“It is true, Aunt Cynthia, that I am not the boy you knew. Much has happened since then, much which has hurt me very gravely, and I do not apologize for my reaction to it. And I do not see myself as the monster you clearly have painted me.”
“Oh, Hamilton.” Lady Lyndon was crying again. “My dear nephew, I do not see you as a monster. That is what hurts me so very greatly. I know that you are not a monster. I know that you are a good man. You have let life make you jaded and cynical, and you have detached from anything which forces you to feel your feelings. And in doing so, you have left two helpless little children so dreadfully vulnerable. And they are not only vulnerable to the likes of that dreadful Mrs Wells, but they are also vulnerable to you. After all, it is only by your decree that their nurse feels justified in her actions.”
“Again, Aunt Cynthia, neither you nor I have seen evidence of that, have we?”
“Do you really need to see such evidence, Hamilton?”
“This conversation is truly ended, Aunt Cynthia. I shall pull the bell for tea and give you the chance to calm down a little. In truth, I cannot see you leave here in all this state.” Whilst he spoke kindly, Georgette felt suddenly angry with him again.
“Do not patronize me, Hamilton. I shall not be diverted with tea and sympathy. If you cannot raise those children in an atmosphere of kindness and caring, then I shall do it for you. I know that Josephine would be devastated to know that her precious babies were so out of place in the home that she herself had always loved. I shall take them, Hamilton, and raise them myself.”
“You will do nothing of the sort.” The Duke’s sudden shout may Georgette physically jump.
“I see no option, Hamilton.” Lady Lyndon had become a little shrill. “And I cannot see what your objection to it all would be. You yourself say that you cannot look upon them, and it is clear that you have distanced yourself from their upbringing entirely. Surely you would be pleased with the idea of me taking them away. At least then you would never see them. You would not have to look upon them nor hear their little voices.”
“You will not take the children!” The shout, when it came, was louder than anything that Georgette had ever heard come from another human being.
Not only was it loud, but it seemed to be filled with the most dreadful emotions. In truth, she was rather too shocked to be able to pick through them, nor even guess at what they might be, but she knew that it was raw emotion nonetheless.
Finding her hands suddenly shaking and her throat so dry that she could barely swallow, Georgette knew that she must get clear of the area for she felt sure that the Duke and Lady Lyndon could not possibly maintain the drawing room together for very much longer.
Suddenly panicked, Georgette decided that she must simply run back the way she had come and head for the schoolroom. She had barely made the safety of the narrow corridor which led to the schoolroom by the time she heard the door open and footsteps hastily making their way out of the drawing room.
She turned by instinct, knowing that she must be seen to be walking forwards rather than walking away. In walking forwards, she could at least claim a certain amount of accidental presence. Walking away would leave her vulnerable to an accusation of eavesdropping. Albeit an accusation well deserved.
Chapter 16
Georgette felt a prickling of cold sweat on the back of her neck and raised her head, as she knew she must, to see who had come out of the drawing room.
It was Lady Lyndon herself, and Georgette looked at the door to the drawing room, breathing a sigh of relief when it was slammed shut from the inside. So, the Duke was not coming out, and he had not seen her. However, it would be very plain to Lady Lyndon that Georgette had at least heard a little of the last moments of the argument.
Georgette stopped in her tracks, as did Lady Lyndon, and the two women simply looked at each other for a few moments. It felt like a lifetime to Georgette, who was rather expecting to feel the wrath of Lady Lyndon at any moment. Instead, Lady Lyndon simply looked at her rather helplessly, tears streaming down her face.
When Lady Lyndon turned to look at the doorway leading out of Draycott Hall, Georgette knew that she could not possibly let her leave in such a condition. She would be embarrassed before her own driver and whichever members of the Duke’s staff were outside of the building at that time.
Without thinking, Georgette hurriedly rushed to the woman and, laying a comforting hand upon her shoulder, silently turned her in the direction of the schoolroom.
In truth, Georgette was more surprised than she could ever have imagined when Lady Lyndon simply did as she bid her and followed.