He stabled his tired horse before anyone else was up, then went and sat on the bench on the front terrace, wrapping himself in his saddle blanket. Birds’ song soothed his tired mind and body and as the sun rose, casting its first warm rays over him, he fell asleep.
*
When he woke, his grandfather was sitting beside him.
“So,” the old man said. “You’ve changed your mind.”
Sydney stirred. “No. I want to ask you something. Two things, really.”
The earl waved his stick expansively. “Feel free to do so.”
“Is my cousin Charles the reason you are so keen to have me as your heir?”
Lord Silford snorted. “Spotted that much, did you? Charles and the whole parcel of them. Got nothing against Gareth as a parson or as a man. Pleasant fellow. But he’s utterly impractical and has the judgement of a flea if his choice of wife is anything to go by. Needless to say, the children all favor her. Charles is petulant, entitled, and stupid. But all the same, he’ll inherit all the unentailed land eventually, if you don’t come home.”
Sydney looked into the distance. “I know money,” he said abruptly. “I know trade. I know the sea, and I’ve made my best friends amongst men who would curl your hair and clear a drawing room in thirty seconds. I know nothing of running an estate.”
“It will be harder since you haven’t been born and raised with it. But you can learn.”
“With respect, you are no judge of that. Which brings me to my next question. What the devil does being earl entail?”
The old man could probably have gone on all day. But once he felt he had the gist of it, Sydney cut him short, rising to his feet and stretching.
“I thought so,” he said. “I have neither the ability nor the temperament.”
The old man shrugged. “That remains to be seen. Either way, you will still be the Earl of Silford.”
Sydney shrugged. “Give me a steward you trust. Any money can go back into the estate. It looks as if it needs it. And I don’t. I won’t use the title. But who knows? I may yet have children who will.”
“Children with whom?” the earl taunted. “The Carew woman? The Maybury chit?”
“More likely some tavern floozie,” Sydney said. “And you thought my father made a bad choice. One more thing. I should watch Charles, if I were you. He is really quite keen to be earl, and I doubt he would think twice about promoting your departure from this world. He probably has debts his father can’t pay before his inheritance.”
The earl curled his lip. “I may be old but that paltry jackanapes could not hurt me if he tried.” He caught Sydney’s gaze, “You are worth ten of him.”
“Oh, at least. And my father was worth rather more. Goodbye, sir.”
And he strolled round to the stables, where he surprised the grooms who were scratching their heads over where the strange horse came from.
Chapter Fourteen
Returning to Audley Park made Henrietta more comfortable but could not calm her restlessness. She was glad to see the growing friendship between Eliza and Jane. It did not exclude Horry. In fact, the three of them seemed to have a hilarious time together when the girls were not at lessons. But it seemed to make her less reliant, and Henrietta wrote to her sisters that she had hopes Horatio’s next departure for school would have much less effect on his twin.
The good news was that Charlotte and Alvan were hoping to come to Audley Park for a fortnight during August. The bad news was that Rudd was coming to stay first.
“I expect he’s coming to make you an offer, Henrie,” her father said jovially, when he read the letter out over breakfast.
“Yes, well, we once thought Alvan was coming to make Thomasina an offer,” Henrietta pointed out.
“This is different. Fellow’s been dangling after you for months. Even I noticed that without your mother having to tell me! And it’s a good match.”
“I know. And I have no wish to disoblige you, Papa,” Henrie said anxiously. “But I do not wish to marry Lord Rudd.”
Lord Overton cast her an irritated look. Then he sighed. “Girls are trouble. None of you do what is expected.”
“But it has worked out well for us,” Henrietta pointed out. “At the beginning of the year things looked very different.”
“All very well, but what am I to say to Rudd?”
“Nothing. If you can’t bring yourself to put him off, I’ll give the hint while he’s here that marriage is out of the question.”
