Nicholas mirrored her sigh. “Unfortunately, I believe that it will be necessary to postpone any announcement of our engagement until at least after Isobel’s debut. Mother is in a frightful state regarding the arrangements, and I do not think it wise to give her another reason to worry.”
“All right,” Cecilia said, feeling relieved at this relatively simple solution, “the debut is only six weeks away, I see no reason why waiting six weeks should be a problem.”
“I quite agree,” he continued. “And, if Isobel should be well received, then it is likely she will make a highly-respectable marriage by the end of the season. Perhaps my mother will be less worried about my wife if she knows that Isobel has a suitable husband.”
Cecilia pursed her lips at this statement. She knew that Nicholas was right about his mother, but she did not appreciate this unfavorable comparison to Isobel’s future “suitable” husband. She chose to say nothing about it, for now. Nicholas believed her to be suitable, and more than that, he said he was in love with her, so nothing else truly mattered.
Just then, Cecilia heard footsteps approaching the library. Quickly, she stepped away from Nicholas and turned toward the wall where the bookcase would be placed. Isobel re-entered the library holding a small notebook and pencil, smiling at Cecilia and her brother.
“Hello!” she said cheerfully. My apologies for leaving, I hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. I merely wanted the ability to make some notes of our conversation.”
“It was no inconvenience at all,” Nicholas replied.
Having settled the details of their feelings for one another, Cecilia reluctantly returned the conversation to the bookcase and the entrance to the hidden passageway. She would have liked to spend the remainder of their time together gazing into Nicholas’ eyes, or kissing his soft lips, running my fingers through his hair, feeling his hands upon my bare skin—if only Isobel had stayed away for a few moments longer.
It was these thoughts that made her realize the necessity of focusing on work for the time being. Together, she, Isobel, and Nicholas discussed the dimensions of the bookcase and how it might be made movable to allow access behind it.
Cecilia stood up and walked to the entrance, studying it more closely to see how it worked. When pushed, it created an opening of about two feet wide. An average-sized person would be able to fit through it without difficulty, but she would need to be careful not to make the opening significantly smaller.
Cecilia could feel Nicholas’ eyes watching her as she took measurements and made notes in her small notebook. To distract herself from this, she asked what he had been reading recently; he told her about the advanced geometry text book he had recently purchased, having finished the elementary one he had used at school.
Cecilia was not really listening to the details of what he had read. She knew this information already, though she had learned it by practical methods, rather than theoretical. She merely smiled at the idea that he had gone to such lengths to learn about a subject, simply because she was passionate about it as well.
Chapter 14
Nicholas and Isobel remained in the library after Cecilia left. He supposed that he ought to discuss the solution to the bookcase problem with Isobel, but he found that he lacked the motivation or interest to think of anything other than Cecilia.
Instead he gazed out the window into the midafternoon sky, imagining her riding toward home. He pictured a stubborn lock of hair escaping her simple bun as it often did, and her reaching up to tuck it behind her beautiful ear. If I could be the one to tuck her hair behind her ear...
Isobel seemed to understand that Nicholas had no desire to speak, and did not force the issue. Instead she sat down at the opposite side of the room and began to write in her notebook.
Nicholas passed an extremely pleasant quarter-of-an-hour reliving his meeting with Cecilia, and in particular remembering the brief kiss they had shared. He had known that it was wrong for them to be alone together, had known that it was wrong of him to kiss her, but he had been unable to help himself.
Nicholas had kissed girls before—a chambermaid when he was home during the holidays as a schoolboy, the daughter of one of his professors at university. His mother had promptly dismissed the chambermaid, and his professor’s daughter had giggled uncontrollably after the kiss. They had never met in private again, though he saw her around the campus from time to time.
In neither case had he felt anything even remotely close to what he was feeling for Cecilia. He had fancied both girls, both had been quite pretty, and he pined for the chambermaid for a time when she had left the estate. But in the end, he had forgotten about both of them quickly enough, and he felt certain that they had done the same regarding him. But if I were never to see Cecilia again—I cannot bear the thought of it!
He was lost in these thoughts for some time before Isobel attempted to engage him in conversation once more. She must have stood up and approached him quietly, for he did not notice her until she was standing directly in front of him, clearing her throat loudly. She smiled at him, and he thought that she looked through his façade.
“Did you and Miss Baxter discuss anything of interest while I was away?” she asked, innocently enough.
“We just discussed the problem of the bookcase,” Nicholas kept his voice as calm as possible. “She has proposed a solution to the problem that I think will work quite well. The bookcase shall be built in such a way that one can easily slide it from place to place. It will be attached to the wall with a simple latch so that it remains firmly in place, but when unlatched, you will be able to move it out of the way to open the passageway.”
