A Spinster to Heal the Duke

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

A s she stepped out of the carriage at her aunt's townhouse, Anne looked around.

"I could run into him, I could see Diana, or worse, I could see him with his fiancée," she thought, filling with dread.

Anne felt a shudder run through her body and blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying. Her aunt was never an emotional woman, and she had little patience for displays from others.

When she felt sufficiently calmed, Anne climbed the few steps to knock on the door. After a moment, a maid opened the door but was quickly displaced by Cousin Phoebe coming to greet her.

"I am so glad you are here," Pheobe said when she saw Anne, embracing her with a hug and kissing her cheek. "Mother will be glad to see you, too."

Anne knew it was only because there would be someone else there she could put to work, but she smiled and said, "I am happy to see you both as well. And I am looking forward to decorating."

"Yes, I think the house looks fine other than freshening up the flowers and a few things, but Mother insists some of our decor has fallen out of fashion and must be replaced. It will be good to have another opinion. Daddy has said she should not spend her whole allowance remodeling a house we use a few months a year, but you know Mother. She is going to do as she pleases, and despite what he says, Daddy is going to let her."

Phoebe laughed, and Anne did her best to laugh and smile along with her.

"Oh, forgive me," Phoebe said. She stopped the maid who had opened the door and said, "Please, send a valet to carry Miss Drowton's things to the room we prepared for her."

"Yes, Miss," the young woman replied before hurrying away.

"Anne, let's greet Mother while they bring up your things. Then, I will show you to your room, so you can relax from your travels. You are right across the hall from me," suggested Pheobe.

"Thank you," said Anne.

Phoebe hugged Anne once more then she began leading her way through the house all the while pointing and discussing things her mother wanted to change that she only felt needed dusting or freshening up in some way. Anne listened to some, but she mostly thought about how much her cousin talked.

It has been quite some time since I have seen Phoebe, she thought. She was so quiet as a girl. One would think she saved all her conversation then for now.

"Mother," Phoebe called when they neared the sitting room her mother was in. "Mother, Anne has arrived."

"Oh, good, show her in," the Viscountess replied.

Anne stepped forward and said, "Your Ladyship, it is lovely to see you again. I hope you and Lord Westen, have been well since we have last seen each other."

"Yes, dear, we have been very well. He sends his regards as he is travelling for business, but he hopes your stay with us in London is enjoyable. Though I would add that I hope we are productive as well," said the Viscountess.

"Indeed, my lady," agreed Anne, feeling she made the right choice not greeting the Viscountess informally as Aunt Sarah. "I intend to help with whatever you and Phoebe require while I am here."

"Splendid," the Viscountess said with a tight smile that reminded Anne a little of Diana but only slightly. Smiling in a more relaxed and inviting manner, Lady Westen added, "Are you hungry dear? I had the kitchen staff prepare a late nuncheon for us."

Anne still didn't have much of an appetite, but she answered, "Yes, something small would be lovely. Then we can discuss what you would like to accomplish during my stay."

"Wonderful," the Viscountess said, looking even more pleased. "You know, at times I wondered if I should have invited you to London more, to ensure you grew up properly, but I see the Baron of Reedley has done very well by you. He has raised a polite young lady, indeed."

"But, visiting each other more still would have been nice," Phoebe interjected, voicing her own disappointment. "I have missed you dearly, Cousin."

The Viscountess flinched a little at her daughter's remark.

Anne hoped to please them both, so she said, "I have missed you as well, but your mother understood that her priority was ensuring the best for you. And she had the comfort of knowing the man who raised her had done well enough that I would be given just as much care."

Both women seemed pleased by her response. Then, they made their way through the house for their meal, first the Viscountess, then Phoebe, and Anne.

She admired their home as they walked through and considered how Diana had judged her home when she arrived as the Duke had as well. The seasonal townhouse of the Viscountess was much more luxurious, so her main house could only be more so.

To the Duke and his sister, we must have appeared to be paupers, she thought. I wonder if word reached London that they stayed with us briefly. They probably wouldn't want it to be known.

Anne already carried sadness with her, but now, she carried awareness of the reality of the true difference between her life and that of the Duke.

I should have seen the vast difference between us from the start. Granddaughter of a baron, ha. I am another commoner, she thought.

She felt the urge to cry again but resisted.

Instead, she said, "I don't know how we can improve what you have already done. It is quite lovely, my lady."

"That's what I think too," said Phobe. "We should just have maids deep clean."

