21. Sisters-in-Law Confer

CHAPTER 21

SISTERS-IN-LAW CONFER

A n hour later, Gisborn Hall

Ensconced in the parlor of Gisborn Hall, Hannah hummed softly as she embroidered her daughter’s initial on the corner of a hanky. With the other family members having gone to their beds and the servants to the kitchens for their breakfast, the household had grown quiet. The only sounds came from an occasional crackle or pop from the wood in the fireplace and the soft snores of the Alpenmastiff, Muff MacDuff, at her feet.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs had her glancing towards the door, but she was still surprised when Parkerhouse, the butler, appeared.

Muff raised himself from her feet, his manner suggesting he was expecting a problem and might have to bark a warning.

“My lady, Lady Bellingham is paying a call. Shall I tell her you are in residence and escort her up?”

Hannah inhaled softly. “Yes, but send her up while you see to bringing tea,” she replied, heartened there was someone else awake on such a cool and rainy day. Barbara was probably the only other person in the immediate vicinity who had managed to get any sleep the night before.

“I feared you would be abed with everyone else,” Barbara said when she hurried into the room.

Muff wagged his tail but knew to stay where he was.

Hannah stood and pulled her sister-in-law into an embrace. “I had given it some thought,” she replied, motioning for Barbara to take the chair next to hers. “But I quite like the house when it’s this quiet. Oh, and I’ve ordered tea,” she added.

“I wasn’t going to prevail upon your hospitality, but after that quick jaunt in the rain... I will have a cup.” Barbara gave the dog a quick scratch behind one ear.

“What brings you over here?” Hannah asked, settling back into her chair. Assured nothing was amiss, Muff retook his place, apparently satisfied with the little attention he had received.

“I need to speak with someone, or I think I’ll go mad.”

Hannah’s eyes rounded. “What’s happened? Did Will not agree to the idea of the boys going on their Grand Tour?”

Barbara blinked. “Actually, he agreed wholeheartedly. I was surprised. And Donald is quite happy to act as cicerone for them,” she added, her gaze going to her mind’s eye for a moment.

“So… what has happened to have you braving the rain to see me?” Hannah asked, displaying a teasing grin.

Barbara pulled a missive from her pocket. “This was delivered to the house about a fortnight ago. Will opened it, but...” She handed it to Hannah. “He, uh...”

Hannah took the wrinkled paper as if it might explode and regarded the feminine script for a moment. “Cannot read... Latin, is it? Or...?” She angled her head to one side before giving it a shake. “I’m afraid I never learned to read more than a few words, either.” She studied the outside of the envelope, immediately noticing the smudge that rendered the first name unreadable. She handed it back to Barbara. “Who is it from?”

“Nikky.”

Hannah stared at Barbara for a moment. “The name isn’t familiar to me,” she said. Her blonde brows suddenly crinkled. “Although... Elizabeth, uh, Viscountess Bostwick, has mentioned a younger cousin by that name,” she said, referring to one of her friends in Mayfair. “Nicoletta is the full name, I believe,” she said. “Can you read the writing?”

“I can, and I did,” Barbara admitted. “The letter was intended for Donald, but it was delivered to Ellsworth Park by mistake. I think...” She stopped speaking when Parkerhouse appeared with the tea tray. He set it on the low table in front of them, bowed, and left as quickly as he appeared.

“You think...” Hannah prompted.

“I think my son left something behind in Catania. Someone , I mean,” she replied.

In the middle of pouring a cup of tea, Hannah paused and stared at Barbara. “A... a lover, do you suppose?” she asked, a playful grin lifting her lips as she waggled her eyebrows. “Named Nikky?”

“I do. And a babe as well.”

Hannah set the teapot down onto the salver and stared at Barbara as if she had been burned. “Donald hasn’t been to Sicily since... since his Grand Tour,” she said. She handed over the cup of tea as she displayed an expression of puzzlement. “What’s it been? Five… six years ago?”

“Six, so the boy must be five years old now?” Barbara guessed.

Hannah waved a hand. “Wait. We’re talking about my nephew Donald here,” she said, as if protesting Barbara’s assertion he had fathered a child.

“We are,” Barbara agreed.

Hannah scoffed. “He is a model of responsibility,” she argued, ready to defend her oldest nephew against any and all accusations. “He would not have left a girl behind if he knew she was with child. And once he learned of it...” She stopped and pointed to the letter. “Is this the first he would have heard from... from this Nikky?”

Barbara shook her head. “It’s quite evident they have been corresponding for some time. I have reason to believe Nikky is married to an aristocrat. Someone with the given name Ricardo,” she said, opening the letter. “He’s quite ill. Apparently quite old as well.”

Hannah took a sip of tea before asking, “Will you read it to me?”

Setting aside her teacup, Barbara took a breath before reciting the words, pausing occasionally to interpret the foreign words.

My dearest Donald,

Your latest letter arrived this morning, and I am glad of it as it brings good news of your correspondence with the publishers in London. It seems you are to be a published author. I hope (and expect) your words about Catania might bring more travelers to our shores.

Upon hearing Hannah’s soft gasp, Barbara paused. “He told us over breakfast this morning that he’s written a travel guide for young men. A publisher in London has agreed to print it.”

Dipping her head, Hannah said, “I wondered when he was going to tell you.”

Barbara’s eyes widened. “How... how long have you known of it?” she asked in dismay.

“Only a few days, but...” She waved to the letter. “He obviously shared it with her some time ago.”

