Courtesan's Kiss (10 page)

Mia preferred the majesty of a grander estate. In a house this size, where did one find privacy? How could one practice on the pianoforte without disturbing the others in residence?

Mia counted the trees that lined the road leading to the house. Janina would want every detail of the garden so she could tell Romero about it. Her beau knew herbs and fruits, loved to work with anything that grew. According to Janina he knew every tree.

Mia could not name them but could count twenty trees, ten on each side of the drive, not in a line, but then neither was the road. It angled to the left so that you could not see the house as you approached the gate, but one did have a view from the verge to the left of the gate where the carriage stood now.

A breeze moved the shrubbery and the leaves on the
trees. The sky and the feel of the air promised rain. Not too soon, she hoped.

When she could stand it no longer, Mia prepared to jump down from the box. She might not be able to hear what the men discussed but she could easily guess the plan.

She would rescue Janina’s bag and the sweets Romero had given to her and put them somewhere safe until Janina joined them. As Mia stood, gathering her skirts on one hand, she saw Lord David and the surgeon approach her. Lord David introduced the surgeon as Mr. Novins and suggested that she stay up in the driver’s box.

“Can you tell me when your maid first felt ill, Miss Castellano?”

Mia explained that Janina did not travel well, but then last evening she had complained of feeling not only sick to her stomach, but also hot. And her body ached.

“I told the surgeon what the groom said,” Lord David explained. “That his partner was suddenly stricken about twenty minutes before the coachman collapsed and fell.”

The surgeon turned to Lord David. “I will send a messenger to the house and tell the Cantwells to vacate the premises. Then you, Miss Castellano, and the servants with you, will be quarantined there for seven days. By then we should know if this is a contagion and what kind it is.” Mr. Novins gave Mia his attention. “There will be no greater chance of disease with the quarantine. You have already been exposed to whatever it is.”

“Smallpox.” Mia could not help the edge to her voice. “You fear we will contract smallpox.”

“Possibly,” he agreed with maddening calm. “But it could be that all three illnesses are unrelated.”

“Mr. Novins, that would be entirely too much of a coincidence.” She would not be treated like some stupid chit who did not want to know the truth. Mia hoped her tone made that clear.

“It would be a surprising coincidence, but not impossible. Or, miss, it is not necessarily smallpox. It could be some other disease.”

“I think that more likely.” If not any more reassuring.

Lord David nodded and turned to Mia. “We will not go to Pennford until we know.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Of course not.” The thought that he considered her so selfish infuriated her. “I would never take a chance like that. Never. I will do as the surgeon says and count the days.”

Lord David nodded but his expression conveyed his own dislike of the situation. He would be counting, too.

“And in the future, my lord, Mr. Novins, do not equivocate because you think I will become hysterical. Anger and hysteria are two different things, which you should know, Lord David, after seeing Janina. She is often hysterical.”

“Very well, Miss Castellano. I will assume your English and your temperament are up to hearing the details.” The surgeon bowed to her and she nodded back.

“Lord David?” Mia asked, hoping for equal assurance from him.

“Miss Castellano, your English is excellent. Your temper, if not your temperament, is legend.”

She understood that he did not mean that as a compliment.

“The question remains,” he added, “whether you are up to this challenge. We will know in a week whether you are inclined to hysteria or just temper tantrums.”

A woman hurrying down the drive distracted them. Without comment Lord David abandoned her and went to meet the newcomer, who wore the dress of a housekeeper.

It was just as well they had been interrupted. Lord David’s lack of faith hurt and she did not want him to see it.

“You have handled this crisis with equanimity, Miss Castellano,” Mr. Novins called up from the ground.

“Thank you, Mr. Novins.” How lovely that even in this dark moment, someone appreciated her. “It has been a difficult trip.”

“I have every confidence that you will arrive at your destination safely, if later than you hoped.” Mr. Novins took a step closer, which meant he had to crane his neck even more. “I will look forward to speaking with you when the quarantine ends.”

She smiled with all the charm she could muster. “Thank you, Mr. Novins.”

He blushed and managed a “You’re welcome.”

Mr. Novins counted as one of the sweet ones, Mia decided. He deserved better than someone who could turn
him to her bidding so easily. Maybe he already had someone special in his life.

“Will Mrs. Novins worry about you or is she used to the unexpected?”

“There is no Mrs. Novins.” His expression firmed. “Not anymore.”

“Oh, I am so sorry to mention a painful subject. You are widowed.” Mortified, she closed her eyes and wished she could disappear.

“No, no, I beg your pardon, Miss Castellano. An engagement. I had hoped to be engaged this summer.”

She wondered if his young lady had shared the hope. Before Mia could decide how to find out details, the housekeeper reached the gate. She spoke from the other side of the wrought-iron rails. She listened to Lord David and when she answered him, she spoke in a raised voice so that Mia and the surgeon could hear easily.

“I will not leave the house, my lord. I have had the vaccination for smallpox and will stay to serve you and your guest, and care for the ones who are ill.”

“Very good, Mrs. Cantwell, as long as you are aware that we do not yet know what disease this may be. There are any number for which there is no vaccination.”

Typhus, plague, influenza
. Mia listed them silently.

Mrs. Cantwell looked surprised. “It does not matter, my lord. I understand and will stay. I will never give up my post.”

Lord David seemed to expect no less. “And Mr. Cantwell?”

“He will stay, but he has not had the vaccination.”
The housekeeper’s expression conveyed such disgust that she did not have to add the words “He knew it would hurt.”

“Hmm” was Lord David’s only response at first, but then he nodded firmly. “Mr. Cantwell will leave the house immediately and stay in the village. Tomorrow he will ride to Pennford with a message from me advising the duke of our delay.”

