Catherine nodded and sat on the opposite end of the bed.
“I’m sorry that I encouraged you to delay your confession, Hugh. Perhaps you were right, perhaps we should have come forward sooner.”
Turning to look at her, Mr. Fletcher said, “Not at all, Catherine. Everything is my own fault, really. But I dare say that I have no regrets. I like to think that had we not been found out so soon, the plan would have worked and Lady Cecilia would have blossomed most wonderfully under Miss Meyer’s guidance.”
“You should have said that I was also aware of the deceit though, Hugh. That way, we could have shared the blame.”
Hugh shook his head gravely, “No, Catherine. That would have made things worse. His Grace is already appalled to find out that one of his longest-serving staff members had deceived him. Could you imagine how he would have reacted if he found out that we had both attempted to do so?”
Catherine simply nodded. And so, the old friends sat in silence for a bit, listening to the stillness of the house. They did not bother to speculate whether or not His Grace would allow Hugh to stay on. For if there was one thing that life had taught them, it was that such discussions were pointless.
Clearing his throat, Hugh asked, “Catherine. If it is not too much trouble, could you take on the duty of waking up His Grace tomorrow? I believe it would not be wise for me to do so, given the current situation.”
“Of course, Hugh. And regardless of the final verdict, I hope you know that you are, and always have been, the epitome and very personification of steadfastness and reliability.”
He thanked her for her kind words. And they fell silent once more. Nothing else needed to be said for their friendship was a warm, but formal one. So after a few minutes, they bid each other good night and Catherine made her way to her own room.
* * *
“And I suppose Lord Farellshire and Lord Gillinghamshire were also unaware of your background?” asked Philippa.
“I suppose so. I somehow never ended up mentioning it over dinner. Although, I must admit that I did not quite feel like myself during that entire evening,” Meredith sheepishly confessed.
Philippa giggled, “I think I know why. We saw you, Lord Farellshire, and Alan walking around the east garden.”
Meredith blushed, “Oh, come now. It was nothing like that. And it will most likely never happen again once Lord Farellshire finds out the truth. That is, if His Grace even decides to let me stay on, of course.”
“On the bright side, whatever happens tomorrow, at least you have made some wonderful memories. Wait a moment, what’s that on your face, Meredith?”
With a gasp, Meredith touched her right cheek, “What is it? I can’t feel anything.”
After squinting some more at her, Philippa looked out of the window and pointed, “Yes, just as I suspected. It’s the first rays of sunlight. We have inadvertently stayed up the whole night!”
Meredith followed her finger, “What? Oh no!” she groaned, “I am so sorry, Philippa. And now you have a full day’s worth of work ahead of you and you haven’t slept a wink!”
So they hastily bid each other good morning and Meredith crawled into bed to get as much sleep as possible before she had to “stand trial,” as it were.
* * *
As promised, Catherine was going to fulfill the duty of rousing His Grace from sleep today. However, when she found that his bed was unslept in, she realized that he most likely fell asleep in his study.
I still remember how, when he was just a lad, I often had to tell him to stop falling asleep in the library for fear of injuring his back. Ah, those were far simpler times!
However, The Duke’s study was also empty. And after fifteen minutes of every servant searching every nook and cranny of the house, it was determined that His Grace was gone.
Then word came back from the stable keeper, Mr. Hawkins, that His Grace’s horse was missing. And Catherine knew exactly where he had gone.
Chapter 10
Anthony opened his eyes to two familiar faces and one pair of crossed arms. Before he could say anything, he was attacked by a most vicious, piercing headache.Ah, yes. I see I am hungover once more.
With his arms folded, Kenneth gave him a stern look, “It’s a slippery hill, you know.”
Overpowered by the headache, Anthony could not so much as manage to get out a single word. He only managed a syllable combined with a groan of agony, “Huh?”
“I said, it’s a slippery hill. This alcohol business. It’s one thing to go out drinking with your friends for a night of fun. But quite another to try and drown your sorrows with it. I hope you don’t plan on making this a habit.”
Still feeling very disoriented, Anthony tried to get his bearings. For one thing, he was glad to find that he was lying on a bed this time; that much was evident. To his right, Kenneth had pulled up a chair and was casually resting his feet on the bed. And when Anthony turned his head to the left, he could see Colin reading a newspaper and sipping his tea.
