Rosalyn need not have worried about the boys. They were exuberant, with a mixture of the boldness of colts and the strength of young stallions.
After introductions had been made, Fletcher grabbed both boys by the shoulders and hugged them gruffly, his own enthusiasm bubbling over, as youthful as theirs.
Kerry had given Rosalyn a cautious look, as if she wondered exactly how she was to respond to this woman who had married her brother. And she was a little distant, but Rosalyn chose to overlook that. The girl needed time to adapt. That was all.
Kerry clung to Fletcher. When he suggested that she go inside and find her bedchamber, she said she’d rather be with him. He had given Rosalyn a look that said, Don’t worry, she’s just shy, and the five of them, including the chaperone, left for the stables. Rosalyn and Geddes were left alone in front of the entry to the castle.
“So tell me, dear brother, how did you fare with the three of them? Did they obey you?”
Geddes chuckled. “Obey might not be the right word, I’m afraid. They certainly are spirited youngsters, I’ll give you that. But the boys are easily amused. Although they are as different as two lads can be, they are inquisitive and amiable. They got on well with the ship’s crew.”
Rosalyn hid a small smile. “And Kerry?”
Geddes drew in a sigh. “She and the chaperone stayed to themselves much of the time.” He shook his head. “Dorcas Blessing. Not much of a blessing, in my mind.”
Curious, Rosalyn asked, “Why do you say that?”
“It’s just a feeling I have. She seemed to want to keep Kerry separated from the boys; I can’t imagine why. Maybe it was my imagination. But I can tell you, sister, Kerry is smart as a whip. Everything she learns and sees seems to be stored like an image in her mind, for she can repeat a conversation word for word, days after it was spoken. And just to test my theory, I gave her twelve objects to study for only a few seconds, and without any hesitation she rattled them off in order. She even repeated them again later for me.” He shook his head in wonder. “She even knew how to calculate fathoms. What kind of child knows such things?”
Rosalyn watched as the chaperone returned from the stables and instructed the servants as the luggage was unloaded. She didn’t always agree with her brother’s intuitions, so as she watched Miss Blessing, she decided she would wait and judge for herself the kind of young woman she was.
It didn’t take her long to realize that her brother’s suspicions were right.
Dorcas Blessing walked up to her and, without preamble, said, “I don’t know what accommodations you have for me, madam, but I will have to insist that I stay with Kerry in her bedchamber. She’s frightened, she’s alone, and she needs my support.”
Rosalyn drew in a breath. Well, she thought, that didn’t take long. “I have prepared a nice suite for you just down the hallway from Kerry. I should think that would be sufficient. You would both have your privacy, yet you could keep in touch with her at any time.”
The woman began shaking her head before Rosalyn had finished speaking. “No. I’m afraid that won’t do. I must stay with her. Surely it doesn’t matter to you. It would be one less room your servants would have to keep clean.”
What harm could it do? In truth, it would lessen the load on the servants.
“Are you truly that worried about Kerry?” she asked. “Surely she will settle in once she feels a bit more comfortable.”
Miss Blessing stepped closer. “I know you aren’t aware of how the children were found or what the circumstances were, but I assure you, Kerry does not like to be alone.”
Rosalyn frowned. How the children were found? Their circumstances? That sounded very distressing, indeed. She would have to ask Geddes about it. “I will send one of the serving girls in to prepare the spare bed in Kerry’s chamber,” Rosalyn offered.
Dorcas Blessing emitted a sigh of relief, and her shoulders relaxed somewhat. “I apologize for sounding high-handed, madam. The children have been in my care and have been my responsibility since before we embarked. I’ve grown quite fond of them, especially Kerry. The boys have had each other for company but Kerry has been quite alone. You can understand my need to protect her.”
Rosalyn raised her eyebrows a fraction. Perhaps Geddes had been wrong about her after all. “Of course. We all want what’s best for them, and anything we can do to make their transition here easier is our ultimate goal.”
Dorcas smiled at her. “Thank you.”
Evan arrived, driving the small, two-person carriage, reining in the steed in front of them. He hopped down from the seat swiftly and stood before Rosalyn, his hat in his hands.
“Yes, Evan?”
“Ma’am, I was passing by Miz Begley’s and she stopped me and asked that you come see her right away.”
Alarmed, Rosalyn asked, “Did she say why?”
“No, ma’am. She seemed a mite upset, though.”
Rosalyn threw a glance at the stables and then toward the castle. She couldn’t just leave without alerting someone as to why she was gone.
