The Courting

by Bella Bryce

  He left his thoughts there, hovering in the night air, and abandoned the wintery, dark scene before him and walked back through the conservatory.

  By 1:00 am, the ballroom was empty. The Fowlers said goodnight and got into their chauffeured car last, and Bennett remained with Brayden in the foyer after seeing them off.

  “Is the staff clearing up?” Bennett asked Wellesley.

  “Yes, Sir. Miss Greyson says they are to stay until it’s finished,” Wellesley replied, as he closed and locked the front doors.

  Brayden looked at his watch. “Does that include Miss Greyson?”

  She’d been at Waldorf since nine that morning and event coordinator or not, he couldn’t abide knowing she’d been on her feet working on the party for seventeen hours, especially when she’d been on her feet that entire week prior for many hours finalising details.

  “Miss Greyson said she will remain until everything is cleared away,” Wellesley offered, before giving a polite bow and leaving the foyer.

  Brayden looked at Bennett unbelievingly. “She was here every day this week from early morning until late evening. None of the other staff have worked that long. You’re not going to allow her to stay are you?”

  “She’s not my girl to lead,” he replied, putting a hand in his pocket, enjoying seeing Brayden get worried about Ana.

  “She’s not mine either,” Brayden said, straightening his cuffs. “But she is your contractor, you hired her. Go and tell her she really must finish for the day.”

  “I’m afraid my driver is out front. I mustn’t keep him waiting. Goodnight,” Bennett said, with polite abruptness.

  Brayden knew Bennett’s departure had been strategic and he immediately abandoned the foyer and walked down to the ballroom where indeed, Ana was arranging the chairs in neat rows to be collected the next morning.

  “Anabelle,” Brayden said, as though he were on a mission.

  She turned innocently toward him as he walked to her and took the chair from her hands and placed it back on the ground. “Is everything all right?” she asked, confused at his urgency and the sight of him taking a chair out of her hand and putting it on the ground.

  “It will be once you’ve stopped for the evening. You’ve been here since 9:00 am,” he said, putting his hands on his hips.

  Ana found Brayden’s concern admirable, but unnecessary, and laughed a little. “It’s part of the job,” she remarked, as she reached for another chair.

  Brayden stepped in front of it to block her grasp.

  “Your hands are shaking,” he nodded. Ana looked down and put them behind her back.

  “I’ve seen you here all week working long hours.”

  Anabelle managed a smile. “Yes, well, when needs must.”

  Brayden didn’t smile back. “Perhaps you need to find a man who can support you, so you don’t have to run yourself down like this.”

  Ana froze and looked at Brayden. He sighed. “I apologise, that was inappropriate. It is not my place to comment. Forgive me,” he said.

  Ana swallowed and nodded, before offering an understanding smile.

  “I would feel a lot better if you finished now and went home to bed. It’s been a very long day.”

  “All right, but I’ll need to come back in a few hours to finish anyway.”

  “What is there to finish? My staff can do it.”

  “I have to supervise the chairs and tables being loaded onto the lorry, have them sign to say they’ve gone and I need to do that for all six loads of rentals going out. I also have to be the last one out of the ballroom, according to my contract through the agency with Mr. Fowler.”

  Brayden nearly rolled his eyes, but abstained. He had better manners than that, although the entire situation seemed a little legalistic. Then again, Bennett was a little legalistic. “The lorry isn’t coming at 2:00 am, surely.”

  “They come when I phone and your guardhouse knows it.”

  Brayden shook his head. He knew that to be true by the tone of her voice. Money couldn’t buy happiness, but it could surely buy promptness and favour. The agency Ana worked for was so exclusive that they could make anything happen at any time of day. Literally, anything.

  “Where is your car parked?”

  “I came with my assistant, but I let her leave early; I’ll get a cab to the station and get my train back to London, if you insist I finish now. I always do that.”

  “The trains stop after midnight and won’t run again until 5:00 am,” Brayden replied, his hands on his hips. “You’ll stay here tonight. After breakfast, you can finish and then my driver will take you to the station to catch your train.”

