by Rose Pearson
For a moment, Caroline was awash with shame, realizing that she had fallen for Lord Brandeis’s charms, even though he was, as she believed, trying to find his true self underneath all his false smiles and eager compliments that she had experienced herself the first night she had been in his acquaintance. There could never be a future where she and Lord Brandeis could be happy! They came from two very different worlds, and she could not be convinced that he would ever truly change and not return to the man she had first known. This was not like one of her novels, she reminded herself, as Lord Brandeis came over to help her up onto her horse. Regardless of what she felt, regardless of the heat that rushed through her as his hands caught her waist to help her up into the saddle, she could not allow her feelings to develop any further. Yes, this was her adventure, but it was not to be the happy ending she had read in so many books. She would return to the tavern, Lord Brandeis would return to his life and, whilst they might greet each other now and again, this was all they would ever share together. She would make the most of her time here with him, make sure to enjoy every moment she could, but would force herself to recall that she had a tavern and an employment waiting for her return.
“Are you quite all right, Caroline?”
Unable to bear the concern in his voice and expression, Caroline picked up the reins and clicked to her horse, turning it full circle so that she might head back the way they had come.
“Yes, Lord Brandeis, I am perfectly all right,” she said over her shoulder, trying to keep her voice steady. “Just a little chilled, that is all. Might we return to the house?”
He rode up alongside her but she kept her gaze trained on the path in front.
“Of course,” he said softly, a small smile on his face as she glanced at him. “Thank you for your company and conversation this morning, Caroline. You cannot know just how much good it has done me.”
Her throat ached with a sudden unwelcome pain as she found she could not say the same. She had hit upon an unsettling realization, had been forced to remind herself that she was nothing more than a lowly townsperson and he the son of a marquess whilst battling against her own foolish heart.
“I am very glad to hear it, Lord Brandeis,” she managed to say, turning her eyes away from him. “I do hope the rest of your time here is just as enjoyable.”
“I hope so too,” he said with feeling, quickening his horse into a trot. “In fact, with your company by my side, I am certain of it.”
Caroline could not return his smile, her heart sinking into her boots as they rode back to the estate.
Chapter Thirteen
Despite her intention to remain entirely unaffected by Lord Brandeis’s presence, Caroline could not help but blush when his eyes widened as she descended the staircase for dinner.
“My, my,” he breathed, reaching for her hand so that he might place it on his arm. “May I say, Lady Winter, that this color complements your eyes perfectly.”
She smiled at him, aware of the heat in her cheeks. She was clad in a deep blue gown that had something of a lower neckline than what she was used to, but she was glad now that she had been brave enough to wear it. The light blue pendant she wore around her neck had been another of Lord Brandeis’s purchases for her, but even she had to admit that it truly did add an extra sparkle to her gown.
“Your seamstress, whoever she is, has a fine eye for color,” he continued, with a wide grin. “You are quite beautiful, Caroline.”
Her breath caught. He had not referred to her as Lady Winter, but as Caroline, which meant that he could not be complimenting her just because it was expected, but because he truly did think those things about her. She lowered her eyes and licked her lips, not quite sure what to say.
A gentle finger brushed her cheek, before lifting her chin gently. Lord Brandeis was looking at her with an affectionate gaze, his eyes warm. “Remember, my dear, you are a lady well used to receiving compliments,” he said softly. “None of this blushing and looking away. You are to simply thank me and move on.”
She tried not to blush, aware that should another member of the household compliment her, she certainly would not have the same reaction. “Of course, Lord Brandeis. I quite forgot.”
His smile grew. “Good. Now, shall we go to dinner? I warn you now, however, Miss Gosford has spent the afternoon indulging in one too many glasses of wine.”
Surprised, Caroline looked up at him as they walked, seeing the way his lips pulled taut. Apparently, Miss Gosford was making a cake of herself and she could tell that Lord Brandeis did not particularly like it.
