Page 29 of The Captain’s Valentine (The “Other” Trents #3)
Harrison wanted to shield Perdita, but it was not in his power to do so.
Her Grace clearly wanted to take control of Perdita, set her up in a set of rooms and go about changing her wardrobe. He feared what else the woman wanted to alter.
At least Perdita would not allow her to do so—yet anyway.
He had half expected her to get up and leave when she reminded Perdita that her aunt and uncle were poor, as if it were something to be ashamed of, nor would he have been surprised.
There was a protectiveness for her family, despite recent disagreements and hurts, and Harrison had no doubt that she would stand by the Valentines, along with their aunt and uncle, before she let anyone insult them.
“I do not know if I will ever be close to that woman.”
“Give it time,”
he offered as they walked back to her home.
“She does not understand. She insulted me and my family and I do not think she will be happy until I remove myself from them and live with her. They will always be my family. I cannot simply set them aside.”
“I understand why she would want her daughter under her roof.”
“As do I, but she needs to accept who I am, not change me into who she wants or thinks I should be because I am her daughter.”
“You likely would be different had you not been taken.”
She tilted her head. “Do you think my character and personality would be altered had I been raised in that household instead of by my aunt and uncle?”
“Your perceptions of life and Society would likely be changed from what it is now and simply because you would have been sheltered from, well, people like the Valentines, and only exposed to servants who took care of you and those in the ton.”
“Likely,”
she admitted. “I am certain that I prefer knowing what I do instead of being protected from the unpleasant realities.”
“As Her Grace and her other children have been.”
“I am certain that it was difficult to lose a child and always wonder what happened. In fact, it would be heartbreaking and I am not certain if I would be able to go on,”
Perdita stated. “How could one not constantly search?”
She then shook her head. “Though, I suppose, after years had passed, one would be forced to go forward, as they had.”
“Her Grace may have spent these years imagining what it would be like to finally have you home but she did not consider that you would not be the daughter she anticipated. She likely suspected that you would be much like your sister.”
“I would like to know my sister,”
Perdita admitted quietly. “She seems very friendly and grew tense when her mother entered the room.”
“She is your mother too,”
Harrison reminded Perdita.
“Yes, I know, I just do not feel that connection.”
“But I do agree, your sister wanted to broach a friendship and it is clear that Her Grace has been trying to manage her as well.”
“Maybe I will learn more tomorrow.”
“You are going to have tea with them again?”
Harrison asked in surprise. He truly thought Perdita had reached the end of her patience.
“It is a visit to the modiste. Perhaps I will have the opportunity for a quite word with Cadla and maybe arrange an opportunity for us to speak privately at a later time.”
“What of His Grace?”
Perdita frowned. “I would like to know him better as well, to determine if he is like his mother, or if he lets his mother make his decisions.”
It was likely His Grace walked a fine line between having control over his life and future and making his own decisions while trying not to ruffle his mother’s feathers, much like Perdita’s twin.
“It is true!”
Harrison and Perdita stopped when a man approached, eager to speak with them.
“Cara…Miss Perdita Valentine, I presume.”
“Yes,”
she answered slowly.
He then grinned broadly. “Cormac,”
he announced. “Lord Cormac Gallagher, and I am beyond pleased that you have been found.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, but how did you…”
His laughter drowned out her question. “I arrived last night from Ireland and was told the whole story, as well as mother’s plans for you.”
Perdita’s smile turned to a grimace.
“Ah, you have had tea with her again, have you not?”
“We were just leaving from there.”
“I assume you are not rushing home to pack your things to move into the mansion.”
“I am not,”
Perdita answered to which Cormac laughed again.
“I do not understand why you are so humored.”
“Because for years I have been the difficult one and now it appears that you rival me.”
“I do not mean to be difficult,”
Perdita insisted.
“Anything that is not in complete obedience to her is difficult.”
He then looked at Harrison. “Ah, Captain Trent, thank you for saving my nephew. It has been too long since we have shared an ale.”
“The two of you are acquainted?”
Perdita asked.
“Yes. I am only two years younger than Conor and knew Captain Trent while we were at school. Then he was off to sail the high seas and I set out to find as much mischief as I could simply to irritate my mother.”
He laughed then looked from Harrison to Perdita. “Is this a courtship?”
“We are friends,”
Perdita answered.
“Really? I would have thought it would be more given how my family spoke of your relationship.”
“How could they have formed an opinion beyond what I have assured them as to our relationship?”
“Because that is what my mother does,”
Cormac answered. “She has her opinions and they are always correct, even when they are not, and she has determined that you are more than what you say and looks forward to the day Captain Trent sails.”
Harrison was not at all surprised by this information and once he was gone, Her Grace would no doubt encourage Perdita to be courted by titled gentlemen.
“Would you be free to call on me this evening?”
Perdita asked. “I live with my brother-in-law, Marquess Felding.”
“I would be happy to, but may I ask why?”
“I believe I will need you as an ally as we go forward.”
Again, Cormac’s grin widened. “I look forward to further discussion.”
“If there is nothing further, Lady Victoria, I will…”
Perdita let her words trail off when she noted that Her Grace sat in the parlor of Westbrook House taking tea with Lady Sinclair and Lady Victoria.
She had only returned to Westbrook House today. After two days, Perdita had determined that had been enough time and that her life was settled enough.