“Miss Blessing,” she said, turning to the chaperone, “would you please explain to everyone that I have had to answer an emergency? I’ll return as soon as I can.”
The chaperone nodded, but said nothing.
Rosalyn went inside, grabbed her cape and her gloves, and returned to the carriage, and she and Evan were off.
• • •
She heard the noise before they even stopped in front of Fen’s cottage. Wailing, bawling children.
Hurrying inside, she called, “Fen?”
From the kitchen, she heard Fen’s reply. “In here.”
Rosalyn rushed into the kitchen, where she noticed two little ones clinging to Fen’s chest like animated bookends.
“What’s this?”
Fen was clearly frazzled. “In all my days as a camp nurse, I never had this much frustration with my patients.”
Rosalyn lifted one of the children off her and brought the bairn to her own chest. A sudden jab of pain sliced through her, and for a very brief moment, she remembered holding her darling Fiona.
“What’s wrong with them?”
Fen shushed the child, bouncing him up and down, trying to calm him. “They both have fevers and have been wailing since their mother dropped them off. Twins, they are.”
Rosalyn rocked the child gently, patting his back. “Whose are they?”
“They belong to the parson’s sister. She’s come to visit, and they arrived with this fever. The mother was no help at all, wailing louder than the bairns. I sent her home.”
Rosalyn sat and held out her free arm for the other child so Fen could prepare cool compresses. After they had gotten the fevers down far enough that the little ones could sleep, Fen and Rosalyn collapsed on the settee in the parlor.
“Thank you for coming, dear. This all happened so suddenly, and I wasn’t prepared. I guess I had better learn to be now, since our drunken sot of a doctor has left the island permanently.”
“You’re going to need me more often now than you did before,” Rosalyn mused.
Fen glanced at her, appearing to note hesitancy in her voice. “Is that a problem?”
Rosalyn shook her head. “No, I’ve always assumed I would help you. It’s just that…”
“What?”
“His Grace’s siblings arrived today.”
Fen gasped. “Oh, blast. Why didn’t you just send Evan back with that news? I would have managed this somehow, you know that.”
“No, it’s all right. I should get back, though, if you think things will go smoothly from now on.”
“Of course. Go. But before you do, tell me what you think of them.”
Rosalyn drew in a long breath. “I haven’t really had time, Fen. But the boys, Duncan and Gavin, are energetic and curious. His lordship took them to the stables straight off and I believe they will each have chosen a pony before dinner.”
“They sound delightful. And, what about the girl?”
Rosalyn’s smile was rueful. “Ah. Kerry. That may be another story altogether. The chaperone, Dorcas Blessing, whom Geddes is quite certain has slanted the truth about everything to Kerry, is a mild, stark-looking woman. She insisted right off that she stay in Kerry’s room, not wishing a room of her own. I’m trying not to rush to judgment, but…” Rosalyn rubbed her forehead. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s all so new. We’ll see how things work out.”
“You sound unsettled.”
“Well, the girl wasn’t exactly friendly, but maybe I’m just sensitive. I don’t want to think the worst of someone. I’ll give it some time, I guess, that’s all I can do. And Fen, she is the most exquisite young lass I have ever seen. Such beauty! And when she saw her brother, you could tell that in her eyes, he hangs out the moon.”
“Aye, he could have that effect on women.” Fen stood. “We can talk later. You’d best get back before you’re missed. I don’t want to be responsible for your absence.”
Rosalyn stood as well. “I did tell the chaperone where I was going. I hope she passed the message along.”
Rosalyn stopped at the door. She had to tell someone her little secret—who better than Fen? “Fen?”
Fen was beside her immediately. “What’s wrong?”
Rosalyn shook her head. “’Tis only that…I think I’m pregnant.”
Fen pulled her around to face her. “Are you sure?”
Nodding, Rosalyn said, “I’ve been through this before, remember?”
“And how do you feel about it?”
Uncertain excitement fluttered in Rosalyn’s stomach. “I don’t know yet. It’s so early.”
“You think it happened right off?”
“Aye, I’m certain of it.”
“Well, if it’s so, then you must let me check you regularly. Will you promise?”
With a nod, Rosalyn hugged her friend and left.
But when Rosalyn walked into the roomy castle foyer, Geddes and His Grace were there, both apparently loaded for bear, so to speak.
“Where in the devil have you been?” Geddes glared at her.
Fletcher, his arms crossed over his chest, simply stood there, waiting for her answer.
Surprised by their behavior, Rosalyn hung up her cape and answered, “Fen had an emergency. I asked Miss Blessing to tell you where I was going.”
