“Can you come again tomorrow?”
“Kat,” Mrs. Price said, “it’s too hard of a trip for them to come again. We’ll be home in a few days.”
“But I thought you’d bring Lady Rose the next time.”
“Dear Lord.” Mrs. Price crossed herself.
“Mum,” Cameron said, thankful to be able to change the subject, “the bookkeeper said someone made a payment of one hundred pounds on our bill a few days ago. Do you know what that is about?”
“No. There must be some mistake.”
“Yes, I figured as much. The bookkeeper is looking into it.” He counted out notes from his billfold. “Here is one hundred pounds. Keep it. They’ll no doubt come back with the error sometime tomorrow, and I don’t want them to have to wait for their money. In fact”—he counted out more bills—“here’s another thirty. That should cover the next few days plus your transport home. If you could take care of it before you leave, that will save us having to send the payment.”
“But does that leave you and Tricia with any money?”
“Yes, I have a few pounds left, and I’ve already paid Arnold through the end of next month. We’ll be fine. Besides, I finished another commission and I’ll be getting paid the balance soon.”
“All right, if you say so, Cam.”
“Tell me, will Dr. Blake be by yet today?”
“He was here just before you and Tricia came. He probably won’t be back until this evening.”
“I would have liked to talk to him.” Cameron stood. “Well, I guess you’ve told us everything he said, haven’t you?”
“Yes, Cam.”
“All right then.” He leaned down and kissed Kat on the forehead. “I’m so glad you’re well, Kitty-Kat. Trish and I will both sleep better tonight.”
“Yes, that’s for sure,” Tricia added, squeezing the little girl’s hand.
“We’ll see you in a few days then,” Mrs. Price said. “Thank you for coming. It meant a lot to both of us.”
“To us as well,” Cameron said. “Come on, Tricia.”
* * * *
Cameron and Tricia arrived home at sundown and supped on tea and sandwiches. Tricia retired to her chamber to read, while Cameron stayed up far into the night, finalizing his composition and neatly transferring it to parchment. He knew Xavier was at Laurel Ridge visiting Rose for the weekend, so he sent a message to him early the next morning that the commission was complete.
Cameron sighed. It was official. He had sold Rose, his soul mate and only love, for two hundred pounds.
He cursed himself before falling into bed Sunday morning.
Chapter Eight
Rose didn’t get a chance to speak with Evan alone regarding his father’s impending marriage. They never went riding with his father over the weekend, nor did she play the piano for him. Evan was out of sorts for the remainder of his visit. Although Rose tried to engage him several times, he would not speak to her about what was bothering him.
“He’s a sensible lad,” Lord Brighton had said to her again. “We’ll be back next weekend, and I’m sure he’ll be ready to talk about it then.”
When the two men left Laurel Ridge on Sunday afternoon, driving away in the Brighton carriage, Rose’s heart ached a bit for Evan. She did care deeply for him, even if she could never love him, and she hated to see him suffering. He had come to her in the conservatory and kissed her goodbye before he left, squeezing her and telling her he would see her soon. She had stroked his cheek and told him that she was here for him if he needed her.
The next day, Lucy and Maggie readied to visit the Lybrook tenants and see to their needs. The servants packed up food and other staples and loaded it into several wagons. Aunt Iris decided to go along, since she would soon be responsible for the Brighton tenants. She had never had any responsibility to the Longarry tenants, what few of them there were, because the Longarrys had barely had enough to see to their own needs, let alone others’. Sophie and Ally decided to ride along as well, and although Rose would have relished a day alone on the estate, her cousins begged her to come. She dreaded running into Cameron, but she was interested in hearing any news on Kat. She hadn’t heard from Dr. Blake in a few days, and she still worried about the little girl.
Rose admired the way Maggie and Lucy handled the tenants. They were both kind and humble, with an affectionate way of giving that made it seem that the tenants were doing them a favor by taking their extra goods. Rose smiled. Soon Lily would be making these rounds as the Duchess of Lybrook. Most of the tenants were kind and decent folk, clean and well fed. The Lybrooks clearly took care of their own. Responsibilities like this were not in Rose’s future. Evan, as a second son, wouldn’t have an estate of his own. The responsibilities for the Brighton tenants would fall to his brother’s wife after Uncle David passed on.
When they arrived at the Price cottage, Tricia was sweeping the front veranda. She smiled as her gaze met Rose’s. “Lady Rose, it’s so nice to see you!”
“Good afternoon, Tricia,” Rose said, running to the younger girl as the rest of the women descended from the carriage. “I’ve been so concerned about Kat. The last I heard there was no change. Tell me, is there any news?”