"Thank you, dear, but everyone who attended any gathering here last year will expect to see at least a few touches of improvement," the Viscountess explained. "We would hate to fall out of fashion."

"Indeed," said Anne, though she had never considered it before.

Was that the difference in her home? Had they simply fallen out of fashion, or were they simply a different taste by staying confined to Reedley so much. Even when they did travel to London, they rarely visited with anyone in their home to see such a vast difference. And their home seemed richer than those surrounding them, but what did that really mean by comparison?

I imagine even a baron in London would seem more to the Duke's standard than us" she considered.

When the ladies dined, the Viscountess detailed the first steps in her vision for the season.

"I would like us to select new wallpapers throughout. I believe we can hire someone to place it for us. I would also like to either reupholster the seats of these chairs or replace them. The same for the chairs in the parlor and guest bedrooms," she began.

"Shall we do that, or do you have someone to upholster them?" asked Anne.

"We can do these, but I have someone for the large pieces," the viscountess explained, continuing with her thoughts. "I would like new drapes and curtains throughout the house. And I do not believe I like that credenza anymore. I don't know whether to store it somewhere or simply let it go. I would also like to replace the dishes and glassware."

As the woman spoke, Anne listened and considered how daunting it all sounded but consoled herself that it would be a distraction from thinking of Noah.

Perhaps I should speak to Charles. If we can afford to make a few changes at home, perhaps everything about the house won't send me spiraling over Noah, she considered.

"Mother, it doesn't sound like there is anything you aren't changing. It would be easier to purchase a new townhouse and start over than to put us and sweet Anne through all that," Phoebe pointed out, her eyes wide at all the Viscountesses had suggested.

The Viscountess paused and looked around her, seeming to consider her daughter's suggestion.

Then, she said, "No, I like the design and floor plan of this house."

Seeming content with the instruction she had given so far, the Viscountess asked about her father and Anne's brother briefly before changing the subject to the improvements she had just completed in her main house and the treats the Viscount brought her and Phobe from his last outings.

Anne listened politely, but she was pleased when the Viscountess left to take tea with a few other ladies, and she and Phoebe had time alone as she settled in to her room.

"Mother can be a bit much sometimes," Phoebe said.

"Perhaps, but I'm sure that is a good thing. She is never dull, and I imagine it keeps things feeling new and exciting around her," observed Anne.

"New perhaps, but rather than exciting, I would simply say changing. That is not always a good thing. Just as things get comfortable and feel like home and stable, she has the need to tear down the walls and start over again," described Phoebe. "The one saving grace is that my room at each house is left to my discretion. Other than rearranging the placement of things from time to time, I keep things as they are."

Anne thought about it and felt a little better about her own home.

"Perhaps that is what we have done at Reedley Manor, too. I don't think much has changed since your last visit years ago," Anne said. "Perhaps new bedding in a few rooms or moving some things around."

"I love that," Phoebe noted, sitting and looking thoughtful. "That means I could go to Grandfather's and feel like I am returning to something familiar. As it is, I hardly feel that way from one year to the next living with Mother."

"Do the other ladies you spend time with change so often?" Anne asked.

"Well, I suppose so. With the seasons and all, you know? But I don't believe it is quite so much as Mother does," Phoebe replied, appearing to really give it thought.

Anne said, "Well, I suppose to each his own. And if His Lordship doesn't mind, she is free to do as she pleases. Furthermore, I'm sure you will marry in the coming years and have your own home to keep as you choose."

"There isn't a gentleman on the horizon yet, but I believe Mother is hoping I will impress someone this year. She keeps reminding me, ‘Your father courted me at nineteen, and you are twenty now,'" Phoebe said in perfect mimicry of the Viscountess' voice. "What about you? Is there a gentleman in Reedley I should fuss at you for not writing me about?"

Anne couldn't hide the sunken expression that came over her.

"No, I suppose I cannot say there is. To be honest, I'm hoping my time here will be a distraction," Anne replied.

"With the work Mother will have us doing, I'm sure we won't have time or energy for a free thought," Phoebe assured gently, not prying into matters. "Cheer up cousin. Perhaps in between all the bustle in the house we can find time for a little fun to lift your spirits and not just distract you.

"Thank you," Anne said.

The two girls hugged and changed their discussion to happier things. Soon enough, it was dinner and a little social time. Then, all the ladies went to bed as the Viscountess wanted an early start in the morning.