Dearest Lady | Nadia Petrova

Chapter Four

 Lillian Blakeney could not sleep that night. She had a horrible feeling that Nadia Petrova was her husband's long-lost cousin as he claimed she was. There was something more to that story, something that just didn't seem right about it.

 It was possible that Sir Stuart had foreign relatives he hadn't known of; he wasn't the type to keep close track of how many family members he had. But Bulgaria, somewhere so far away from England? It wasn't impossible, but it was so unlikely, too.

 How could she just appear out of nowhere like that? Why didn't she say who she was when the met at that party? She could have simply said she was a relation. But she didn't.

 That was when Lady Blakeney began to think darker things. It hit her in a flash, and stayed in her mind. Ms. Petrova wasn't her husband's cousin; she was something much worse.

~~~~~~

 Lady Blakeney planned to confront Ms. Petrova the next day. If her suspicions were true, she wanted to know. She get the other woman alone and speak to her privately.

 After a quiet breakfast, Sir Stuart went to his study, where he would probably stay for most of the day. Lady Blakeney was used to not seeing her husband at all during the day. It was good if he stayed there for the day; better for her so she wouldn't have to worry about him making any unexpected appearances.

 In the late morning, Lady Blakeney saw Ms. Petrova wandering around in the gardens outside, apparently admiring the many flowers. Without any hesitation, Lady Blakeney was out the door and on her way to the gardens.

 When Ms. Petrova saw her coming, she said, "Good morning, Cousin Blakeney. I was just admiring your gardens. It's all very lovely."

 "How dare you," the lady said in a low voice. The she cried out louder, "How dare you!"

 Ms. Petrova looked confused. "I am afraid I don't understand."

 "You understand perfectly well. I know you aren't really my husband's foreign relation, Cousin Petrova."

 "But, my lady-"

 "Don't try to pretend you don't know," Lady Blakeney snapped. "I know you're my husband's mistress. You're not related to him at all, except in the fact that you're his lover! Sir Stuart and I have had our troubles, but I refuse to let him bring some mistress into the house under my very nose! And you have the nerve to act as if you are a poor, foreign relative in need of a home."

 The lady of the house was fuming by the end of this passionate speech. Ms. Petrova had kept her looks perfectly calm the entire time, and she wanted to just shake her and scream at her again.

 And then the strangest thing happened. Ms. Petrova suddenly burst into laughter.

 "Why are you laughing?" Lady Blakeney demanded. "There is nothing funny about this at all! Oh, stop laughing!"

 She held up her hand and slapped Ms. Petrova across her face. The other woman looked at her in surprise.

 "I am not your husband's mistress," she said firmly and bluntly. "If I were, I would not be living in the same house as his wife, where she could easily find me. And I am not fond enough of your husband to want to be his mistress. In fact, I don't like him one bit. If I did not need a home badly, I would have left by now, despite that I only arrived yesterday. Well, Lady Blakeney, what do you think of Cousin Petrova now?"

 Lady Blakeney stared at her. This woman had a truthful and honest look on her face and in her eyes. She wasn't sure about the foreign relative part of the story, but this woman had no romantic ties to Sir Stuart. 

 Ms. Petrova looked down at the flowers again. "It is a lovely garden, you know," she said.

 "Thank you," said Lady Blakeney, turning away from her. "When I am here at the manor, I like to look after it myself. And now I have matters to attend to indoors, so I will leave you to enjoy the flowers."

 She hurried inside as quickly as she could, leaving Ms. Petrova alone amongst the flowers.

~~~~~~

 What had she done? She had gone and accused an innocent woman of being her husband's mistress. She was fairly certain Sir Stuart had no mistress.

 It was unfair to Ms. Petrova. She had done no wrong, and Lady Blakeney knew she had no right to slap her and throw accusations. She was surprised at herself for even doing it.

 After supper that night, she knocked on the door of her cousin's room. "Ms. Petrova? It is Lady Blakeney."

 Ms. Petrova opened the door and said, "Good evening. Is something wrong?"

 "I want to apologize," she said, "For what I said to you this morning. It was wrong, and I have no right. I do hope you can forgive me for the outburst."

 Ms. Petrova smiled and said, "Of course. It was a silly matter. Let us be friends now, and worry over it."

 Lady Blakeney smiled. "Thank you. Good night."

 "Good night, my lady."

 Lady Blakeney walked back to her own bedroom with her spirits lifted. Ms. Petrova had said 'let us be friends now'. It made her smile.