The Noble Life

Seventeen

"I am perfectly well, Mama," Catherine began to insist, but her mother was having none of it. In fact, Catherine began to wonder if perhaps Mrs Taylor had engineered her sons' day out in order to conduct a thorough inquisition into Catherine's wellbeing; the barrage of questions being thrown her way certainly sounded well-rehearsed. If anything this infuriated Catherine even further, and made her all the more reluctant to comply with her mother's wishes and provide her with the information she so desired.

"William mentioned something about a Lord Russell in one of his more recent letters," said Mrs Taylor delicately, eyeing Catherine tentatively as she spoke. "Such a terrible to-do that was in Bath; I feel desperately sorry for his disgraced relatives.

I – I wonder, Catherine – did you have any involvement with this man?"

"No, I most certainly did not!" cried Catherine indignantly, feeling heat rise in her cheeks as they grew scarlet with rage. "If you are under the impression that I am pining for that odious creature, then you are very much mistaken – for I could see as soon as I met him what a dreadful man he was! Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Julia, so perhaps you should instead be quizzing her on the matter!"

A tense silence followed this outburst, during which Catherine's breathing slowly returned to a normal rate as she succeeded in calming herself a little. Never had she spoken to her mother in such a rude manner in all of her twenty years - whatever had come over her to make her behave in such a way? She had never been known to possess such a foul temper; why, amongst her family she was known to be a most patient and gentle creature!

It terrified Catherine to witness such a change in her own disposition, intensifying as she caught a brief flicker of apprehension in Mrs Taylor's eyes. Her dear Mama was fearful of her; what an unbearable notion! Catherine instantly made to apologise – but just then, Bessie spoke up quietly from over by the window.

"It is not Lord Russell causing Catherine grief, Mama – but rather her professor. I believe I am correct, Catherine, in thinking it is he who haunts your thoughts so often?"

"Do not call him that!" burst out Catherine before she could stop herself. "He is not 'my professor' – he never was!"

In that moment, all the emotions Catherine had been forcing herself to suppress could not be ignored any longer, finally bubbling up inside her like a hot spring. The floodgates opened, and all the tears she had refused to cry over the past months rapidly began to pour out in such a violent burst of hysteria that she was rendered quite speechless. Too caught up in the raw anguish encompassing her heart to care what her mother and Bessie thought of this display, Catherine simply leapt to her feet and fled from the room.

"I will talk to her," Catherine heard Bessie sigh exasperatedly as she began to climb the stairs.

"No, allow me," Mrs Taylor replied gently, Catherine just catching her mother's response before disappearing out of earshot and making her way mindlessly up to her bedchamber.

By the time Mrs Taylor caught up with Catherine she was slumped on her window seat, head resting against the cold windowpane as deep, shuddering sobs shook her delicate frame. So wrapped up in her grief was she that she barely noticed her mother taking a seat beside her, until Mrs Taylor extended an arm and took her daughter's small, pale hand in her own. At this gesture of tenderness Catherine turned her tear-streaked face to her mother's anxious one, before wordlessly nestling into her warm embrace as she had often done when seeking comfort as a child.

"My strong, brave girl," murmured Mrs Taylor softly, stroking her daughter's chestnut locks lovingly. "Venturing to Barnbury alone cannot have been easy for you."