father did, too. I thought you might like to hear some of them.”
Her attempt at subtlety failed. “Lessons?” Lizzy made the word sound dire.
“How interesting,” said Anne. “May I come and hear, when I am better?”
Lizzy sat up straighter, surprised. “You don’t have to do lessons anymore.” She turned to Charlotte. “Anne is almost seventeen. Our aunt is to bring her out next year.”
“Lady Isabella?”
“Oh no,” said Lizzy. “Aunt Amelia, our mama’s sister. She is married to an earl!” She waited for Charlotte to be impressed, and Charlotte tried to look duly awed. “Mama named us for queens, you know. She was descended from… some Tudor or other. Not the one with all the wives!”
“Lizzy demonstrates her deep knowledge of history,” teased Anne.
“Oh, bother history. It’s deadly dull.” Lizzy pretended to yawn.
“Even with all the wives?” Charlotte wondered, and got a small smile. “So Lady Isabella is your father’s sister?” She remembered this but couldn’t quite contain her curiosity about the tension in the drawing room.
Lizzy nodded. “Alec doesn’t like her. She did something bad about my grandfather’s will.”
“Lizzy,” said Anne.
“Well, she did. Though I don’t know precisely what.” Clearly, the girl would have liked to know. “There’s no reason not to tell Charlotte. She’s our aunt, too.” Her mood seemed to be recovering rapidly.
“Shall we go and look at the globe in the schoolroom?” Charlotte suggested. “It seemed a very fine one.”
Briefly, Lizzy pouted. “Oh, all right. But I’m bringing Callie!”
“I’m sure she is fascinated by geography. Cats are extremely territorial.”
Lizzy giggled.
***
Walking into the kitchen with some things for the laundress, Lucy Bowman was transfixed by the sight of Ethan applying a cloth to his bare ankle. His white stocking lay crumpled on the floor beside his chair, exposing his leg to the knee.
He grinned when he saw her. “Cat bite turned a bit nasty,” he said. “Cook made me a poultice.”
Lucy removed her gaze from his leg. Of course he could have applied the remedy in his own room, as was proper, but he had to draw attention to himself and show his fine limb to all the world. What sort of man got bitten by a cat anyhow? The sort who kicked cats. Lucy ignored him, left the laundry in its basket, and went over to the worktable by the hearth. Cook and Agnes were deep in luncheon preparations. “Is there an apothecary shop nearby?” she asked. “Miss Charlotte was wanting some rosewater.”
“You should ask Jennings,” said the cook. “She knows where to get the best of that sort of thing.”
Lucy had been introduced to Miss Cole’s very superior dresser at the servant’s dinner table, and was deeply in awe of her. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother her.”
“There’s one two streets over,” said Ethan. “I’ve fetched plenty of things from there for the family.”
Lucy didn’t look at him. “Thank you.”
Cook scooped up a dollop of icing and began to frost the cake before her. Lucy’s mouth watered at the look of it. “So she went right up the curtain?” It sounded like a question the cook had asked before, and enjoyed hearing the answer.
“Dangling there like a Christmas ornament,” Ethan replied. “Hissing and spitting over everyone’s head.”
“The cat?” Lucy couldn’t help asking. Tales of Callie’s adventures had become a staple of the servants’ hall. “Was that the shouting earlier?”
“Sir Alexander was that angry,” Agnes answered. She seemed to relish the thought. “Now Susan says Miss Lizzy’s afraid he’ll throw the cat out of the house. And so he should. She’s like a wild beast, she is.”
“Ah, now, she’s mostly afraid, I expect,” said Ethan. “Likely people haven’t given her much reason to trust them, out there in the street.”
Surprised at this level of understanding, Lucy turned to him. He was putting his stocking back on. She blushed and turned away again. “I’ll just run over to the apothecary then. Won’t be a minute, if anybody’s looking for me.”
“I’ll go with you.” Ethan stood. He was so tall.
“There’s no need for you to…”
“You shouldn’t be out all alone in a strange part of town,” the cook declared. And that was that.
Once they’d fetched coats and hats and set off, Lucy had to admit it was nice to have an escort. On previous errands in the city, she had sometimes attracted unwanted attention; once, she’d been quite frightened. And no one to tell about it, of course; only Miss Charlotte, who had far too many worries already. Now she could observe the bustle of the street with interest