by Abby Ayles
“Are you not close, then? Your sister told me that he grew up in this area the same as you.”
“We have known one another almost our entire lives,” Lord Ridgecleff informed her. He looked at her, his gaze sharp, shrewd. “Why do I get the impression that you are up to something?”
“What on earth do you mean?” Natalie asked.
He shook his head. “I cannot put my finger on you, Miss Natalie.”
“I should be concerned if you could, after so short a time of knowing me.”
Lord Ridgecleff looked amused. “You certainly know how to hold your own in a conversation if you wish.”
“I suspect that you do as well and are holding your wit in check,” Natalie replied. “I wish you would not do so. Where is the famous charm that made you so popular on the Continent?”
Lord Ridgecleff actually smiled at her. “Perhaps I fear you would not be able to handle it.”
“I am to be your wife, surely I shall have time to build up an immunity.”
Lord Ridgecleff’s jaw tightened, as though he was trying not to laugh. She was reminded of how attractive he was when he was not being so stern. Natalie could only hope that this was a good sign—that they could, indeed, learn to have fun together.
Mrs. Hapson called for them all to go into dinner. Natalie was obliged to sit next to Lord Ridgecleff but managed to get herself seated directly across from Mr. Cleary.
It was perfect. Now she could ask Mr. Cleary about himself and stir his feelings concerning Miss Ridgecleff.
“You have grown up in the area, Mr. Cleary?” Natalie asked.
“Yes, quite so,” the gentleman replied. “I should be happy to show you around the area if you would like. I’m certain that Lord Ridgecleff must be busy.”
“A man should never be too busy for his wife,” Lord Ridgecleff replied.
Natalie was surprised at the note of possession in Lord Ridgecleff’s voice. One might almost say that he was jealous or territorial. It surprised her, especially directed towards a man that Lord Ridgecleff had known nearly all of his life.
She had not labeled her fiancé as the jealous type. She hoped that he would not object to her speaking with men. If so they were likely to have a very unhappy marriage.
“Miss Ridgecleff looks rather pretty tonight, does she not?” Natalie offered up instead. Hopefully this would draw Mr. Cleary’s thoughts down the proper path and distract from whatever that outburst from Lord Ridgecleff had been.
Mr. Cleary looked over at Miss Ridgecleff. She was indeed wearing a lovely pale blue dress that complemented her eyes and rather pale, almost white hair.
“Yes, I dare say she does,” Mr. Cleary said. “She has always been a fine-looking young woman.”
“I think that truly fine-looking women are so rare nowadays,” Natalie said. “We hear all of these stories about great beauties who started wars. And yet I have met so few who can truly be called beautiful.”
“I should say that you fall under that category, Miss Natalie,” Mr. Cleary replied.
Natalie laughed. “Oh, you must not flatter me. I know where I stand. You must not think that I am fishing for a compliment. I meant only that Miss Ridgecleff is one such person that I might declare to have true beauty.”
Louisa shot Natalie a warning look. She could almost read her sister’s thoughts as if she’d said them aloud. You’re being too obvious, Louisa’s look seemed to say.
Natalie ignored her. Louisa would have to eat her words when they were all congratulating Mr. Cleary and Miss Ridgecleff on their engagement.
The dinner progressed nicely. Mrs. Hapson was a rather dull lady and talked altogether too much in Natalie’s opinion. Mr. Hunsford and his sister were both nice people. Natalie found them a bit quiet for her tastes but otherwise there was nothing to be found against them.
Mr. Cleary was quite the charming conversationalist. If women were allowed to propose in the place of men, Natalie was certain that he should already have received several offers of marriage.
He complimented Miss Ridgecleff well, in Natalie’s opinion. Miss Ridgecleff was a sweet and cheerful girl but on the quieter side. Her enthusiasm came in being around the presence of others and listening to them.
Mr. Cleary, on the other hand, seemed to delight in the sharing of witticisms and amusing stories. With an eager wife to listen to him, he would be well set. And Miss Ridgecleff would find herself well entertained by her husband.
Natalie did her best to compliment one or the other whenever speaking to the opposite member.
By the time that dinner ended and Mrs. Hapson suggested they retire for a game of cards, Natalie was certain that she had planted and nourished the idea of romance in each person’s mind.
The gentlemen were to start a game of bridge, and so the ladies started their own. Mrs. Hapson was an avid player and so Miss Hunsford begged off, instead procuring a book from the library.
“I must say that it is wonderful to see Lord Ridgecleff engaged to such a lady as yourself,” Mrs. Hapson said.
“You needn’t flatter her so,” Miss Ridgecleff said, laughing. “I’m sure that Miss Natalie has heard compliments enough already.”
