Chapter Fourteen: Alexander

When my mother and aunt arrived at the manor, I managed to not be there and for a perfectly logical reason. A tenant was missing their cow, and I was more than happy to help them find it. A cow could make the difference between a family's survival or ruin, after all.

Once I returned, Stevens informed me that Mrs. Burke had tried to see the earl while I was out. I could barely keep from rolling my eyes at the news. Though I couldn't be surprised since it was exactly what she would do, I couldn't imagine what the reason would be this time. "Did she happen to say why she wanted to see the earl?"

"She would not. It was apparently not my place to ask such a personal, important question," Stevens said, his tone dry. His expression gave nothing away. "On being informed of the dowager's arrival, she became even more insistent. I had to call for a footman to escort her out."

"For a woman who has supposedly been ailing, I'm surprised at her persistence." I pinched the bridge of my nose, and closed my eyes. Could I not get through one day without her being involved in some way? When I opened my eyes, Stevens was still standing in front of me. "Was there something else?"

"Mrs. Turner has asked to see you in the Rose sitting room."

A quick glance at my watch showed that my mother could only have been in the manor for two hours. She was already demanding that I come to her? Why couldn't she unpack and settle in? What would be so important she needed to see me right away?

"Is there any chance she can wait an hour?" I asked with little hope.

"It is not my place to say, Mr. Turner," Stevens said blandly. "She requested tea and I believe she intends to remain in the room until you are available to see her."

"Oh, very well. If any emergency arises in the next hour, do not hesitate to summon me."

If anything, Stevens drew himself up even more. "An emergency? There is never an emergency in this household. We are prepared for any eventuality and the staff are well trained."

"Of course. But if you wish to take pity on me, you might invent an emergency to rescue me from my mother."

Stevens raised an eyebrow and did not reply. I gave up hope of working on the paperwork and stood up. Out of habit, I brushed at my jacket sleeve, knowing my mother would find any flaw. "Do you know if the cook baked gingersnaps today?"

"I am not aware of what cook has been baking in what little spare time she had."

Oh, well. It had been worth a try. "Gingersnaps are a particular favorite of my mother and I'd hoped they might be present to improve her mood. Travel does not agree with her."

"I will inform the cook."

Perhaps the older man wasn't so bad after all. "I would appreciate it. After all, we wouldn't want her mood to affect that of the countess."

Stevens raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. I made my way up to the sitting room on the first floor. I caught up to the maid, who carried the tea tray. "I will take that," I said, reaching for the tray. The girl stared at me with wide eyes. "You have other duties to attend to. Run along, Molly."

"Yes, sir." Molly handed me the tray, curtsied and ran back the way she had come.

I wished I could do the same.

Breathing out, I stepped to the sitting room and nudged the door open with my foot. "Good afternoon, Mother."

My mother, Katherine Turner, was seated in front of the window. The sunlight made her hair still golden gleam without showing the traces of gray sprinkled through that I knew to be there. She twisted around and her forehead furrowed. "Alexander Henry Turner, what are you doing?"

"Since I was coming this way, I thought I might as well bring your tea with me," I said, setting the offending tray on the table. "How are you, Mother? Was the journey uneventful?"

"The maids are to carry trays, not the steward, which is bad enough."

Holding back a sigh, I went to her side. "It is good to see you," I said, the feeling mostly sincere. I leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Is the countess resting?"

"Your aunt is speaking to William in the library."

It was always strange that his mother could be so strict about formality but insist on referring to the earl by his Christian name. Maybe she thought it would emphasize the relationship between us?

"Then, I will pay my respects to her when I see her before dinner." No doubt the countess was hearing all about William's new ward and the steps he was taking to meet her and bring her into the family. "Stevens said you wanted to speak to me? Is there a problem?"

"If there was a problem, I would be speaking to the housekeeper, not the steward. No, I want to hear about this ward. Olivia mentioned it in passing but I could not get her to tell me the details or how this came to be. Surely you can tell me all?"

Drat Olivia! Why had she even mentioned it? She knew what my mother was like when it came to information! "It is exactly what Lady Burrows told you. The former earl was guardian to a young lady and now the new earl has inherited the responsibility."

"And he wishes to bring this unknown girl here? To what end?"

"Because he wants to ensure she has all she needs and provide for her future."

Mrs. Turner frowned and shook her head. "I do not like this. Why should this girl get all the benefits of the Berdwell name when she has no connection to it? Who is she? What is her family?"

"Her name is Miss Burke and her father was a captain. And what would you have William do? Ignore the responsibility that has been put before him and let her muddle along as an orphan? That would hardly speak well to the Berdwell name, which you hold in such high esteem."

"There are plenty of orphans who survive without help every day!"

Shaking my head, I went to the fireplace and leaned against it. "But it goes all the better for said orphans when there is someone to look out for them. Now, if there is no problem, I should return to my work."

"Work? You should be a guest here! This is your cousin's home. It is horrible that you are little better than a servant when you are the next in line to the title."

"I am not next in line," I said with as much patience as I could muster. This was a conversation we'd had many times over and nothing was ever resolved. "When he marries, his son will be next in line."

His mother scoffed. "If he was going to marry, he would have done so by now. His mother has despaired of him meeting a respectable young lady."

That made me laugh. "Am I supposed to believe that? He is not that much older than me, Mother. There is plenty of time for him to marry. There are any number of young ladies willing to toss their cap at him, from what he told me about this last season in London."

"The audacity of young ladies this year is astonishing. Their mothers ought to be ashamed of their behavior."

"It is only a matter of time before William's eye is caught by one of those audacious young ladies. I don't intend to live my life in expectation of a title and estate that will never come to me."

"Well, maybe you ought to be more active in ensuring it does come to you."