  Ana was already holding her hands up and shaking her head. “Mr. James, that isn’t—”

  “It’s entirely necessary. You’ve organised seven flawless parties—”

  “It was my job,” Ana politely interrupted with a coy smile.

  Brayden carried on as though he hadn’t been interrupted. “It’s nearly 2:00 am. We’re all very tired, and unless you insist that I have my driver take you all the way back to London tonight, just to turn around and come back tomorrow morning, I insist you sleep in one of the guest rooms. You can finish straightaway after breakfast and take your leave when it’s all done. It’s silly to leave now only to return in a few hours.”

  “Your driver can take me to the Coach and Horses around the corner, I can give in to that.” Ana completely understood Brayden’s reasoning, but still found it difficult to accept his offer and she didn’t know why.

  “Don’t be silly. You’ll stay here. I’m not to be argued with, Anabelle,” Brayden said, in a caringly firm voice.

  Ana knew that it seemed ridiculous to someone like Brayden, who was a millionaire, for her to have been going for so many hours. Ana worked fifteen-hour days on a regular basis, so seventeen hours on her feet wasn’t a terrible inconvenience. “If you insist, Mr. James, I shall stay to ensure I can finish the job efficiently in the morning.”

  “Good. Leave everything for now. Send whomever else is still here home and you can finish all this after breakfast tomorrow. I’ll see you on the first floor in ten minutes?” Brayden wasn’t really asking, he was telling her she had ten minutes.

  “Yes, all right,” she nodded.

  Brayden gave her one last look and abandoned the ballroom. Ana breathed inward and closed her eyes. However on earth Brayden had managed to convince her to go to sleep before she’d finished was no mystery – he was very handsome, very convincing and very no-nonsense – yet however he’d managed to convince her to remain at Waldorf for the evening was quite another. If her boss found out that she stayed the night at a client’s home on a job, she could be in a lot of trouble. Ana also knew that Brayden’s intentions were for her benefit and he wouldn’t allow the agency to come down on her.

  As the client, and, no doubt, a very well known and repeat client, Brayden had a lot more power than he probably realised. Nothing inappropriate was going to happen, so Ana reasoned that the company should be grateful she was saving them money by not using her charge account to stay nearby or to get double-time cabs at that hour of the morning, not that expenses were a huge concern.

  Ana let the wait staff go for the evening and saw them out the back doors, which Wellesley promptly locked before he escorted her out of the ballroom and turned out the lights.

  When she reached the top of the stairs, Brayden was waiting for her.

  “I’ve sent everyone to bed, so I’m afraid I shall have to show you to your room,” he said quietly.

  Ana certainly wasn’t sorry. “Thank you,” she replied, and followed Brayden as he walked a few steps in front of her.

  Ana noticed they walked in the opposite direction of Brayden’s study where she’d spoken to him earlier. He led her down past Alice and Elisabeth’s bedrooms to one across the wood panelled, wide and dimly lit corridor. The intricate, antique brass sconces were on timers and automatically dimmed after ten o’clock, giving the endless formal co
rridors a very cosy, but somewhat eerie feel.

  “Just here,” Brayden whispered. He was aware that Alice and Elisabeth wouldn’t be able to hear him speaking, but all the same, it was very late. Entirely past his own bedtime.

  “Thank you,” Ana repeated, as she followed in behind him.

  Ana walked into the beautiful bedroom. There were obvious signs of a housemaid’s recent presence; the king-sized bed was protectively surrounded by a wooden poster and canopy arrangement and the endless layers of duvet and blankets had been turned down to reveal an equally impressive two rows of pillows, which were delightfully plopped. The bed was surrounded by burgundy drapes tied at each corner. A six-foot fireplace was ablaze and had sufficiently warmed the room, dancing behind a brass screen. There was also a freestanding mahogany wardrobe, matching dressing table and Victorian tufted chair. A writing desk faced the drape-covered windows and a seating area across the room zoned out a place Ana imagined she might read or have tea, if she were staying longer. The en-suite bathroom was at the far corner of the room and the marble floor teased her eyes when they caught the flicker of candlelight bouncing across it.

