Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The trip home was uneventful, even though her mother kept to her stateroom most of the way. Even with placid seas, the poor lady was much beset by seasickness. Fortunately, they were not blown off course this time. They left at daybreak and were disembarking by twilight.

Lenora, the toddlers, and the nurse walked about on deck while Dorian communed with the captain. The bright sun sparkled on the waters. She found the tang of salt in the air bracing. She was glad, however, that they had thought of putting leading strings on the little ones. They found all the parts of the ship fascinating and more than once attempted to climb the sides.

Lenora’s brothers-in-law met them at the dock with a carriage and a wagon for their luggage. It was a good thing, for while Lenora and Dorian had but one trunk between them, Lady Temple had six. Then, of course, there was also their household gear.

“We thought it likely that it would be coming on dark by the time you landed,” one of the gentlemen said. “So we rented a house. The inns are not to be abided, and there is word of sickness on the mainland. I trust you are all well?”

“We are,” Dorian assured him. “The only one who is suffering is Lady Temple.”

“And she is feeling much better with firm ground beneath her feet,” Lady Temple put in. “Goodness, I cannot think why someone doesn’t build a bridge across that horrid stretch of water!”

The rest of the party exchanged glances, then one of the brothers-in-law said, “No doubt they will as soon as they invent pylons that will reach deep enough and be strong enough to withstand the tides.”

They all got a good laugh out of that.

They were soon loaded up and off to the townhouse. Lenora’s sisters greeted her at the door. They cooed over the baby, then one of them said, “We have the nursery all set up. There is even room for your nanny and her baby. I trust she won’t mind sharing?”

The nanny was looking about her wide-eyed, holding her own child on one hip and Lenora and Dorian’s little boy on the other.

“She doesn’t speak English,” Lenora said. Then she addressed the nanny in French, “They have a place set up for you and the children. Their own little ones are there, and their nannies besides. Will you be all right?”

The nanny nodded vigorously and was whisked away by a maid who was also from France.

“There, that’s taken care of,” her sister, Elodie, said. “The children will have their suppers in the nursery. We have the dining table all laid. You must be famished!”

“I am hungry,” Lenora admitted. “We had an easy crossing, but a ship’s biscuits and tea are an insult to one’s stomach. I almost envied Mother since her seasickness kept her from desiring food.”

“Oh, goodness!” the other sister, Claudia, said. “Mother, you must be desperate for a good cup of tea. Are you feeling well enough to eat?”

“I certainly am,” Lady Temple replied. “I hope you have something more than tea and toast.”

Elodie laughed. “Of course we do. Come, come, we are all so glad to see you.”

The meal was a simple one, with a roast joint, vegetables, bread, cheese, and a sweet for after. It was served a la Francaise, so there was no need to keep the servants in the room while they dined.

“Tell us all the news,” Lenora demanded. “Have you met Lady Iris’s new beau? What of Emma? How is she faring? And how is our brother? I see that he is not here.”

Elodie rolled her eyes as she passed the plate of rolls. “Which beau? Lady Iris has several, almost a new one for each day of the week. If she has settled on one, it is news to me.”

“In her last letter . . .” Lenora began.

“Oh, heavens!” Claudia exclaimed. “That must have been weeks ago. She was proclaiming she was engaged and would have a double wedding with August and Emma … you know about August and Emma?”

“A little,” Lenora said. “August wrote three whole lines announcing he would be wed in June, and Lady Iris wrote nearly a whole volume about how they would have a double wedding.”

“Well, August and Emma are still planning to marry,” Elodie said. “But Lady Iris broke off the engagement with that beau and has had three since.”

“Good heavens!” Lady Temple put in, pausing to spoon up the soup. “At that rate, she will be considered very fast and not at all marriageable.”

“Very nearly,” Claudia agreed. “I’m not sure if there are any bachelors in the ton she has not been seen walking out with of late. I put it all down to that awful Charles Hooper. Do you know he is still writing plays?”

