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‘Come sit.’ Penford offered Lorene his arm and led her to a sitting area, with its pale pink brocade sofa and matching chairs that their mother had selected for this room. He placed her in one of the chairs and he sat in the other.
The Marquess gestured to Genna to sit, as well.
She hesitated. ‘May I look at the room first?’
‘By all means,’ Penford responded.
‘You lived here, I believe,’ Rossdale said, remaining at her side.
‘I did, sir,’ she said too brightly.
So far he was not divulging the fact they’d met before. He stood politely while she gazed at another familiar plasterwork ceiling, its design mimicked in the octagon carpet below. Again, nothing was changed, not one stick of furniture out of place, not one vase moved to a different table, nor any porcelain figurines rearranged. She gazed at her grandmother’s portrait above the fireplace, powdered hair and silk gown, seated in an idyllic garden.
Rossdale said, ‘A magnificent painting.’
‘Our grandmother.’ Although neither she nor Lorene bore any resemblance to the lady. ‘By Gainsborough.’
‘Indeed?’ He sounded impressed.
Genna had always loved the painting, but it was Gainsborough’s depiction of the sky and greenery that fascinated her the most, so wild and windy.
‘I am pouring claret. Would you like some, Genna?’ Penford called over to her.
She felt summoned. ‘Yes, thank you.’
She walked over and lowered herself on to the sofa. Rossdale sat next to her.
‘Does the room pass your inspection?’ Penford asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
He handed her the glass of wine.
Was he censuring her for paying more attention to the room than the people in it? Well, how ill mannered of him! It was the most natural thing in the world to want to see the house where one grew up.
‘It is as I remember it,’ she responded as if it had been a genuine question. ‘I confess to a great desire to see all the rooms again. We were in much turmoil when we left.’ When he’d sent them packing, she meant.
Penford’s face stiffened. He turned to Lorene, shutting Genna out. ‘Do you also have a desire to see the house?’
Lorene stared into space. ‘I have put it behind me.’
‘I imagine Tinmore Hall is much grander than Summerfield,’ he remarked.
Grander and colder, Genna thought.
‘It is very grand, indeed,’ Lorene responded.
Genna turned to Rossdale. ‘I expect the house where you grew up would make both Summerfield House and Tinmore Hall look like tenants’ cottages.’
His brows rose. Now he knew she knew his rank.
‘Not so much different.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘Definitely grander, though.’
‘Ross grew up at Kessington,’ Penford explained to Lorene. ‘You have heard of it?’
Her eyes grew wide. Now Lorene knew Rossdale’s rank, as well. Wait until Lorene told Tinmore whom he’d missed meeting.
‘Yes, of course.’ Lorene turned to Rossdale. ‘It is in Suffolk, is it not?’
‘It is,’ he replied. ‘And it is a grand house.’ He grinned. ‘My father should commission someone to paint it some day.’
He leaned forward to pour himself more wine and brushed against Genna’s leg.
Secretly joking with her, obviously. What fun to flaunt a secret and not reveal it.
‘I paint, you know,’ she piped up, feigning all innocence. ‘I even paint houses sometimes.’
‘Do you?’ Penford said politely. ‘How nice to be so accomplished.’
Genna waited for him to ask Lorene her accomplishments, which were primarily in taking excellent care of her younger siblings for most of their lives. He did not ask, though, and Lorene would never say.
Genna could boast on her sister’s behalf, though. ‘Lorene plays the pianoforte beautifully. And she sings very well, too.’
Lorene gazed at her hands clasped in her lap. ‘I am not as skilled as Genna would have you believe.’
‘Perhaps you will play for us tonight,’ Penford said, still all politeness.
‘After dinner, perhaps?’ Genna suggested.
‘Perhaps after dinner you would show me the house, Miss Summerfield,’ Rossdale asked. ‘It would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Ease my curiosity about the building and give you your nostalgic tour.’
How perfect, Genna thought. Lorene would simply spoil her enjoyment if she came along and Lord Penford’s presence only reminded Genna that all her beloved rooms now belonged to him. With Rossdale, she could enjoy herself.
She smiled. ‘An excellent plan.’
Chapter Three (#u4effa6c4-5cae-55ce-a353-1c7099a2e2a9)
Ross enjoyed the dinner more than any he could recall in recent memory. Genna regaled them with stories about the house and their childhood years. She made those days sound idyllic, although if one listened carefully, one could hear the loneliness of neglected children in the tales.
Still, she made him laugh and her sister, too, which was a surprise. Heretofore Lady Tinmore had lacked any animation whatsoever. Dell was worse, though. He’d turned sullen and quiet throughout the meal.
It had never been Dell’s habit to be silent. He’d once been game for anything and as voluble as they come. He’d turned sombre, though. Ross could not blame him. He simply wished Dell happy again.
In any event, Ross was eager to take a tour of the house with the very entertaining Genna.
After the dessert, he spoke up. ‘I propose we forgo our brandy and allow Miss Summerfield her house tour. Then we can gather for tea afterwards and listen to Lady Tinmore play the pianoforte.’
Dell would not object.
‘Very well,’ Dell responded. He turned to Lady Tinmore as if an afterthought. ‘If you approve, ma’am?’
‘Certainly.’ Lady Tinmore lowered her lashes.
She’d never let on if she did object, Ross was sure.
‘What a fine idea! Let us go now.’ Genna sprang to her feet and started for the door.
Ross reached her just as the footman opened it for her. She flashed the man a grateful smile and fondly touched his arm. These servants were the people she grew up with. Ross liked that she showed her affection for them.
