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Lady Althea Brookwood speculates about
her Aunt Catherine’s past in WHAT A RAKE WANTS – The Spies of Mayfair. I
wanted to give Lady Catherine Bellingham a chance to shine in this VERY SHORT
STORY. I hope you enjoy an episode in Catherine’s life which takes place
several years before Althea and Flynn’s story.
Excerpt
London,
1816
Lady Catherine Bellingham had never
minded spending time alone. But this Christmas, with her niece, Althea, absent
from London, the empty corridors of Catherine’s manor house in Hampstead echoed
under her feet. For some reason, she had been restless since she’d returned
from a sojourn on the Continent.
Catherine had long since come to terms
with the passing of her beloved husband. Bellingham had been a quiet man, but
tonight, his absence seemed to speak louder than his presence ever did. Although
she had never been blessed with children, she had been fortunate enough to have
a generous companion who gave her respect and affection.
She paused at a Vermeer oil painting hanging
on the wall. Without giving it her full attention, Catherine knew the picture
to be a pleasant, domestic Dutch scene depicting a contented woman going about
her daily tasks. Marriage should bring contentment. Her thoughts turned to her
niece, Althea, trapped in a bad marriage to Brookwood. Althea had looked so
pale and wan of late that Catherine had grown alarmed about her.
Like her niece, Catherine had entered
into an arranged marriage with an older man when she was barely out of the
schoolroom. If she was honest, she had never experienced true passion with
Bellingham, and now that she was in her forties, it was unlikely to happen.
Thoroughly sick of her own company, she
fingered the silver-edged invitation that her dear friend Marina had sent her.
“Please come to my Christmas ball,
Catherine. Tonight is for lovers of romance!”
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