Promised

by Leah Garriott

  “No.” Lord Williams selected a book and turned it over in his hands. “There are far too many women who know the arts of conduct.” He handed the book to me.

  I glanced at the spine. It was my favorite book of poetry. I would have blamed the incident on Daniel, but I doubted Daniel even knew I treasured this collection. “What is this?”

  “A collection of poems I admire.”

  I frowned. “I am surprised you find pleasure in poetry.”

  “You may be surprised by a great many things about me, Miss Brinton.” He turned and resumed his position next to Daniel.

  Fifteen

  I sat on the bench out front after breakfast the next morning, pretending to read a sermon on conduct. The talk of the morning had again focused on changes that should be made to the estate, and my residual agitation made it almost impossible to sit still, let alone focus on the words of the book. But I didn’t give up my pretense for fear that the baron would catch me without an occupation and request my company.

  A small noise on the gravel drew my attention and I glanced up, careful to make it appear I was still reading in case the noise arose from Lord Williams. Louisa’s figure rounded the bend, and I tossed the book aside and ran to her. “Oh, Louisa! You came!”

  “Of course. Tell me everything.”

  “Come sit with me.”

  To my surprise, she pulled away. “Perhaps we could walk?”

  “Why?”

  “I think it better if I do not meet with your brother.”

  “What has happened?”

  Louisa studied her gloved hands. “The last time we met he seemed ill-pleased to see me. If . . . something has changed . . . regarding his intentions—”

  I suddenly understood. Daniel’s reaction at the stairs had caused her to believe his affection had transferred to someone he’d met at the Hickmores’. “He loves you, Louisa, and no one else.”

  She wouldn’t meet my eyes, so I continued, “He has been acting peculiar ever since Lord Williams appeared. But yesterday morning he was upset with me because he thought I was pressuring you into staying. He did not wish for you to stay if you had no desire to.”

  “I understand.” She smiled, but doubt still shone in her eyes. Then her smile turned to a frown. “Tell me—your guest, Lord Williams—he is the same man you told me about?”

  I nodded.

  “What is he doing here?”

  I surveyed our surroundings. No one appeared to be outside, but still I dragged her across the lawn to a bench on the path near the woods, relaying how the baron was the man my father had arranged for me to marry and everything that had occurred since.

  “Oh, Margaret.” She clasped my hands. “What are you going to do? What does your brother think?”

  “Daniel is practically in love with the baron himself. My whole family is enchanted by him.”

  Louisa frowned, a line of thought creasing her brows as she murmured, “He did appear quite attentive yesterday when I chanced upon you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “When you discovered us, I had been trying to make my escape. The baron mistook my desire to return to the house as a bout of illness and forced me onto the bench to rest.” I hesitated, debating whether I should tell her how he asked me to call him by his first name. I decided against it, fearing that if I told her, his lack of insistence on formality would appeal to her. With my family so against me, I needed her support.

  “Margaret, what I fail to understand is why Lord Williams is even here.”

  “I told you—”

  “No, I mean, why does he wish to marry you?” At my expression, she rushed to add, “You know I didn’t mean it that way.”

  I laughed. “Of course not, but. . . .” I shrugged. “I have no idea. It makes no sense. I even asked him, but he’s disinclined to tell me. I can only think that he either means to keep me from his cousin or he means to teach me some lesson.”

  “Neither of which warrant an engagement.” Louisa stopped and stared over my shoulder. I followed her gaze to find Daniel and Lord Williams strolling toward us across the lawn.

  I stood. “Let’s walk.”

  She hesitated.

  “Hurry,” I urged.

  We moved along the path skirting the yard, heading toward the lake and away from the men.

  “What have you heard of Mr. Northam?” she asked.

  “Nothing.” I sighed. “My hope is that Daniel has written to him and asked him not to come. It wouldn’t do to have him appear while Lord Williams is here. It might ruin my chances with him.”

  “Do you have a plan?”

  I shook my head. “I’ve tried everything short of being malicious myself—and perhaps even a little of that. You would have abhorred the way I’ve acted.”

  Daniel reached my side. “Abhorrence at the way you act is nothing new.” He smiled at Louisa. “May we join you?”

  I stopped walking and glared at Daniel. “No,” I replied at the same time that Louisa quietly responded, “Of course.”

  I sighed. “For Louisa’s sake,” I amended.

  “It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Rosthorn,” Lord Williams said.

  Daniel crossed his arms and glanced from the baron to Louisa with a frown.

  He was jealous. It would do him some good to feel jealous. If I could get Lord Williams and Louisa to walk alone together, perhaps that would spur Daniel to action. The lake seemed the best route; Lord Williams would never consider draining the lake once he had experienced its beauty up close.

  “We are walking to the lake.” I linked my arm through Daniel’s. His frown deepened, but I ignored it and tugged on his arm.