  “Celia wanted you to know that she’s left several of her handmade guest nightdresses in the wardrobe and anything else she said you might need is in the armoire nearest the window in the en-suite. Breakfast is going to be later than usual, at half nine. I can function on little sleep, but neither my daughter nor my niece will and I would prefer that you all rest properly.”

  “It’s lovely,” Ana said, looking around. It was a luxurious and flawlessly beautiful bedroom. She’d stayed in hotels that claimed to be both, yet didn’t measure up to one of Brayden’s extra guest rooms. He had another dozen or more rooms about the manor somewhere, so Ana had heard.

  “Celia also left you a tray at the bedside there with sparkling and still water and a glass.

  There is a button beside the bed that goes straight to Wellesley if you need anything further.”

  “Thank you, Mr. James. I hope this isn’t inconvenient at all for you or your staff.”

  “Nonsense, this house was meant to be full of guests and my staff are hired to look after them,” Brayden replied, as he turned to her. “Sleep well and I shall see you down in the dining room for breakfast at half nine.”

  “Yes, thank you. Goodnight,” Ana said, secretly hoping Brayden would stay. She knew that he wouldn’t and she knew that she needed to rein in her thoughts about him. Ana was beginning to feel disappointed that nothing had become of their previous conversation that afternoon – the one where Brayden finished by saying, “You respond well to being directed.” It seemed a shame he hadn’t said anything further to that statement. Ana was waiting for Brayden to say something like, “and I like to lead so it’s very clear that we should probably get together.”

  “Goodnight, Anabelle,” Brayden said, interrupting her thoughts. He gave her a polite nod of his head whilst making intent eye contact.

  As soon as the door closed, Ana exhaled quietly and looked up at the ceiling. “Keep it professional, Ana,” she told herself quietly.

  She’d never previously had a problem with doing so, but Brayden was the first client she came across who had stuck a chord in her. Ana’s entire work life had her moving amongst wealthy and attractive men, but Brayden was different. He was genuine and a real gentleman.

  The term ‘gentleman’ had been stripped down to a point where any man who opened a door for a woman or wore a suit once in awhile thought they could wear it as a badge of honour. Brayden truly was a gentleman because his propriety went far beyond his posture and wardrobe, it saturated his mind and kept his words and thoughts on appropriate things at all times and Ana had the pleasure of experiencing a small fraction of it.

  Ana continued to replay their conversation as she opened the wardrobe and glanced over the array of nightgowns, recalling her own words, “If anything goes wrong I will be here for my scolding.” She had wanted to know how Brayden responded to such words. He’d responded by saying, “One thing is for sure, if I scold you it will be up in my study and not in front of the guests.” Ana could only guess that meant one thing – Brayden believed in discipline beyond his fatherly role. She could only hope that was true and it would somehow involve her, someday.

  She didn’t bother using the guest toiletries, she was too tired. Surprisingly, Brayden had been very aware of just how run down she was. Had it been any other client who had left her to finish her job, she would have been up until probably the sun rose and then took the next day off to sleep. As she nestled beneath the incredibly comfortable layers of bedding and rested against the pillows, she couldn’t help but look at the door and wish Brayden would walk back in, even if just to say goodnight.

  Chapter Twelve

  Brayden looked at his watch and then up at the double doors as Alice bit her lip and tried not to laugh. Elisabeth took a sip of her tea in order to distract herself. Brayden raised an eyebrow and returned his attention to his newspaper. Alice snorted and covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Alice,” he warned.

  Elisabeth bit her lip and closed her eyes, holding back.

  “Elisabeth,” he said in the same tone.

  Alice wiped her eyes and audibly let out a sigh as she tried to calm herself down.

  “Girls, what is funny? Hmm?” he asked, looking to his left and right from Alice to Elisabeth.