“Lord David,” Mia began.

He glanced at her. “I’ll talk to you in a minute.”

“Oh, really.” Mia expected his dismissal, but she still felt mortally embarrassed. “Then I’ll climb down and stand over there with the groom until you have time to give us instructions.”

“Yes,” he said, missing her sarcasm.

Dio mio
, she thought. She was joking, but he had every intention of treating her like one of the servants!

Mia climbed down from the conveyance, on the side away from curious eyes. There were more important considerations at the moment, like their possible death. And whether the chaperone would be willing to stay.

Mr. Novins nodded to her but did not approach or offer his arm. She accepted the separation as necessary because of the threat of illness and addressed her greatest concern.

“Mr. Novins, do you not think that someone should return to the inn where we stayed last night to see if my maid improves and if anyone else has taken ill?” She spoke in a rush, afraid that he would interrupt before she made her point. “If it is some contagion, it started there or even
at the first posting house.” Mia thought of Miss Cole and her odious brother. She prayed they were well away from any infection.

“Yes, you are quite right. Someone should be sent. I will discuss it with Lord David.”

“No, Mr. Novins, I will discuss it with Lord David.”

The surgeon nodded so readily that Mia suspected he feared the dreaded hysterics from her. Or Lord David’s reputation had preceded him.

“I can understand your upset, Miss Castellano, but I suspect that Lord David’s concern for you is what makes him less than understanding.”

“Thank you,” she said with skepticism, turning away from him to go and wait with the other outcasts.

“In addition,” he went on, seeming not to have noticed her simmering anger, “men like Lord David are too used to controlling their world to face mortality with equanimity.”

“And the same cannot be said for women?” Mia stopped short, and faced him again with her challenge, her irritation now expanding to include all men.

“No, it cannot. Women face death in childbirth. They learn from their first confinement that death is only a breath away.”

Mr. Novins’s gloomy words reminded her of Elena. Mia wondered if her guardian worried as much as her husband did about the impending birth of their first child. Now there would be one more worry added.

“Here comes Lord David.” Mr. Novins raised a hand, acknowledging him. As Mia watched him approach, Lord
David did not take his eyes off her. He looked aggravated, as though he did not approve of something she was doing, had done, or would do. Well, why disappoint him?

“I look forward to more such conversations with you, Mr. Novins. It’s a joy to meet such a true gentleman.”

“Miss Castellano. Mr. Novins.” Lord David nodded to both of them. “I will send a letter advising the duke that the quarantine is only a precaution.” He took a moment to look quite pointedly at Mr. Novins. “Novins, wait to be sent for. I do not want you to court illness unnecessarily even for company as tempting as Miss Castellano’s.”

Novins nodded, but did glance her way at least.

“One more thing, Novins. Mrs. Cantwell suggested that Mary Horner might be asked to come help with the sick.”

“Absolutely not.” Mr. Novins spoke with surprising force. He certainly thought it his duty to protect women.

“Mrs. Cantwell says she has been vaccinated.”

“Yes, but once again, my lord, this is not necessarily smallpox. I will not risk a young woman’s health for your convenience. Besides, Miss Horner is busy enough caring for her mother and her three siblings. She is needed at home.”

“I will tell Mrs. Cantwell and we will manage, Mr. Novins.” If the surgeon’s adamant refusal embarrassed Lord David, he didn’t show it.

“I could send one of the boys who help me,” Mr. Novins added in a conciliatory tone. “They have been vaccinated and are well compensated for the risk to their health.”

As if money matters when one is dead. Mia could never understand that logic, but Janina insisted that she would if she had ever been poor. Oh, Mia did miss her maid, and felt like the most selfish person in the world to have left her alone.

Right now it was too easy to imagine what it would be like to face death with no one who cared nearby. Her eyes filled.
No tears. No tears. No tears
, she reminded herself. Not before the worst happened and, please God, it would not.

“Thank you, Mr. Novins. When you come tomorrow I will let you know if more help is needed.” With a nod of farewell, Lord David took Mia’s arm as if she were a child and had not proved herself an adult.

“Into the carriage, Miss Castellano, and once in the house keep to your room for the rest of the day.”

Mia pushed his hand off her arm. “I will walk to the house.” She used the freezing tones his arrogance deserved. “Have someone bring my trunks and Janina’s bag as soon as possible. I will write to Elena myself. And to Janina.”

Without waiting for permission or direction, Mia walked toward the house. She could feel Lord David, the surgeon, everyone, staring at her, but she kept on, her head up, her back straight.

Janina would not die. She herself would not become ill. But there was no chance in the world that Lord David would turn into a charming gentleman, even if he faced death from some dread disease.
A week, seven days in a
veritable prison with a bore like Lord David Pennistan her only company
. The prospect was daunting.

Mia had all the clothes she could possibly need but no maid to help her dress. She was to be a guest in a house with no one to entertain her. At least there was a housekeeper. Mia had no idea how to cook.

She had turned the corner on the curving drive so the others did not see when she stumbled. Mia regained her footing easily but when she pushed fear of illness to the back of her mind, the thought that upset her most grew to monstrous proportions.

The chaperone. What had happened to the woman who was to act as her chaperone?

Mia looked back toward the gate where the housekeeper was still in earnest conversation with Mr. Novins. Mia was certain the odds were very good that she would be spending the next week with a man she did not like without a lady to act as chaperone.

There was no chance, no chance in hell—she used the word quite firmly and on purpose—that, when this was over, anyone, up to and including the duke, would convince her that she must marry David Pennistan. She would tell Elena that in this first letter and hope to kill the idea before anyone gave it life. She would rather die first.

It struck her that if the disease was smallpox, then death was entirely possible.