They walked out the dining room and into the centre of the house, a room off the hall where the great staircase led to the upper floors.
‘Where shall we start?’ Ross asked.
Genna’s expression turned uncertain. ‘Would you mind terribly if we started in the kitchen? I would so much like to see all the servants. They will most likely be there or in the servants’ hall. You may wait here, if you do not wish to come with me.’
‘Why would I object?’
She smiled. ‘Follow me.’
She led him down a set of stairs to a corridor on the ground floor of the left wing of the house. They soon heard voices and the clatter of dishes.
She hurried ahead and entered the kitchen. ‘Hello, everyone!’
He remained in the doorway and watched.
The cook and kitchen maids dropped what they were doing and flocked around her. Other maids and footmen came from the servants’ hall and other rooms. She hugged or clasped hands with many of them, asking them all questions about their welfare and listening intently to their answers. She shared information about her sisters and her half-brother, but, unlike her cynical conversation with Ross about her siblings, all was sunny and bright when she talked to the servants. So they would have no cause to worry, perhaps?
‘Lorene—’ she went on ‘Lady Tinmore, I mean—asked me to convey her greetings and well wishes to all of you. She is stuck with our host, I’m afraid, but I am certain she will ply me with questions about all of you as soon as we are alone.’
Ross remembered no such exchange between the sisters, but it was kind of Genna to make the servants believe Lady Tinmore thought about them.
Finally Genna seemed to remember him. She gestured towards him and laughed. ‘Lord Rossdale! I do not need to present you, do I? I am certain everyone knows who you are.’ She turned back to the servants. ‘Lord Rossdale begged for a tour of the house, but really only so I could see all its beloved rooms again and make this quick visit to you. I am told little has changed.’
‘Only the rooms that were your parents,’ the housekeeper told her. ‘Lord Penford asked for a few minor changes in your father’s room, which he is using for his own. He asked for your mother’s room to be made over for Lord Rossdale.’
Ross turned to the housekeeper. ‘He needn’t have put you to the trouble, but the room is quite comfortable. For that I thank you.’
Genna looked pleased at his words. ‘We should be on our way, though. I am sure Lady Tinmore will wish to return to Tinmore Hall as soon as possible, so we do not overstay our welcome.’ She grinned. ‘I am less worried about that. I’m happy for our cousin to put up with us for as long as possible. I am so glad to be home for a little while.’
But, of course, it would never be her home again.
There were more hugs and promises that Genna would visit whenever she could.
Ross interrupted the farewells. ‘Might we have a lamp? I suspect some of the rooms will be dark.’
A footman dashed off and soon returned with a lamp. Genna extricated herself and, with eyes sparkling with tears, let Ross lead her away.
When they were out of earshot, she murmured, ‘I miss them all.’ She shot him a defiant look. ‘No doubt you disapprove.’
‘Of missing them?’
‘Of such an attachment to servants,’ she replied.
He lifted his hands in protest. ‘That is unfair, Miss Summerfield. What have I said or done to deserve such an accusation?’
She sighed. ‘You’ve done nothing, have you? Forgive me. I tend to jump to conclusions. It is a dreadful fault. After this past year mixing in society, I learned to expect such sentiments. Certainly Tinmore would have apoplexy if he knew I’d entered the servants’ wing. No doubt that is why Lorene stayed away.’
‘Does your sister disapprove of fraternising with servants as well?’ He would not be surprised. She seemed the opposite of Genna in every way.
‘Lorene?’ Her voice cracked. ‘Goodness, no. But she tries not to displease Tinmore.’ She shrugged. ‘Not even when he could not possibly know.’
‘What shall we see next?’ he asked, eager to change the subject and restore her good cheer.
‘I should like to see my old room,’ she responded. ‘And the schoolroom.’
They climbed the two flights of stairs to the second floor and walked down a corridor to the children’s wing.
She opened one of the doors. ‘This was my room.’
It was a pleasant room with a large window, although the curtains were closed. She walked through the space, subdued and silent.
‘Is it as you remember?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘Everything is in the right place.’
‘You are not happy to see it, though.’
She shook her head. ‘There is nothing of me left here. It could be anyone’s room now.’ She continued to walk around it. ‘Perhaps Lorene knew it would feel like this. Perhaps that is why she did not wish to come.’
He frowned. ‘I am sorry it disappoints you.’
She turned to him with a sad smile. ‘It is odd. I do feel disappointed, but I also like that I am seeing it again. It helps me remember what it once was, even if the remembering makes me sad.’
Ross had rooms in his father’s various residences, rooms he would never have to vacate, except by choice. For him the rooms were more of a cage than a haven.
‘Let us continue,’ she said resolutely.
They entered every bedroom and Genna commented on whose room it had been and related some memory attached to it.
They came to the schoolroom. She ran her fingers over the surface of the table. ‘We left everything here.’ She opened a wooden chest. ‘Here are our slates and some of the toys.’ She pointed to a cabinet. ‘Our books will be in there.’ She sighed. ‘It is as if we walked out of here as children, probably to run out of doors to play.’
‘To become Boadicea?’ Ross remembered.
She smiled. ‘Yes! Out of doors the fun began.’ She clasped her hands together and perused the room one more time. ‘Let us proceed.’
They peeked in other guest bedchambers, but she hesitated when they neared the rooms that had been her parents’. ‘I certainly will not explore Penford’s room.’ She said the name with some disdain.
‘You seem inclined to dislike my friend,’ he remarked.
‘Well, he might have let us stay here a while longer.’ She frowned.
