Her family. Where had that inconvenient thought come from? Her greatest desire was something that couldn’t be, no matter how much Con had manipulated everyone into position. She shook her head at her stupidity, then splashed some water on her sleep-creased face. It took her no time at all to braid her hair back and slip into a simple dress and comfortable boots, suitable for sheep inspection. The dog had begun to yip again, so their progress to the paddock must be in train.
She dashed down the stairs and through the empty kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, but at this point luncheon was more probable than breakfast. When she stepped outside, she found Sadie and Nadia sitting on a bench in the tidy kitchen garden, shelling peas. They seemed to be in perfect accord, disregarding the “too many cooks” theory. Laurette waved off the offer of breakfast and headed for the children.
James was straddling the high stone wall as the small black-and-white dog and Mr. Carter confined the sheep beyond it. Bea’s face was flushed with excitement as she chattered up to Con. Laurette nearly stumbled when she saw the expression on his face—he bore a look of unmistakable love for the child. He tugged at one of her pigtails, teasing her. She spun away from him laughing.
Just as she used to do. How could Bea not know he was her father? It was plain as day!
But no. Laurette knew what to look for. Perhaps a stranger might not notice. She hoped the sinking feeling in her stomach only meant she was hungry.
“Cousin Laurette! The sheep have come!” Beatrix cried.
“So I see and hear.” There was an awful racket from the pen. And smell.
“Mr. Carter and Sam drove them all night because of the full moon. He says sheep would rather sleep in the daytime than at night anyway.” Beatrix turned to Con. “Do sheep sleep standing up like horses?”
“It depends. If they feel safe, they’ll sleep lying down on the ground. Sometimes some will serve as watchers for the herd, staying awake while the others nap.”
“Watchsheep!” giggled Beatrix.
“How did you become so knowledgeable about sheep, my lord?” There had been cattle at Ryland Grove before the drought claimed them.
“My son was quite convincing when he encouraged me to purchase the Ryeland sheep. I believe he’s hit upon a successful scheme for Stanbury Hill. He’s showing excellent business sense.”
Laurette watched the tips of James’s ears turn pink. It was his only response to Con’s praise as he balanced on the rocks.
“And of course I bumped into a shepherd or two in the Holy Land…. Jacob!” Con shouted over the bleating of the sheep. “You must be dead on your feet. James and I will fill the troughs with water. Take the rest of the day off. You’ve earned it.”
Con’s farm manager ambled through a clot of sheep, his dog at his side. For a man who’d spent the night walking the drovers’ path through the dales, he looked fit and awake. And remarkably handsome. He was a decade or so older than Con, lean and dark from time spent out of doors. Sunlight burnished the copper and silver in his close-cropped hair and his tweeds, though worn, were clean. He met Laurette’s eye and nodded.
“Laurette, this is my caretaker and right-hand man, Jacob Carter. Jacob, may I present my Dorset neighbor and childhood friend, Miss Vincent. She is Bea’s cousin and my son’s honorary aunt.”
Mr. Carter was well-spoken and not shy. “How do you do, Miss Vincent? It’s a pleasure to meet you. The children have been looking forward all week to your arrival.” The man extended a strong hand and after a moment Laurette realized she was expected to shake it.
“Lord Conover tells me you were in His Majesty’s army.”
“Just a sergeant. Put out to pasture now.” The man grinned, revealing strong white teeth. His Yorkshire burr was blunted by years spent away from home. “Lord Conover needed a local man and I needed a job. Stanbury Hill Farm has been a challenge, but I hope I’ve been up to it.”
“Don’t fish for compliments, Jacob. You know I appreciate what you’ve done. But the road!”
“Aye, I knew you wouldn’t like it much. But you don’t have to sleep on it or eat it. I thought getting the house in order, haying and putting in a garden took priority.”
Judging from his tone, he was certainly not one bit cowed working for a marquess. Con cuffed him on the shoulder. “Get some rest and we’ll talk about it later. James, let’s get cracking at the pumps.”
