeping child’s head. ‘They blame me, you know,’ she whispered. Alice was startled to be confided in. ‘And I blame myself,’ Miss Kettel went on. ‘I should have taken better care of him. I’ll never forgive myself. I don’t know why they’ve kept me on. I expected to be dismissed straight away.’

‘But Arabella needs you,’ Alice said.

The carriage stopped outside St Peter’s Church, and the child woke, sat up and looked bewildered. ‘Is it over?’ she asked.

‘No, it hasn’t started yet,’ Alice answered her.

Arabella looked at her with dread. ‘I don’t have to see him, do I? They won’t make me look at him?’

‘No,’ said Alice, kindly. ‘He’s asleep in his nice cosy box now.’

‘Like a dormouse,’ said Arabella. ‘He always wanted a pet mouse.’

The door was opened and the step let down. ‘Come along,’ said Miss Kettel, briskly. ‘Mustn’t keep people waiting.’

Arabella climbed out obediently, and took Alice’s hand again. ‘Can we go riding this afternoon?’ she asked.

‘Not this afternoon. Tomorrow, perhaps.’

‘I never let him ride Biscuit,’ she said. ‘I wish I had now.’

‘He was better off on Goosebumps. Biscuit would have had him off,’ Alice reassured her.

Arabella sighed. ‘I suppose it doesn’t matter now.’

Lord Cordwell excused himself straight after luncheon. ‘If you’ll forgive me I’ll go up and pack. And would you be kind enough to order the carriage for me, to take me to the station?’

‘But – you’ll stay the night, surely?’ Kitty said.

He bowed slightly to her. ‘I don’t see any purpose. We come from such different worlds – I don’t think any of us enjoyed dinner last night, and to repeat the experiment would be folly. I’d like to get back home tonight if possible. I have clients to see tomorrow.’

‘You’re a busy man,’ Richard said, with faint irony.

Cordwell looked at him seriously. ‘I am. And I don’t see how this title with no estate attached to it changes anything. So I must be about my business. Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Stainton. I don’t suppose we will meet again.’

Richard waited until he was well out of earshot before laughing. ‘One can’t fault his logic – but oh dear! “Thank you for your hospitality,” in a tone that said, as clear as day, “This whole visit was a waste of my valuable time.”’

‘I suppose it was,’ Giles said. ‘We could have had the funeral without him. It was only courtesy to include him.’

‘And to think I told him to call us Cousin Richard and Cousin Giles!’ Richard chortled.

Giles gave an unwilling half-smile. ‘I did think at the time you were rather going overboard.’

When Kitty and Alice arrived back at Aunt Caroline’s house, they were met by Rachel in a state of agitation. ‘A letter’s come from Mama,’ she said. ‘Linda wants Arabella to go to Usingen. Miss Kettel’s to take her.’

‘It’s proper that she should want to see her,’ Kitty said, almost in relief. It troubled her to think of anyone having so little care for their children.

‘Yes, but you don’t understand. Mama says that since Miss Kettel will be going, she can chaperone us on the journey as well. She’s ordered Alice and me to go. She wants us to stay all summer.’

‘I don’t want to go,’ Alice said. ‘I don’t want to miss school.’

‘It’s worse for me,’ Rachel said wildly. ‘She’ll try to stop me marrying Angus, I know she will.’