Arching a brow, Barbara immediately understood Hannah’s point. “Learning this has me wondering what else he hasn’t told me,” she whispered.

“Well, I feel as if we’re eavesdropping,” Hannah countered. “The opening line says, ‘My dearest Donald’, so we know to whom the letter was written.”

“Should I stop reading then?” Barbara asked, ready to refold the missive.

“You’ll do no such thing. Read the rest right now,” Hannah demanded.

Dipping her head in an effort to hide her humor, Barbara took a moment to find where she had stopped.

Much has happened since I last wrote, and none of it good. But I have already worried you needlessly. Antony is quite fine. He has learned all his letters and he knows how to read some words. I have seen to it he knows some English, and he practices with Armenia and Father when given the opportunity. He is also now breeched, I believe is what you call it, since he grew out of all of his gowns last month.

Ricardo was quite glad for it, for he thought the boy would be mistaken for a girl given his long dark hair (which I have since cut shorter so now it is curly). Antony now appears to be a very proper young gentleman with good manners and the ability to bow without falling onto his head.

Barbara paused as Hannah lifted a hand to cover her mouth. Giggles escaped them both. “Tom was always losing his balance when he was that age,” Hannah murmured.

“David used to topple over. Practically somersaulted the first time he bowed for you,” Barbara said as a tear threatened to escape the corner of her eye.

“I remember. He was so serious. Trying so hard to impress me, and I was near to bursting with laughter.”

“Which had me in a terrible state,” Barbara countered, her grin belying the tears that fell. She sniffled before she continued to read.

We hosted my aunt Armenia and several other aristocrats for a dinner last week. They pretend all is well, but although they do not care for the Bourbons who rule this part of the world, they are not of a mind to put up a fight. Wars are expensive, and none are willing to fund an army.

Two days after the dinner, Montblanc fell ill. He struggles to breathe, and with the heat, he remains here in the castle on Mount Aetna when he would usually prefer to be in town or Taormina for the summer. I would as well, for it is lonely up here.

“Montblanc,” Hannah murmured. “I’ll have to ask Henry if he might have a book about the European peerage in the library.”

“I think his given name is Ricardo,” Barbara said, holding up a finger. She resumed reading aloud.

The physician comes every day to administer some foul smelling medicine. There are times I wonder if he is trying to hasten Ricardo’s departure from this earth. Perhaps he thinks it would be a blessing, but I know I would miss his kind words and steady presence, as would Antony. He has always been a loving father.

I think of you often—every few days, Antony does something that reminds me of you. I read to him every day, for I want him to know about the world. When we are back in the villa in town, I shall have the portrait artist return to do another miniature of him. He grows so quickly!

I pray you have a good harvest and can write to me soon of it. I want to know you are in good stead.

With all my love (and Antony’s),

Nikky

Barbara glanced up, surprised to see Hannah staring at the fire. “So… do you believe me now?” she asked in a quiet voice.

Hannah inhaled softly. “I do,” she murmured. “Which has me wondering what you’re going to do.” She tore her gaze from the flames and stared at Barbara.

“I don’t know what to do,” she replied. “What would you do if you learned your oldest boy had fathered a child and kept it a secret?”

Fairly certain Nathaniel knew better—Henry had been rather firm with all three of his sons when it came to matters of the opposite sex—Hannah had never given a thought to what she would do in a similar circumstance.

Until that moment.

“I would meet with him in private. Calmly. Over tea and biscuits. Tell him what I had discovered and allow him time to explain himself.”

Barbara blinked. “You could be that reasonable?”

Hannah scoffed again. “I could try,” she replied, lifting her head defiantly, her expression suggesting she wasn’t entirely convinced. “Especially knowing he’ll be returning to Sicily at some point in the next year,” she added, arching a brow to emphasize her point. She suddenly stood, which had Muff rising in alarm, and hurried to one of the parlor windows. “He’s in the cottage now,” she stated upon spotting a light in one of the stone building’s windows. “With everyone abed, now would be the perfect time to take him a tin of biscuits, make tea, and confront him with what you know. Deliver his letter, too,” she suggested.

Barbara inhaled softy. “All right,” she whispered.

Returning to stand in front of her chair, Hannah regarded her sister-in-law for a long moment before she said, “Be sure you apologize.”

Her eyes rounding, Barbara scoffed. “Whatever for?”

“For reading his private correspondence,” she replied, arching a blonde brow even as her lips quirked. “He’ll forgive you once you tell him how much you want to meet your grandchild.”

Barbara stared at Hannah for several seconds. “Grandchild,” she whispered, her breath catching. “I have to do it right now,” she agreed. “Or I’ll lose my nerve.”

“Do let me know how it goes,” Hannah said, wincing. “And don’t for a single moment think I’m going to be able to keep this a secret from Henry.”

Wincing, Barbara set aside her teacup and stood. “And he’ll turn around and discuss it with Will,” she said, knowing the two men talked about everything that happened on the Gisborn estate.

Stuffing the letter into the pocket in her gown, Barbara said, “So I’d best tell him first.”

“ After you speak with Donald,” Hannah stated.

“Yes. After,” she agreed. “Oh, and you should all come for dinner at Ellsworth Park this evening,” she added. “So we can discuss the particulars of our boys’ Grand Tours.”

Hannah nodded. “I’ll be sure everyone is up and ready to be there at six o’clock,” she promised.

A moment later, Barbara had taken her leave of the parlor and of Gisborn Hall, hoping the Ellsworth Park cook had a tin of biscuits and some tea.

She might have to borrow the decanter of brandy from the study, too.