A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance)

by Emily Honeyfield

  “Perhaps Lord Reginald will bring a friend with him,” Lady Emily said. “Or perhaps he will find himself interested in you instead.”

  “Oh my,” Catherine gasped at the possibility “Emmie, do not say such things. I could never do such a thing to you.”

  “What would you be doing to me, exactly?” Lady Emily asked. “If anything, you would be doing me a favour. If you were to take him off my hands, I would be freer to find my own prospect.”

  “What would everyone say?” Catherine asked and Lady Emily shrugged.

  “It does not trouble me, what they would say,” she said. “You should also learn to concern yourself less with such a fact.”

  Catherine smiled at her.

  “I wish I could be more like you, Emmie,” she said. “Even for just a day.”

  “I wouldn’t wish that,” Lady Emily said. “For I am often in trouble, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “You often find a way to get yourself out of trouble as well,” Catherine replied. Lady Emily laughed, and the two women continued their walk around the garden.

  From their angle of the house, Lady Emily could see that the guests for the hunt were starting to arrive. She knew that she should go inside and greet them, but at the moment, she could not bring herself to do so.

  “Would you like to keep walking?” she asked Catherine, when they finished the outer garden path. “It is such a beautiful day and you never know when we will have another day, with the weather like this, this time of year.”

  “Should we not go inside?” Catherine asked. “Is it time?”

  “Not yet,” Lady Emily said. “Have you seen the new orchard that was planted this spring? The trees are already starting to grow.”

  She steered her friend away from the house and made sure that there was no way she could be signalled to from the large glass windows. She would head inside when she was ready, and not until then.

  She knew that her father might be slightly angry at her, but she also knew he could not be too angry if she truly did not see anyone waving from the house. One of the servants would have to come out to retrieve them, and if they were already down at the orchard, that would take some time.

  Chapter 2

  Myles Whitehall felt like he was actually getting used to the ship. It seemed impossible that it would ever start to feel comfortable, but after a few days, he felt like he had never lived on land. He rose at dawn, and spent his days comfortably standing on the deck, watching the waves, or swinging below deck, reading in his hammock or writing letters that he intended to send as soon as he reached the shore.

  For the moment, Myles was a silversmith, born in America to a British officer and his wife. However, when he landed on the shores of London, Myles would be an entirely different person all together.

  The letter that had changed his life was still tucked into his coat pocket. He kept re-reading it, whenever he had a spare moment, because it didn’t seem like it could be true. This was the type of letter someone received in a book, or maybe even by fraudulent mail. This was not the type of letter that people actually received; nor did they board a ship when they read it. However, as soon as his mother read the letter, she assured him it was real.

  Myles had never met his Uncle William. He had heard a few stories about him, but to him, William was a faraway figure that he would never encounter. William lived in England, he was childless, and he was baron. He had a mansion in Staffordshire, and he lived alone. Myles assumed that his uncle was a bit eccentric, and perhaps kind, but he didn’t regularly exchange any communication with him.

  He hadn’t expected William to die. He hadn’t expected to be William's heir, either. There were no other male heirs, and so William had arranged for his solicitor to send Myles a letter, on the occasion of his death, and inform him that he had inherited everything.

  At first, Myles didn’t want the inheritance. America was being built on self-made men, and he was worried that such a stroke of luck compromised the legitimacy of his success. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that this could help not only him, but his community. Before boarding the ship, Myles quickly formulated a plan. He was going to go to London and sign all the paperwork necessary to officially make the inheritance his.

  Once it was official, he would sell everything to make a profit to advance his business, and help his community of Hudson Valley, in Upstate New York. He had no idea how long that would take, but he hoped that it would not be a long process. From what he had heard of London, it was full of people who lived off old money and never worked a day in their lives. He didn’t want that to influence the entrepreneurial spirit he had inherited by being born in America. His parents had told him stories of the old world, and from what he could deduce, the new world was far more exciting.

  Myles heard the seventh bell ring and realized he had slept in. It was past dawn, and he wanted to rise in order to write a few more letters. He had purposely saved a stack of paperwork for the ship, knowing that he would have much free time.

