“Tobias, my dear, do stop staring and eat your breakfast.”
Tobias dropped his eyes and picked up a piece of toast.
“I am teasing you, of course, Tobias,” Aunt Mimi continued. She regarded him with affection. “I am pleased as punch that you and Cora appear to have resolved your differences. No, even more than that...that you two seem to have grown fond of one another.”
Tobias knew a moment of relief that his aunt had not lost her wits, that her heart trouble had not dimmed her vitality.
“Yes, I believe we have resolved our differences,” Tobias said. He could no longer continue the charade to fool his aunt into thinking that he and Miss Prentice had grown fond of each other. In fact, there was no charade. For his part, he had grown inordinately fond of Miss Prentice, and he wished to marry her. But he was not at all certain that she would welcome a proposal of marriage. No, not at all.
“And?” Aunt Mimi said.
“And?” Tobias repeated.
“Tobias,” she remonstrated. “I believe you know what I am asking.”
He nodded, knowing it was unkind to dissemble with her.
“I do, Aunt Mimi. I do not know how you managed to convert me to the idea of marriage. Perhaps it was not you but Miss Prentice. She told me only the other day that I would make some young woman a worthy husband.”
“I have said that for some time, Tobias. Did Cora have a specific young woman for you in mind?”
“No, she offered no names, but it is of no consequence. My affections are engaged, and I could not imagine proposing marriage to anyone other than Miss Prentice.”
Aunt Mimi clapped her hands and laughed.
“How wonderful, Tobias! How utterly delightful!”
“Dear Aunt Mimi, I believe your joy to be premature. Miss Prentice still does not wish to marry. She reaffirmed that only yesterday.”
“Tobias, my dear, you have been converted by love from the life of a confirmed bachelor. Why do you not think Cora could be?”
He shook his head. “I do not know. She seems very firm in her stance.”
“I watched the two of you last night, my dear. It was quite clear to me that she is fond of you as well.”
He stiffened. “Do you think so? Enough to accept my addresses?”
“I saw a young woman quite changed from the girl I once knew, Tobias, as I see a young man before me quite changed from the boy I once knew. I was certain you two were meant for each other.”
“I share your certainty that Miss Prentice is meant for me, but I am much less certain that I am meant for her.”
His aunt looked upon him with concern.
“You have much in common, my dear. As you were orphaned young, Cora lost her father quite young, and eventually the close companionship of her mother once she married Lord Hayes. He is a good and kind man but completely besotted with her mother. Cora has lived a largely solitary life since her mother remarried.
“Like you, she was taken away from her home and installed at Harrington Hall when her mother married. Cora adored her home, and her mother told me only yesterday that she hopes to return to it. Her mother had thought to sell it, but Cora begged that she delay. Poor Cora, she cannot live alone. It simply is not done.”
“Yes, we do have much in common,” Tobias said quietly. “Where is the house?” His aunt described the location, not too distant.
They finished breakfast, and at his urging, Aunt Mimi returned to her room for a short rest. Tobias checked his watch to see that there were about three hours yet before he could collect Miss Prentice.
He donned his hat and made for the stables, where a groom readied his horse. He rode away following the lanes he had taken Miss Prentice on yesterday. Upon reaching the site of their picnic, he dismounted and lowered himself to sit under the tree, his back to the trunk.
There, he contemplated two very different futures—one with Miss Prentice at his side, and one without her. The future to which he had always imagined himself destined—of a tranquil life spent in running his estate, riding his horse and settling into his library at night to read books—now seemed solitary and empty. Intolerable. How could he possibly face such a future?
He imagined Miss Prentice and himself sitting under the tree, having feasted upon a pleasant picnic repast, reading to each other. Perhaps she dozed in his arms while he read to her.
Tobias crossed his arms over his chest and breathed in deeply. Dared he speak to her? Would she reject him outright? Was it too soon? Should he practice patience? Was that the wisest course?
With no answers to his quandary, he mounted his horse once again and rode in the direction of Cora’s former home, curious to see the house that she so loved. He reached the estate within half an hour. Nestled among trees, the mansion was modest but of sound build. A herd of sheep grazed in the surrounding meadows, and a stream meandered nearby, reflecting the gray stones of the house.
Unaware of his intentions, he rode up to the house and asked for the tenant. Following a short cup of tea and a very enlightening visit and tour of the house, Tobias returned to Aunt Mimi’s house and ordered the carriage to take him to Harrington Hall.
Miss Prentice was waiting when he arrived. A vision in a sky-blue frock and matching bonnet, he found himself at a loss for words. Bowing low over her hand, he led her from the house and handed her up into the carriage with nothing but the most elementary greeting.
“How is our aunt Mimi today?” Miss Prentice asked.
“She is well. She ate a robust breakfast and rested this morning.” Tobias took the seat across from Miss Prentice and smiled faintly. He could not face her directly and turned his head to look out of the window.
“Good,” she said.
Tobias nodded.
“And how are you today, Lord Momford?”
