Page 5 of Gambling with the Earl
Jolted from her thoughts, Kitty turned to find Lizzie standing beside a pair of blossom-filled apple trees.
“I am judging the tides,” she replied, as steadily as she could.
“For what purpose?” The old woman frowned. Her servant’s cap was starched and neat, but her watery blue eyes were still creased with tiredness.
Kitty held her gaze. “This morning I will walk over to Rossfarne Castle.”
“No,” Lizzie cried, dropping her pail of chicken feed in distress. “You mustn’t do such a thing.”
“I must.” Kitty was emphatic. “I will speak to the earl and recover Mother’s jewels.” Despite her iron will, her voice shook and betrayed her nerves. She looked away from Lizzie towards the low-slung house she’d always known as home.
“Glory be, do you think that monster is just going to hand them over to you if you ask him nicely?” Lizzie shook her head in disbelief as she bent to scoop up the spilled corn.
Kitty swallowed. “We don’t know that he’s a monster. We shouldn’t judge him by his uncle’s behaviour.”
“We have evidence enough,” Lizzie began, but then she stopped short. She opened her mouth and closed it again, as if there was something she wanted to say but she couldn’t find the words.
“It doesn’t matter anyway.” Kitty folded her arms against a sudden breeze. “Without the jewels, Rosalind has no hope of a good marriage.” She shrugged. “I have to try, Lizzie.”
The servant’s gaze softened. “I know you’d give your last breath to help your sister, but you don’t have to take on the evils of the world all by yourself.” She ploughed on before Kitty could interrupt. “Trust the Lord above and the good folk of Rossfarne.” She stepped forward and placed one gnarled hand on Kitty’s shoulder as the other clutched her crucifix. “We’ll see you right.”
More charity, which she didn’t want to accept. Kitty took a deep breath and placed her hand over Lizzie’s. “The people here have already been too kind, given us too much.” She squeezed her fingers. “I’m young and strong, Lizzie. When the time comes, I can work in the farms or in the fields and do whatever it takes. This pretence at gentility is for Rosalind’s sake, to better her prospects for a good marriage. You know that. She deserves the future she would have had if Mother hadn’t passed away.” She broke her gaze, unable to bear the sympathy flashing in Lizzie’s eyes. “And to that end, I will go to Rossfarne Castle and ask for our jewels to be returned. The worst he can do is say no.” She smiled to hide her fears.
Lizzie looked anguished. Her healthy cheeks were pale and her eyes wild. “Oh, Miss Katherine, he’ll do far worse than that once he’s got you inside that castle.”
“I’m going, Lizzie.” Kitty made her voice calm and resolute. “Just as soon as the tides allow it.”
*
Barely an hourlater she had laced up her cleanest kirtle, persuaded her wilful red hair to stay pinned neatly beneath her hood, and trooped down the stairs to the front hall where her sister and Lizzie waited with sombre faces. Rosalind held up a small oval looking glass so she could see the effect.
“You look lovely, Kitty,” her sister said, “but you don’t have to do this. I don’t need Mother’s jewels for a dowry. I want to marry for love.”
Kitty cupped Rosalind’s smooth cheek with her own rough hand. “That isn’t how it works. I wish it was.”
“Then I’ll just stay here for the rest of my life with you and Lizzie.”
Kitty wanted to say they wouldn’t be able to stay in this big house for many years longer, certainly not for the rest of their lives. The coin chests were almost empty, and the roof was letting in damp. But she pressed her lips together and said nothing. There was no need to cause extra alarm on a day like today. She gazed at her reflection in the oval glass, surprised at the difference a tidy dress could make. The young woman looking back at her could be on her way to meet friends in the marketplace. She looked like someone accustomed to laughter and ease and fun. Not a drudge with a prematurely aching back and no prospects.
Kitty motioned for Rosalind to put the looking glass away. Her reflection made her miserable.
Alfred walked in from the kitchen and dropped the heavy load of firewood he was carrying when he caught sight of Kitty.
“You’re never going to him?” he said.
Kitty turned in surprise. It was unlike Alfred to drop anything and even further out of character for him to question her decisions.
“I’m walking to Rossfarne Castle while the tide is out, and there isn’t anything you can say to change my mind,” she said sharply, hoping to deter any debate.
“But dressed like that.” He gestured to her snugly fitting kirtle. “You’d be better off in your apron with smuts on your face.”
Kitty’s eyebrows shot upwards. Had the events of last night turned Alfred’s mind?
He acknowledged her bewilderment and turned to Lizzie with a frown. “You haven’t told her, have you?”
Lizzie wrung her hands in her apron. “Lord help me, I haven’t found the words,” she wailed, sinking down into a hard wooden chair beside Rosalind.
“What words?” Kitty interrupted, her pulse beginning to pound. “What haven’t you told me?”