  If he wasn’t the offspring of a British officer, he probably would have had to arrange passage on an overcrowded passenger ship. However, because of who his father was, he was able to get passage on the HMS TREE, a large ship that seemed to carry over 200 British sailors. Myles had got to know quite a few of them, and they weren’t a bad bunch. At the moment, the watch was due to be taken over by Lieutenant Horrow, a rather stoic gentleman who had been brought up in England by his doctor father. Horrow would likely be the next captain of the ship, given how he seemed to be rising quickly through the ranks. Myles admired him in a way, even if he never saw him crack a smile.

  “Good morning, sir,” Myles said to him, when he finally got on deck. “The fog is thick today.”

  “Aye,” Horrow replied, as he looked out on the ocean, which could barely be seen. “I wouldn’t worry though. Cornwall is close, and we’ll be on dry land before you know it.”

  “Close already?” Myles said, in surprise “We must have made quite a bit of progress through the night.”

  “The winds were in our favour,” another voice said, and Myles turned around to see the previous watch leader. Lieutenant Konrad, who looked weary, but still had a smile on his face.

  If anyone could give Myles hope that having a title wasn’t all gloom and despair, it was Lieutenant Konrad. Konrad was around the same age as Myles, in his mid-twenties, and a titled lord in his own right. He had broken with tradition to join the navy and rise through the ranks, rather than wait to inherit his father’s estate or buy a title.

  Konrad the polar opposite of Horrow; quick to smile and even quicker to crack a joke. Somehow, the two men, perhaps by overlapping watches, had struck up an unlikely friendship, that Myles often found himself bemused to be in the middle of.

  “Are you not asleep yet?” Horrow asked his friend. “Your watch ended an hour ago.”

  “I found this below deck, I wanted to show you,” Konrad said, revealing a deck of cards that had been cut clean in half. “What game do you think everyone was playing last night? I’m a bit jealous I missed it.”

  Horrow looked half bemused and half annoyed.

  “Oh, I know this game,” Myles said, exaggerating his voice so that they both knew he was jesting. “It’s so you can play poker with mice, so the cards are smaller I wouldn’t recommend it, though.”

  “Oh?” Konrad asked, on the verge of laughing. “Why not?”

  “Mice cheat,” Myles shook his head. “Especially in America.’

  Konrad could not resist and burst out laughing. Horrow simply rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

  “Come on, Horrow,” Konrad cried. “It’s all right to smile once in a while.”

  “I agree,” Horrow said. “If it were funny.”

  “You were born without a funny bone,” Konrad ribbed his friend.

  “I assure you, based on being the child of a doctor, I can tell you that the funny bone is not a bone…”

  �
��I know,” Konrad leaned on the side of the ship, to steady himself from laughter. “I know.”

  Myles joined him, as they watched the ocean float by. His legs were tense, because of the rolling of the ship, and Myles had to reach for one of the ropes overhead a few times.

  “At least we are making swift work of this ocean,” Konrad replied. “I cannot wait to be on dry land.”

  “Will you return home?” Myles asked him. “When you land in Cornwall?”

  “Oh no, we’ll only be off a week or so,” Konrad said. “But Horrow lives not too far from the docks, and we shall go there for the week, while the ship undergoes repairs.”

  “The ship needs repairs?” Myles asked, at the same as Horrow spoke.

  “We will?” he asked in surprised

  “Minor repairs,” Konrad said, before turning to his friend. “You said we were going to your father’s.”

  “I said we could visit him,” Horrow answered. “I did not say we could descend on him with half the crew.”

  “Half the crew?” Konrad answered. “I only told Blenkinsop. And Mathers.”

  Myles smiled as he listened to them bicker. While he had no desire to join the military or to return to Britain after this, he was grateful for the experience.

  “Will you be in Staffordshire the whole time?” Konrad asked Myles, when he finished bickering with Horrow. “Or would you perhaps like to play a round of cards with us one evening.”

  “I’m sure,” Myles said, and glanced at Horrow. “Of course, if I had time, I would visit and stay in an inn. I would not impose myself on your father’s...already crowded house.”

  Horrow shrugged.

  “I imagine my father would like you quite a bit,” he said. “And he does not get very many visitors these days, since he sold his practice.”

  “How come he can come?” Konrad howled at him.

  “Because he’s a single person,” Horrow answered. “With an interesting story.”

  Konrad seemed to accept this answer and turned back to Myles.

  “You do have quite the interesting story,” he said. “Although it’s happened a few times in recent knowledge. With so many moving to the colonies, there are bound to be a few left without a close heir, needing to write overseas.”