“Is he?” Lenora exclaimed. “I should have thought he might have slunk off to America, hanging his head in shame.”

“No such luck,” Claudia’s husband said. “He’s been swanning around London putting on bad performances and calling them art. It really is quite shameful.”

Lady Temple clicked her tongue and shook her head. “He did a great deal of harm with that one about Bath. I hesitate to think what he is doing in London, where the entire town is already a hotbed of gossip. But why isn’t August here?”

“I am really not quite sure,” Elodie said. “He said he had business on the other side of Bath. But tell us of your adventures in France. Did it rain the whole time?”

The rest of the dinner conversation was taken up with Lenora and Dorian’s rambles through the sleepy country village where they had been living. They described the ruins, the orchards that were just coming back to themselves, and the vineyards.”

“It is so lovely in the spring when the fruit trees bloom,” Lenora said. “The terrain is too rough for a pram, but Dorian purchased this adorable little cart for the baby, and we took him everywhere. He loved catching blossoms as they drifted out of the trees.”

“I should look in on the orchards at home,” Dorian said. “And the walking garden at the hospital. The administrator has sent reports, but I long to see it all for myself.”

There was a pall of silence at the table for a moment. Then Elodie said, “The walking gardens are quite fine, and the fruit trees are blooming. I do not think you will find the physical aspects of things much changed.

Then her husband chimed in, “You should come out and visit our estate while you are here. The gardener has put in a huge herb garden. I’m sure you would approve of its contents, Dorian.”

As if it had teetered on the edge of a dangerous cliff, the conversation turned to prospects for the hunting season, who was walking out with whom, and the latest antics of the prince regent.

Later that night, as they prepared for bed, Lenora said to Dorian, “That was rather odd, don’t you think?”

“What was, my love?” Dorian asked absently picking at a frayed spot on his slippers.

“The way everyone shied away from discussing the hospital.” Lenora watched him as he pulled a loose cord from the band on the slipper. “Here,” she added. “Let me snip that before you have the whole shoe undone.”

Dorian looked up at her in surprise, then held his shoe out for her to snip the thread with the scissors she kept in her little sewing kit that resided in her pocket. Having had few servants in the past two years, Lenora had learned to do a great many housewifely tasks.

“It was, rather, at that,” he said. “After we settle in at de Clare Place tomorrow, I’ll go visit with the administrator. Perhaps he can shed some light on the matter.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Lenora said.

“I hope so,” Dorian said. “It seemed like a good idea to come back, but now I am wondering if we should simply have sent gifts.”

“No, no, we could not have possibly,” Lenora said. “Both August and Emma would have felt slighted. And think how it would have looked. As if we were somehow ashamed of the union.”

“No one but your mother came to our wedding,” Dorian pointed out, flipping back the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed.”

“I’m just a female and the youngest besides,” Lenora said. “We could get away with that because no one cared. And it saved us from being a ninety-day wonder. But August is the heir to the Temple estate. He won’t inherit Father’s title because that was earned for his writing, but the family has had a respectable standing for a long time.”

“I suppose that is true,” Dorian said. “And I need to stand as next of kin for Emma since her father cannot. Still, I would be happy not to have to deal with friends and acquaintances, especially if there is some new scandal brewing.”

“We’ve had a lovely vacation from it all,” Lenora said. Perhaps we should just be grateful for what we have.”

“I suppose so,” Dorian replied, scooting over to make room for her.

Lenora snuggled in beside him, enjoying his warmth and the closeness they had always shared.

Later, Dorian’s breathing had evened out, showing that he was asleep. But sleep did not come for Lenora. She lay staring up into the dark, worrying about what tomorrow would bring.

Once I would not have cared. But now, I do. Not so much for my own sake, but for Dorian’s and for our son’s. I think this is how Mother must have felt and why she worked so hard to hide Father’s affairs.

She snuggled into Dorian’s side, seeking to shut out all her fears. He murmured something unintelligible, then snaked an arm around her to pull her closer. In that safe haven, she closed her eyes and finally slept.