It had also helped that she had found a kindred soul in Cormac, her other brother, and she truly did trust that he would stand by any decision she made and support her against their mother when necessary.
“Your Grace, I thought I was to meet you at the modiste.”
“I thought it best to collect you since I have learned that you often walk to your temporary residence without a maid to follow.”
“It is not so far and I have never been bothered,”
Perdita assured her.
“You were attacked once,”
she reminded Perdita. “And you also were not known as Lady Cara Gallagher, daughter of a duke.”
“Few know me as that now,”
Perdita reminded her.
“Perhaps more than you realize,”
Lady Sinclair offered as she held a newssheet out to Perdita.
Her stomach tightened as she took it and then read an article about the miraculous discovery of Lady Cara Gallagher. It detailed how the baby had gone missing, what had happened to her, the vicar who had found her, and how she was discovered when her nephew had gone missing. No detail was left out, Perdita’s life in print, and that of each of her Valentine siblings, at least as Her Grace knew it to be, including who they had married.
Violated!
She’d never experienced such before but it was the only way she could describe the emotion deep inside.
“Who spoke with a reporter?”
she demanded.
“I thought it important that the truth be revealed by my household before gossips invented stories that were not true and could harm your reputation or ours.”
“You had no right to tell anyone anything about me?”
Perdita took deep breaths to calm herself. She did not like this anger or any negative emotions. For her entire life she had looked on every situation with a positive attitude, because a silver lining could be found in nearly every situation. Which was why she always accepted her lot in life. There was no reason to become upset about those things that could not be controlled. She lived peacefully and happily until one woman attacked her with a knife and everything as Perdita knew it unraveled, including this newssheet.
“Yes, dear, I did,”
Her Grace answered in a calm yet stern tone. “You are the sister of a duke. Your father was a duke. You are a lady and if we do not control the truth, it will be controlled for us.”
“It is nobody’s business.”
“I had not thought you to be so naive.”
Perhaps she was, and it was a fault of hers, always seeing the best in people, and believing that everyone would do the right thing, when she knew that was not always the case. Still, Perdita preferred to think and hope that everyone was good or had good within them.
“You could have at least asked me,”
Perdita finally said. There was little she could do now. It wasn’t as if she could make the newssheet go away. She could only hope that few people read it.
Oh dear! What would her family think? Her Valentine family?
They valued their privacy as much as she and would not appreciate reading their names any more than she did.
With those thoughts, she turned to her employers. “If you no longer need me, I must return home.”
She would send word to each of her siblings that remained in London and ask that they call on her so that she could apologize, even though she was not the person who had done anything wrong.
“We have an appointment with the modiste.”
Her Grace announced as she stood.
“We did, but I fear that I cannot join you. I must speak with my family.”
“I and my children are your family, Cara.”
No matter how much that woman may want Perdita to accept who she was, she would not deny the siblings she had known her entire life.
“They are my siblings as well and they would never ever provide private information about me to anyone, let alone a newssheet for strangers to learn. Further, they deserve an explanation.”
With that, she turned on her heel and marched from Westbrook House, heart pounding against her breastbone, and hands shaking from anger.
Oh, she wished to get on with her mother, the woman who had given birth to her, but how was it possible when she did not even respect Perdita enough to let her know her intentions, such as speaking with a reporter from one of the newssheets?
At least there was one Gallagher family member who would sympathize with her and that was Cormac. They had such an enjoyable evening last night. He was likeable and understood the discomfort Perdita had experienced during the two teas with his mother. All he could offer was that Her Grace was a formidable woman used to getting her way and that Perdita would need to stand strong against her or all decisions for the rest of her life would be made by someone else.
Such as talking to a reporter without Perdita’s permission.
By the time she reached Felding’s home, Perdita opened the door and stormed inside, slamming it behind her, though it really wasn’t the door’s fault that she was cross. Nor was she surprised to find her bothers and Rosalind in the parlor. In the middle of the table, beside the tea service, was a stack of missives.
“Invitations?”
she asked with a groan.
“Suddenly we are all very important,”
Mercutio said.
“I am so sorry,”
Perdita offered even though she was not at fault.
“Why did you speak with anyone? Why a reporter?”
Demetrius demanded.
“It was not me,”
Perdita cried.
“It was my mother,”
Cormac announced as he stepped into the parlor. “She also did not ask Cara’s permission or that of anyone else, because she will always do as she sees best. For that, I apologize.”
“Are those just for you Rosalind, or for everyone?”
“Oh, we have all received invitations. Suddenly we are at the top of every guest list when we once lived in obscurity,”
Petruchio complained.
“Maybe more people will attend performances,”
she offered weakly.
“Yes, well, they would be there for the wrong reason, which is why I am glad to be leaving town soon. We have performances north and I will be glad to be away from London.”
“What else might she do?”
she asked quietly. If Her Grace thought nothing about telling the world about Perdita, was there anything that she would not do? “What should I prepare for?”
“I wish I had an answer. Mother consults no one when she makes a decision but do know that she expects you to accept your place with her and in the mansion and present yourself as Lady Cara Gallagher and denounce Perdita Valentine.”
“She has said so?”
Perdita asked.
“Not in so many words, but I also know her well.”
Cormac grimaced.
Perdita drew herself up, as if she were prepared for battle, or so she assumed that is what she must do because she’d never battled anyone for anything, but it was her life, or the one that she wanted, that could be lost.