“I confess I am surprised that I am the only young lady here to be engaged,” Natalie said, seizing another opportunity.
“Yes, unfortunate about Miss Hunsford,” Mrs. Hapson said, lowering her voice so that the lady in question might not overhear.
“And what of yourself?” Natalie asked Miss Ridgecleff. “You cannot have been devoid of offers.”
“I have entertained hopes,” Miss Ridgecleff said, “but I’m afraid that is all they have been.”
“We have all had hopes,” Mrs. Hapson said. “I was certain at least three times that I should be proposed to before my dear departed Thomas came along.”
“You and your husband were of a complimentary character, then?” Louisa asked.
Natalie did not want to sit through the yammering of an old woman about her dead husband. But Louisa was always being polite that way.
“Oh, yes, he was a wonderful man,” Mrs. Hapson said. “You know, I think that we rather underestimate the quiet men. Young ladies always look to the witty men with their charm. But it’s men like Thomas who carry the day in the end.
“You know of what I speak, Miss Natalie. Lord Ridgecleff is rather the same. It has been my distinct pleasure to watch him grow up. We were all quite surprised when he all but fled to the Continent.”
“Father and my elder brother have had their differences,” Miss Ridgecleff said quickly, “but it is all mended now.”
“As it should be.” Mrs. Hapson nodded. “But as I was saying, he was always very charismatic in that quiet sort of way. Of course it helps that he’s handsome.
“But a man like that is one that you know that you can depend upon, Miss Natalie. I’ve found the charming ones can turn on you at the drop of a hatpin. A man such as Lord Ridgecleff will be a rock to cling to.”
“Mrs. Hapson, really, is such discussion appropriate?” Miss Ridgecleff asked.
“I’m merely congratulating the girl,” Mrs. Hapson replied jovially. “I think that it’s well done of her. Most women pass over the men that it takes more time to get to know. She’ll find more depth to him than others we might speak on.”
“I am glad to hear him spoken of so highly,” Natalie said, trying to smooth things over. “There are those poor girls who get engaged and then nobody has the courage to tell them they are making a poor decision. The only clue is the lack of compliments to her on her choice.”
“That is sadly true,” Mrs. Hapson said.
From there the talk turned more to other matters. Natalie was quite determined to start up a tradition of balls in some form or another. Mrs. Hapson seemed eager at the idea, as did Miss Ridgecleff.
Natalie could feel her sister’s disapproval all throughout the night. On their way home, in the carriage, she wanted to ask her about it. But Miss Ridgecleff was there as well and so Natalie was obli
ged to wait until they were in their rooms.
“I wish you would be more careful in your manner, that is all,” Louisa said.
“How can I be more careful if you will not tell me what to be careful of?” Natalie replied. “You were sitting there most disapprovingly all night and yet you will not tell me why. It is most unfair.”
“I’m sure you will have an awakening as to why soon enough,” was Louisa’s cryptic reply.
Chapter 20
John was well aware that he was not the sort of man that Miss Natalie wished for in a husband.
Indeed, if he had to pick any kind of man that would best suit Miss Natalie according to her own desires, he would pick Mr. Cleary.
John had known James Cleary for well over a decade. Cleary had always been the sort of man who could win friends anywhere and easily.
Whether he was capable of keeping them was less certain.
But that had never been for John to judge. He’d had his own share of flirtations over on the Continent. Although he liked to think that he had never engaged in behavior as questionable as Cleary’s.
Still, Cleary could do what he liked. John bore no grudge against him.
Until now.
Sitting and playing bridge across the room from the ladies, John found it hard to reign in his temper.
He was surprised at himself, at his own possessiveness. He hardly knew Miss Natalie and one could not even say that he liked her.
Yes, she was witty and he rather enjoyed it when she teased him, flirted with him. He could not help but be amused by her and tease her back.
She was a lively thing. He only wished that she genuinely cared for him.
Blast it, his own feelings concerning Miss Natalie were difficult enough to sort out without Mr. Cleary all but barging in on it.
All through dinner Cleary had been taking an unusually strong interest in Miss Natalie. Of course one could write it off as genuine and innocent interest. Miss Natalie was the only new member of the dinner group.
However, John couldn’t quite get rid of his concerned thoughts. Mr. Cleary was behaving most forwardly with Miss Natalie, acting towards her as he would towards an unmarried or unengaged lady.
Perhaps John was merely being paranoid. Perhaps he was overthinking things.
Still, he could not help the anger he felt at how Miss Natalie constantly engaged Mr. Cleary in conversation. Nor did he think he was overreacting in being upset when she constantly brought up Emma to Mr. Cleary.
Emma had long harbored feelings for Mr. Hunsford, as she had disclosed to her brother in a private letter some months ago.
