A Stranger at Castonbury(63)

‘Mrs Moreno,’ Alicia said. ‘I am so glad you came.’ She stepped aside to let them in. ‘I was afraid you might not, and I did so want to talk to you.’

‘It has been a long time since we last saw each other,’ Catalina answered.

‘Indeed. And so much has happened.’ Alicia led them into a small sitting room where a tea tray waited. Children’s toys were stacked neatly by the wall, and a work box sat open on a table. ‘When I learned you were alive, well—I was very glad to know it. You were very kind to me in Spain. You and Lord Hatherton both.’

And yet she had repaid him with deceptions. Catalina did not say it aloud, but Alicia blushed as if she guessed her thoughts.

Catalina suddenly felt terrible for judging her so hastily. Was she herself not deceiving Jamie’s family? Had she not felt desperation and grief too? She sat down and accepted a cup of tea from Alicia.

‘We have both had many trials in the past years,’ Catalina said softly.

‘But I fear mine have been of my own making,’ Alicia answered.

‘Have you heard from Webster?’ Jamie asked.

Alicia shook her head. ‘But I did think I saw him again last night, across the street. He does not trust me, I think, yet he is greedy enough to want a part in any new scheme. I am sure he will be quite desperate by now and will soon make his move.’

‘We will be ready for him,’ Jamie said. ‘Mr Everett still asks about you, Miss Walters. He wants to help in any way he can.’

Mr Everett? The Castonbury estate manager? Catalina watched, intrigued, as Alicia’s blush deepened.

‘No, I won’t have him in any trouble because of me,’ Alicia said. ‘But I am anxious to hear any other plan you might have, Lord Hatherton.’

They talked a little longer about possible ways to track down Webster, with Alicia casting shy glances Catalina’s way, before the shadows of the day grew darker and Catalina and Jamie had to turn back towards Castonbury. They drove down the road for a while in silence, turning over everything they had heard from Alicia, until Jamie drew in the horse.

‘Let us walk for a while,’ he said. ‘It’s such a fine day.’

‘What a good idea,’ Catalina answered. It was a fine day, one of those rare perfect summer days that felt like they would last for ever but were then gone in an instant. Just like her time with Jamie.

He led the horse as they strolled down the lane, past the fields where men were working in the distance. Catalina took off her bonnet and let the sun wash over her.

‘Does all this belong to Castonbury?’ she asked, gesturing to the fields and the woods beyond.

‘Yes,’ Jamie said. ‘And more just past that way that has been fallow for a long time. I have been consulting with many of the other farmers in the neighbourhood to see what best use they can be put to. There has been too much waste at Castonbury.’

‘So you are turning farmer?’ Catalina said with a teasing smile. ‘I could not have envisioned it.’

Jamie laughed. ‘I would not have thought it myself in my soldiering days. But I must do my best for Castonbury. Phaedra and her husband have made a good beginning with the stables here now. I can do my part with the farm and the tenants.’

‘You were a formidable leader in Spain, Jamie,’ she said. ‘Your home will surely prosper with you here now.’

‘Even if I know nothing about sheep or cows or crop rotations?’

‘You will learn,’ she said.

‘I am trying. Once Webster is out of the way...’

‘Which he will be very soon!’

‘Then I can really turn my attention to the estate. But the house needs a mistress. It has not really had one since my mother died.’

A proper mistress for Castonbury—a proper duchess. Yes, that would be the crown of Jamie’s homecoming, Catalina was sure of it. She looked out over the fields and imagined it as hers, as theirs. It would be a dream to build such a life here.

But she loved Jamie, and she couldn’t be selfish, grasping on to what she wanted with no thought to what would be best for him. She would not let the past they shared tie him down now.

She smiled up at him. ‘We should be getting back. They’ll be returning from the picnic soon, and Lydia will be rushing to tell me all about it.’

Jamie raised his brow, and Catalina could tell he saw through her quick change of subject. But he let the topic of a duchess for Castonbury drop. ‘Your charge is a charming young lady. You seem very fond of her.’