Five years later…
A chill spread over Carly despite the warm spring day. Perhaps it was the wind, but she didn't believe that to be the case. There was a sense of foreboding she could not shake. She wished she understood what made her feel so uneasy. It might make her impending trip home easier for her. Soon she'd be leaving school for good and she would finally be free to make her own choices. At least she hoped she'd be able to.
Perhaps that was the real issues...
She hadn't been given a choice to attend the Tenby School for Ladies. Wales was so far from home she had been homesick for days after she'd arrived. If not for her new friend, Lady Penelope Cox she feared she would not have done well. She had made Carly feel at ease and helped her acclimate to the school. Her new friend had declared them best friends and insisted she call her Poppy...insisted everyone called her that. Carly didn't tell her that combining Poppy with her surname of Cox...well sounded quite ridiculous, or a worse descriptor she didn’t want to put into words... She would not insult her new friend for any reason.
They took long walks on a nearby beach. One of the few activities the headmistress allowed. The beach was near the school and they could be watched. It was the only reason they had been allowed anywhere near it. Other than her required classes, and the addition of music lessons, there wasn't much else for Carly to do. She missed her twin, Chris, and the rest of her family. She corresponded with all of them regularly but it wasn't the same. She longed for them all, and the first thing she intended to do when she returned was hug them all.
"Brooding are you?" Poppy asked.
Carly was sitting on a bench that overlooked the small garden at the school. One of their tasks was to care for it. Tending a garden was considered acceptable for a lady to do, at least in the eyes of the headmistress. Carly was of the belief that the headmistress liked having a garden but the school's funding wouldn't provide for a gardener. They had finished clearing all the debris left from the winter storms, and planted all the new seeds in the flowerbeds. The rose bushes had been trimmed, along with the shrubbery. Carly's hands still had scratches from it all. At least when she returned home she'd never have to dirty her hands with garden work again. There were many things she wanted to do, but becoming an avid gardener was not one of them.
"I'm exhausted," Carly said. "I've not had any proper time to brood as you so succinctly put it."
"You're not enjoying this bit of scheduled outdoor time?" Poppy lifted a brow. Wind blew around them causing some strands of Poppy's blonde hair to pull free from the simple plait. She reached up and tucked them behind her ear. There was a glint in her gray eyes, mischievous perhaps. What was her friend up to? "You do not find it exhilarating?"
Carly rolled her eyes. "I suppose one could consider it that."
"And you don't?" Poppy raised an eyebrow. "What is it then?"
"Torture," she said simply.
"You want to be up in your room playing that dilapidated violin of yours."
"It is not as horrible as you are inferring," Carly exclaimed. It was rather ancient, but it was still quite serviceable. She'd ensured it was well taken care of. There was only so much she could do though. Her funds were quite limited. The music instructor had done their best to help her learn how to play it properly, but she feared she'd never fully be proficient with it. "The strings were replaced recently and it was tuned. It's a beautiful instrument and quite melodious."
"As long as you slide that bow over the strings properly," Poppy said and shook her head. "There were times over the past couple of years I doubted you'd ever make that thing sound good, let alone dulcet."
Carly sighed. She hated to admit that Poppy's recollect held some bit of accuracy to it. There were times that her violin practice had been quite straining to the ears. Even she had cringed in the early days. She played a lot better these days, but there was still so much she had to learn. "One day I'll play so well you'll weep with joy."
"I may weep," she acceded. "But it won't necessarily be from joy. Though perhaps I can admit it could happen. When the composition has come to an end and I can finally take my fingers out of my ears, then, and only then, I might be quite jubilant."
Carly stuck her tongue out.
"Lady Carolina that is not ladylike behavior," the headmistress, Miss Mary Spencer chastised her.
Drat. She'd been caught. Carly sighed and prepared herself for a lecture. Hopefully it would be her last before she left school. Her trunks were packed and she'd be on a carriage heading home at dawn the next day. Poppy was leaving soon too, but not as soon as Carly. She had to remain a whole sennight longer. Carly would miss her, but at least it wasn't a long wait. Poppy teased her, but she was her biggest champion. She encouraged her to learn the violin instead of aimlessly plucking at the strings. If not for Poppy, Carly never would have had the confidence to try.
"My apologies, headmistress," Carly said in a contrite tone she didn't feel.
"You should be sorry," the headmistress said. "A lady such as you are should exhibit a better example to the younger ladies."
What was she to say to that? The younger ladies were already well-behaved. They were noting like she had been when she first arrived. "It won't happen again." At least not while Carly remained at school... Once she returned home she made no such promise.
"See that it doesn't." With that rebuke the headmistress finished examining the work they had done in the garden. "The garden looks serviceable." It was more than that and the old bat knew it. "You may have an hour of free time before the evening meal." She clapped her hands together. "Start moving ladies."