"I'm not going to interfere in my cousin's personal life." This, too, was a detail we'd argued to exhaustion the last time I was in London and it had resulted in me leaving for the country without bidding her farewell. "He wouldn't allow it for one, and two, I am not so cruel to condemn him to a life alone."

"You have no ambition! There are times I don't think you are my son."

"I look too much like you for you to deny our connection," Alexander said lightly. He hesitated for a moment. "Ambition is not everything in life. It did not bring much benefit to Nerissa, did it? She has a title but what good does it do her in a place like Bedlam Hospital? Have you had word from Dunn? How are the girls?"

"I've offered to visit him and see the girls this fall, but he has not responded to my letters."

"Then, you haven't had news about Nerissa?"

His mother stiffened. "Why would I have had word about someone who is as good as dead?"

"Dead? Nerissa is not dead, Mother. She simply was overly melancholic after little Emma was born. You've heard the terrible stories from Bedlam. Is that really the kind of place you want your only daughter to be in? Had he asked, Dunn could have simply sent Nerissa here. The earl would not have begrudged us that."

The words came in a rush.

My mother held up her hand. "A lady has no time to be melancholic when she has a family to see to. As she has not yet been brought back home, I must assume that she is in the best place for her. You must not worry about her so much, not when you should be concerned with yourself."

"You cannot believe that! You know how much she loves the countryside. Just think how much faster she will return to herself if she were here."

"Well, she is not your wife and you have no authority about what happens to her now."

"As her brother, what happens to her still concerns me."

"I do not want to hear another word, Alexander! It is out of our hands. Dunn made the only decision he could, given the circumstances, and that is the end of the matter."

Gritting my teeth, I decided to acquiesce in this instance. I had his own plans, but clearly my mother was not of a mind to be party to saving Nerissa. "I will leave you to your tea, ma'am," I said, pushing away from the fireplace. "I will be joining the family for dinner. If my work does not prevent me."

"I wish you would not walk away when I am trying to talk to you," Mrs. Turner said, scowling at him. "I have tried to do what was best for you and Nerissa. Do you think your father would be pleased if he knew you had lowered yourself to menial work?"

"I think he would be proud of me for doing what needed to be done to provide for myself." I kept his tone low. Mother seldom mentioned my father and when she did there was usually criticism involved. "He would have approved of the position I have now."

Apparently marrying a second son hadn't resulted in the elevation of status that Mother had hope for. When economy had not been followed in the house, matters had only worsened between his parents.

"Well, your father was as much a fool as you." Mrs. Turner turned to the tea tray. "Fine. Leave me be. I suppose the countess will be wanting me soon enough. She always does when I think I have a moment to myself."

Her petulance was impossible to miss. "If you don't wish to be a companion to her, you don't have to. When I became steward, I was offered a cottage on the estate. You could stay there. As I stay in the manor, you would have privacy."

"Me? Live in a cottage? With nothing to my name? Will you then expect me to garden vegetables to feed myself as well?"

"I merely wanted to make the offer. Enjoy your tea." Making a bow, I retreated before Mother could protest any more and closed the door firmly. My head was throbbing as it usually was when I had a conversation with his mother.

"That sounded difficult." My younger cousin, Penlope Fenrows, said from where she stood down the hallway. Her smile was sympathetic as she approached. "Should I go in now or should I let the tiger lick her wounds?"

"If you are eager to be insulted, feel free to go in now." As soon as I spoke, I regretted the words. "Nevermind me. You know how much she hates traveling and being in the country. Best to let her soothe her wounded feelings."

"There are times I wonder how Mother could enjoy Aunt Katherine's company when she always seems to be angry," the young woman said. She hesitated. "Did she have news of Nerissa? When will she be able to come home?"

Her tone was so hopeful, I hated to disappoint her. "No news. Dunn apparently is not responding to Mother's letters either."

"Hmm. Is that so?" Penelope pursed her lips. "Then, maybe it is time Fenrow wrote him and demanded information? Or William. Yes, William is the one who should do it. He is the earl now."

"I would hate to put William to the trouble. You know he and Dunn do not get on. I don't think it would end well. Dunn is my brother-in-law. It falls to me to resolve this."

"Nerissa is our cousin as much as she is your sister. In fact, she was like a sister to me when we were growing up. Without her, we would not have had near as much fun. Let us help you."

"Mother thinks Nerissa is in the best place if she has not recovered herself by now," I said, though the words pained me to say. "What if she is right? What if Nerissa needs the constant attention of a doctor and she will only get it where she is?"

Penelope scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. That place is not the right place for any young lady, no matter how melancholy she may have been. Dunn is an absolute beast for sending her there without first asking for help from her family."

"I will write to him again. If he does not respond, I will see if William has any connections he can use to help."

"No. Nothing of the sort. How many letters have you written?" Penelope put her hands on her hips as she glared up at me.

Hesitating, I found I had no answer. I'd lost count of the letters I'd sent to my brother-in-law, begging the man to see reason and bring Nerissa home. I'd offered so many suggestions, alternatives to Bedlam.

"See? Clearly your letters are not doing any good. It is time for someone with a little more weight to step in. The Baron of Dunn will learn Nerissa is not going to be forgotten by her family."

His cousin had her chin in the air and her expression was one of stubborn determination. "Then do your worst," I said, forcing a smile. What kind of man would I be if I couldn't even help his sister? Why hadn't I realized the man would not treat her with care? "I'm not sure which of you will make Dunn regret his actions more, you or William."

"I'm afraid my gender will make me appear less threatening, but I make up for it in persistence." Penelope put her hand on his arm "Don't worry, Alex. We'll save her. I promise."

"I'll see you at dinner," I told her before I hurried on his way. When I returned to my office, a letter from London waited on my desk.