Lady Olivia's Undoing Read Online Free PDF

behind the move.
    She glanced at her desk. The tray on top held
several items of correspondence. She should attend to those before
luncheon.
     
    Olivia couldn’t bear to sit down to a meal
alone and sent a note round to her closest friend Joanna, the
Duchess of Cantin. Joanna would want to know about the baby, she
was William’s aunt.
    Joanna arrived promptly at half past one.
When Olivia met her in the hall, she blurted, “Penny has lost the
baby.”
    “Oh, no. Olivia, I am so sorry.” Joanna
embraced her. “Oh, how is Penny? Is she here?”
    Olivia looped her arm through Joanna’s, and
headed down the hall. “No. She has decided to stay at St. James
Place.”
    “Good heavens, why?”
    “I think she must have realized, as I finally
did, there is no nursery there.”
    Joanna nodded her head. “Poor thing. Did you
see her? How does she look?”
    “Very well indeed.” Olivia led Joanna into
the small morning room. “But she is young, and resilient. Though it
is anyone’s guess how long she will mourn. She is angry and was
hardly civil to me. However, I do understand you always hurt the
ones you love the most as you know they will always forgive you.”
Olivia smiled. “Dearest, do forgive my prattling. I did not invite
you for tea and misery. I hope you do not mind, it is only the two
of us. I hate to waste the wood to heat the dining room.” Olivia
pulled out a chair for Joanna and then sat in the other.
    Joanna waved her hand. “We would be eating in
the kitchen if Stephen had his way.” Joanna’s late husband Stephen
had passed from his mortal coil almost two years before.
    “Do you remember the night he nearly set the
linens on fire?” Olivia asked.
    She and Joanna shared another laugh, and then
Joanna sobered. “Who is going to take care of Penny?”
    Olivia nodded. “That is exactly what I said,
but they have gone.” She cocked her head slightly. “I have been
welcomed to come to tea.”
    Joanna touched her arm. “You know she does
not mean any of this.”
    “Yes, I know. But to hear her speak, I almost
think she blames me for the loss. As if I somehow had a hand in
it.”
    “That is absurd,” Joanna said. “Her heart is
only lashing out, dearest.”
    “Yes.” Olivia sighed. “I know.”
    “Have you spoken to Honoria?” Joanna
asked.
    “No, not yet. Constance is arriving any day,
John is leaving for some foolishness brought about by the Foreign
Office, and I have been in such tumult over the state of Caymore
House, I have not had time. I shall make all due haste to speak
with her this afternoon.”
    Olivia and Joanna spent nearly two hours
keeping each other company, but at three o’clock Joanna left for
another appointment.
    After Joanna departed, Olivia thumbed through
her upcoming invitations and wrote menus for the next week. By the
time she had settled everything with Cook it neared four-thirty.
She may as well get the interview with the Foreign Secretary
over.
    At Whitehall, Olivia was shown through a
myriad of halls, and then to a colorless, windowless room. The man
behind the desk barely looked up when she said, “I am Lady Caymore.
I believe the Secretary said he could spare me a few moments at
half past four.”
    “Of course, Your Grace.” He walked over to
the private office and knocked. He waited and then knocked again.
The door opened.
    “This had better be…” Richard Wellesley took
in Olivia standing by the chair. “Your Grace. How delightful to see
you. Please, step into my office.” He sidestepped her and spoke to
his secretary. The man left the office.
    Wellesley ushered her into another small
room, but at least this one had a window. And a view of the Tower
of London. He offered her a chair. “To what do I owe the distinct
honor of having you here? Surely, this cannot be a social
call.”
    Richard Wellesley, Marquess of Wellesley, had
been in India for the last two decades, crushing rebellions amidst
warring factions, and gaining control of the