The Buccaneer(5)
“It isn’t nonsense. You have worked hard helping Charles. He told me how determined you were to prove my innocence.”
Catherine fussed further with the quilt, keeping her hands busy, so worried was she that her father would notice their nervous trembling. “Charles shouldn’t have disturbed you with that news.”
“You can’t carry the weight of my burden on your shoulders. It isn’t right or proper,” he said, covering her hand.
“When you are well I shall gladly give the burden back to you,” she said with a forced smile, cherishing his touch as she had as a child. It had always brought with it a feeling of comfort and safety. And she wondered when next she would feel it.
“I am well enough now. The burden is mine. And I feel confident that this matter will be settled in a few months. By then I shall be feeling my old self, and we can head to London for a holiday, and to find you a husband. It is about time I tended to my fatherly duties.”
Catherine choked back her emotions. He had always seen to her well-being. Always. Now it was her turn. “You have been the best father in the world to me.”
Tears blurred the marquis’s vision. He wiped at his eyes and coughed. “Must be the smoke. I tell Dunwith not to use damp logs, but he never listens.”
Catherine laughed, the first time in months. “You couldn’t do without Dunwith. He’s been your manservant as long as I can remember.”
Her laugh was infectious and he chuckled along with her. “He’s been my manservant as long as I can remember.”
Catherine was glad to see him smile again, to see him free of worry and concern for the future.
The marquis squeezed Catherine’s hand tightly. “All will go well, you’ll see. And then I will arrange a most wonderful marriage for you.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek once again. She braced herself against the lie she was about to tell him. She had never lied to him before and it disturbed her to so now. “I will be away for a few days. Aunt Lilith is insisting I visit with her. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her.”
“It will do you good to get away from here for a few days even if it’s only with my unconventional sister.” The marquis attempted to stifle a yawn, but wasn’t successful. “I am tired. You will visit with me later?”
She gently placed a kiss on his forehead, knowing this was her farewell, for how long she could not say. “I will visit with you soon.”
His eyes closed contentedly as Catherine walked to the door. She stopped a moment and without turning around she whispered. “I love you.” And then she walked out the door, closing it quietly behind her.
She stood there a moment in silence, her head resting against the door, tears tickling her lashes. She wiped them away and turned.
“Dunwith!” she said, her hand flying to her chest, surprised by his sudden appearance.
“Lady Catherine,” he said.
She looked up into his face. She knew he had to be well into his seventies, but his face was ageless. A few lines and wrinkled worn well. And a voice so articulate one would think him an aristocrat. “I was visiting with father.”
“He is improving,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, very much so,” she said softly, her bottled emotions close to erupting.
“He is strong as is his daughter,” Dunwith said, his face not betraying a hint of emotion.
Catherine suddenly felt her throat constrict and her eyes flood with unshed tears. “You will take care of him? Of course you will. It was foolish of me even to ask such a thing.” She wiped at her eyes with her hand, and then bravely and most unseemingly flung her arms around Dunwith, hugging him. “I shall miss you. Tell father I love him.”
She released him and ran down the hall without glancing back, else she would have seen the single teardrop fall from Dunwith’s eye and splatter upon his white shirt.
o0o
The trip had been more difficult than Catherine had thought. Not so much physically, for she was treated well and her comfort seen to at the various stops along the way. It was her emotions that had had caused the most problems. Now standing here on the dock, she looked up at the massive ship that would take her away and deliver her to a complete stranger, and she felt her confidence fade away completely.
“Lady Catherine?”
Catherine turned her attention to George, her father’s stable master for the last twenty years.
“I talked with Captain Morley. He says your cabin is all ready and he’d like you to board as quickly as possible, being the tide is perfect for him to set sail.”
“My trunks are on board?” she asked, feeling a bit fearful of being on her own.