“Really, Miss Meyer? What a coincidence! My birthday is on the 17thday of May. And yours?”
“I see! Mine is on the 19thday of May, Lord Farellshire.”
“Oh, quite close together then! Would you be willing to attend my— I mean,theparty, Miss Meyer?”
Rather meekly, Meredith replied, “I would be most delighted to attend, Lord Farellshire.”
Meredith thought back to her own modest birthday party of the previous year. Ma’am Tabitha and Joyce had baked a wonderful carrot cake. And since most of the children in the orphanage did not even know the exact dates of their births, oftentimes Ma’am Tabitha would have everyone share Meredith’s birthday.
Unfortunately, this being an exceptionally lean year, it would be highly unlikely that there would be festivities of any kind.
“Oh, how wonderful! In fact, if possible, why don’t you invite some of your friends? We haven’t invited too many people, so I’m sure we could accommodate them quite comfortably. Who do you know in town? Oh! By any chance, do you happen to know the Montgomery daughters?”
Meredith looked at him in total confusion. Why on earth would he think that she knew any members of high society?
Before Meredith could respond, they were alerted to the sound of Mr. Fletcher yelling something, so everyone immediately abandoned their desserts and made haste towards the entrance hall.
* * *
“Good heavens! What happened?” His Grace exclaimed.
Philippa was now kneeling on the floor of the entrance hall with Mrs. Oakley’s head in her lap. Even the kitchen staff were poking their heads from around the kitchen door to see what the commotion was all about.
Hugh informed the arrivals from the drawing room, “I found her lying here unconscious, Your Grace. I have just sent one of the maids to fetch some smelling salts.”
Kneeling down next to Mrs. Oakley, the Duke put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. “She does not seem to have a fever. Although she is a bit warm. Could you perhaps remove her cap?” he asked Philippa.
“Maybe we ought to move her to her bedroom?” suggested Lord Gillianghamshire.
“Yes,” concurred Lord Farellshire. “I believe between the four of us, we could move her safely.”
Just then, Jenny arrived with the smelling salts and Hugh set to work trying to revive Catherine. After several moments, Mrs. Oakley opened her eyes, an event that was met with sighs of relief from everyone present.
“Mrs. Oakley! Are you all right?” exclaimed Philippa.
“Quick, someone fetch her some water!” called the Duke.
Once it was brought, Mrs. Oakley took some weak sips and said a quiet thank you. She tried to stand, but all present instantly objected to it.
“No, no, Mrs. Oakley. Don’t get up yet for fear you might collapse again.” said the Duke.
With a weak smile, Mrs. Oakley replied, “I am feeling much better now, Your Grace. Thank you. I don’t know what happened. I was thinking about fetching the broom to do one last sweep of the entrance hall for today and the next thing I knew, I woke up in Philippa’s lap.”
In a solemn tone the Duke said, “Fatigue, Mrs. Oakley. You must have collapsed from fatigue! And it should come as no surprise, given that you have had quite a day. In addition to your many duties, you have also had to deal with the broken window, calming down Cecilia, and waiting on the guests and I all evening.”
All those present immediately expressed their agreement with the Duke, each one individually exclaiming their own rendition of how dear Mrs. Oakley had a difficult day.
Despite all of this, Mrs. Oakley insisted on standing up, so Philippa and Jenny helped her up and escorted her to her bedroom. With that, the Duke, his friends, and Miss Meyer were all in agreement that they had better end their small gathering for the night. And so the other servants also resumed their preparations for bed or resumed their final tasks for the night.
So Hugh watched as Lords Farellshire and Gillinghamshire clambered into their coach whilst bidding the Duke and Miss Meyer good night. He watched as the whole house began to wind down for the night. At last, it was his turn to go to bed.
Staring at the ceiling of his room, he reflected for one last time on the day’s events.
That was close. Lord Farellshire was starting to ask about Meredith’s personal life. Thank God for Catherine’s incredibly sharp mind.
Yes, Hugh was not proud of it, but he and Catherine had been eavesdropping on the drawing room conversation to make sure that Miss Meyer did not reveal too much about her history. It was Catherine herself who devised the contingency plan involving a fake fainting fit.
I am lucky to have an ally like her.