  “What are you up to?” he asked when we reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “Up to? I’m saving your relationship with the only woman who’ll have you.” I glanced over my shoulder, pleased that Lord Williams and Louisa were conversing.

  Daniel huffed.

  “You do not believe me? Would you believe we were hurrying through the yard because she was afraid to encounter you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, you should. Your behavior toward her since our return has been less than encouraging.”

  Daniel tensed. “Margaret, the last time we met I fell into the lake.”

  I took in his slightly reddened cheeks and couldn’t help but laugh.

  He scowled. I put a hand on his arm to placate him. “Daniel, if embarrassment is the reason for your cold greeting yesterday, speak with her. She thinks it is something serious.”

  “Having her witness such a misfortune is serious.”

  I shook my head. “Your injured pride is not serious. Her thinking you met someone at the Hickmores’ is.”

  Daniel stopped walking. “But—that—she thinks that? Did she say as much to you?” He glanced behind us to where Louisa smiled at something Lord Williams said.

  “You need to speak with her,” I urged.

  He kicked a rock on the path and sent it racing into the grass, then set his shoulders with resolve. But I had not discussed with him the other thing weighing on my mind, so I tugged on his arm to continue our walk. “I need to speak to you of something else.”

  “What?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder again but walking with me.

  “Did you write to Mr. Northam for me?”

  Daniel yanked his arm away from me. “Why does it matter?”

  “Daniel, please. I cannot have him coming here while Lord Williams is present.”

  He sneered. “What makes you think he’ll come at all?”

  “What if he did? Whatever you think, he was about to propose. What if he comes and demands he had the prior claim?”

  “You’ve decided Lord Williams is the better choice?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

  I shook my head. “Never.”
r />   “Then you are an even greater fool than I thought. I should tell Lord Williams of your stupidity while he still has time to back out.”

  We came to a stop again and I stared at Daniel, hurt by the betrayal of his allegiance, but not denying the opportunity it provided. “He already knows and has wasted no time in telling me as much himself. However, I wish you would reiterate it. Please, see that he is gone within the hour.”

  “You do not know what you are asking.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Daniel glanced back at the approaching couple. “He is the best thing that has ever happened to you. If you would only open your eyes you would see it, too.”

  At that moment Louisa laughed quietly at something Lord Williams said. He was winning her over as well. That wasn’t supposed to happen. “Why can no one see that he is all pretense?” I asked in frustration.

  Daniel shook his head and turned away, studying the lake as Louisa and the baron caught up with us.

  Well, whether Daniel aided me or not, I would still help him. Flashing my brightest smile, I said, “Lord Williams, perhaps you would enjoy a bouquet of flowers from the garden in your room. I have been remiss in my duty, as it is a habit of mine to ensure each of our guests is greeted with an arrangement.” I stepped between him and Louisa, forcing Louisa up the path next to Daniel. “Upon reconsideration, it is rather fortuitous that I waited, is it not? Else you would have found yourself waking each morning to a disagreeably formal selection of blooms, and now I will be sure to obtain some wildflowers instead.”

  “Indeed. I do not know how to thank you for your neglect,” Lord Williams replied in his characteristic ironic tone.

  I shot him a glare. He raised a brow in return.

  “Miss Rosthorn?” Daniel held an arm out to Louisa and she hesitantly took it. Lord Williams made to follow them but I placed a hand on his arm, stopping him until they were several feet in front of us. When Louisa finally turned her face to Daniel and spoke, I clasped my hands behind me in satisfaction.

  “Well done,” Lord Williams commented.

  He couldn’t have known what had transpired. “Excuse me?”

  He indicated Daniel and Louisa.

  Perhaps he understood more than I gave him credit for. I shrugged and followed after them. “There was a simple misunderstanding.”

  He kept pace with me. “I would that all misunderstandings were so easily rectified.”

  “Yes, indeed,” I muttered. Though his presence didn’t quite qualify as a misunderstanding.

  “Miss Rosthorn appears to be a very amiable friend.”

  “She is the best sort of friend.”

  “Does she have siblings?”

  His question made me stumble, but I quickly recovered my footing. “Yes. An older brother.”

  Lord Williams nodded as though I had confirmed something.

  “Are you acquainted with her brother?”

  “No, we have never met.”

  That was a relief.

  His question gave me pause, though. If Lord Williams had siblings, people who depended on him, I could use them as another reason against his marrying me. Certainly our union would be frowned upon by any relatives.

  “Do you have siblings, my lord?”

  “I have asked that you call me Gregory.”

  “And I refuse.”

  He sighed. “No, I do not have siblings.”

  “Cousins aside from Mr. Northam, then?”

  “None.” He glanced at me.

  It was as though his life had been orchestrated to be as unhelpful as possible. “Does Mr. Northam know of your being here?”

  His brow furrowed. “I should hope not.”

  Now we were getting somewhere. “Then you are not so very close?”

