4. David

4

David

S hit.

David stood at the door to Harry’s room, just as he had last night. He’d intended to have an adult conversation with his son to try and deal with the mess he’d made. Instead…

He glanced around the empty bedroom. The bed was unmade, its duvet sagging onto the floor. The drawers had been pulled out and emptied of their contents. He let out a sigh as he turned off the light that had been left on—despite the sun streaming through the corridor’s windows. They’d left under the cover of darkness then.

Without a word to David—and without Harry’s new wife.

He’d already had Pretoria find some clean clothes for Caroline and run a hot bath. Had Harry really brought her here with nothing? He thought his son would have better sense than that, but apparently not.

Given the fact that he’d told everyone he’d be away for a month, there was almost no post waiting for him in his office. Even Sian hadn’t yet sent a reply to his telegram, although he’d bet half a crown he knew what it would contain. He grinned as he thought of the letter full of good-natured insults he was sure to receive.

He and Sian were their parents’ only children. They were only a year apart in age, and he missed her something terrible. But Sian had found what he never had, what he’d always desired— a great love.

And Roscoe did take care of her, David had to give him that. Although his brother-in-law did live in New York, which meant that David ended up spending hundreds of pounds crossing the Atlantic each year.

Once he’d moved past the two letters he had received, David attempted to look over the latest reports from the mining company his great-great-grandfather had founded. Whilst flocks of estates fell around the country, the Marquessate of Menai was lucky enough to be in possession of one of the largest copper mines in the world.

Typically, an estate would be run by an agent or a steward, but such a large copper mine needed an entire company to function efficiently. David felt very fortunate indeed that he wasn’t left to flounder on his own. He was perfectly capable of doing so verbally, but understanding and conveying written information was something he’d struggled with since he was a boy.

And didn’t the state of his office suffer for it.

It wasn’t until half past ten that Pretoria knocked on the office door, with a shy Caroline standing behind her, reminding him every inch of an injured starling he’d once found on the shores below Castell Du'r Arddu. “Eich Arglwyddiaeth?” Your Lordship.

“Thank you, Pretoria,” David answered in English, standing and giving his unexpected guest what he hoped was a comforting smile. “Caroline, come in. How are you feeling this morning?”

“Defeated,” she admitted, gingerly sitting in the chair opposite the desk. Her gaze found the window behind him, exploring the cliffside view he loved so well. Pale blonde curls cascaded down her shoulders, almost reaching her waist. “I’m sorry for giving you such a fright last night.”

He waved it off, shifting a stack of papers on his desk to allow him to see her properly. Despite her vivid blue eyes being puffy with tears, she really was extraordinarily pretty. What had possessed Harry to discard such a treasure? Perhaps he was going mad.

Steeling himself, he pushed onwards, hearing gulls screeching beyond the window behind him. He hated to be the one to cause her more pain. “There is something you should be aware of, Caroline. I was hoping Harry would be receptive to discussing this in the morning light, but he…uh, he left in the night. I’m so sorry.”

The news didn’t seem to come as a surprise. “I gathered.” She nodded, her deadened eyes staring beyond him. “I overheard one of the maids saying something about his car being gone for hours.”

David expelled a long sigh to get rid of some of his frustration with Harry. He needed to focus on the problems he could solve. “Would you like me to contact your parents? They must be worried sick about you.”

“They’re dead,” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. “I lived with my cousin.” Her throat shifted as she swallowed, morning sunlight sparkling in her saddened eyes. “But she won’t want me back now. I betrayed her trust.”

As had Harry.

For the thousandth time that morning, David reflected on what a mess his son had made.

“Could I send a letter to her?” she asked tentatively, curling her hair behind her ear. “Just to let them know I’m all right.”

Was she? “Of course.” David adjusted his glasses. “Castell Du'r Arddu is at your disposal—as am I.”

Dinner that evening wasn’t the most sombre one David had ever attended, but it was certainly in the running.

The two of them sat at one end of the polished mahogany dining table, eighteen vacant seats stretching out beside them. Family portraits decorated the walls around them, gilded at the edges and yellowed by countless layers of varnish.

The servants had done well today, considering they were supposed to have a month off. David had offered the staff double pay to make up for the inconvenience, and most of them had jumped at the chance—including two of the footstep waiting on their dinner. It was a fairly simple one—only three courses—but the main course was one of his favourites, a mouth-watering filet de b?uf en croute . Pretoria, meanwhile, had scampered down to the village to buy Caroline some ready-to-wear clothes. They were not, perhaps, the height of fashion, but they were clean and comfortable.

The clink of silverware against bone china caught his attention.

David’s chest clenched at the sight of Caroline’s trembling hand—and the valiant way she fought off the torrent of tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She relinquished her grip on her knife and fork, instead electing to conceal her tremors in her lap.

Oh, Starling.

“W-when do you expect me to leave?” she asked him, her watery blue eyes glassy with emotion.

He abandoned his dinner, getting to his feet and kneeling beside her. “I don’t,” he promised her, raising his shoulders in a simple shrug. “I’m not a monster, Caroline. You’re my daughter-in-law now. In the absence of your husband, your wellbeing is my responsibility. ”

With a shuddering sigh of relief, Caroline pointed to the window opposite her—the one through which she had a perfect view of the driveway. “I k-keep expecting his car to come down it. I keep hoping it’s all a big mistake and I haven’t been d-discarded.”

That was a schoolboy error, sitting her right in front of the sodding window. David chided himself. Perhaps they would take dinner somewhere else tomorrow, somewhere looking out onto the rugged cliffs behind the property.

David took her delicate little hands in his, finding them to be unexpectedly cold. “Harry is a fool, Caroline.”

A tear dropped off her jawline to land on his knuckle. “I planned a life with him. I made him my everything . I ran away from my family for him and yet he’s cast me aside like rubbish. I don’t…I don’t know what to do without him.”

“You take it one day at a time,” David told her, squeezing her hand. “If you want to rage at him, you rage. If you want to scream, you scream. Feel whatever you need to feel, Caroline. Some days will be better than others, but I promise you that I’ll be here through them all, okay?”

Her lip quivered. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

If someone had told him this time yesterday that he’d be sheltering Harry’s abandoned wife for the foreseeable future, the word burden might have crossed his mind. But seeing her here in front of him…

Caroline brought out a visceral protectiveness from deep within him. Something primal and savage and possessive. He wanted to care for her. He’d seen Caroline at rock bottom, and he wanted to nurture her back to life.

Her eyes lifted, meeting his for the first time that evening. “You could never be a burden, Caroline. You’re family now. You’re not alone in this—I’m here with you no matter what. ”

She exhaled as though the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. “Thank you.”