The breakfast had been set out for them, and Ruby reached for two slices of toast, and poured herself a cup of tea. Finn felt like coffee this morning, and had asked for some bacon and eggs, as he had felt like more than just a light repast.
Thomas reached for some pound cake, some eggs, and some of the bacon. He, decided to have some hot chocolate instead of the other options of tea or coffee.
“Wonderful spread, Camblesforth. You have a talented cook.”
“Yes, I do. She is the best one in the county. I was fortunate to find Mrs. Chegwin and her husband, Mr. Chegwin. She is my Cook, he is my butler, and I don’t know what I would do without them. What Mrs. Chegwin does with her cuisine is pure magic.”
“I might have to steal her from you,” Thomas joked.
Ruby smiled serenely. “You wouldn’t get rid of Mrs. Reed, Uncle.”
“No…I suppose you are right,” Thomas relented.
“I wouldn’t worry, Ruby. Nothing could take Mrs. Chegwin away from this house. She is here to stay—or at least, that is what she told me,” Finn said.
As Ruby was adding the jam to her second piece of toast, harpsichord music filled the room. She dropped her knife, and Finn sat up straighter, and looked wildly about.
“Damnation,” he muttered. “Will they never leave well enough alone?”
“Ah, someone in your family likes to play the harpsichord. I thought they were rather out of style now,” Thomas said.
“They are,” Finn said uneasily. “We still have one. It is in one of the guest bedchambers that we rarely use.” Then, under his breath, “I had it moved there when it kept playing by itself.”
“Ah, so it is rather like your harp,” she mused, chuckling. “I don’t think the ghosts here know how to behave.”
“They have never known how to behave,” Finn admitted. “Granted, this month is usually the worst for activity. We never dared have balls in October back when I was a child.”
“You have a harp and a harpsichord that the spirits like to play?” Thomas asked, with a twinkle in his eyes. “I expect you don’t have to hire any musicians to play at your balls, eh?”
“Uncle!” she chastised.
“It is true,” Finn relented. “Our house has many ghosts with a musical flair. Even death cannot stop them from practicing. We don’t often hold balls, here, sir, and as I said, we never hold them during the month of October. This house is usually our sanctuary. The Trelawneys held their balls in London, before my father married my mother—even though we have a ballroom here…or rather a room that was turned into a ballroom, we have hardly had the opportunity to use it as such.”
“Perhaps that should change. You could invite all of the local nobility and gentry, and have a ball celebrating your marriage to my niece. Of course, you might have to contend with my darling sister, Honoria, as she is bound to want to attend, but once Ruby is safely married to you, there is little she could do to spoil things, and somehow she shall find a way to take credit for this match. She will say she pushed Ruby toward that little cretin, because she wanted her to spread her wings and fly…Fly right into the arms of a dashing duke, and then, she will titter in that annoying way of hers, and revel in all of the attention she is gaining because she is the other of the new Duchess of Camblesforth.”
“I suppose I could hold a ball to celebrate our marriage,” Finn relented. “However, I am not entirely sure that my nieces would be ready for such an event.”
“No,” Ruby said quickly. “No, indeed, not. I wouldn’t think that Lady Cordelia would be keen on one.”
“Oh, fiddle-faddle. All little girls like a good ball, even if they have to watch from afar. You used to love to see all of the lords, ladies and gentlemen in all of their finery, Ruby.”
“I did, didn’t I?” she asked, sighing. “Rose and I, and some of my other cousins, we used to sit and watch all of the balls that you would throw, Uncle, and the ones that the Aunt Alice and Uncle Edward held were always so pretty, and the ones that Aunt Hope held…”
“Aye, they were all such great fun,” Thomas said, sighing heavily. “Honoria never was too fond of them. I suppose she didn’t like seeing all of the pretty ladies outshine her. Granted, there never was anything wrong with her looks…it was more how she carried herself, and her expressions can be so sour even at the best of times. Now, you, Ruby, you might have been fond of the balls at a young age, but once you reached the age where you could go to them yourself, you lost your fondness for them.