Jacob Carter whistled for his dog and they headed back to the house. Laurette had seen the room he kept off the kitchen yesterday, a Spartan chamber meant to be the housekeeper’s office. She imagined he’d spent the winter living in it and the kitchen, shooing off the birds and shutting up the rest of the rambling house. The property was completely isolated from any neighbors, and she wondered how he spent his time now that he wasn’t repairing and renovating.
Beatrix reached through the fence to nuzzle a lamb. “I can help, too.”
Laurette saw the stubborn set of her daughter’s mouth and knew she was seeing a shorter version of herself. But as they were “cousins,” that would explain the family resemblance to anyone who wondered.
“Bea, let’s leave the men to their chores. I haven’t had breakfast yet. I thought we might share some tea and have a coze. We haven’t really had time to catch up with all your news.”
Beatrix fitted her hand into Laurette’s. “Oh, all right. Aren’t the lambs the most darling things? Lord Conover says he’ll get a few sheep for pets at Ryland Grove, so they’ll be there when I visit next summer.”
“I’m glad you’re looking forward to next year already,” Laurette smiled. “There might come a day when you’re too much of a young lady to bother with me.”
Beatrix frowned. “If you mean I’m to have a debut one day, my parents say they can’t afford it.”
Laurette felt a ripple of anger. Her cousins were well compensated for their care of Beatrix, and surely they knew that funds would be available for such an important event. Not that Laurette had cared about her own come-out, except to entice Con. She shivered. Perhaps it was just as well Beatrix would not be presented to society if it meant keeping her innocence a few years longer.
But she was being an alarmist. Beatrix was a sensible, sedate child, reared by good, devout people. She wouldn’t be slipping into a shimmering dress, dancing the night away, and seducing anyone the next morning.
They entered the kitchen to find Mr. Carter not in bed but holding court at the scrubbed pine table, his dog Sam politely sitting at his feet. Abandoning the lunch preparations, Sadie and Nadia were flying about the kitchen brewing coffee and scrambling eggs. Laurette’s stomach rumbled a reminder again.
“Here now, Miss Laurie. It won’t do for you to wait until luncheon to eat. I know how you turn devilish when you’re hungry.” Sadie cracked another egg into the creamware bowl. “I’ll bring a plate to you in the breakfast room.”
“Don’t be silly. If Mr. Carter has no objection, we’ll join him.” She eyed the chickens that were trussed and waiting on the sideboard. “Just a bit of bread for me. I promised Bea a cup of tea, too.”
“And a raisin scone if there are any left from breakfast, please.” Beatrix sat down and folded her hands, looking at Mr. Carter rather worshipfully. He winked at her.
“Don’t know when I had my breakfast with two such lovely ladies. Not since I was a lad and my sisters were at home.”
“Is your family nearby, Mr. Carter?” Laurette asked, buttering a half-slice of bread.
“A long day’s walk. It’s just my youngest sister left now, and her man and children at the family place. They raise sheep, too. Not Ryelands, though. But Henry knew where I could find some.”
“It seems you found plenty.”
Carter shrugged. “Enough for what land’s left here. His lordship’s uncle sold off most of it ages ago, I understand.”
Yes, Con’s uncle had stripped him of every possession he could and beggared him into the bargain. “Did you know him?”
“He was a recluse, wasn�
�t he? But everyone knew him hereabouts. Used to walk, rain or shine, grumbling to himself. I tried to talk him into hiring me to fix the place up, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Shocking, this old house was. I remember when Miss Stanbury married his lordship’s father here. I wasn’t more than seven or eight, but all the neighbors were invited to the wedding and the big reception after. There were tents and tables on the lawn and all the ale you could drink, even though her old man had hit a bad financial patch. Sold off the best furniture, they say, for that party. The old gent died soon after. But his lass Katie looked like an angel to a boy like me.” His eyes slid over to Beatrix. “There’s a painting of her in the attic. Needs mending. Ripped in the corner, alas, and beyond my expertise. But she looked a bit like you, little miss.”
Laurette’s hands shook. She tore the crust off her bread to keep them busy. “It’s said we all have a twin somewhere,” she said tamping down her apprehension.
