“No!” Emily cried. “No, Catherine, that is not lovely. It’s terrible.”
“Why?” Catherine asked, confused. “If that’s the life one would want?”
Lady Emily realized that Catherine was hurt and paused.
“But if you wanted a life of adventure,” she said, “and travel, would you settle for a summer house?”
“Well...no,” Catherine admitted. “Not if that was what I actually wanted.”
“Exactly,” Lady Emily said. “So you understand why I cannot marry him.”
“I think you are racing to conclusions,” Catherine said, timidly. “I’m sorry, Emmie, I am not trying to offend you.”
Lady Emily smiled.
“Edward said the same thing,” she said. “You two think alike.”
“Oh,” Catherine said, but seemed to take no notice of the statement. “Well, then, you have two good friends advising you of the same thing.”
“I am not sure how much longer I can delay,” Lady Emily said. “If I am honest. It has been days and I continue to feign the slightest interest in him, just to be...polite.”
“You do not feel you can tell your father the truth?” Catherine asked, and Lady Emily shook her head.
“No,” she said. “There is no way that I can. It almost has to come from Lord Reginald, and then I will pretend I am slightly disappointed and then forget about it.”
“Do you think your father will be angry?”
“No,” Lady Emily said. “He may be slightly disappointed as well, but then he will move on. And hopefully not suggest someone else.”
“Your father has always struck me as determined though,” Catherine said. “My apologies if that is too harsh.”
“No, it’s not harsh,” she said. “It is certainly true. Look at how insistent he was about Myles.”
“He did seem to have a preconceived notion of the Americans,” Catherine said. “Maybe he had a bad experience with somebody who was American?”
“I don’t think so,” Lady Emily said. “He usually tells me such things.”
“Maybe he is just being protective?” Catherine tried.
“I don’t know,” Lady Emily admitted. “Some days I have the strength to argue with him, and some days, I do not feel that it is worth it.”
“That is fair,” Catherine replied. “I do think you are lucky, Lady Emily.”
“Lucky?” Lady Emily asked, confused. “Why?”
“Well, your father clearly cares about you,” Catherine said. “And many women feel...abandoned by their parents after a certain age.”
“Your father cares about you a great deal,” Lady Emily cried. Catherine shrugged.
“Yes,” she said. “But I cannot help but feel I am disappointing him, every day that I am not married. I know he is trying to attract suitors for me, but he cannot seem to find anyone willing to marry me.”
“You are only 19,” Lady Emily said, and Catherine’s eyes widened.
“Exactly. If I do not marry soon, the title of spinster will follow me around.”
“There are much worse problems to have,” Lady Emily said. “Such as marrying someone you do not want to marry.”
“Will you marry him, if your father insists?” Catherine asked, and Lady Emily looked away. She took quite a while to answer, and it was clear her soul was torn.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, at last. “I do not want to disappoint my father, or hurt him. But at the same time, I do not want to be married to someone who shares none of my hopes and dreams.”
“I do not remember you protesting so much the first time around,” Catherine said, and Lady Emily sighed.
“No,” she said. “The first time, I did not know what it would be like, to be in a loveless marriage, or a marriage where all your morals did not align. And my first husband wasn’t a bad man, but he certainly wasn’t the soulmate bard’s sing about. I learned to enjoy him, it was true, but I do not want to do that again. We’ve spoken of this before, Catherine.”
“I know,” Catherine said. “I just wonder...if it would be easier to say yes this time, because you said yes the first time.”
“No, it’s much more difficult,” Lady Emily said. “And I am not sure I can bring myself to do it at all.”
“You will make the right choice,” Catherine said. “I am sure of it.”
“Well, I hope I will do so soon,” Lady Emily said. “Because this act is becoming exhausting.”
“I understand,” Catherine said and then yawned. “Oh my goodness, excuse me.”
“You should retire,” Lady Emily said. “It has been a long day.”
“Indeed, it has,” Catherine said and turned to the rest of the room to announce her decision to retire. All of the gentlemen stood up and Catherine turned to Lady Emily. “Will you retire with me?”