“I am well, thank you, Miss Prentice. And you? I trust you are in good health?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Tobias nodded again. He had lately thought Miss Prentice the one person to whom he could speak with ease, and yet he found himself struggling for even common pleasantries.
Miss Prentice fell silent, and Tobias berated himself. He must think of something to say, but the only words at the tip of his tongue concerned marriage. He could not declare himself. The time was not right.
“Is anything amiss, Lord Momford? You are silent today.”
He turned to look at her, ashamed of his behavior.
“Not at all, Miss Prentice. I apologize for my silence. My thoughts are much occupied.”
“Oh?” she said softly. “Is there aught I can do to help?”
Tobias regarded her lovely soft-blue eyes, reflected in the color of her gown. His heart beat rapidly, and he hoped she could not hear.
“It is nothing. I would not trouble you with my concerns.”
Her smile faded, and Tobias wondered if he could have been more gracious.
“As you wish, Lord Momford,” she said quietly. She too turned to look out the window, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.
Upon arrival, Tobias handed her out of the carriage. Aunt Mimi awaited them at the front door. She looked from Tobias to Cora and tsked.
“Come inside, my dear. Luncheon is ready. Thank you so much for coming to me last night. I will admit that even I worried about my health, and I wanted to see you before...” She shook her head. “Well, enough about that. I have recovered and vow to rest more in accordance with the doctor’s wishes.”
“I am so pleased to see you, Aunt Mimi,” Cora said, kissing her on the cheek. “You look well. Lord Momford said you rested this morning.”
“Yes, I did. Come into the dining room. Cook has outdone herself.”
Tobias followed the women and, after settling them in chairs, seated himself across from Miss Prentice. He could not help feeling disheartened. Miss Prentice had been happy enough when he collected her, but in the course of the short journey, he seemed to have ruined her high spirits.
He ate largely in silence, offe
ring little. Aunt Mimi cast him several pointed glances, and he could do little but shrug his shoulders.
He simply could think of nothing inconsequential to say in the present mixed company. Every thought in his mind focused without fail on Miss Prentice. Surely he could become infatuated with a woman and still muddle through a luncheon, could he not?
He looked away as he met Miss Prentice’s searching gaze.
No, it seemed unlikely. It was only right that he should spend his days as a bachelor, just as he had always intended. He was simply an inelegant, awkward man, with no manners to recommend him. Even were Miss Prentice inclined to ever marry, she certainly would never consider receiving the addresses of such an inelegant gentleman.
“Luncheon was delightful,” Aunt Mimi soon said. “My compliments to Cook.” She directed the latter statement to the butler. “I think I will take some tea in my room and then rest for a bit. Tobias, please take Cora for a stroll in the garden.”
Her voice brooked no argument.
“Yes, certainly, Aunt Mimi.”
“I could take tea with you in your room,” Miss Prentice began.
“I think you would be better served by a refreshing walk outside, my dear.” She rose and left the room without a word.
Tobias drew in a sharp breath at his aunt’s abrupt departure.
“I apologize, Miss Prentice. If you wish to return home, I can take you.”
“No,” she said. “Aunt Mimi wishes us to walk in the garden, and so we shall. Remember our plan.”
Tobias had forgotten all about it.
“Yes, of course,” he said. He rose and offered her his arm. She collected her bonnet, and they left the house and entered the garden.
“I feel I must apologize again for my boorish manners in the coach and at luncheon, Miss Prentice,” Tobias said.
“There is no need, Lord Momford. You stated you had much on your mind.”
Tobias looked down on the top of her little bonnet, wishing he could tilt her head back so he could see her face.
“I do have much on my mind,” he reaffirmed.
“As you said.”
Tobias took a deep breath, hoping he was not about to make a terrible error, but he could no longer deny the words he longed to say.
Chapter 8
“I find myself completely besotted with you, Miss Prentice. I never thought I would say those words, but I cannot hold them back. Forgive me if they are premature, and I pray that you do not think poorly of me for saying them. I know you do not wish to marry, but I simply cannot deny my feelings for you.”
At the outset of his words, Lord Momford had stopped and turned to face her, grasping her hands in his. Cora stared at him, she feared with her mouth open.
“Say nothing at the moment, Miss Prentice, but I beg you to consider my proposal. I wish to marry you, and I will wait for you. If you never change your mind about the institution of marriage, so be it. Then allow me to at least become your constant companion. Aunt Mimi was prophetic, if nothing else. She knew we would suit, and I believe that we do. But beyond suiting, I love you. I have known you only a few days, but having listened to Aunt Mimi’s tales of you over the years, perhaps I have known you for much longer.”
Cora’s cheeks flamed, and she wanted to put up a hand to touch her face but could not. Her hands were well and truly captured in his.
“Lord Momford,” she said breathlessly. “You honor me.”
“No, do not speak, Miss Prentice. Please say nothing that will bruise my heart. I never knew love could make a man so vulnerable, so happy, so terrified, so confused. I am all of those things.”
