A Stranger at Castonbury(28)
Jamie. It was Jamie, younger and more carefree than when she had known him, but just as handsome. Just as wondrously alive, before Spain had altered his soul.
Her throat tightened, and she turned away from the glow of those blue-grey eyes. Perhaps being here at Castonbury would be harder than she had feared.
‘Miss Westman?’ a woman asked. Catalina turned to see a lady hurrying towards them. ‘I am Mrs Stratton, housekeeper at Castonbury. Welcome to the estate.’
‘Thank you,’ Lydia said, and Catalina was proud of her calm poise. ‘It is most lovely here.’
‘Miss Seagrove was very sorry not to be here to greet you herself, but she and the other ladies went into Buxton for the day. I will have some tea sent to your room, and everyone should be here for dinner this evening. If you would care to follow me.’ Mrs Stratton turned to smile at Catalina. ‘And you are Mrs Moreno, yes?’
‘Yes, I am,’ Catalina answered. ‘I am also very pleased to be here.’
‘I have put your room right across from Miss Westman,’ Mrs Stratton said. ‘I hope that will be comfortable for you both?’
Catalina had half expected to be sent off to the servants’ quarters where it would be next to impossible to keep an eye on Lydia. She was quite pleasantly surprised. ‘Yes, of course. Most comfortable.’
‘You both must be tired from your journey. I will show you to your rooms directly.’ Mrs Stratton led them up the staircase, the keys at her belt jangling lightly. ‘The rest of the guests will arrive tomorrow.’
Catalina looked away from Jamie as they passed his portrait, but it was almost as if he watched her walk past. As if he was with her here in his house.
She took a deep breath and tried to focus on Lydia and not the strangeness of being in Jamie’s home. For once the girl was perfectly silent, staring around her with wide eyes as they turned down a corridor lined with more paintings, more carved furniture, more Chinese vases filled with bright flowers and classical statues set in their niches. They passed several closed doors and a maid hurrying past with a tray in her hands until they came to the end of the corridor.
‘I hope you will like it here,’ Mrs Stratton said as she opened one of the doors. ‘It is quietest at this end of the guest wing.’
Lydia’s room was lovely, a charming space with a white-draped bed and modern French furniture grouped around a tiled fireplace. A maid was already laying out her things on the tulle-covered dressing table. The windows looked out on the terraced gardens behind the house, rolling down to the twin lakes joined by a bridge.
‘It’s beautiful.’ Lydia sighed. She leaned against the windowsill to peer outside, still wide-eyed at the beauty of the place.
‘Let me show you to your room, Mrs Moreno,’ Mrs Stratton said. ‘Sally can help Miss Westman while you settle in.’
‘Thank you,’ Catalina said. She followed the housekeeper to the room across the corridor, suddenly weary. The journey had been a long one, and now being in this house weighed on her heavily. She rubbed her eyes and stepped into the chamber across the corridor.
It was smaller than Lydia’s and looked out onto a smaller side garden, but it was just as comfortably furnished with a dark wood bed and tables and chairs upholstered with blue velvet. A cushioned seat was built into the window, a perfect spot for curling up to read or nap.
Catalina laughed—there would be no time for napping if she was to keep up with Lydia.
‘I do hope this will be convenient for you, Mrs Moreno. I do know how...complicated it can be to watch over young ladies,’ Mrs Stratton said. She stopped to straighten some of the objets on the mantel. ‘There were no adjoining rooms available with all the people here for the wedding, but hopefully Miss Westman is near enough.’
‘This is perfect, thank you,’ Catalina said. She watched as Mrs Stratton slid a framed image from behind a pair of porcelain shepherdesses and brushed it off. Catalina was startled to see that it was a copy of the same pastel portrait that Jamie carried with him in Spain. His two sisters smiling out of the image with their grey Montague eyes.
Mrs Stratton seemed to notice Catalina staring at it, for she said, ‘They are very pretty girls, are they not?’
Catalina swallowed before she could answer. ‘Very pretty.’
‘Lady Kate and Lady Phaedra. Lady Kate is in Boston now with her new husband, but you will meet Lady Phaedra and her husband, Bram. She is usually outdoors with her horses, but she does manage to make it to family dinners, especially now.’ Mrs Stratton laughed.