Lady Emily wasn’t particularly tired, but she saw it as a much better option than simply remaining downstairs.
“I believe I will,’ she said. “Gentlemen, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” they said, and then went back to their card game. The baroness lingered, and Lady Emily gave her a slight nod before following Catherine up the stairs.
“Are you retiring?” Hannah said to Lady Emily, in surprise, when she ran into her on the stairs. Lady Emily normally was quite the night owl.
“No, I do believe that I will read for a while,” she said. “Please come in within an hour or so and I will be more of a mind to sleep.”
“Of course,” Hannah said, and Lady Emily turned to Catherine.
“Goodnight,” she said to her friend. “May tomorrow bring new adventures.”
“Oh my,” Catherine said, with a smile. “I hope so.”
With that, the two women parted ways. As she walked down the hallway to her room, Lady Emily lingered outside Myles’s room. She wondered if he was awake, and if so, what he was thinking right now. Did he miss America? Was he confused or afraid? Was he thinking about his uncertain future or his next adventure?
She was curious, but she knew it wasn’t proper to knock on his door. So instead, she forced herself to move on, into her own bedroom. She hoped that in the coming days, she would get a chance to speak to him more.
Chapter 7
Myles felt better than he had in days. He had no idea how long it had been since he first came to England, but today, he didn’t feel nauseous or dizzy, or even tired. He had decided that he’d had enough of lying in bed, and he wanted to get up.
His mind had gone in and out over the last few days, and he wasn’t quite sure who he had talked to or what he had said. He was certain that there had been a pretty English girl or two, and there were some unfamiliar noises in the houses.
He didn’t know how many people lived here, or how many people had come to see him. He vaguely remembered being on a ship, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember why he was in England.
His clothes were not his own, but they were also not suitable to go downstairs. He started to pull himself up and found himself accidentally pulling some sort of rope on the side of the bed. Before he knew it, there was a strange gentleman in the bedroom with him.
“You rang, sir?” the man asked.
“I...rang?” Myles asked, confused. The man pointed to the rope by the bed.
“You rang the bell?” he asked. “To summon me?”
“Oh,” Myles said, embarrassed “Certainly not on purpose.”
The man gave a small smile.
“Well, regardless, I am here now,” he said. “How can I help?”
“I don’t know if you can help at all,” Myles said, still confused. “I just thought that I’d get up for the day, seeing as this is the first day I’ve actually felt well.”
“Of course, sir,” the man said. “I would be happy to help you. Shall we start with getting dressed?”
“You’re going to dress me?” Myles asked. The concept was completely foreign and a little bit frightening to him. “I mean...I suppose...if you wish...but…�
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“It is no trouble at all, sir,” the man said. “My name is George. I am one of the under butlers here.”
“What is an under butler?” Myles asked and then shook his head. “Never mind. I’m not sure I need help getting dressed. After all, I’ve been dressing myself since I was a small child.”
He got up, and the blood rushed to his head. He wavered and nearly fell. George came towards him quickly, and steadied him by holding onto his elbow. He didn’t say anything, but Myles accepted defeat.
“Perhaps I do need a little help,” he said. “That is awfully kind of you.”
“It’s no trouble at all, sir,” George said.
“You can call me Myles,” the American said and George looked positively scandalized “I mean, you don’t have to.”
“I would prefer not to,” the under butler said. “Perhaps you have a last name?”
“I…” Myles furrowed his brow. “I can’t seem to remember it right now. I am sure that sounds strange...but I’ve had issues remembering quite a few things lately.”
“It does not sound strange at all,” George said. “Given what you have been through. Do not worry at all.”
Myles cast his gaze on the clothes in front of him.
“So…” he said, as he looked at them. “I’m not sure where half this stuff goes.”
“I am here to help, sir,” George said, and picked up a shirt. Myles was uncomfortable in the clothes, even before George got halfway through. The waistcoat was constricting, and the cravat was tired much tighter than he normally liked. When George placed a hat in his hand, he was confused.
“Shouldn’t this be on my head?” he asked.
