Free Valerie King by Garden Of Dreams

always,” George announced as Lady Sandifort finished her third glass of champagne.
    Rosamunde addressed her husband. “I wish to see Baddesley. Please take me there, George. I do not care in the least if the repairs are not yet completed.”
    This sudden turn of conversation brought all eyes trained upon George. He grew uneasy. “You know I cannot do so. The last time I was there part of the roof was open to the sky. It is not fit to be inhabited.”
    Lady Sandifort laughed heartily. “How you do tell your whiskers, George!”
    George’s face turned bright red and he ground his teeth.
    Rosamunde began to weep loudly.
    Lucy found she could eat nothing more.
    George rose and fairly threw back his chair so that now two of them were reclining on the floor. He stomped from the chamber and was gone.
    Hetty moved to console Rosamunde, taking her arm and lifting her from her chair. “Come, dearest, let me take you back to your room. I shall have some tea brought to you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Yes, please do take her away,” Lady Sandifort said, laughing. “She is always a watering pot and I cannot bear sniveling creatures that weep and pout incessantly.”
    Hetty cast a hate-filled glance at her, but Lady Sandifort merely laughed anew.
    She addressed Lucy. “See what a happy house you have come to? Charming, is it not? But do not think, Miss Stiles, that I have not made a push to improve things. I have. I have recommended to Robert a score of times to be rid of his brothers and certainly Hetty could find employment as a governess or something since she has no intention of marrying. But he refuses to take my suggestions.”
    Lucy glanced at Robert to see how he received her comments, but he remained silent, meeting her ladyship’s gaze but briefly, and directed Finkley to right the fallen chairs.
    Lady Sandifort, made content by her champagne, however, did not seem to require anyone to speak. Sipping at her fourth glass of bubbling wine, she began to enumerate all the ways she had attempted to be of use at Aldershaw, but how all her efforts went completely unappreciated. She knew she was right about forcing the twins to wait another year for a come-out ball, for did Lucy not notice their behavior even today? How could such improperly behaved young ladies be set loose upon the world?
    At last, after another glass of champagne and perhaps a thousand words more on the subject of how ill-used she had been, Lady Sandifort rose unsteadily to her feet. The butler, seeing she was about to capsize, caught her by the elbow and set her upright.
    A moment later, Lucy found herself alone with Robert. She might have attempted to converse with him, but he rose suddenly to his feet. “You will excuse me, Lucy, but I have a great deal of estate business to attend to this afternoon. I will stay, however, if you wish for it.”
    She could see that he was greatly overset. “Pray do not concern yourself,” she said briskly. “Of course you must tend to business. There can be nothing more important at present, after all.”
    He glanced at her and hesitated. Finally, he said, “I hope you are not too discouraged by what you have witnessed today. All will be well, I am certain of it.”
    “How?” she inquired simply. “How will all be well?”
    “There are matters that must be . . . resolved.”
    “What matters?” She felt certain he had not a single solution in mind for the troubles at Aldershaw.
    “I wish you would trust me but a little,” he snapped.
    “And I wish you would trust me,” she cried.
    He ground his teeth as George had, offered her a polite bow, then quit the room.
    She was alone now. She looked down at her partially consumed meal, cut a slice of beef, and began to eat. She had the strong impression that she would be in great need of such sustenance over the coming weeks.
     
     
    After nuncheon, Lucy went to her bedchamber and remained there for a very long time. The sole and quite overworked upper maid had unpacked