She lay on the bed facing the window and felt the crick in her neck and the aches in her shoulder. Even her hip was bothering her again; old riding injuries coming back to haunt her. Spring did not seem to be coming this year.
The old Dower house on the Duclose estate was far away from everything she loved and could not have. She supposed the self-imposed exile she made for herself was destined to be a trial since the chimneys all smoked, the roof leaked, and the winds off the ocean blew seemingly straight through the walls and into her bones. But Duclose was her childhood home. Let her dear son and his wife and children have all the estates. She kept only this small one. They would not come here, and she could not disturb her daughter-in-law with whatever she did that was so disturbing.
There were no clocks here and few servants. She kept a simple home for a dowager countess. In truth, no countess ever was less high in the instep than Amelia Rose Farling, relic of the 5th earl and mother of the 6th earl of Kenswick. Perhaps that was the source of the problems with Katherine. But she was so tired of wondering and worrying about why and how she became the despised mother-in-law.
She readjusted the blankets above her shoulders to cover her nose and tried to ignore the watery light flooding the window. She slid back into the dreams that haunted since her return. She was young, thirteen, dancing up the pathway from the garden of the neighboring estate, in a white muslin dress with ruffles and lace and a big blue sash. And there he was. And there she was. And that was all there ever was and all she ever wanted and never had and she wished the dream could bring back the smells of the garden and look on his face as he awakened and she awakened to curiosity and the truth of why they had always been drawn together.
A knock at the door announced the daily ritual of getting out of bed and washing to give her servants something to do with their lives. "Come," she announced, and the door opened on Betty and Hannah with hot water, towels, and breakfast tray. "Oh, your Ladyship, The Great House has been opened for Lord Barrington's return. They say he arrives next week. And hasn't it been ever so long since he's come!"
"Thank you, Betty," B responded as the tray was set on her lap and pillows plumped behind her. "I am sure that all the servants at Bellcloe are very pleased to have the family back in residence. What do we have this morning?"
The old Dower house on the Duclose estate was far away from everything she loved and could not have. She supposed the self-imposed exile she made for herself was destined to be a trial since the chimneys all smoked, the roof leaked, and the winds off the ocean blew seemingly straight through the walls and into her bones. But Duclose was her childhood home. Let her dear son and his wife and children have all the estates. She kept only this small one. They would not come here, and she could not disturb her daughter-in-law with whatever she did that was so disturbing.
There were no clocks here and few servants. She kept a simple home for a dowager countess. In truth, no countess ever was less high in the instep than Amelia Rose Farling, relic of the 5th earl and mother of the 6th earl of Kenswick. Perhaps that was the source of the problems with Katherine. But she was so tired of wondering and worrying about why and how she became the despised mother-in-law.
She readjusted the blankets above her shoulders to cover her nose and tried to ignore the watery light flooding the window. She slid back into the dreams that haunted since her return. She was young, thirteen, dancing up the pathway from the garden of the neighboring estate, in a white muslin dress with ruffles and lace and a big blue sash. And there he was. And there she was. And that was all there ever was and all she ever wanted and never had and she wished the dream could bring back the smells of the garden and look on his face as he awakened and she awakened to curiosity and the truth of why they had always been drawn together.
A knock at the door announced the daily ritual of getting out of bed and washing to give her servants something to do with their lives. "Come," she announced, and the door opened on Betty and Hannah with hot water, towels, and breakfast tray. "Oh, your Ladyship, The Great House has been opened for Lord Barrington's return. They say he arrives next week. And hasn't it been ever so long since he's come!"
"Thank you, Betty," B responded as the tray was set on her lap and pillows plumped behind her. "I am sure that all the servants at Bellcloe are very pleased to have the family back in residence. What do we have this morning?"
