The Noble Life

Fifteen

The following morning William journeyed directly into Barnbury to inform the villagers of Lord Russell's misdeeds, hoping to do so in a way which saved some small shred of the Russell ladies' reputations rather than allowing the rumour mill to do its worst. Meanwhile Sir William replied to Lady Russell's letter on her behalf, as the grief-stricken woman was still bed-ridden and being attended to by Lady Cavendish. This left Catherine and Julia with the most unfortunate task of entertaining Miss Russell.

Catherine could think of several more pleasurable ways to spend her morning; however, Miss Russell was a guest at Broxcliffe Park, and it would be terribly insensitive to leave her alone during a time of such great distress. Though Miss Russell had not taken the news quite so badly as her mother, she was certainly out of spirits, even declining Catherine's invitation to play them a little piece or two on the pianoforte. This reluctance to display her musical skill had Catherine at a complete loss as to what to do with the young lady; she had felt certain Miss Russell would welcome the opportunity to perform.

Thankfully Julia could always be depended upon in situations such as this, and sure enough she soon engaged Miss Russell in conversation by warmly complimenting her gown. As the pair began to chatter amicably Catherine felt herself relax, temporarily relieved of her social burden, and she allowed her attention to drift away from their conversation towards the subject which had occupied her thoughts almost incessantly since the previous evening.

Ah, Professor Lawes. Once the object of much frustration for Catherine, she now found her thoughts turning to him in a significantly more tender way. The thought of their brief time outside on the patio still sent tingles of pleasure rushing down her spine, and Catherine could not help but wonder, yet again, what could have been had not Lady Russell's news interrupted them. Another few seconds and she felt sure she could not have suppressed her desire to feel the professor's lips on hers any longer – and from the blazing fire in his eyes at that moment, it seemed Professor Lawes would have all-too-willingly reciprocated.

A glowing blush crept up Catherine's cheeks as she suddenly came to her senses and started at the vulgar nature of the thoughts currently occupying her mind. I am the niece of a baronet! Catherine chided herself firmly. I am not supposed to think of such things!

But were these thoughts really so vulgar? The professor had not asked to court her, so to kiss him would be to risk damaging her reputation; that in itself proved what she desired was indecent. But there was something in the way Professor Lawes had behaved with her recently; something in the intense way he looked at her, which made Catherine feel that perhaps it would not be so long until he attempted to initiate a courtship. She was no expert in matters of the heart – the mortifying experience with William proved that much – yet Catherine knew, somehow, that the regard she had come to feel for Professor Lawes was...

It was love. She loved Professor Lawes.

I could come to love him – that was what Catherine had told Julia just last night. But in reality, Catherine simply had not been ready to admit to herself that in fact she already loved him. That, surely, was the only explanation for her almost desperate desire to be in his company again, and the flock of butterflies which had begun to take flight in her stomach whenever they were alone together. It had happened without her realising, or perhaps she had known it all along deep down – if Professor Lawes proposed, Catherine would certainly accept.

But that question remained to be answered: did Professor Lawes intend to propose?

Of this, she was much less certain; in fact, she had not the faintest idea. The professor had been a mystery for Catherine since she first arrived in Barnbury, but just lately it seemed that it had begun to unravel at last. Now that she better understood the professor's character, Catherine knew that he'd always had perfectly genuine intentions towards her – his rather awkward nature just meant that he often ended up expressing himself in the wrong way. Now he did feel more comfortable in her company – during their last two meetings Professor Lawes had made a particular effort to seek Catherine out, in order to spend time alone with her – and if that did not point to an attraction towards her, then what else could he mean by it?