Despite her injuries, Kendra insisted on attending Rose’s funeral. In contrast to Morland’s lonely burial, the amount of people who showed up for the slain servant was staggering.
No one seemed to blame her for Rose’s death, but Kendra couldn’t help but wonder if she hadn’t drawn Morland’s attention, maybe she’d be alive.
Could’ve. Should’ve. Would’ve.
After the funeral, Rebecca suggested a walk in the garden. Kendra knew there was a purpose, but she kept silent, content to meander in the sunshine until Rebecca stopped and gave her a direct look.
“My parents will be returning from the Barbados next week. I shall be returning home.”
Kendra held her breath. Technically, she was Rebecca’s paid companion. If this were the normal course of events, she’d be going with her to her family estates. But this wasn’t the normal course of events, and she knew she couldn’t leave the castle. If she had any chance of returning to her time line, it would be here, in the stairwell that had brought her to the nineteenth century.
“You will not be accompanying me, will you, Miss Donovan?”
Kendra stared at her. “There are circumstances . . .”
“Is it Alec? Pray tell, do you have hopes in that direction? I have seen the way you look at each other.”
Kendra didn’t want to think about how she or Alec might look at each other. That was a complication neither one of them could afford. “No. I can’t explain, but it has nothing to do with Alec.”
Rebecca was silent for a long moment, then nodded. “I would not want you hurt, Miss Donovan. Alec is a marquis, and the Duke’s heir. There are expectations, you understand? He must think of his lineage when he looks for a wife.”
Kendra shifted uncomfortably at the sympathy she read in the other woman’s cornflower blue eyes. This was a polite reminder, she supposed, that she was—how did they put it in this era?—beneath Alec’s touch.
“I’m not in the market for a husband, so you don’t have to worry. Really, my decision to stay has nothing to do with Lord Sutcliffe.”
Another long look. Then Rebecca nodded again and sighed. “You know, I shall miss having you as my companion.”
That made Kendra laugh, though it made her face ache. “I was a horrible companion.”
“Now that I ponder it, you have never once fetched my shawl or inquired after my health.” Rebecca smiled. “Yes, you were rather a wretched companion. Still, there was never a dull moment . . .” The smile faded. “Will you be returning to America?”
“I don’t know.” As much as she wanted to tell Rebecca the truth, the less people who knew about her situation, the better. She’d already decided to tell the Duke. She would need his permission to stay in the castle, to walk through the doorway at the given time . . .
Rebecca grabbed Kendra’s hands, her cornflower blue eyes brightening with tears. “I shall not say good-bye to you as my companion, Miss Donovan. I shall say good-bye to you as my friend.”
Alec’s words came back to her. You are not alone . . . you are among friends.
She’d always been a loner, a freak. Maybe she still was a freak. But she was now a freak with friends—real friends. The knowledge brought the sting of unexpected tears to her eyes.
“Thank you.” Kendra gave her an impulsive hug. “That means more to me than you know.”
The Duke took it upon himself to put Morland’s affairs in order. With no immediate family, distant relatives needed to be tracked down, assets redistributed. Because Tinley Park wasn’t entailed, Aldridge planned to buy it. Lady Anne, with Mrs. Marks and a couple of caretakers, would be relocated to a smaller house. The rest of the staff would be given severance packages and letters of reference. Coming from the Duke of Aldridge, that would go a long way.
While Aldridge occupied himself with those weighty matters, Kendra concentrated on regaining her strength, walking around the gardens and doing simple yoga moves. It reminded her of the time in the hospital after the mission to get Balakirev had been blown to hell and back—minus the Terminator and the Pilates machines.
With Rebecca’s departure, the servants once again didn’t know how to treat her. She wasn’t one of the staff. She wasn’t gentry. She had no place in Aldridge Castle. I don’t belong here.
Ten more days and it would be one month since she’d found herself in this time line. The serial killer had been caught; there would be a full moon. If there was any chance of returning to her own era, that would be it.
Two days after Rebecca left, Kendra entered the Duke’s study. He glanced up from his paperwork, and smiled. He hadn’t asked any questions about her staying behind. Just as he had when he’d found out that she’d lied to him about her arrival in England, he waited for her to come to him.
She was finally ready.
He pushed himself to his feet. “Good morning, my dear. How are you feeling?”
“Nervous,” she admitted, and pressed a hand to her stomach. It was knotted with apprehension.