Louisa and the good doctor exchanged a glance, but neither said a word.
"Then I wish you luck in finding her," said the good doctor. "Might I suggest you send it through the post? Perhaps you would have better luck in routing it to the right person." He bowed to the ladies and caught Louisa's eye once more.
"Good day, Dr. Roberts," said Louisa.
"Good day, Lady Louisa," he said gravely and disappeared back up the stairs.
"Lady Louisa, how remarkable that we meet here," commented Pen.
"It is not terribly remarkable. My mother is a patient of Dr. Roberts. I come regularly to pick up her medication and get advice from the doctor."
"I see." Penelope was not sure she did see, but she was determined to find out. "How fortunate for me that you were here. I took a hack here, so if you would not mind, I should love to ride back to Marchford house on your way home. It is on the way, yes?"
Louisa shot her a glance that conveyed she would rather have hot pokers stabbed in her eyes than share a coach with Penelope Rose. Penelope merely smiled. She was accustomed to having that effect on people.
"Yes, please do join me." Lady Louisa's jaw was so clenched Penelope wondered that she could speak at all.
Penelope climbed into the Bremerton town coach, which was, naturally, quite nice and more than a little pretentious. Penelope took a seat across from Louisa, who averted her gaze in a feeble attempt to pretend Penelope was not there.
"Have you known Dr. Roberts long?" asked Penelope politely.
"He is our family physician," Lady Louisa said in quelling accents. My, but the aristocracy did know how to give a set-down to the commoners. Unfortunately for Louisa, Penelope was not about to take a polite hint.
"I do hope Lady Bremerton is not terribly ill."
"Nervous complaint," said Louisa, still focusing her gaze outside the carriage.
"Did the doctor come recommended?"
"Indeed, from your mistress, the Duchess of Marchford. He has even served as a consultant to the queen, so yes, Miss Rose, he does come highly recommended."
"Is that how you met him? Through the duchess?"
Louisa turned toward her, a spark of anger in her eye. "I met him because he was the personal physician to the sixth Duke of Marchford. Dr. Roberts did everything he could, brought Frederick back from death's door more times than I care to remember, and yet it was not the will of Providence for Frederick to survive. There now, Miss Rose, have you any more questions for me?"
Penelope sat quietly for a few minutes. She could be obtuse, but she tried not to be rude. Louisa turned to stare out the window. How difficult it must be for her, Penelope suddenly realized. To be engaged to be married, only to watch her fiancé slowly die and thus find oneself obligated to marry the brother. Even though the current Duke of Marchford was not a poor-looking specimen, he clearly held no particular regard for Louisa.
Penelope knew conversation was not welcomed, yet an opportunity to speak to Louisa without others overhearing may not come again soon. She had questions and she was convinced Louisa had the answers.
"It is very strange that I could not find Mrs. Roberts. I was given clear instructions to make sure this letter was delivered directly to her hands and none else." Penelope drew the letter out of her reticule and Louisa's gaze snapped to it.
"In your visits to Dr. Roberts, have you met a Mrs. Roberts?" asked Penelope, watching carefully to gauge Louisa's reply.
"On occasion I believe I may have. Would you like me to give this to her?" She leaned forward, eyes still on the letter.
"I have been tasked with finding this Mrs. Roberts. Can you help me?"
"She is … reclusive, but I can get it to her. You can trust me."
"Can I?" Penelope let the question hang and Louisa turned away. "Lady Louisa, did you write me a letter to be directed to Madam X?"
Lady Louisa said nothing.
"I can confirm the handwriting with Miss Talbot if I need to. Is that why you sent the letter to me instead of to the dowager? She no doubt would recognize your handwriting."
"What do you want? Money? Do you wish me to buy your silence, Miss Rose?"
Penelope recoiled back into the squabs as if she had been doused in cold water. "Open your letter, Mrs. Roberts." Penelope held out the letter, which Louisa took.
Louisa opened the seals and caught the hundred-pound note before it fluttered to the floorboards. She scanned the letter quickly, then put both it and the money away in her reticule. "I misjudged you. I do apologize."
"The dowager has begun plans for the wedding."
"I know. My mother has been planning for years."
"Have you tried telling your mother you do not wish to wed the Duke of Marchford?"
"How could I? Mother was forced to marry Lord Bremerton when her sister eloped. She did so to raise the future of her children. She has lived on the expectancy that I would marry a duke since I was in my cradle."
"Yes, I can see your point. But if you are determined not to wed the duke, you must be willing to stand up to your mother."
"Speaking my mind is one thing, but how do I garner her support?"
Support? Get Lady Bremerton to dissolve her daughter's engagement to the duke? Never! "You may need to recognize your parents may not support you in this. But it is always your choice whether or not you wed. They may be angry, very angry, but they cannot force you to wed. Nor will they disown you and toss you from the house; they are too proud for that and you are their only child."
"Yes, but how can I get them to support my marriage to another?"
Insight finally flashed. "Dr. Roberts? Are you in love with Dr. Roberts?" asked Penelope.
Louisa colored and evaded her eye. "I am sorry I was beastly to you. When you saw me with him, I was ready to sink."
Penelope leaned back on the squabs and pondered Louisa's predicament. This was a puzzle. Lady Louisa marry a gentleman physician instead of the duke? Penelope shook her head. It was impossible to imagine Lord and Lady Bremerton would accept that.
"We fell in love over time," said Louisa so softly Pen could hardly hear over the squeaking and jostling of the carriage. "We were in each other's company many times when Frederick was ill. I did love Frederick. I wished to marry him at his bedside, but he wanted to give me the wedding he felt I deserved. He wanted to stand next to me, not lie on some bed. So we waited for him to recover, but it was never to be."
Louisa took out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. "Dr. Roberts was very compassionate. Afterward, he was kind, friendly. My mother took on nerves, so he was frequently at the house. He talked to me, made me laugh. The feelings came on so gradually, we never noticed them until it was too late."
"Dr. Roberts I am sure is an excellent man, but he is far from your station."
"I know he is now, but he is also the heir to a large estate and a baronet. When his uncle passes away, he will inherit a significant fortune. He is not wooing me for the money, of that I can assure you."
"That does improve his eligibility, but a barony is rather less than a dukedom."
Louisa nodded. "I know. And I know what my mother would say. But what else can I do? We were waiting until he inherited to go before my parents and plead our case. With Marchford being gone so long, we hoped we could make a rationale for dissolving the contract."
"But Marchford returned and ruined everything."
"Yes. Quite."
"You may have to live without their approval or your inheritance."
"And flee London in disgrace? Barred from society? And what of Dr. Roberts? If the gossip spread that he had wed me against my parents' will, none of his patients would ever speak to him again. His reputation, his practice would be ruined! Why his uncle might even be led to disinherit!"
"If you are determined to walk down this road, you will need allies, people who will support you." Pen went straight for the heart of the problem. "A good solicitor will be important. And you need to find people who can encourage your parents to accept this match. I know you wish Marchford would just go away, but his being here may help you if you can get him to support you in dissolving the union ."
Louisa sighed. "I suppose I do need to talk to Marchford."
"In the end, you may need to resign yourself to one of two unpleasant options. Either follow your heart and be lost to society, or follow your parents and let go of these feelings for Dr. Roberts."
"You do not understand, Miss Rose. It is impossible for me to wed the Duke of Marchford. Simply impossible."
Twenty-three
It had been two days and Genie had not seen Mr. Grant. Not that she expected to or wanted to or … who was she trying to fool? Of course she wanted to see him. What good it could possibly do her was a bit more vague.