  “Oh, nothing,” Alice teased, her face nearly bursting into laughter.

  Brayden frowned.

  “It’s just that Ana’s late for breakfast, Father,” Alice said, glancing at him sideways.

  Brayden cleared his throat. “Yes,” he replied, waiting for further explanation, although one particular image entered his mind when the word ‘late’ was spoken and that was a disciplinary image.

  “Well, when I’m late for meals or my piano lesson, I get punished,” Alice said, completely avoiding eye contact as she raised her eyebrows at her plate. “Do you think you might need to...” Alice’s voice trailed off as she broke into giggles.

  Elisabeth covered her mouth and tried not to spit her tea out as she heard the deep and joyful sound of Alice’s carefree laughter at the implied image.

  Brayden cleared his throat, folded his newspaper and handed it to Wellesley, who appeared the moment he was finished with it. “I fail to admire your amusement of the situation, young lady. Nor is that an appropriate image for you to be entertaining in your head. Stop it at once.”

  Alice’s laughing subsided and she tried to keep a straight face, biting her lip to control it.

  She held back and covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Perhaps I will have a word with both of you after breakfast,” he said, glancing at Elisabeth.

  “Sorry, Uncle Brayden,” Elisabeth replied, straightening her face.

  “Sorry, Father,” Alice said, finally able to control herself. The table went quiet and the dining room doors opened. Ana quietly walked down the long length of the room, causing Alice to snort again.

  Brayden gave Alice a look and she immediately swallowed further hilarity. Alice was barely able to keep a straight face, which of course caused Elisabeth to avert her eyes and attempt the same.

  “Good morning, Mr. James. I’m a little late, I’m sorry,” she said, feeling slightly uneasy at her own words.

  Alice bit her lip and closed her eyes. Brayden gave his daughter a warning look, then nodded in acknowledgement and watched Wellesley pull out the exquisite, upholstered chair beside Alice. He also looked at his watch and made eye contact with his butler, which Ana saw. She knew Brayden wasn’t amused that she’d been late, although he didn’t make any kind of scene or effort to embarrass her. Ana quietly put her napkin in her lap.

  “Hello,” Alice said, turning to her.

  “Good morning,” Ana replied, smiling. She was glad Alice was keen to say something, the quietness of the grand dining room hadn’t been the best start. Although, Ana knew her being late contribu
ted to that.

  “Do you know what happens when I’m late to the dining room?” she asked, with a cheeky grin on her face.

  “Alice James,” Brayden said. “You know what will happen soon enough, young lady. Sit up properly,” he said.

  It was Ana’s turn to hide a smile as Wellesley poured her a cup of tea. Alice’s little frown made her want to cuddle her, but she refrained and sat back against the dining chair and held the cup in her hands. Waldorf had twenty-five fireplaces throughout, but it didn’t stop a slight chill running through her fingers.

  “Father, is Elisabeth seeing Uncle Bennett today?” Alice asked, looking across the table.

  “Elisabeth?” he asked, looking at his adopted niece.

  “Bennett said he would collect me this afternoon and bring me back after dinner.”

  Ana’s plate was served to her first and then Alice’s was placed in front of her, causing her eyes to light up at the eggs benedict in front of her.

  “Thank you,” Elisabeth replied to Wellesley as he placed a plate in front of her.

  “That means you and I can actually do something today, Elisabeth!”

  “You have a routine, my darling, which includes a morning walk after this, your piano lesson, reading time, afternoon walk and quiet time. And unless Bennett has given you things to do, Elisabeth, I shall ensure you’re productive today as well,” said Brayden, turning his attention to her.

  Elisabeth wouldn’t dare make a face or groan, although most unlike her, she was tempted to. She had been looking forward to having time around Waldorf Manor to read in the library or just sit and chat with Alice, although knowing full well that Brayden kept her on a routine.

  “Girls, please start,” Brayden said, nodding his head. Ana felt a rush of giddiness hearing Brayden call all three of them girls. For a moment, she’d been included in that close proximity of relationship.