I had expected to be greeted by my father. Where was he, I wondered? This was not even the house where he lived. It seemed that it was the Dower House which was to be my home.
The promised mulled wine arrived.
"I thought," said Mistress Longton, "that you would want to go to your rooms as soon as you arrived and I would have something sent up for you to eat there as it is rather late. Then you could have a good rest and we could introduce you to the house and everything tomorrow. I know what these journeys are. You long for nothing but your bed."
The young man Luke said to me: "I shall be your guide."
"Thank you," I replied. "It is very kind of you."
"Indeed, it will be a pleasure," was his comment.
"Christobel and Kate are already good friends of long standing," said Mistress Longton. "Christobel has been acting as Kate's governess in London."
"I am sure that was a very satisfactory arrangement," said the tutor.
Christobel yawned.
"Oh dear," said Mistress Longton. "You are tired. Would you like another glass of wine? No? Well, I am going to take you off to your rooms now. I know you gentlemen are very disappointed, but the hour is late and the young ladies are very, very tired. You both know what a jolting poor travelers have to suffer, especially on these country roads. Come, then. You will have a great deal of time after tonight to get acquainted with each other."
Christobel said: "I must say I am ready for bed."
"They will have taken your baggage up. But you won't want to unpack tonight, I know. I hope you can lay your hands on what you need. If not, perhaps I can help."
"I shall just take out a few night things. I believe I can manage that. Can you, Kate?"
"Oh yes, I am sure I can."
"Then," said Mistress Longton, "let me light you to bed."
I felt mildly bewildered. There was so much I wanted to discover about Luke and Master Roger Camden, and I was too excited for sleep, but it was true I was physically exhausted, and I was sure Mistress Longton was right to send us off to bed. I had an idea that she was usually right.
There was a ewer and basin in the room, so I was able to wash away a little of the grime of the journey. I found the few things I should need and put on my nightgown and got into bed.
Through the latticed window the light of a half moon penetrated the room. The oak beams of the ceiling were thick and the ceiling sloped a little, as did the floor. The bed was a four-poster, and I imagined it had stood there for all of a hundred years. There were a few chairs and a big oak chest, and the table on which stood the basin and ewer.
So this was my home. How different from Maggie's house! I felt a twinge of nostalgia. It was different also from what I had expected, and to be confronted with strangers when I had been expecting my father was a little disconcerting.
There was a light tap on my door.
"Come in," I said, and as I had expected Christobel entered.
"Not asleep?" she said. "I thought you would not be. I'm very tired, but I can't sleep either. I keep feeling as though I'm jolting along in that coach. Kate, you seemed a bit bewildered. I should have told you what I knew about this place we are coming to."
"Did you know the young man would be here?"
"Oh yes, Luke has been here for several years."
"Who is he?"
She was silent for a while. Then she said: "Perhaps you are too young to know of these matters. But you know something, do you not, so you should know the rest. A little knowledge can be more confusing than no knowledge at all."
"Please tell me, Christobel."
"It is late tonight. You need to sleep."
"I do not think I can. It is all so strange ... so different. I thought I was going to my father's house."
"Well, you have. The Dower House belongs to him."
"But he is not here."
"No, of course not. He will be at Rosslyn Manor."
"Where is that?"
"On this estate. It is a large property in this neighborhood and the Manor is about a mile away."
"And my father lives there, and I am to live in the Dower House?"
"It seems a reasonable plan. It might be that it would not be quite de rigueur to have you living in the house with Lady Rosslyn."
"Lady Rosslyn?"
"There is naturally a Lady Rosslyn."
"His wife. Of course. I ... see."
"There is much that you do not see. They have been married for about twenty years, I believe."
"And Luke? Who is Luke?"
"Another such as you are. He is Lord Rosslyn's son, as you are his daughter."
"So he is my brother?"
"Half-brother, I believe it is called."
"And he lives in the Dower House?"
She nodded. "Lord Rosslyn is what is known as a somewhat eccentric gentleman, and eccentric gentlemen do strange things."
"What strange things?"
"Like bringing a family, which society would say he should never have had, to live at the Dower House."
"You mean me ..."
"You and Luke. I suppose one might have been brought into a family in such a way, but two ... and openly ... well, that is Lord Rosslyn."
"So you think I should not have come?"
"Indeed I do not. I think you should be here. It is due to you. I am merely saying that it takes an eccentric gentleman to act in such a way. Shall we talk in the morning?"
"I shall not sleep. Shall you? More than anything I want to know about the people here."
"I understand. It is to be your home. So it is natural that you will want to know, and you will sleep the better for knowing. I think you have been very fortunate to come here and live as your father's daughter should. Mind you, it is not as though Lady Rosslyn was your mother, but it is the next best thing. The Rosslyns are a proud family. They have been in possession of Rosslyn Manor since the days of the first Henry, the son of the Conqueror, and that is a very long time ago. There have been Rosslyns at the Manor for five hundred years and the line is unbroken ... until now. This is regarded as a great tragedy. Kate, you have lived in London, close to the theatrical world. I think that has made you old for your years. One forgets how young you are. But there are times when I feel I should not be speaking of these matters to you."
"Oh, please, do not say that, Christobel. I want to know. I have to know."
"You are right. It is best for you to understand these things, even if ... oh well, no matter. The truth is that the Rosslyn heirs have always, through the centuries, had their wives and husbands chosen for them. They are proud of their family. They must be of the right kind, you understand. Many men and women marry for love. Not the Rosslyns. They have their lovers, but not perhaps in marriage. The right stock is necessary and they will tell you it has worked well through the ages, until now. The Rosslyns have prospered because they are such perfect beings." She laughed aloud. "It was different with the Carews, my family. We have had some disreputable characters in our family. And it has not lasted in the same way as the Rosslyns. Other names have crept in. Cousins have inherited. And now this fate has fallen on the Rosslyns."
She laughed. "You will say, 'What does it matter?' But it does matter to them. I cannot help it, Kate, it amuses me, but it is not amusing to Lord Rosslyn—nor to Lady Rosslyn. She is the one at fault. She has betrayed the Rosslyns. And in what way? Because she cannot bear a child."
"It is not her fault."
"Indeed not, poor lady. I'll warrant she has prayed till she is hoarse, and perverse Heaven has turned its back on her. The fault can only lie in her, for look, there is Master Luke, a proof of Rosslyn manhood—and little Mistress Kate, another—and no doubt others of whom we have not yet heard."