“Tod,” he called, summoning the hob from his hiding place. “I have another task for you.”
For once Eden was not with the boy. Nor, for that matter, was she with Hartley Shaw. Both were circumstances to be thankful for, and Claudia would not question the generosity of Providence.
For the first few days after Miss Waterson’s departure from Hartsmere, Eden had kept Donal constantly by her side with an almost fanatical dedication. Then, conveniently enough, a number of crises had developed among the farmers and villagers in the dale, and Eden had been sufficiently distracted to agree to leave Donal at the house while she dealt with them.
Since the party, the people of Hartsmere seemed unable to do without their mistress. Nancy had become Donal’s surrogate governess, while Eden steadfastly avoided discussing a replacement for the unlamented Miss Waterson. She hardly spoke to Claudia at all.
In Miss Waterson’s absence, it would be somewhat more difficult to keep Donal out of Lord Rushborough’s sight when he came to call this afternoon. His first visit following that disastrous encounter at the tenant’s party must go smoothly, for it would set the tone for all future meetings.
Claudia walked through the garden, vaguely disturbed by its overripe lustiness. The days had been unseasonably warm since February, an extraordinary contrast from the bitter winter that had ended so abruptly. Nothing seemed quite right at Hartsmere—but then, it never had. She ought to be used to this constant state of misgiving and fear.
She wondered if Eden would be back from the village in sufficient time to make ready for Lord Rushborough’s arrival. She showed little inclination to prepare herself with the care she’d always taken in London when she’d received callers. Her priorities in general had suffered. Nevertheless, she had not outright rejected Francis’s courtship, and as long as she did not, Claudia would press for his suit and encourage him by any means possible.
He was a gentleman indeed to overlook the offenses given him by that devil Hartley Shaw.
Aware of an all-too-common prickling at the back of her neck, Claudia looked for the groom. He seemed to be everywhere at once, as irksome as flies about a honeypot. She knew little more about him now than when he had first arrived; no one at Hartsmere was able to tell her anything of his background or family. For all her threats, she had still not found a way to expel him from Hartsmere. And Eden refused to cooperate.
Driven by the need to confront what most troubled her, Claudia turned and walked toward the stables. She was not surprised to find Donal with Shaw; Nancy was away, and Mrs. Byrne was a very lax and unreliable keeper.
Man and boy were locked in conversation. Donal was uncommonly silent much of the time, but with Shaw he became animated—another mark of his unnatural birth. The boy would rather be among the dogs and horses and sheep, and those of lowly birth, than with people of refinement.
Why would Eden not recognize what he was? How could she bear to have him near when she had so despised his father? It was a puzzle that haunted Claudia nightly.
Another puzzle was Shaw’s daily excursions into the forest. Now that Miss Waterson was gone, he no longer stole the boy from the nursery at night. They went openly during the day, and Eden did nothing to stop it.
The pair were headed for the forest now, marching at a fast clip up the fellside. Claudia hesitated. She had reason to hate the place above all others at Hartsmere. But if what she feared lingered there, it had not shown its face.
Gathering her skirts, she waited until Shaw and Donal had reached the edge of the forest and disappeared among the trees. She followed slowly, picking her way around the natural rock wall and avoiding the beck and its miniature force.
Like everything else in the dale, the forest was well progressed in its spring growth. Most of the trees were in leaf and many were flowering. Skylarks, thrushes, and warblers rivaled each other in song. Unpleasant little rodents rustled under Claudia’s feet. She swallowed her distaste and continued to the border of the wood.