“Not that I should complain, given my previously inebriated state,” he murmured, patting her hand as they approached the drawing room. “But she is, I confess, a little too talkative for my liking. To hear her twitter on and on is a little irritating.”
One hour later, and Caroline had come to realize that Lord Brandeis was quite right to state that Miss Gosford’s loosened tongue was somewhat frustrating. She had laughed and talked a great deal more than Caroline had ever seen her before, to the point that she grew rather weary of not having anything else to do but listen to the lady.
“And you, Lady Winter, where is it you hail from?”
Caroline started, putting down her own wine glass carefully as Miss Gosford pinned her with a remarkably sharp eye.
“I beg your pardon, Miss Gosford?” she asked, quietly, aware of the way Lord Brandeis was sending darts in Miss Gosford’s direction.
Miss Gosford laughed loudly. “You need not look so confused, Lady Winter. I am just now realizing that I know very little about you and that must be rectified at once, if we are to one day be sisters-in-law.”
Caroline felt herself blush to the roots of her hair. “I think that a little presumptuous, Miss Gosford,” she managed to say, in as firm a tone as she could manage. “But regardless, I will answer your question. I come from London. In fact, I have spent most of my life there.”
Miss Gosford blinked slowly at her, as if she found it difficult to understand what Caroline was saying. Caroline, hoping that her part in the conversation was finished, picked up her fork again and took a small bite of her meat, only for Miss Gosford to speak again.
“And what family have you?”
Caroline chewed slowly and deliberately, feeling her stomach flutter with a million butterflies all at once. Swallowing carefully, she gave Miss Gosford a tight smile. “I have one sibling,” she said, quietly.
“No parents?”
Lifting her chin, Caroline drew in a slow breath, calming her nerves. “My parents have both passed away, I’m afraid, Miss Gosford.”
The lady looked startled. “Really? When was this?”
“Miss Gosford,” Lord Brandeis muttered, darkly, casting a sharp look at his brother who, much to Caroline’s surprise, did not look in the least bit embarrassed at his bride to be firing question after question in Caroline’s direction. “Do you not think that it is a little too prying?”
Miss Gosford, however, tossed her head. “No.”
There was a short, tense silence which began to weigh heavily on Caroline’s shoulders. The entire table was silent, with Miss Gosford’s eyes pinned on her as she waited for her answer.
“My parents died when I was young, Miss Gosford,” she said eventually, her heart squeezing with the familiar pain that came with remembering her dear mother. “It is a subject I do not wish to discuss any further, however, for it was and is very painful.”
Unable to prevent her gaze from traveling towards Peter for a moment, she saw him send her a sympathetic smile before she turned her eyes away again.
“How sad,” Miss Gosford replied, without even a hint of sorrow in her tone. “And then to marry a baron, only for him to pass away also, that must truly have brought you a great deal of pain, even if he was only a baron.” She snorted as she laughed, making Caroline flush with mortification. “Your parents cannot have been particularly high in society themselves, Lady Winter, if they were content
with you marrying a baron!” catching herself, Miss Gosford laughed again, the sound shrill and painful in Caroline’s ear. “But, then again, they were not alive to state whom you should marry, were they? My goodness, I quite forgot that! Then, I must think that you yourself do not come from a particularly noble family, Lady Winter, to be willing to tie yourself to as low a title as baron. I myself could never imagine such a thing!” She sent a loving look towards Lord Weston, who grinned lazily, clearly finding the whole situation rather funny. “A marquess, now that’s the kind of gentleman you ought to have set your sights on, Lady Winter.”
Caroline cleared her throat, blood roaring in her ears as she fought to keep her anger and embarrassment under control. “Indeed, Miss Gosford,” she murmured, picking up her wine glass and taking a sip. Setting it back down again, she folded her hands in her lap and looked down at her plate, praying that Miss Gosford was quite finished.
“At least the second son of a marquess is better than a baron,” Miss Gosford continued, airily. “Although quite what you see in Lord Brandeis is beyond me, Lady Winter. He will never amount to anything.”
