Family Secrets

Chapter Two

No servants had been engaged. Once the driver dragged in our trunks, we were left alone. Fortunately, Miss Greaves seemed to have planned for this with a basket of provisions and had some knowledge of how to cook. That would get us through the evening.

The wind howled once the sun set. I didn't remember the cottage sounding so melancholy when I was a girl. No doubt it was just my unsettled emotions about where I was.

I did not sleep well that first night. It had been several weeks since I had last slept well. At least I had been spared the morning sickness so many other women endured when they were with child.

As the morning sun shone through the window, my hand slipped down to my stomach. With child. A state I had never really given much thought for. Oh, I knew I would marry—preferably to a titled or wealthy gentleman—and I would be expected to provide an heir for my husband.

And here I was, an unmarried girl expecting a child. If anyone ever found out about it, I would be irredeemably disgraced and I would never marry well. Nevermind that I had been seduced and tricked into this situation.

Closing my eyes, I pushed away the annoying thought that I shared some blame. I'd been flattered by the attention. Mr. Conrad Ingram had been a handsome, mysterious rogue. All the young ladies of my age had longed to gain his notice and had often glared at me when they saw me with him.

With a snort, I pushed myself upright. If they only knew the misery they had escaped.

It was an experience to dress myself, something I couldn't remember having done before. There had always been someone in the house to help me in the mornings. As a child, there had been Nanny Em and then, when I was grown, there had been the maids in the house to answer my call for help.

Miss Greaves wouldn't help, and I wasn't about to even ask.

By the time I had changed from my nightgown into my morning dress, my stomach was rumbling. At home, I would have had a tea tray in my bed with toast to nibble on.

"Well, it is a good thing I will see no one of any importance today," I said, examining my appearance in the mirror. While my gown looked perfectly fine, I hadn't tried to arrange my hair since that was a skill I did not possess.

Wouldn't Miss Finn, my old governess, be pleased to hear me admit to not knowing something? She'd always accused me of being unable to see my own faults. Well, here I was admitting to one!

If being in my grandmother's house was going to inspire constant memories of the past, it was just even more reason to leave.

My gaze landed on the thick journal. Had she written about me? She must have when I was here that last year if she made such a point of writing about the day. Had she simply kept to what had happened in the day or had she expressed an opinion on me?

Scoffing, I turned away. What did I care what my dead grandmother might have thought of me?

I could smell bacon as I went down the creaking stairs. My mouth was watering as I entered the kitchen. Miss Greaves sat at the table, sipping a cup of tea. "I thought you would never get up," she commented.

"I thought I smelled bacon. Did you leave any for me?" I asked, seeing her used plate in front of her. The only food on the table was a loaf of bread.

"No. There was only a little left after our dinner last night," Miss Greaves said, waving a hand. "There's some bread. You can cut a slice if you're hungry. The water in the kettle might still be warm."

What an odd caretaker she was. Was she really being paid to just be my companion?

"I intend to go into the village and see about finding a girl to help with the cleaning and cooking," the other woman continued. "After so many days in that carriage, I think a walk is just what I need."