“Camblesforth, you shall have to keep an eye on her. My Ruby likes to hide and runaway whenever there is a social event with the other sex attending. ‘Course now that you have been able to keep her in one spot long enough to court her and ask for her hand, she might not hide or flee, so much now. She has already been caught, eh?” he laughed.
Ruby sighed. “Was I always that noticeable?”
“While trying to make yourself inconspicuous, aye, you were rather conspicuous,” Thomas admitted. “You shall have to discard your wallflower tendencies, now that you will one day be Camblesforth’s wife. A Duchess cannot hide, Ruby.”
Finn watched her hands shake, as she raised the teacup to her lips. “I suppose…I suppose you are quite right, Uncle. I daresay I might have a bit of trouble adjusting to it all.”
He wished that her uncle would be quiet. He didn’t want her to have second thoughts about their marriage. He wanted Ruby. He didn’t care if she wanted to be sociable with the rest of the Beau Monde, he didn’t even want to run in those circles anymore.
“You will do rather elegantly, I think,” Finn said. “And if you don’t want to host balls, and the like, Ruby, you don’t have to. You are the mistress of your own destiny as my wife. I won’t control you—and I certainly won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said softly, looking demurely down at the table.
“Ah…this rogue has a charming tongue, and a captivating manner. I can see how you were able to catch Ruby. Others before you were not as successful. She is a jewel, and I expect you to cherish her.”
“I shall, sir.”
“Jolly good. Now, then,” Thomas said, setting aside his napkin. “Now that my belly is full, I wouldn’t be opposed to being shown to a room, and then, perhaps, a hot bath to wash off the dust from the road?”
“Of course,” Finn said, he nodded to a footman who would run to tell the scullery maid to boil the water.
“And then, maybe after my bath, I might take this body to bed for a little nap.”
“You do like your naps, Uncle,” Ruby smiled fondly at him.
“Aye, I always have, since I was a young lad. I can nod off anywhere…anytime. It can be rather vexing at times, but it refreshes the spirit, mind and body, and I highly recommend it.”
“We shall have to introduce you to Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia later on today, Uncle. And I think I should be going up to the nursery to start them on their lessons for today.”
“What’s this, eh? You are still his employee? I thought…I thought that now that you and he were betrothed that you would not have to work for him anymore. I do not like to see you in such a state, Ruby,” Thomas said.
“I don’t mind it, Uncle. I don’t mind it at all. The girls are such a joy, and well, it will take His Grace a fair bit of time to find someone to replace me, and I cannot say that I want to be replaced. Once I marry Finn, I don’t see why things have to be changed around here. I can still give the girls their lessons.”
“That is hardly a fitting position for the new Duchess of Camblesforth,” Thomas snorted. “Why don’t I contact Miss Plimpton and Miss Morton? I haven’t stopped paying them since I dismissed them a few months ago. They will most likely jump at the opportunity be useful again. Miss Plimpton likes to say that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, and with two young girls to teach, they shan’t be idle much longer,” he laughed.
“I would have to meet these two young ladies for myself,” Finn
interjected.
“Young? My lad, Miss Plimpton and Miss Morton haven’t been young for quite some time. They have probably been old, longer than they were young. No, indeed, they are up in years much like myself, and while I had cause to be annoyed with them a few months ago, I have now seen the error of my ways, and I wish I hadn’t dismissed them. I never did have the courage to stop paying their wages, though, and we parted on only the best of terms. I thought they were lazy and rested on their laurels, and now I see that I was wrong.”
“I am glad you have come round, Uncle. They might have been a little relaxed, but they were good and kind. I thought that Iris wanted to bring them back to teach her brother and sisters.”
“Well, Iris is the lady of her own house now, and she shall have to find someone else, if Alice decides to dismiss the Miss Prices. Your girls need a new governess, do they not, Camblesforth, and isn’t two better than one?”
“They won’t be better than Ruby,” Finn said affectionately.
