agreed. ‘But there was a time when I thought it might never do so. Years ago, when it was suggested that the young master should see something of the world and go out to India to work for the company Mr Edwin had a small share in, I thought it were no bad thing. His grandmother had passed away the year before, and he seemed more unsettled than ever.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘When I waved him off in the carriage, I never imagined the poor boy would be returning to an empty house … and everything.’
‘You mean to discover the girl he loved had married his cousin during his absence,’ Katherine remarked, not in the least reticent to reveal that she knew something of Daniel’s history to Janet. ‘My aunt Lavinia told me a little of his past.’
It seemed so strange, Katherine mused, clearly recalling that cold morning in early February, when she had sat with her aunt and cousin in the parlour, that her aunt’s disclosures had had little effect upon her then, save a moderate feeling of sympathy towards the man whom she had so foolishly maligned. How differently she felt now! Daniel had come to mean so much to her … Perhaps more than she cared to admit.
Swiftly thrusting this disturbing reflection aside, she said, ‘If my memory serves me correctly, my aunt seemed to suppose that pressure might have been brought to bear upon Julia to marry Daniel’s cousin?’
‘Pshaw!’ Janet dismissed this with a wave of one hand. ‘I heard that tale myself, and never believed a word of it! The Melroses doted on their daughter. They may have wished her to wait a year or two before becoming engaged to Master Daniel, and I cannot say I ever blamed them for that. She were only seventeen and he only just turned twenty when he set sail for India. But I don’t believe for a moment they forced her into marriage with Master Simon. No, I reckon she just fancied becoming Lady Julia Ross when the old man died and Master Simon came into the title. There’s no denying that some say that Sir Joshua served his nephew a bad turn by blessing the match, and that at least he ought to have insisted the wedding be delayed until after his nephew had returned.’
But not you, Katherine thought, but said, ‘I imagine that Simon must have been very much in love with Julia.’
‘Oh, yes, miss. He loved her right enough. And although Master Daniel might have bore him and his uncle some ill will when he came home from India, that’s no longer the case, and he was genuinely sorry to hear of his cousin’s death in that riding accident two years back.’
‘Am I right in thinking that Julia has a son?’ Katherine asked, as a further fleeting memory returned.
‘Yes, and he’s a nice little boy. Just like his father used to be!’ Her smile was replaced by a look of concern. ‘And like his father before him, he’s proving to be a weak and sickly child, so I’ve heard. The good Lord knows, miss, I wouldn’t want misfortune to befall the boy. Because if he died, then you know who would eventually inherit the title. Not that he has any desire to do so, mind you.’
Before that moment Katherine had given the matter no thought. ‘Of course, Daniel would then come into the title!’
‘Aye, miss. And if I’m right and it were the wish to become Lady Julia Ross that prompted her to marry Simon, if something does happen to her son, there’s only one way she’s ever going to achieve her ambition.’
‘And you’re very much afraid that Daniel might fall prey to the beautiful Julia’s charms again, aren’t you, Janet?’
‘He’d be a fool if he did, miss. And Master Daniel’s no fool.’
‘Yet, the fact must be faced that in all these years he hasn’t met anyone else he wished to marry,’ Katherine responded, and then found herself the recipient of a prolonged and contemplative stare which was more than just faintly unnerving. ‘What is it, Janet? Have I said something to upset you?’
‘Oh, no, miss. I were merely wool-gathering, as you might say.’
‘In that case, I shall leave you to do so in peace,’ Katherine announced, rising from the table. ‘I think I shall occupy my time until Daniel returns by continuing the weeding in the rose garden.’
As she made her way round to the side of the house, Katherine was glad of the protection she obtained from the old fashioned, wide-brimmed straw bonnet, for the day was bright and for early spring the sun’s rays were remarkably strong. She swiftly found it necessary to discard her cloak, tossing it down on the grass close by, but surprisingly enough she soon grew tired of the task she normally attained great enjoyment from performing, and found her mind all too frequently returning to the conversation she had had with Janet.
Rising up from her knees, she went through the wicket-gate that granted access to a large meadow and, without paying too much attention to which direction she took, made her way across the wide area of grassland to yet another large field that Daniel had mentioned he had every intention of putting to the plough. After skirting several more fields, which also formed part of Daniel’s land, she found herself entering a very familiar woodland area.
Suddenly realising she had walked much further than she had intended, Katherine decided it might prove beneficial to rest for a while before attempting the homeward trek, and promptly discovered a conveniently fallen tree, ideal for the purpose.
How odd that she should have come this way, she mused, gazing about the woodland which she and Helen Rushton had frequently explored during those few short months when she had resided with her grandfather. She had been contented then, living with her grandfather. But nowhere near as contented as she had been during these past few days living at Rosslair.
The thought, unbidden, came so naturally, so effortlessly that any attempt to persuade herself that it was quite otherwise, that it was merely living in the country again which had made her so blissfully happy, would have been fruitless. She might succeed in fooling others but not herself. She loved Rosslair…. But nowhere near as much as she had by imperceptible degrees come to love its master. There was little point in not facing the simple truth that it was Daniel’s reappearance in her life which had resulted in her present wholly satisfied state of mind. But it was a situation that could not … must not continue for very much longer.
Oh, dear God! Why had it taken so long to realise that she had fallen desperately in love with the infuriatingly overbearing, adorable man? She had known right from that very first moment, when they had collided in the inn doorway, and the touch of his hands had left her with such a feeling of well-being, that there was something very singular about him. There was some excuse, she supposed, for not having appreciated just how strong the spark of attraction had been back then, on that bitterly cold day in January. But she ought to have realised long before leaving France that her feelings towards him had gone far beyond that of deep respect and friendship. At the very least she ought to have recognised that first uncomfortable pang of jealousy, when she had witnessed him receiving Josephine Carre’s welcoming embrace. And she had experienced it yet again earlier, when she had caught him holding the great love of his life.
Oh, but what could she do? Even if Janet was right, and Julia was totally unworthy of him, there was nothing she could do to prevent a marriage taking place between Daniel and his old love. Shackled by fears that refused to leave her, she couldn’t fight to win him … dared not. At least with Julia he might be blessed to live a long and contented life; whereas …
Burying her face in her hands, Katherine refused to give way to tears that might help to relieve the heartache for a while but which could never hope to bring lasting relief to a mind that would be forever tortured with what might have been possible if she had not been such a curse. There would be time enough to weep when she returned to Bath. She would have years to dwell on the happiness she would undoubtedly have attained had it been possible for