  “I don’t intend to keep it,” Myles said. “I know it has been in my family for generations, but it’s of no...value to me, except in a sale. It isn’t as if I intend to live there, and there aren’t many willing to rent a mansion of such a size. In addition, acting as an absentee landlord would require too much work, when I have my own business to run.”

  “But you’ll still have the title,” Konrad said. “You can’t sell that.”

  “Can’t I?” Myles asked and the two lieutenants looked to each other.

  “I don’t think so,” Konrad said. “I mean...I suppose you could name someone else your heir, but then you’d have to perish.”

  Myles snorted.

  “That seems like a great deal of effort,” he replied. “For something that won’t trouble me.”

  “But your son would inherit it,” Konrad replied. “Your eldest son, even if you do not actively use it.”

  “There is not much need for titles in the colonies,” Myles said. “Most of the men there are becoming self-made”

  “Ah, but being nouveau rich does not change your birthright,” Horrow put in. “I have heard that many things are different in the colonies, though.”

  “Indeed,” Myles said. “Anyway, I wouldn’t worry too much about my non-existent children. There is not even a woman I have in mind, at the moment.”

  “Did only men go to the colonies?” Konrad asked, with a smile. “We haven’t been off the ship much, to investigate”

  “No,” Myles replied. “But most of the women came as wives, and there does not seem to be an abundance of daughters born to these couples. Or perhaps I am just not looking in the right place.”

  “Where exactly is the right place to look, in the colonies?” Konrad asked him and Horrow gave his friend a light smack on the shoulder. Konrad grinned and Myles decided to find out more about his new-found friends.

  “Do either of you have a sweetheart in England?” he asked.

  “Aye, Horrow does,” Konrad said. “Her name is Mary and she frightens him, so they haven’t got to court much because he…”

  “Thank you, Konrad,” Horrow said, looking slightly annoyed. Myles simultaneously wondered how they were friends and also thanked God that he was receiving such entertainment aboard the ship.

  “And you?” he asked Konrad. Konrad stared out into the ocean for a moment, before answering.

  “Aye,” he said. “Perhaps the reason I chose to come on the ships rather than remain at home.”

  Myles looked confused.

  “Did something happen?” he asked.

  “No,” Konrad replied. “She is perfectly safe. Her name is Sarah and she used to teach at the local school. Now, though, she stays at home with our daughter.”

  “I had no idea that you were married,” Myles replied, and Konrad shrugged.

  “I’m not,” he said. “So there are not many who know that fact. It was safer to leave than to continue to try and sneak away to see her.”

  “Oh,” Myles said. “Thank you for trusting me with that secret, my friend. Forgive me though, but...do you not want to marry her?”

  “He does,” Horrow put in, gently. “He cannot.”

  “Why?” Myles replied.

  “Because I am of noble birth and Sarah is a peasant,” Konrad replied. “And I am due to inherit, so I cannot marry a woman of such birth. Even if I want to.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Myles said.

  “Is it not like that in the colonies?” Konrad asked and Myles winced.

  “Some of the older generation think that way, perhaps,” he said. “But more and more are realizing that marriage is about love and not about birthright. Anyone can make a fortune in America.”

  “Those are some rebellious views,” Horrow said, lightly.

  “No,” Myles said, quickly. “I am loyal to the British crown. It’s just the colonies are different, in many ways. For starters, each home hasn’t been around for a thousand years.”

  Konrad laughed at that.

  “I have heard stories of homes that were only 30 or so years old being described as old. I couldn’t quite believe it. You should see some of the buildings in London that have been there since the medieval ages.”

  “I intend to,” Myles replied. “If this is my only trip to London, I do intend to see some of the sights.”

  “Sir,” they were interrupted by Midshipman Blenkinsop. Young and often very shy, Myles had only seen him in passing. He knew that the other men were not very kind to him, and Blenkinsop often hid away. However, Konrad had told him that Blenkinsop was brilliant and could often see battle strategies before the rest of them could load the guns. “Sir, the waves are not following what I deem to be a predictable pattern.”

  It took Konrad a minute to decipher exactly what Blenkinsop meant by that statement.

  “It is a bit rocky,” he replied. “But I think we’ll make it safely to Cornwall. The wind was steady and strong last night, and we are closer than we think.”