“True enough. I met a Frenchie that looked enough like me to be my brother. Had to kill him, though.”
Beatrix’s mouth hung open.
“Here now, I didn’t mean to shock your delicate sensibilities.” Carter grinned again, then tucked into his eggs. “Absolutely delicious, Miss Sadie. Don’t know when I’ve eaten so well since you came.”
“Go on with you, now.” Sadie flushed at the man and not just from the heat of her exertions. Mr. Carter was a charmer. Even Nadia, who was devoted to Aram, beamed at him as she topped off his coffee. Laurette found her bread difficult to swallow.
A trip to the attic was in order.
But not now. Now it was time for Beatrix, because there was so precious little of it.
Chapter 14
Once they finished breakfast, they rambled outside, Bea telling a comprehensive tale about her stay in the country so far. They climbed a hill and Laurette found herself short of breath. Too much city living had definitely spoiled her. They sat under a lone tree, spreading their skirts on the shade-dappled grass.
“You’re getting on with James, then?”
Beatrix gave a long-suffering sigh. “He’s all right. For a boy.”
“And Lord Conover says he’s all boy. I understand he gets into quite a bit of trouble at school.”
Her daughter’s face turned serious. “I think he wants to be bad enough so his father will have to come and get him. I don’t know who James wants to cause more trouble for—his masters or his father.”
Laurette’s eyes widened in shock. “But he loves school! He’s so bright and has always had high marks!”
Beatrix shrugged. “He’d rather displease his father just now. James is angry, you know. He wants to know why his father left him.”
“Oh, dear.” It was one thing to be resentful, but if James ruined his chances at an education, he’d hurt himself the most.
“You know, don’t you? Why he went away when James was born. You’ve known Lord Conover since he was a boy himself. He told me all about that when he came to visit me at school, how you were the best of friends.”
Laurette studied her daughter’s earnest little face. Her bronze-gold lashes framed hazel eyes that seemed older than her years. There were a few new freckles from the week spent out-of-doors with an active boy. Her half-brother.
A fact which she must never find out.
Oh, lord. What if Beatrix was forming a childish tendre for James? Now that they had been thrown together, what if it turned into something dangerous in the years to come? An unprecedented level of panic rose in Laurette’s chest and she looked away.
“It’s very complicated.”
“James knows Lord Conover made a marriage of convenience. Most people in the ton do. But they don’t abandon their babies.” Bea looked disapproving, as well she should. Con had run away.
But so had Laurette. She’d felt she had no choice but to give Bea a better future, but what if she’d been wrong?
“Sometimes people do things that seem terrible, but they think it for the best. When they are very young—” Laurette’s voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. This was territory that was far too dangerous. She wasn’t sure she could excuse Con’s behavior herself. And her own was beyond excuse.
Damn Con for throwing her into this and forcing her to pick at the scabs of her worst wounds. She was not ready to tell Beatrix anything. But Con was right. The child was smart. Laurette cleared her throat and began again.
“Lord Conover cares very much for James, and is sad that in the past he was not the parent he should have been. More than sad. Guilty. It’s left him—a little unhinged, I think. Not—not in a dangerous way,” she added, seeing Bea’s look of alarm. “This holiday is a start meant to make up for the years he wasted. He knows a made a mistake with James. People make mistakes.”
“I know that. Lord Conover said as much to me when we first met. He said he hadn’t done his duty to his people. His neighbors. He was worried about all of you in Lower Conover.”
Laurette tried to laugh. “He needn’t worry about me! I’m perfectly content.”
“Yes, but you’re alone, except for Sadie. Your parents are dead and Cousin Charlie is a very poor sort of brother to you. He gets into worse scrapes than James and is old enough to know better.”
“Beatrix Isabella Vincent! Who has been feeding you this gossip? My brother Charles is of no concern to you or Lord Conover! Damn that interfering man!” Laurette sprang up from the grass and brushed her skirts. Blast Con for whatever stories he told Bea. Sadie, too. It was time for another talk with them both.