“And Mrs. Begley’s ‘emergency’ was more important than making His Grace’s siblings feel comfortable their first moments here?”
Rosalyn frowned. “Actually, yes. Since the doctor has left the island, Fen is alone in treating the ill. But had she known His Grace’s brothers and sister had just arrived, she would never have asked for my help, you can be sure of that. So don’t go blaming Fen for my absence. The blame, if there is any, is entirely mine.”
Geddes scowled. “I swear—”
“Don’t,” Rosalyn interrupted. “Perhaps it was a poor decision on my part to leave for a while, but don’t blame Fen. Now that she’s alone, treating everyone and anyone who needs her, and possibly even those who don’t want her help, I’ll be assisting her more often, and I don’t intend to shirk any of my duties here. So I don’t want either of you complaining, do you hear me?”
“She’s right, Geddes,” Fletcher began. “The children and I have just returned from the stables as it is. Rosalyn has prepared everything so well she didn’t need to hang around until we came back inside.”
“But,” Rosalyn said, “didn’t Miss Blessing tell you where I’d gone?”
“Neither of us has seen her since she went up to her bedchamber,” Geddes informed her.
Well, thought Rosalyn, perhaps Geddes was right about her after all. She studied her brother, really looking at him for the first time. “Geddes, you look awful. Are you ill?”
Geddes coughed. It was a cavernous sound, hoarse and raspy, one that came from deep within his chest. “It’s nothing, just something I picked up on the trip.”
Startled, she felt his face. “You’re burning up!” Now she felt guilty because she’d been ranting about the necessity of her trip to Fen’s when she should have been paying attention to what was going on right under her nose.
Geddes seemed to shrink. “Yes. If you two don’t mind, I think I’ll skip supper and go straight to bed.” Without waiting for a response, he slowly took the stairs to his bedchamber.
Rosalyn watched his ascent. “How could I have been so blind?”
“You’ve had quite a bit on your mind, Rosalyn.”
“I know, but…” She gasped and turned to face him. “Oh, about the children! They seem like lovely young people, really they do.”
He gave her a boyish grin, one that reached inside and continued to thaw her. “They are, aren’t they? Of course,” he added, his face changing, “I can’t take any credit for that. Had it been up to me, they all might well have been hoodlums.”
She thought about what Miss Blessing had said about their condition when they’d been found, still determined to discuss it with Geddes. “Nonsense. I watched them when they saw you; their eyes and their smiles expressed how they feel about you.”
“I hope you and Kerry can be friends,” he said.
“Well, of course,” she answered, carefully hiding her misgivings. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“She’s never really had a woman to look up to, you know. She was just a little girl when her mother died.”
“She’s still a little girl, Your Grace.”
“But a beauty, wouldn’t you say?”
Rosalyn touched his arm, feeling his strength. “Aye. She’s the most beautiful child I have ever seen.”
Rosalyn recalled what Geddes had said about Kerry and the chaperone, how they had been nearly inseparable on the voyage. She wasn’t ready to share with her husband Geddes’s opinion about the woman. “She and Miss Blessing seem quite comfortable with each other.”
“The chaperone won’t be here forever. I don’t want Kerry getting so close to her that she’ll grieve when the woman leaves.”
Rosalyn thought that perhaps it was already too late for that, but she said nothing.
They walked past the library and Rosalyn saw a light under the door. “I wonder who’s in there.”
Fletcher pushed the door open, and Dorcas Blessing turned quickly from in front of the desk. “Miss Blessing? Can we help you?”
“No. Well, actually, I was looking for some notepaper; I must write a letter to my superiors.”
Rosalyn crossed to the desk, pulled open a drawer, and handed the chaperone the materials she would need to post a letter. For a brief moment Rosalyn thought the woman might have been snooping, but she scolded herself. After Geddes’s warning, Rosalyn would probably see goblins in every corner.
The three of them left the library and Fletcher and Rosalyn watched Miss Blessing take the stairs to Kerry’s room.
“My goodness,” said Rosalyn. “It didn’t take her long to make herself at home, did it?”
“She’ll be leaving soon enough,” Fletcher answered.
Rosalyn remembered Geddes’s warning. “I wonder how that will affect Kerry in the long run.”
Fletcher turned to her, surprised. “Why should it bother her? Oh, she may miss her at first, but she’ll have you. Trust me, if there was a choice to be made, you would win, hands down.” He pulled her close and they mounted the stairs together.
Rosalyn wasn’t so sure, but she refused to argue. This was only the first day, and considering everything, she thought things had gone quite well. They could only get better. Or not.