“No, sir,” George said. “Not in the house.”
“Right,” Myles replied and George couldn’t help but ask a further question.
“Do they...do things differently in America?” he asked.
“They do,” Myles said. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but this is all a bit strange for me.”
“I do not believe you sound ungrateful,” George said, although he did not seem entirely impressed by Myles’s behaviour. “There, you are all dressed. I am supposed to tell you that when you are ready, the family would like you to meet them in the parlour.”
“The family?” Myles asked. “So...who does that entail?”
“You’ve met some of them,” George said, but Myles tapped his head.
“My memory,” he reminded George, and George nodded.
“Very good sir,” he said. “There is Sir Preston, who is the patriarch of the family, and Lady Emily Hambleton, his daughter. Also staying in the household is Catherine Ellwood, the Lady Emily’s best friend, and Edward Covington, her childhood best friend. Sir Preston is also blessed to have Baron and Baroness Yarwood, as well as Lord Reginald Makepeace as guests these past few weeks.”
“Ah,” Myles said. “Sorry, I’m not familiar with English titles. Is Hambleton a title?”
“No, sir,” George said. “That is her surname. She was previously married to a Gregory Hambleton, Lord Hambleton.”
“Ah,” Myles replied. “So where is he?”
“He has passed away,” George said.
“Oh,” Myles said. “I see.” He was positive that Lady Hambleton was the one who had come in and spoke to him the other day, when he was first awake.
“Are you ready to go downstairs?” George asked. “I can announce you?”
“I suppose,” Myles said, and George indicated he should come down the stairs.
Myles wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do, but he figured he should at least thank the people who had rescued him.
“Ahem,” George said, when they got to the door. “May I introduce...Myles.”
Myles took a couple steps into the grand parlour, completely in awe of the beautiful house.
“Myles?” a man asked. “Do you not have a surname?”
“I wish I could remember it right now,” Myles said, as he extended his hand. “And you are?”
“I am Sir Preston,” the man said. “And this is my house.”
“Ah, then, may I say thank you very much for assisting me,” Myles said. “In my hour of need.”
“May I present the rest of my household and guests?” Sir Preston said, and went around the room. When he got to Lady Emily, Myles smiled.
“I remember you,” he said.
“I remember you too,” Lady Emily said, giving him a smile. “I am glad to see you up and about.”
“For the moment,” Myles answered.
“May I ask what it is you are doing in England?” Lord Reginald asked Myles, once they were all seated again.
“I...am not sure,” Myles said. “I think it has something to do with property, if I am honest. However, I cannot entirely remember.” He tugged at his cravat again, feeling uncomfortable. Lord Reginald exchanged a look with Sir Preston.
“You think it has something to do with property?” he asked. “Are you trying to tell us that you own property?”
“I am not sure,” Myles said. “Maybe.”
Both of the men chuckled, and Lady Emily looked infuriated.
“Why could he not own property?” she asked. “He had such a difficult time these past few weeks. Why must you be so cruel?”
Both men went from chuckling to looking embarrassed.
Sir Preston said, “It’s just that…”
“I am sure that is a legitimate reason for you being here,” Lord Reginald put in.
“Yes, I do not believe that the version of myself that had a full memory would cross the ocean without so much as a reason,” Myles said. Lady Emily looked quite interested in that.
“How was the journey?” she asked. Myles winced.
“It was all right,” he said. “I would even say it was exciting. Until it was...not.”
“Of course,” Lady Emily’s face softened. “I am so sorry for what you have been through.”
“There were no survivors?” Myles asked and Edward spoke up.
“As far as the navy headquarters are concerned, none has been reported,” he said.
“You checked?” Myles asked and Edward nodded.
“Catherine and I went down there, didn’t we?” he cast his gaze across the room at the other pretty young woman, who nodded.
“They said no one else had reported in,” she said. “Although we didn’t know your name, so we couldn’t report you in either.”
“No, of course not,” Myles said. “Perhaps we should check again?”
“Did you have friends there?” Lady Emily asked. “On the ship?”
A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance) Page 13