But she had to tamp her anger down. It would not do to lose her temper any further and say something that Beatrix would remember and file away. “I apologize, Bea. You know I hate people meddling in my life.”
“Please don’t be angry with Lord Conover. He’s just trying to be kind.”
“By using you to tell his ridiculous tales?”
Beatrix looked alarmed again. “No, no. He didn’t tell me anything ridiculous. He was most gentlemanly with me when he came to visit. Either Miss Davenport or Miss Emily were with us, and he could not have been more proper.”
Propriety counted with Bea—she was a very proper girl, something Laurette had never been, much to her regret. “How many times did he come to Bath to see you?”
“Just three. And he didn’t come to see me, exactly. He had business there. But he was very kind. When we first met I was a little shy of him—but then he told me funny stories about life at Ryland Grove and your village when you both were children.” Bea dropped her lashes. “I think he likes you, Cousin Laurette.”
Perfect. She was going to strangle Con for using their child so. “Don’t go playing matchmaker,” Laurette said tartly.
“James likes you too. A lot. Sadie says you could be a marchioness and then James could have a mother again.”
Add Sadie to the strangulation list. “What nonsense! I’ll have you know we’re leaving here in a week. No, six days.” She looked at the timepiece pinned to her dress. “Five and a half now. Lord Conover has overstepped his bounds by miles. The man needs to know he cannot have whatever he thinks he wants.”
Beatrix paled beneath her freckles. “It’s my fault. I’ve made you cross.”
Laurette sat down again and clasped the child’s palm. “No. Lord Conover and I agreed yesterday we would stay a week only. It isn’t proper for us to be here.”
“B-but I thought I was here for the summer,” Beatrix said in a small voice. “And Sadie’s here to chaperone.” She looked crushed.
“Sadie, God bless her, is just as bad as Con,” Laurette mumbled. “We won’t go straight home to Penzance. I know you love the country. We can stay at Vincent Lodge for a few days. Weeks even.”
“Sadie said the house is all torn up. And the lambs just came.”
Bugger the lambs. It was as if Con knew just what softhearted Beatrix needed. She’d been mad for animals her whole short life, her cousins living in a small house in the middle of town with no room or tolerance to
spare for a pet.
“There are the chickens at the Lodge.”
“Sadie sent them all to the Cobb farm for the summer. Squire Cobb promised not to eat any of them.”
“And Squire Cobb is very fond of roast chicken,” Laurette smiled.
“He is very fat,” Beatrix agreed. “As are his daughters.” She covered her mouth. “I’m not being very nice, am I?”
“That’s all right. The Cobb twins are not very nice them selves. Serves them right they look like stuffed hens.” Neither woman, despite their parents’ coddling or their substantial portion, had contracted a marriage yet. Laurette reflected that their joint debut at the Blue Calf Inn’s assembly room all those years ago had brought none of the three of them the usual result. There was a high proportion of spinsters in their neck of Dorset, and Con, damn him, was not going to change that unless he married a Cobb twin.
“Well, I guess we can muddle through all the mess,” Beatrix said. She bit a lip and looked forlorn. “I don’t want to go home quite yet. Mama and Papa won’t be expecting me for ages and ages. Perhaps the Marquess will let us live at the Grove. Oh, but I forgot, there are workmen all over there too.” She gave a little sigh.
My word, but her daughter was dramatic, running through all her sad, wistful expressions in one sitting. Laurette was tempted to ask if she was performing in plays at school. She decided to take another tack. “I believe if we leave James and his father alone to their own devices, they may find their difficulties at an end. If you and I are not present at dinner to keep the conversation flowing, they’ll be forced to talk to each other.” Laurette teased Bea’s pigtail as she saw Con do this morning. “I was very proud of you last evening. You tried very hard to engage them both. You’re my little peacemaker.”
Beatrix colored prettily. “It’s only that I feel sorry for James. He wants to love his father but he cannot.”
“Families are not always arranged as we’d like them. My own parents were sometimes unsatisfactory, just as I’m sure they thought I was an unsatisfactory daughter. But you get on with your mother and your father, do you not?”
Mistress by Midnight Page 16