They all scurried away as fast as they were allowed to walk. If they ran it would delay their departure. No one wanted that, especially Carly. She rushed up to her room to retrieve her violin. It was all she wanted. When she returned home she'd seek out a new teacher. She would become one of the best players in all of England, perhaps the world. There was nothing she wanted more than that...
Wesley Cox, the Earl of Sheffield, surveyed the room. His grandfather, the Duke of Pembroke, had tasked him with seeing to the final details of the Pembroke Academy of Music. The duke had believed he was helping Wes by giving him a school devoted to music to run. Wes loved music, but he had never wanted to be in control of a school. He’d wanted to go to a school such as the one his grandfather had built. If the academy had existed when he was younger he’d have begged to be allowed to attend.
His younger sister, Poppy was returning from finishing school in a week. He would have to escort her to dances and other mundane social functions, and ensure the school’s opening happened without any issues. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it all, but did any of that matter? His grandfather had expectations and Wes would have to not only meet them, but also exceed them. That was what happened when your grandfather was a duke, and one day in the future, you would have that title too. His father wouldn’t be much help either. The Marquess of Richmond had his own tasks to complete. The Duke of Pembroke was a challenging man, and his family beared the brunt of his demands.
This school wasn’t a bad thing. He wished his grandfather would have discussed it with him before he started building it, then telling him rather than asking if he’d manage it. Wes wanted to play music, not listen to it or even instruct students to create it. Why was that so difficult for his grandfather to understand?
“Graystone said I might find you here,” Carrolton said as he strolled into the empty room. “What will this place be again?”
“The Pembroke Academy of Music,” Wes said dryly.
Carrolton lifted a brow. His brown hair was a little disheveled. Probably from the wind that seemed to have taken on a life of its own lately. “And why are you here?”
“Grandfather.” It was the only thing he needed to say. His closest friends would understand. Wes hadn’t made it a secret how frustrating the duke could be.
Carrolton strolled around the room and surveyed the area. “What will this room be?”
“My office,” Wes said, then sighed. “I’m waiting for a delivery of furniture. Because, you know, a servant or worker couldn’t be tasked with it.”
It was difficult to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Wes wished he could turn around and walk out to never return again. His grandfather would track him down and demand his return. Well, he wouldn’t do it personally, more likely he’d send one of his favorite servants to do it.
“It’s a nice enough room,” Carrolton said in a diplomatic tone. “If you have to spend a lengthy amount of time in here, at least it should have a…pleasant atmosphere.”
“Pleasant?” Wes glared at him. “That’s not the word I would have chosen.”
“True,” Carrolton agreed. “It could be worse. My mother could be here.”
Wes chuckled. Carrolton’s mother was worse in a lot of ways than Wes’s grandfather. At least his grandfather loved him and tried to do what was best for the family. Carrolton’s mother was selfish and didn’t care about anyone but herself. “How is the repairs to the dower house coming along?” Wes had banished his mother to his country estate. There was no actual dower house on the property. Instead Wes had bought a cottage in a different county and established paperwork to make it a dower house. Once the repairs were done his mother would take up residence and live with a much smaller income than she had grown accustomed to. In Wes’s opinion that was even too good for the woman.
“It is done,” he said. “In truth it was mostly done a year ago, but she refused to move in until I added a stable. I refused at first and we were at a stalemate. Then I realized the extra expense was worth it to finally have her move out of my home. I’d like to take Teddy there for the summer, and Amelia hasn’t returned there either.”
“So when is she moving out?”
“Next week,” Carrolton said. “Her belongings have all been moved. She is waiting for me to escort her there. Another one of her demands. I would say no, but well, I need her to be off the damn property.”
“I understand that.” If only his own problems could be solved in the same fashion.
“Pardon the interruption, my lord,” a man said from the entrance. “I have a desk, some chairs, and shelves that need to be put in this room.”
“Bring them in,” Wes said. “We were about to leave.”
He was there when the delivery arrived. Wes had done his part, and he refused to stay any longer. His grandfather hadn’t said he needed to stay and observe them place the furniture in the room. Besides he didn’t care if they delivered it at all.
“Is there any particular place you want the furniture set?” the man asked.
“No,” Wes replied. “Use your own judgement.” If he didn’t like where they put it he’d deal with it later. He had to leave this school he didn’t want before he lost his temper. He turned to Carrolton. “Care to join me at the club for a drink?”
“I could use a drink,” Carrolton answered. “But let’s go to my townhouse instead. We can talk in my study.”
Wes didn’t really care where they went. As long as it wasn’t the school… He followed Carrolton out and they headed to his townhouse. He would have to deal with his grandfather’s demands, but it didn’t have to be that particular moment.