“Now, I do grant you that one. They can be trusted, and they shan’t harm your nieces in any way. Of course, they might come to blows with your housekeeper, if she gets in their way. I often thought of them as old biddies, but now I realize that they were just set in their ways, much like I am,” Thomas added ruefully. “And you shan’t have to worry about their pretty little heads turning the Duke’s head, Ruby.”
“She wouldn’t have to worry about that even if they did have pretty little heads, sir. I only have eyes for Ruby.”
Thomas smiled proudly. “That does my heart good to hear. I shall draft up missives to them, as long as that earns your approval, Camblesforth?”
“If Ruby approves of them—I see no reason to keep them away, sir.”
“I do approve of them, Finn. They will be very fond of Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia. I don’t know if they will be able to keep up with them, but they shall try,” Ruby laughed.
“I must say, Camblesforth, I feared all sorts of things during my ride down here, but I kept reminding myself that you were not a cad, and that you would not treat Ruby ill. I am so happy to see that my confidence was rewarded.”
“As am I, Uncle. Hearing your voice earlier instilled such fear within me. I thought that I would have to face, Mother. And it was such a ghastly thought, I was almost prepared to start running again.”
“You shan’t have to worry about anything she says or thinks again, Ruby,” Finn said.
“Aye, that is right. You are your own woman, now, Ruby. Somehow, the two of you will find a way to get along—I hope. I daresay that Honoria shan’t be too pleased after she sees what you married into. She shall have a right and proper temper tantrum, and then, she will take credit for it all once I tell her that she is now the mother of a duchess. It has to be all about her, you understand.”
“I say let her do her worst, and if she wants to say she was responsible for it all, she can say that,” Ruby said defiantly. “I shan’t have to listen to a word she says anymore. I am so happy not to be under her thumb now. I suddenly feel so contented, and I do not want to see her around Penryn House, Uncle. She can stay in Sussex as far as I am concerned.”
“You weren’t really ever under her thumb, Ruby. I would have always interceded on your behalf,” Thomas said softly.
“I don’t quite understand Ruby’s mother. Why has she always begrudged her happiness?” Finn asked.
“Ruby’s mother was the sister who was jealous of everyone else in the family. She will hide her jealousy under a tranquil visage, and I have to say that she is rather sweet to my Alice’s children…but she doesn’t show the same affection for Ruby, or for my other sisters’ children. She is an odd duck, I suppose. I have tried trying to figure out what motivates her. The only thing I know is that if I throw enough money at her, it keeps her fairly happy—and a happy Honoria makes a happy Thomas.”
“I do hope you will be happy during your stay here, Uncle. And I am so relieved that you don’t expect to drag me home with you.”
“Your home is here now, Ruby, and I confess that I might have a difficult time getting used to that.”
“You are always welcome to come and visit, just leave Mama behind.”
“Ah, yes. I shall have two families to visit now. Rosehill Manor might see the back of me, more often than it sees the front of me in the next few years.”
They all stood up to go their separate ways. The maniacal laugher surrounded them once again.
Finn sighed. Would he never get rid of the bloody bastard?
Ruby looked terrified.
“I take it that is your poltergeist?” Thomas asked softly.
“Malevolent spirit, more like,” Finn said. “He wasn’t nice in life, and Sefton is about the same in death. The activity isn’t usually as prevalent as it has been in the last few days, but I suppose the ghosts always become more active during this month as the veil between the worlds is growing thin.”
“Maybe someone or something will come on the 31st and take your creepy chap with them back to where they came from,” Thomas mused hopefully.
“Perhaps, you are right, sir,” Finn said grimly. “No matter what happens, I have to find a way to remove his ghastly presence from Penryn House.”
“Could you focus on doing that before our wedding day?” Ruby asked softly. “I don’t want him making his presence known and ruining everything…and having him around can’t be good for Lady Cordelia. She will never be able to heal with him haunting this house.”
Finn looked at her and sighed. He wanted to give her everything she desired, and yet, he couldn’t make her that promise. Getting rid of Sefton wasn’t going to be easy. Sefton sought to make Finn’s life miserable. Nothing, short of being dragged to the bowels of hell would stop him from continuing to do that.