Isobel smiled politely through this explanation, then said, “Come now, Nick. I know all of this; I was there for this part of the conversation. You know perfectly well I was not asking about the bookcase.”
In truth, Nicholas had known this, but was unsure of how much to share with Isobel. They had always been open with one another, and he felt entirely confident that she would be discreet about anything he might tell her. And yet, he felt hesitant to share the details of his meeting with Cecilia. It was Isobel who left us alone together, she could hardly judge Cecilia for a circumstance that she created. I suppose there can be no harm in telling her something of our meeting.
Nicholas looked at his sister for a moment, and then decided that it would be safe to share with her, if not all of the details, at least the broad outline of his conversation with Cecilia.
“The remainder of our meeting was wonderful,” he said with a wistful smile. “As it turns out, Cecilia is quite as fond of me as I am of her!”
“Cecilia?” Isobel said, arching one of her delicate eyebrows. “Is she no longer Miss Baxter to you?”
Nicholas smiled fully now. A wide grin, slightly crooked, that spread across his face and extended to his eyes.
“She is no longer Miss Baxter to me!” he agreed. “She is my beloved, Cecilia.”
“I am so happy for you, Nick,” Isobel replied, smiling in genuine delight. “Have you spoken of the future with her?”
“We did speak of it,” he replied, his smile fading slightly. “Cecilia is concerned that she is unfit to be the future Duchess of Huxley.”
Isobel made no response but looked at her brother inquiringly.
“I told her that the only qualification to be the next Duchess of Huxley is that I love her, and she love me in return,” he said, “but she is not wrong in assuming that the current Duchess of Huxley would not approve of her as a successor.”
“Well, that is very true,” Isobel replied, “but in the end Mother will agree if she can be persuaded that this is the only thing that will make you truly happy.”
“I hope you are right, Izzy,” Nicholas said. “I’ve decided to wait until after your debut to broach the subject, in hopes that Mother will be feeling a bit more generous when that pressure has been relieved.”
“I agree that would be wise,” Isobel said, sounding serious now.
“I am also hopeful that by that time Father’s condition will have improved, which can only help your chances of convincing Mother.”
“That is wonderful, Izzy. What makes you think that?”
“Well, thanks to our secret escape route, I’ve managed to meet with Mrs. Jameson several times in the past month. Mrs. Jameson is the midwife of whom I spoke earlier” she added, seeing Nicholas’ look of confusion.
“And what have you discovered?”
“She has helped me to develop an infusion of lavender and feverfew that Father can add to his tea to treat his headaches,” she said followed with a smile. “It is a simple remedy, but she assures me that it has worked for many of her patients in the past.”
“Well, I hope you are right about that, for Father’s sake, though I don’t see why that should help convince Mother that my marrying a carpenter’s daughter is a desirable outcome.”
“Oh Nick, surely you know by now that Father’s mood directly impacts the mood of everyone else in this household!” Isobel rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.
“I suppose you must be right, Izzy, but truthfully, it never occurred to me!” he admitted with good grace.
* * *
Cecilia hardly remembered her ride home from Huxley Manor. It seemed to her that she had barely entered the carriage when suddenly it was pulling up in front of her home. Her mind had been filled with thoughts of the Marquess—or Nicholas, as she must now call him, for the entire journey, and she would have liked to have significantly more time to enjoy those thoughts.
After exiting the carriage, Cecilia walked through the front door and found Mrs. Williams at work in the kitchen.
“Good afternoon, Miss Baxter,” Mrs. Williams said, “you look in good spirits today.”
“Do I?” Cecilia was surprised to hear this assessment. “Thank you Mrs. Williams! You look quite well yourself.”
“Why thank you, my dear,” Mrs. Williams replied. “Your father and Mr. Mowbray are working in the shop.”
With this pronouncement, Mrs. Williams returned to her work. Cecilia removed her shawl and bonnet and hung them on a wooden peg near the door. Having put away her things, she walked into the workshop. Both her father and Archie were hard at work, so she said nothing as she donned her heavy leather apron and gloves.
After a moment, Archie finished what he was doing and looked up at Cecilia with a smile. Just a few seconds later, her father did the same.
“You’re looking quite cheerful today, Cece!” her father said. Archie nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, I suppose I am in a cheerful mood today,” she replied.
“What did the Marquess of Clive want to discuss at your meeting?” Archie asked. “Will we need to make any significant changes to the family’s order?”
“No major changes will be necessary, he merely wanted to discuss the bookcase we will be making for the library,” Cecilia said, in a voice that she hoped would sound calmer than she felt. “In fact, the meeting was primarily with Lady Isobel, the Marquess’ sister.”
“And is Lady Isobel possessed of strong opinions about bookcases?” Archie asked, sounding skeptical.
“Would it be so unlikely for a young lady to have strong opinions about such things?” Cecilia teased. “I know I certainly do!”