  “I do not have the rapport with him that you appear to have with your siblings and friends. Though we do converse on many matters, there are some confidences that are best left unshared.”

  Had he really not shared the engagement with his own family? What possible motivation could he have for omitting such information? “You are rather like siblings, then, as there are many things I would not share with either Daniel or Alice. Do you support each other in your decisions, as siblings should?”

  He tilted his head. “What are you driving at?”

  “Oh, nothing.” I smiled. “Only, I do hope Mr. Northam is like a sibling to you. I could not imagine life without the little contests and irritants that siblings provide.”

  He looked at me sharply. “What contests?”

  I frowned at his reaction. Daniel and I had numerous ongoing competitions, little games started as children that we had never seen fit to outgrow. The best games were played in public, awarding extra points when we pinned the other to some promise or errand by making the request in the company of others where a refusal was impossible. Such as Daniel forcing me to speak with Mr. Lundall alone or his ensnaring me into the game of lawn bowls with Lord Williams. “Everything. Anything. A game of chess, a wager on who could throw a rock farther, whether you would stop and help our coachman. . . .”

  His expression eased, but a brow rose. “You wagered on whether or not I would help?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you win or lose?”

  “I lost.”

  “I am sorry to have cost you a win.”

  I shrugged. “It was no great loss.”

  After a brief pause, Lord Williams said, “My cousin has always been a great admirer of competition. Sometimes he is a little too enthusiastic.”

  “Cuts of cloth,” I muttered.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “It seems you two were cut from the same cloth. I would say you are a little too enthusiastic about some things.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well, you were rather insistent regarding a game of bowls together.”

  “Yes, and I believe I was labeled a cheater because of that game.”

  I shrugged and grabbed a leaf off a tree. “You should not worry yourself about it. You have obviously endeared yourself to my family.”

  “But not to you.”

  I laughed. “Surely you do not care what I think of you.”

  “I believe it is customary to care what one’s intended thinks of one.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t care what you think of me.”

  “Yes. I know.”

  I turned and studied him. Was he mocking me again? He didn’t seem to be in earnest, yet the taunting smile was absent from his expression. “You cannot object, nor be surprised. Our circumstances are not customary in the least.”

  “As you remind me at every opportunity.”

  I refocused on my leaf. “There is a solution, of course.”

  “Flowers, gifts, kisses. That sort of thing?”

  I stopped, aghast that he’d suggest anything as intimate as kissing. “No. Of course not.”

  “No?” The smile was back.

  I narrowed my eyes. “I want nothing of the sort from you.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  Now was my chance. I took a deep breath. “Retract the agreement that exists between us. You cannot want this marriage any more than I. I have no knowledge of the circumstances that drove you into it, but whatever they are, I can promise you that they will not make you as miserable as marriage to me will.”

  Lord Williams fell silent. I forced myself to look at the lake so as not to pressure a response from him. I needed him to deliberate on the truthfulness of my words, for surely he must see that our very characters were at odds with each other.

  He finally said, “If I were to do this, I would find myself absolved of whatever has led you to create such an unfavorable opinion of me?”

  I turned. He couldn’t possibly be ignorant of his ill manners. But perhaps
he was so accustomed to untitled people holding him in awe that no one had displayed their dislike for him before. No doubt they were all better accomplished at schooling their features and hiding their emotions than I.

  However, all that was beside the point. “Yes, of course.” The excitement of a possible victory—of regaining my freedom—

  made me optimistic. “Oh, and you must convince my father to keep the lake.”

  He studied me. “You would have me do this even if draining the lake is in the best interest of the estate?”

  The leaf crumbled in my fist. “It is not in the best interest of the estate’s occupants.”

  He shrugged dismissively. “That is something your father will have to decide.”

  I would not be dismissed. “The idea would never have occurred to him if you had not taken it upon yourself to suggest it.”

  He started walking again. This time I kept pace with him.

  “What is it about this lake that is so vital to your happiness?”

  I gestured to the water in frustration. “It is not just my happiness. Our entire family derives enjoyment from it, as do many of our neighbors. We have grown up playing in the water, picnicking along this shore. We used to swim here as children.”

  “You wish to retain it for nostalgic purposes?”

  How was I to make him understand? Not only understand. I had to convince him that it was important enough for him to argue my point against Daniel while still retaining his compliance in ending our engagement. But it would mean exposing my feelings, and I had no reason to believe he would not mock me for them.

  Yet, what did I care if he mocked me? Hadn’t he been doing just that from the time he’d arrived at my home, and even before? Still, my voice was quiet when I explained, “This lake is more than just a body of water or even a place of entertainment. I have found peace here when I could find it no other place. There is a tranquility one derives from the sound of lapping water, the rustling of a breeze through the trees, which is soothing and reassuring in moments of distress. A lake—our lake—has, at times, provided more comfort than a friend’s company or a parent’s embrace.”

  “I venture to believe you are the only one in your family who feels this way.”