Cora, facing the house, caught the twitch of an upstairs curtain.
“I believe Aunt Mimi watches us,” she murmured.
“I do not doubt it. Were we still practicing our charade, I might bring your hands to my lips, but Aunt Mimi knows of my feelings.”
“Was there ever really a plan to fool her?” Cora asked, a smile spreading across her face. “It did sound quite impractical to me.”
Lord Momford released her hands and laced his arms behind his back.
“Not at all,” he said boldly. “It was simply a means by which I could spend time in your company.”
“Lord Momford!” Cora protested, pretending to be shocked but, in truth, delighting in his words.
“I knew from the first moment I met you,” he said.
Cora drew in a deep breath. She had never received such an ardent declaration in her life and had only read about them in novels.
“Your words suggested otherwise.”
“I was foolish and rude. My behavior was unforgiveable.”
“I was uncivil to you as well. We both shared the same apprehensions—that Aunt Mimi was attempting to match us in marriage.”
Lord Momford looked down at the ground for a moment before returning his gaze to her face.
“I have changed,” he said simply. “I no longer fear such a thing. In fact, I would welcome it.”
Cora searched for the perfect words but none would come. She had dreamed of such a moment for the past few days but never imagined that it would happen. And now that it had, she could form no coherent response.
“I can see from your expression that your reluctance to marry continues,” Lord Momford said quietly. “Please do not see my declaration as an effort to sway you. I wish for your happiness and do not mean to distress you. Even now, the smile has disappeared from your face.”
Cora took a deep breath.
“I do not know what to say,” she began.
“Say nothing,” Lord Momford said.
“But I want to!” Cora said, almost stamping her foot. “Cease telling me to say nothing...unless you do not want me to accept your proposal!”
Lord Momford, on the point of speaking again, shut his mouth.
“Yes, Lord Momford. Yes, Tobias. I will marry you.” There! Cora said the words she had only imagined for the past few days.
“Oh, my dear beloved,” Tobias said, pulling her hands to his lips.
Cora saw Aunt Mimi’s curtain twitch again, and she smiled.
Tobias lifted his head, his blue eyes sparkling.
“Come, come with me,” he said. He led her back into the house, and Cora thought he was on the verge of going upstairs to apprise Aunt Mimi of their plans, when he suddenly made for the front door. He scooped up her bonnet and handed her up into the waiting carriage and stopped to speak to the coachman.
“Must we leave so suddenly? Are you returning me home?”
“Yes,” Tobias replied.
Cora realized that Tobias must feel he needed to ask her stepfather for his permission to marry. She thought it might be more proper if he were to call upon him later that afternoon or the following day, but her heart bubbled over at his eagerness.
Tobias sat beside her in the carriage, holding her hand and bringing it to his lips on occasion, much to her delight. She leaned against him, surprised, and yet delighted, at her boldness. Her discarded bonnet lay on the seat opposite.
A glance out of the carriage window revealed they traveled not the same road but along a different lane, one she did not immediately recognize.
“This is not the way to Harrington Hall, Tobias, is it?”
“No,” he said. He pulled their conjoined hands to his lips once more. “Patience, my dear.”
The carriage soon stopped, and Cora looked out the window. There, in all its beauty, stood her childhood home, a gray stone mansion nestled in trees.
She gasped and turned to Tobias in confusion.
“Why do you bring me here, Tobias?”
Tobias stepped down from the carriage and handed her down. Sadness marred her newfound happiness, and she moved forward a few feet to stare at her former home.
“I loved this house,” she said mournfully. “My mother is intent on selling it, but I begged her not to. She has suspended her plans, but I think the inevitable will come.”
She turned back to
look at Tobias.
“Why do you bring me here?”
Tobias took her hands in his.
“My house and land are leased, my dear. We must have somewhere to live, and I believe this house would suit me quite well, so long as the library is large enough.”
He withdrew a hand and stuck it into his coat pocket to withdraw a skeleton key.
“The tenant will vacate within the month, and I will purchase the property from your parents. They can have no objection.”
Cora, uncomprehending at first, stared at him before taking the key and ogling it. She then threw herself into his arms. Tobias held her tightly in an embrace such as she had not known since she was a child in her father’s arms.
“Oh, Tobias, thank you. Thank you! The library is indeed exceptional. We shall spend many contented hours together there, you and I. We shall be so happy here! You will be so happy here! I promise!”
“I will be happy anywhere so long as I am with you, my beloved match,” he whispered into her ear. She raised her face to his, and his kiss warmed her heart and promised a future of affection and love.
About the Author
Bess McBride is the bestselling author of over fifteen time travel romances as well as contemporary, historical, romantic suspense and light paranormal romances. She loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at [email protected] or visit her web site at www.bessmcbride.com as well as connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Save the Last Dance for Me
Cora Lee
Copyright © 2015 by:
Cora Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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Dedication
For my grandmothers, Ardis and Joanne, who passed down to me their love of reading.
Sweet Summer Kisses Page 53