“Hear, hear,” Lord Weston agreed, loudly, his eyes gleaming with something dark and unsettling. “You should listen to my betrothed, Lady Winter. My brother has nothing good in his character. He is quite unsavory, and you would be better setting your sights on someone else entirely, even if they are of a lesser title than he.”
Caroline saw Lord Brandeis slump in his seat, his eyes fixed on hers as his cheeks grew dark with color. She held his gaze, silently telling him to keep a hold of his temper, to ignore the way his brother and Miss Gosford were speaking. Lord Brandeis looked back at her without letting his gaze shift even an inch, his chest rising and falling steadily as he fought to take in long, steady breaths.
“You are never going to amount to much, are you, Brandeis?” Lord Weston continued, as the rest of the table looked on. “I am quite certain that you have never done anything good in your life.”
“You are quite mistaken there.”
Caroline spoke up at once, unable to prevent herself from doing so. She felt every single eye on her, including the marquess himself, but forced herself not to back down now. She would defend Lord Brandeis if she had to, even to his own father who, for whatever reason, was allowing his eldest son and Miss Gosford to speak in as disparaging a way as they wished.
She lifted her chin and fixed her eyes on Lord Weston, who appeared to be rather bored with the conversation already. “You may wish to ask Mr. Devonshire here what he thinks of your brother, for he knows exactly what has gone on during Lord Brandeis’s time in the army. I myself will speak of what I know of Lord Brandeis. He has shown me a great deal of respect and kindness this last while. You may be willing to pour scorn on your brother, Lord Weston, but in fact, your words do not condemn him but rather condemn yourself. A man can very easily be judged on what words he speaks, Lord Weston, and arrogance and cruelty are never becoming.”
She saw something flare in Lord Weston’s eyes, his lip curling but she turned her gaze away to fix it on Miss Gosford, who was staring at her with horror written in her expression.
“Miss Gosford,” Caroline continued, ignoring the way her mind was now screaming at her to remain silent. “If you would be so kind as to stop asking me such probing questions about the difficulties and sorrows I have had to endure in my life, then I would appreciate it. As you can imagine, being asked such questions in front of the rest of the guests is a little trying, particularly when my heart has not yet recovered from such a great loss as that of my own dear mother and father.”
“Of – of course,” Miss Gosford whispered, her cheeks now pink with embarrassment.
“Thank you,” Caroline replied, firmly, before turning her gaze back to Peter, who was looking at her with a mix of both astonishment and pride. “Now, Mr. Devonshire, were you not about to tell us what daring exploits you and Lord Brandeis were involved in during your time in the army? I am quite sure that everyone here wishes to hear what you have to say.”
A few grunts and murmurs of acknowledgment came from some of the other guests and, as Peter began to speak, his lips curved in a small smile, Caroline let out a long breath, feeling her body grow suddenly weak as the tension that had been coursing through her left her in a rush.
And then, Lord Brandeis caught her eye.
There was something in his expression that made her heart slam, hard, into her chest, making her breath hitch. His eyes were filled with an emotion she could not quite make out, his gaze unrelenting and intense. She found herself suddenly desperate to be alone in his company, to discover whether or not he was angry with her for speaking so forthrightly. As it stood, she could not tell if he was pleased with her or frustrated with her standing up to defend him in such a way. Perhaps he had wanted to speak for himself.
Thankfully, within a few minutes, the attention she had received from the rest of the guests began to dissipate, leaving her to focus entirely on eating her dessert. Peter had caught everyone’s interest with tales of what he and Lord Brandeis had been up to during their time in the army, bringing gasps of horror and astonishment from some of the ladies. As Caroline glanced up, she saw that Lord Fernley was not looking at Lord Brandeis nor at Peter, but rather at his eldest son, who was now glaring darkly in Lord Brandeis’ direction. The Marquess’ expression was inscrutable, and Caroline found herself wondering what he had thought of her little speech, worried that he would think her impolite for speaking with such frankness.