Her father eyed her speculatively. She could almost see him hoping that a few days in the man’s company would incline her in his favor. As though some trivial quarrel was merely causing her to be petulant for a week or two.
Her mother’s reaction was fairly typical, too. “I suppose we must have some entertainment for him while he is here. Do you think we could risk a small evening party? Hopefully Charlotte will be here by then, and I shall invite Lord Silford. He won’t come, of course, but it would be polite. What is his heir’s name, Henrie?”
“Captain Cromarty,” she said as calmly as she could.
“I shall invite him in the same letter. Though I hope he behaves in a more gentlemanly manner here. I suppose it is difficult for him, having been brought up in trade. Did he seem very vulgar to you, Henrie?”
“Not in the least,” she managed. “Just a trifle unusual. He won’t embarrass you by his lack of manners, if that’s what you mean. Though he might put people in their place if they pretend they are superior.”
“Perhaps he would not be a very comfortable house guest,” her mother worried.
“Well, if Charlotte brings Spring, I should think any discomfort Captain Cromarty could cause would pale by comparison.”
“Oh dear, I had forgotten the wretched dog. What if he fights with Minnie? He will have to be banished to the kennels. But perhaps she won’t bring him.”
Henrietta left her with that fantasy. Her own pleasant imagining was that Spring would annoy Rudd so much he’d leave early or, preferably, take the entire family in disgust.
But nor had she forgotten Captain Cromarty’s urgent warning at Lady Carew’s. Don’t be alone with any of them. She’d known he meant Rudd, Charles Cromarty, and Lady Carew. They were all poisonous in their own way. And it would certainly be harder to avoid Lord Rudd if he was living in the house. Still, she couldn’t imagine he or the others would actually try to harm her physically.
Having set her mind on the evening party, Lady Overton sent out cards of invitation to friends and neighbors. Since she planned to call on Mrs. Lacey anyhow, she and Henrietta took the carriage and drove over there with the invitation.
Mrs. Lacey and Almeria were delighted, and when Matthew wandered in a little later and was given the exciting news, his eyes began to gleam. As Henrietta had known he would, he came and sat by her, and when other conversation drowned him out, he pleaded, “Can’t you send a card to the Blackridges? After all, you met them at Lady Carew’s.” Another thought struck him. “Oh dear. Do you suppose your mother has invited her?”
“I’ve no idea, but she plans to ask Lord Silford and Captain Cromarty.”
Matthew grinned. “Isn’t it great sport, the captain being Silford’s heir? Lady Carew is another matter entirely. She either ignores me or looks at me as if I’m her insubstantial dinner. Anyway, you could at least ask your mother to invite Eunice, say you are particular friends or something?”
“She’ll smell a hum. I don’t believe your Eunice even likes me!”
“Oh, she’s just shy. Everyone likes you, Henrie.”
“Where do they live?”
“Lord knows, but I think they’re still in Brighton. Marine Parade.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Henrie promised, unsure if she was actually doing her friend a favor. She could see nothing in Eunice to inspire his devotion.
But when she suggested the additions to her mother, Lady Overton merely said another young lady would be good for her numbers. “Though we don’
t have room for so many people to stay. Why don’t you simply invite the girl to come on a visit? Then we shan’t have to consider her parents, and she can always share with you if everyone else accepts and we run out of bedchambers. If you like her, I’m she’s a good-natured girl.”
“Oh, of course,” Henrietta said doubtfully, having no idea of Eunice’s nature. But she wrote to Eunice that afternoon, enclosing a note from her mother to Mrs. Blackridge, and considered her duty by Matthew done.
As she rose from her desk, she saw, from the window, the children and Miss Milsom heading toward the wood, and hurried to collect Minnie and join them.
Since the boys were home from school, it seemed harsh to keep Eliza and Jane to a strict regime of lessons, so instead, Miss Milsom took them all out on frequent walks or expeditions. Richard deigned to go along on most of these “to help Miss Milsom”. Henrietta simply sought distraction from her own muddled thoughts and feelings, and in doing so, rediscovered the fun of her siblings.