“That is true, Cece,” her father interjected, “but there is hardly a subject on earth about which you do not have strong opinions.”
Everyone laughed at this, including Cecilia, who could hardly deny the truth of her father’s statement.
After a moment Archie added, “And besides, Cecilia, you are not like most girls.”
“And what would you know of ‘most girls’?” Cecilia asked, smirking at Archie.
“Well, now you’ve got me there,” Archie admitted with good grace. “In truth I know very little about girls of any sort.”
Cecilia and Archie both laughed at this, but her father simply said, “All right, back to work now!”
Archie and Mr. Baxter returned to the pieces they had been working on when Cecilia entered the workshop, and Cecilia began to gather the pieces for the Duke’s desk chair.
They worked in companionable silence for most of the afternoon, speaking only occasionally to ask that someone pass a certain tool.
After a few hours, Mr. Baxter took the chair he had just finished and moved it outside for varnishing. Cecilia was left alone in the workshop with Archie.
“Now that your father has stepped outside, perhaps you can tell me what really happened during your meeting with the Marquess of Clive,” Archie said with a conspiratorial smile.
Cecilia stared at him for a moment in stunned silence before responding.
“There really is no more to tell, Archie,” she said in a quiet voice. “Lady Isobel wanted to discuss the bookcase.”
“I’m sure she has ample reason to be interested in the bookcase,” he replied, “but, is there anything in particular about it that she wanted to discuss?”
Cecilia considered for a moment what she should say next. Surely there can be no harm in telling Archie about the passageway.
“Well,” she told him in an excited whisper, “in fact, there is a hidden passageway in the library wall. It leads to the garden. The entrance to the passage is directly behind where the bookcase will be placed, and Lady Isobel wants to be able to access the passage once the bookcase is in place.”
“Intriguing!” said Archie with a grin, “This could be the start of quite a scandal! For what purpose could a well-born young lady such as Lady Isobel wish to sneak out of her home undetected?”
Cecilia laughed at this. In fact, she had found the Lady Isobel to be quite intriguing, but not for the reasons that Archie suggested.
“As it happens, she is sneaking out to meet with the midwife in town,” she said.
“Well, that is an even greater scandal than I had previously imagined!” Archie said, sounding genuinely shocked. “I suppose that the daughters of Dukes don’t believe that the usual rules of morality apply to them as well as to the common people!”
Archie sounded truly horrified at the thought that Lady Isobel might be involved in a scandal that would require her to see a midwife. Of course, such a thing would be quite shocking, and she would no doubt be ruined. I must clarify the situation immediately!
“Archie, I’m sorry, I did not make myself clear.” She spoke in a firm but calm tone of voice. “Lady Isobel is not involved in any sort of scandal. She interested in studying medicine and herbal remedies. The midwife and her husband, the apothecary, are both quite knowledgeable in this subject, and she hopes to learn more of their trade.”
“Ah,” Archie looked a bit embarrassed by his previous reaction, “I see. That is, of course, far less scandalous, but still rather unusual for a young lady in her position.”
“That is true,” Cecilia agreed, “Lady Isobel is a rather unusual young lady, I think.”
“Well, if she is as unusual as you,” Archie said with a grin, “I suppose she can’t be all bad. Still, aristocrats really are strange, aren’t they?”
“I suppose some of them are,” Cecilia conceded, “but they’re not all bad.”
A smile spread slowly across her face as she remembered the kiss she had shared with the Marquess earlier that day. She had been so shocked in the moment, and was eager to have some time to herself to relive it in more detail.
Archie turned toward Cecilia, giving her a searching look. In a more serious tone he said, “I suppose you must be thinking about the Marquess of Clive?”
Cecilia hesitated for a moment, but she could not keep the secret from Archie entirely. He knew her too well and could read her face better than any book. I cannot tell him that we hope to be married until Nicholas has spoken to Father, but neither can I lie to him.
“Yes,” she agreed after a brief pause, “I suppose that I am thinking about the Marquess of Clive. I cannot deny that he is a most charming gentleman.”
“No doubt he is very
charming. I only worry that he will hurt you or damage your reputation,” Archie replied, not unkindly.
Cecilia felt a flicker of frustration at these words, I do not want or need to have this conversation once more. She knew, though, that Archie only wanted to protect her, just as he would protect a younger sister if he had one.
“Archie,” she made an effort to keep her voice calm but firm, “we have discussed this before. I appreciate your concern, truly, but the Marquess does not have any improper intentions, I assure you.”
“But, Cecilia,” he said, quietly, “how can you be certain of his intentions?”
“Archie, please, you must trust me to judge the situation for myself,” Cecilia pleaded. “I know that you wish to protect me and my reputation, but please trust me to protect myself.”
The Marquess In Her Bed (Steamy Historical Regency) Page 11