But still, she did not have any remorse for her actions. Turning her eyes towards Lord Brandeis, Caroline felt her heart leap once again, aware that she was feeling more for him than ever before. Had she had to go through the entire experience again, Caroline was quite sure that she would say exactly the same thing. She was tired of the marquess allowing Lord Weston to do and say whatever he pleased, whilst turning despondent eyes on Lord Brandeis. Something in her had hurt for Lord Brandeis and she had spoken from the heart, not caring what they thought of her for doing so. A lady was not meant to put a gentleman in his place but that was precisely what she had done to Lord Weston and then, thereafter, to Miss Gosford.
“And I do not regret it one bit,” she whispered to herself, before taking another bite of her dessert.
The evening’s entertainment turned out to be a small theatre troupe who had set up their stage in the ballroom. Caroline took a seat at the very back of the row of chairs, for Lord Fernley had invited a few other guests to join them for the evening’s entertainment and she did not particularly wish to be introduced to anyone new after what she had already endured. She was, she discovered, rather weary and was looking forward to being able to retire and be in her own company for a time.
“My goodness, Caro, that was rather daring.”
Glancing over her shoulder, Caroline chuckled as her brother raised one eyebrow at her, shaking his head. Rising to her feet, she let her gaze ripple over the crowd of guests who, as yet, had not sat down.
“Thank you for your help, Peter,” she said honestly, glad that she could spend a few minutes with her brother. “I could not stand to hear another word from that sanctimonious Lord Weston, and Miss Gosford’s constant questions were more than a little rude!”
He chuckled. “Goodness, Caro, you’re even beginning to talk like them!”
That brought her a moment’s pause. “Really?” she asked, a little startled. “That will never do. I won’t be able to hold my head up in the tavern if I sound like one of the ton.”
Peter laughed again and shook his head. “I’m just teasing you, Caro. I’m sure your way of speaking will come back the moment you set foot in the tavern.” His eyes caught hers, becoming a little serious. “But you did very well this evening, Caro. I’m sure Lord Brandeis appreciates it.”
“I hope so,” Caroline replied, with feeling. “I could not tell whether or not he was displeased with me speaking so honestly.”
Peter smiled
, his expression soft. “He wants to talk to you.”
She arched a brow, aware of the excitement suddenly rolling in her belly. “If he wants to talk to me, then why is he not here?” She gestured to the rest of the crowd, who were only now beginning to take their seats, aware that she had not seen Lord Brandeis since the ladies had left the gentlemen to their port before coming down to the ballroom.
“He has retired to the library,” Peter said, quietly. “Shall we go?”
Caroline bit her lip. “They will miss us.”
Shrugging, Peter offered her his arm. “We can go through this door here and no-one will notice our absence, I’m sure. Besides which, no-one can complain or make any suggestions of impropriety if the three of us are absent now, can they?” He chuckled. “Not that I intend to remain in the library whilst you talk, since there was some exceedingly good port left in the dining room that I’d very much like to finish.”
Now worried that she was to be given some kind of stern talking to by Lord Brandeis, Caroline took Peter’s arm hesitantly, walking quickly out of the ballroom and to the side door.
“Is he very angry with me?” she asked, as they made their way to the library. “I hope he did not think me wrong for speaking so.”
Peter came to a stop, turning to face her with a wide-eyed expression.
“You think Lord Brandeis is upset with you, Caro?” he asked, gently. “Goodness me, have you truly no idea just how much he appreciates you?”
She swallowed her surprise. “You mean, he is not angry with me?”
Peter rolled his eyes, took her arm and began to half drag her down the hallway towards the library. “You are quite ridiculous, Caro. You speak so boldly and then worry that Lord Brandeis is angry with you for defending him in such a considerate way. No, he is not angry with you. To be truthful, Caro, I think him a little overwhelmed. He didn’t want to come down to the ballroom because his emotions are in a tangle.” Shrugging, he patted her hand. “You’ll help him through this, just as you’ve done before.”
