From Governess to Countess (Matches Made in Scandal #1)(61)

So it was just as well, really, that she had no inclination to switch sides. Just as well that her calling would keep her on the side of the poor and the needy. Just as well she would soon have the means to bring her precious, newborn plans to fruition. It would be a soothing balm as she tried very hard to forget all about her precious, newborn love.

With this melancholy thought she roused herself. What she must not do was permit Aleksei to guess the depth of her feelings for him. She was not gone from St Petersburg yet. There were still days and nights, like last night, to savour. Memories to squirrel away to sustain her in the solitary future which was her destiny. Fastening her cloak against the rain which was now battering hard against the glass of the succession house, she hurried along the soaking paths to the garden room.

‘Miss Galbraith! At last. Where have you been?’ Catiche’s face was tear-streaked. ‘We’ve been looking for you everywhere. Please hurry. It is Ortipo.’

*

The silly creature had eaten some poisoned bait put down by the gamekeeper to control vermin. Allison had managed to force him to take a small dose of ipecacuanha, dried golden root from her herb chest, with revoltingly spectacular though very effective results. The children’s much-loved pet lay snoring loudly in his fur-lined basket now, with Elena, Nikki and Catiche hovering over him, leaving Allison to seek out Aleksei in his study, clutching the present a grateful Catiche had presented her with.

‘Allison. You look very serious.’

He was in his shirt sleeves, his black coat draped over the chair behind the desk where he had been sitting, neat stacks of papers, letters and journals spread before him. He looked tired, the grooves around his mouth, the fan of lines at the corner of his eyes more accentuated. Had he lain awake all night too?

She walked into his outstretched arms, resting her cheek on his chest, drinking in the essence of him for a long, aching moment, before disengaging herself. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you but I have something very important to show you.’

He shrugged. ‘I was working on the plans for the modernisation of Nikki’s estates. We are thinking of trialling them on one of the smaller manors first. I have in mind appointing one of my ex-comrades to oversee matters. It is an important but rather dry task, so I am glad of the distraction. What is that you have there?’ She handed him the volume of Culpeper’s English Physician. ‘One of your herbal texts?’ Aleksei said, frowning over the ornate frontispiece.

‘No, Catiche just gave me it as a thank you for saving Ortipo.’

She went on to explain the morning’s events. ‘Where on earth would she come by such a thing?’ Aleksei asked when she had finished.

She braced herself. ‘I’m afraid that it was yet another keepsake that Catiche “liberated” from her mother’s bedchamber.’

It took a few seconds for her meaning to dawn on him, but when it did, Aleksei let slip the weighty tome, catching it just in time before it dropped to the floor before sinking on to the window seat, looking quite astounded. ‘This was in Elizaveta’s room?’ He stared at the book, holding it now as if it was about to explode in his face. ‘Is it in there, Wolf’s Bane?’

And when Allison opened the text at the relevant page, he paled. ‘Proof positive that my brother was murdered by his own wife, and with malice aforethought too. My wards’ mother was a cold-blooded murderess.’ Shock and anger turned his Baltic-blue eyes to ice. ‘The children, they must never, ever—dear God, they must never have so much as an inkling of this.’

‘Of course not!’

He stared down at the page for long minutes, dark thoughts flitting across his countenance. When finally he closed the pages, his face was set and extremely grim. ‘So, I have the definitive answer I sought after all. The timing is most serendipitous.’

He did not sound in the least happy. Allison’s heart sank. ‘What do you mean?’

His reply made it feel as if her heart was breaking. ‘I had word from the docks this morning. There is a ship sailing for England in four days, and there won’t be another for some time. With your permission I will reserve the best cabin possible for you.’

‘Four days?’

Aleksei covered her hands with his again. ‘We agreed last night...’

‘I am not—I know we did. It is just that it is so soon.’

‘Winter can set in very quickly here. It would be prudent to travel while you can.’

Winter, when the canals and rivers froze. Aleksei would take the children out on one of the sleighs. Though that sleigh was unlikely to be used. She must not think of that sleigh. ‘Then it makes sense,’ Allison said, unable to disguise the tears which clogged her throat. ‘Will I tell the children?’

‘I will tell them. I will write to Madame Orlova, asking her to resume her post forthwith.’

‘That is—that is very efficient.’

‘Allison.’

He sounded as wretched as she felt. No, not quite as wretched, for while he had put a rein on his feelings, hers had bolted away with her. She loved him so much. Too much to hurt him.

‘You’re right,’ she said, relieved to find that she had command of her voice again. ‘The sooner the better. Best not to prolong—you’re right, Aleksei, it’s what we agreed to last night.’ She managed to pin a smile to her face. ‘I have plans to make, many plans. A dispensary to open. Oh, and one to close. There is so little time, I don’t think...’