The Noble Life

Eighteen

After Catherine's heartfelt conversation with her mother, life became a little more bearable. Though her heartache certainly had not disappeared, she simply felt better for having shared a little of her burden with another. Catherine had not realised it at the time, but the weight of her misery had been persistently dragging her down. To know that her mother was now aware of her pain was a great source of comfort, as she no longer had to concentrate on concealing her emotions when in her company.

It was but a few days later that Catherine, emboldened by her talk with Mrs Taylor, also shared her tale of woe with Bessie - only to discover that Bessie had guessed the source of Catherine's troubles months ago! Catherine had half-expected her little sister to tease her rotten over the entire affair, but to her credit, Bessie handled the situation with admirable maturity. She took it upon herself to provide Catherine with constant distraction, which proved to be very beneficial; whilst immersed in an absorbing novel, or concentrating on a piece of embroidery, Catherine found her mind wandered far less frequently.

The only activity Catherine still refused to attempt was playing the pianoforte - unfortunately, she could not even glance at the instrument without stirring up all the painful memories once again. Stirring up memories was something Catherine was very reluctant to do, for there was no use in dwelling on that which could not be. By forcing Professor Lawes from her mind Catherine found she could at least muddle through the day feeling something like contentment - which was certainly more than could be said for a month ago - so for the moment, she accepted it.

By the week following her talk with Mrs Taylor, Catherine even felt well enough to venture out of the house. As September neared its end, the weather began to turn - so one fine day Catherine decided to make the most of it and step outdoors, as she knew not when she might have the chance to do so again.

Catherine passed a pleasant enough morning in the company of a Miss Fletcher, one of her childhood friends upon whom she was rather overdue to pay a call. A cheerful, animated young woman, Miss Fletcher proved to be very entertaining company, and Catherine left her house in significantly higher spirits than she had been for an age.

All Catherine's spiritedness faded instantly, however, upon approaching Donbroke to find an extremely familiar compact carriage drawn up outside the front steps. The exterior, at least, was familiar - as to the interior, Catherine would not know, not having been granted the opportunity to ride in it that fateful morning in Barnbury.

As Catherine drank in the sight of the carriage and realised what its being there meant, she found herself completely rooted to the spot, unable to take another step.

Her first emotion was pure, complete elation. Professor Lawes was here, in Warwick - inside her very house, no less! Catherine had of course been dreaming of this moment since quitting Barnbury, but never had she dared think for one moment that it might actually happen! Her heart swelled at the thought of seeing him again, filling her with so much happiness she thought it might burst.

Moments later, though, elation gave way to a strong surge of doubt. There was the very strong possibility that it was not the professor's carriage - it could easily be mere coincidence that this one so closely resembled his. How utterly devastating it would be to enter the house, only to find that it was not he at all! Oh, she did not think she could withstand such agony!

Catherine suddenly found her flood of thoughts interrupted as she spotted a figure hopping up and down excitedly next to the carriage - a petite, morning-gown-clad figure who certainly was not supposed to be out of doors at this time of year, in particular without wearing a cloak! The sight seemed to spur Catherine into action, and she found herself closing the remaining distance between herself and her sister almost at a canter.