That afternoon, walking through the woods to the stream, the children entertained Miss Milsom with stories of Spring, in particular how he had caused havoc while everyone was trying to impress the Duke of Alvan with the sensible propriety of the household.
“But he turned out not to mind in the slightest,” Horatio explained. “And he’s the only person in the world who can make Spring do as he’s told.”
“He sounds a rather fearsome beast,” Miss Milsom said nervously, which sent everyone into gales of laughter.
They sat by the stream to eat the tea they’d carried with them, and since Minnie had grown so good at coming when she was called, Henrietta let her off the leash to explore. Miss Milsom, clearly feeling obliged to justify the outing, explained to her charges about fresh water flowing down from the hills and into the rivers and from there into the sea.
While they cleared everything up into the basket, Henrietta called for Minnie, who came galloping back along the edge of the stream with her tongue lolling. However, as they set off toward the house, Minnie shot off again the way she’d just come.
“I’ll catch up with you,” Henrietta said and followed the pup, calling her name. She hadn’t gone far when, rounding the bend, she saw a man walking through the trees toward her. Minnie danced around his ankles.
Henrietta’s heart leapt. “Captain Cromarty,” she managed.
“She’s been trying to herd me in your direction. She must be of sheep-dog stock.”
“You knew we were here?” Henrietta said, quickly clipping the leash onto Minnie’s collar.
“I heard your voices,” he admitted. “And then Minnie came to sit with me for a little before running rings around me.”
“Are you coming to visit us?”
It seemed unlikely, since he was dressed casually, in old coat and seaman’s trousers, rather than as a gentleman.
“No. I was just passing and stopped to rest the horse.”
She tried to hide her disappointment, and he said quickly, “How are you?”
“Well, of course. We expect my sister soon. And Lord Rudd comes tomorrow for a week. My mother invited you to our party. Along with Lord Silford.”
He blinked at this deluge of news.
“Will you come?” she asked casually.
“I don’t know. Perhaps I should.”
“Don’t put yourself out,” she retorted. “It is not a duty, and I am aware you will be heartily bored.”
He raised his eyebrows. “When have I ever been bored in your company?”
“I really have no idea.”
“Why are you angry with me?”
She rubbed her forehead with her wrist. “I don’t know… Very well, I do. I don’t want to be nothing to you.”
She looked away as she spoke, but even so, she glimpsed the startlement in his face.
“Nothing?” he said quickly and reached for her hand. “Henrietta, I—” Breaking off, he let his hand fall back to his side. “I’ve gone about this all wrong, haven’t I?” he said ruefully. “My brain tells me one thing and my instincts quite another.”
She met his gaze, expectantly, but the silence extended. “I’m still angry,” she prompted.
He laughed, sweeping back his hat and his hair with one jerky gesture. “I’m thirty-five years old to your eighteen. I’m even older in sin. Even if I weren’t a smuggler, I was brought up with family you would regard as vulgar cits, and I have no intention of casting them off. Neither have I any intention of living as the Earl of Silford when my grandfather dies. You are young, beautiful, and enchanting, with the world at your feet and your life before you. I cannot take that from you. And if I did, you would regret it very quickly.”
A frown dragged at her brow as he spoke. “How shallow, how fickle do you imagine I am?”
He smiled ruefully. “Sweetheart, I don’t think you shallow at all. But everyone is fickle at eighteen.”
“You mean you were.”
“Yes, I was. Henrie, you only like me because I’m different from the men you know.”
“Not as different as you think,” she snapped. “You’re just as stupid.”
A hiss of laughter escaped him. “That, I know. But my poor brain is trying to do the right thing.”
Her breath caught. “And what would your instincts do?”