He wished that Sefton had never come into Isolde’s life. If he could go back and change those events from happening—he would. Alas, nothing short of magic could make that happen. He didn’t know if he would actually go through with it, because without Sefton coming into their lives, he might not have Miranda and Cordelia, and he wouldn’t give them up for all of the magic in the world.
His regrets could not fix what was happening right now. Finn groaned. The next few days were going to be a constant battle. A battle between good and evil was brewing, and this house was like a powder keg of supernatural activity. Soon, someone would light the fuse. He just prayed they would all survive the ensuing explosion.
Chapter Seventeen
Ruby’s wedding day was fast approaching, as it was now Allantide. Tonight, they would have bonfires, and exchange apples. Lady Miranda and Lady Cordelia were both excited although, Lady Miranda’s excitement was a little easier to notice.
Ruby hadn’t a special frock for the day, deciding instead to wear an azure blue crape dress that had been made for one of the balls she had attended last year. It was vandyked around the petticoat and was trimmed with the loveliest pearls she had ever seen. It had a full drapery over the shoulders, and was pinned in the back with a band of pearls. She always thought she looked like a lady from the romantic Greek Myths whenever she wore it. She would wear her aquamarine and diamond necklace with it, and put the matching aigrette in her hair.
She hoped that Finn would like her in it, as he had never seen her wearing this particularly fine dress. She couldn’t imagine what her uncle had spent on it, but she had a fair bet that it had cost him a pretty penny. Rose had told her once, upon seeing her wearing the gown that she had looked like a Greek Muse. It was probably one of the best compliments that Ruby had ever been paid, before she had met Finn.
“Oh, that is lovely,” Lady Miranda breathed. Ruby forgot that she had left her bedchamber door slightly ajar. “Is that what you plan to wear to marry Uncle Phineas?”
“Yes,” she said, softly. “I thought I would get it out and hang it in my wardrobe…but maybe I should keep it locked up.”
“Oh, no…why would you? The day is almost here, and tonight
we shall place our apples under our pillows tonight so we can dream of the Cornish Prince we are fated to marry.”
“I think I already know who that prince is,” she said softly.
“But you will still do it, won’t you, Miss? That way you can dream of Uncle Phineas all night.”
“Clever girl,” she said softly. “Where is Lady Cordelia?”
“She is still in the nursery with Joan. I left her happily playing with her dollhouse.”
“Ah, I see.”
“She…she is getting used to Uncle Phineas thanks to you, and I don’t even think she minds your uncle. He isn’t all that bad. He is a little loud, and scared Cordelia at first, but now she is getting used to him.”
“My uncle is a rather charming fellow, although he can be loud at times,” Ruby agreed.
“He is as loud as you are quiet,” Lady Miranda observed. “Did he make you that way, or were you always a quiet soul?”
“I don’t think my uncle made me quiet. He let me do whatever I pleased. He was always so kind, generous, and loving to me. He was a lot like my own dear father, who was as quiet as I am.”
“And your father…he…he was a good man?” Lady Miranda asked tentatively.
“Aye. He was the very best, my lady. Sometimes…sometimes, I think I can feel his presence, but that is probably fanciful of me.”
“No…I think he is around you. Uncle Phineas says that those we love don’t ever truly leave us. It gave me a lot of comfort after Mama left us. I hope she is around watching us even now,” Miranda sighed. “Cordelia says that she sees her sometimes, clad in white, and she said she glows like there is a thousand candles around her. She told us that…that nothing in this house can hurt us.”
Ruby smiled at her. “You and Lady Cordelia will have to be my bridesmaids,” she said softly.
“Truly? Oh, we have a few pretty frocks we could wear that Uncle just had made for us. Thank you, Miss Massey.”
“Someday you shall have to call me Aunt Ruby,” Ruby said, as Miranda ran to give her a hug.
His Bewitching Jewel (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 7) Page 18
