They headed back to the house. Lydia found her wrap and looked around to say goodbye to Ellen, but she could not be found, and Lydia decided it was best if shejustgo.
“Please give my regards and thank you to your parents for hosting me thisevening.”
“It was not my parents, it was me,” Daniel said quitecurtly.
“Then, I thank you.” She cast him a look but he was notregardingher.
He took her to the carriage and helped herinside.
“Good evening, Miss Lydia, I greatly appreciate that you joined me for theevening.”
“My pleasure,Daniel.”
And good fortune with yourgarden.”
“Thankyou.”
He shut the carriage door and slapped the side to alert the driver tostartup.
Lydia rode back to the cottage in a turmoil of feelings. Why, oh why, had she agreed to attend this terrible evening? But it was now mercifully over and she rested her head against the carriage window and let her thoughts drift to the garden—her lovely garden. That would give her peace in the days to come. She contemplated the harvest and the canning and the drying of the apples, peeled, sliced and drying in the autumn sun. She allowed the carriage to rock her into a kind of stupor. She began to feel a small modicum of peace as she receded from the trials of the evening and returned to the quiet of her small cottage and the comfort of her cat who would curl up next to her onthebed.
* * *
Lydia was pickingburrs out of Gingersnap’s coat. They were deeply embedded and she squirmed, as Lydia had no choice but to actually pull out small clumps of undercoat to get the burrs free. The cat could take only so much of that at a time and jumped down when Lydia decided to stop grooming for themoment.
Mother was seated at the table filling the oillamps.
“My dear,” she said, “Her Grace has asked if I should like to take a room in the great house. She feels it would be more convenient for her to have me close by at all times. And I keep thinking how inconvenient it is for us to be sharing this tinycottage.”
“Is that what you want?” Lydiaasked.
“Ibelieveso.”
“My only reservation is that she might take undue advantage of you and call upon you at all times of the day or night, with no time off or privacy foryourself.”
“Yes, I have thought about that too. I said I would accept, but there would need to be strictboundariesset.”
“And sheagreed?”
Mother smiled, “Reluctantly.”
“Just make sure she keeps to the agreement. Do not be shy about admonishing her if she oversteps herbounds.”
Mother laughed and then sighed. “Yes. Iwilltry.”
Lydia then had a thought. “Mother, since I will be all alone, would you be able to look after Gingersnap for me while I am inLondon?”
“Oh, yes, I should like that. I have become quite attached to the little tyke. Perhaps, I might keep her in my room while youaregone.”
“But Mamma, she needs to go outside to do herbusiness.”
“That should not be a problem, as I shall be on the ground floor and can leave awindowopen.”
“But it will be January, you can’t leave the window open all day it will betoocold.
“Oh, dear, how true. Then let me thinkonit.”
“When do you plan to move up to thehouse?”