His eyes remained steady although tiny flames seemed to leap from them. “Sweep you off your feet, make you mine, marry you out of hand, and keep you by my side, and to hell with the consequences.”
She smiled and heard his breath catch. Her heartbeat galloped as she stepped closer and took his hand.
“There would be consequences,” he warned her. “Your family—”
“Would we have fun?” she interrupted.
“God, yes,” he said fervently, drawing her against him as though he could no longer resist. She reached up and touched his rough cheek. With a groan, he bent his head and kissed her mouth, long and thoroughly.
“I’m not a child,” she whispered against his lips when she could breathe again. “I’m a grown woman. Lots of girls are married before they are my age. And I’m not fickle, Sydney. I love you,”
He groaned again, pressing his cheek to hers, kissing her ear and the side of her neck before returning to her mouth. “God knows why,” he muttered against her lips, then sank into them again.
At last he broke free. “It isn’t safe for you, though. That’s the real reason I’m skulking on your property. I think Rudd’s alliance has emboldened Charles, and I really don’t trust him. If you were to be engaged to me, God knows what he would do.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” she asked breathlessly.
He rested his forehead against hers. “I’m asking you to think about it over the next few weeks, while I sort out this mess. And then, if you’re still of the same mind, we’ll talk again. But you must be careful when Rudd is here.”
“I will be.”
“I’m holding you to nothing, Henrie.”
She smiled and kissed his lips. “I understand.”
“And we will never live at Steynings.”
“I’d rather live on a ship.”
He laughed and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe, and Minnie had run around them so often they were both tangled in the lead. Sydney scooped the puppy up and unraveled the leash before placing it back in Henrietta’s hand. “Now, go before a search party comes back for you.”
Henrietta smiled and ran on her way with the dog, waving back over her shoulder. She hadn’t believed she could be so happy.
*
The intensity of her happiness helped her face the imminent arrival of Lord Rudd with equanimity. Although she did not want him there, she could easily avoid him, and if she couldn’t, she would tell him bluntly not to ask because she could not believe they would suit. In that way, she kept Captain Cromarty out of her reasons, though she was sure Rudd would guess.
Her parents, having learned their lesson earlier in the year about trying to make thei
r family—and pets—behave differently, made no effort to banish the children to the nursery at all times. As a result, they emerged from various doors to witness the arrival of his curricle, which he had driven himself from Brighton, followed by a carriage containing his valet and luggage.
“Good horses,” George pronounced, going closer. Rudd, having just stepped down, jerked his head around, probably with a sharp warning not to touch the horses, but Lord Overton was before him.
“Ask permission first, George! Welcome, Rudd, welcome. Come inside and have a drink!”
“He looks a little cross,” Eliza whispered in Henrietta’s ear after their visitor had bowed over her hand and followed their father inside.
“He isn’t cross, precisely,” Henrietta murmured. “Just…aloof. And a little pernickety.” Odd to think she had once found this manner rather pleasing, as though it raised him above many of his fellow mortals. Now she thought it self-important and just a little ridiculous.
“You won’t really marry him, will you?” Eliza asked anxiously.
“No, I won’t,” Henrietta said with a quick hug. “I promise.”
*
Rudd was clearly not as easily beguiled by the family as the Duke of Alvan had been on his first visit. Although he condescended to coax the timid Minnie to come to him, he clearly didn’t care when she didn’t. He accepted his introductions to the children and their governess without uttering a word to any of them. Later, he was surprised into answering one of George’s knowledgeable questions about his horses, but he looked so disdainful afterward that even George was discouraged.
He was urbane and pleasant during dinner, conversing with Henrietta and her mother in his usual manner, which she had once found entertaining. Now it seemed just a little forced and mechanical, and one of his witty stories, Henrietta had already heard before. She found herself wondering if, had she never met Sydney, she would actually have married Rudd. Her mind boggled. Would she really have been so foolish? She hoped not.
The Unmarriageable Collection (Books 1–3) Page 58