John had not met Mr. Hunsford at the time for he and his sister had moved into the area after John had already left for Europe. However, the description of the gentleman from Edward was encouraging.
Unfortunately, from what Emma was able to discern, Mr. Hunsford was hesitant to marry until his sister did. He was painfully aware that her position as head of his household would be relinquished to whomever he married, leaving her without even a sense of usefulness to stave off her growing fears of spinsterhood.
Mr. Hunsford was younger than his sister by a few years and men had more time in which to marry anyhow. If he wished to give his sister a few more years to feel the joy of being in charge of the household, then he had that luxury.
Emma, however, could not wait around for another three or four years until Miss Hunsford had either finally been proposed to or had accepted her spinsterhood. She had also admitted in her letters that Mr. Hunsford was a reserved gentleman and she had no guarantee that he even held any such tender affections for her the way that she had for him.
John could not help but feel protective of his sister. He certainly did not appreciate Miss Natalie attempting to talk her up to Mr. Cleary.
Aside from the vulgarity of matchmaking in the first place, Mr. Cleary was not the kind of man that John wanted his younger sister marrying. Emma wished for a gentle man, and it was nothing less than she deserved.
To pair Emma with a man like Cleary, one who longed for the spotlight and wanted to be engaged constantly in battles of wit, would be a most ill-thought-out match.
It was clear to him what Miss Natalie was doing and he could not allow that behavior any longer. He would have to see to it that he spoke with her tomorrow morning.
It was a rare privilege that, as her fiancé, he might take a turn about the garden with her with her elder sister giving them some space. It meant he could have a more private conversation with her.
He would simply take her out for a turn about the garden and explain matters to her. He was not going to have his poor sister set up in such a fashion. Nor would he have his future wife accidentally putting herself in the path of Cleary.
If, of course, Cleary was behaving the way that John feared he was and John was not simply overreacting.
“That is a fine young lady to whom you are engaged,” Cleary said, as if he was reading John’s mind.
John set down his card and indicated to Edward that it was his turn.
“She has a great wit and beauty, does she not?” Cleary continued.
Edward raised an eyebrow at John as if to ask him if he was going to continue to tolerate such words. John sighed inwardly. Edward could have a temper when he wished. Rather like John himself.
“I should hope she has both,” John said, “Else I would not have proposed to her.”
“I am surprised she had not already been engaged,” Cleary continued.
“Really, sir, is this the best subject of conversation?” Edward asked.
Mr. Hunsford looked across the table at John, a sympathetic look on his face. No doubt he had been subject to similarly frustrating and possibly embarrassing conversations with Cleary over the time that John had been away.
“I am merely making conversation,” Cleary replied. “You know we had all wondered if your brother would ever find himself a bride. And here he strolls in with this radiant flower.
“Tell me, my lord, where did you meet her?”
“At the Morrisons,” John replied, leaving out that it was at the masquerade ball. Even those who were not invited to attend heard of the annual masquerade ball. Cleary would know when it was and therefore would know that John and Miss Natalie had only just met a few days ago.
“Ah. They are a fine couple, are they not?”
From there Edward quickly steered the conversation towards safer topics. John, however, could not completely erase the pounding of his heart.
Whether it made sense or not, he felt protective of Miss Natalie. Jealous at the idea that another man should try to take her from him. He wanted to shake Cleary and ask him to speak plain and just admit that he wanted Miss Natalie for himself, and then drag him outside where they could settle this properly.
Ridiculous of him, he knew. To feel so possessive over a woman he hardly knew, his future wife or no, and to want to start a fight with another man over it.
Cleary was harmless in the end, John knew. But he must warn Miss Natalie not to encourage him and certainly not in the direction of Emma. Not when Emma would be unhappy with such a man and her affections already lay elsewhere.
Not to mention that her behavior at the dinner had not been that of a proper lady. He had felt Edward’s eyes on him the entire time, as if his brother was questioning him about his choice of her.
It was clear that Miss Natalie had little patience for Mrs. Hapson. She was a woman who could talk the ear off a mule but she was good-hearted and alone, with no one. Why begrudge her conversation or excitement over a new person to meet?
There was of course the matchmaking. Completely out of line. And then her behavior with Cleary which, although John suspected was so that she might gain his confidence and advise him better in pursuing Emma, could also be seen as flirtatious.
Also—and perhaps this was splitting hairs but—she talked altogether too much. She spoke of London and the fashions and all the balls that she had attended. She gossiped abo
ut people, skirting the edge of polite conversation.
When someone else was speaking, it was obvious that Miss Natalie was only waiting for them to end so that she might speak up once again. Her eyes were glazed as she listened, suggesting that she was spending the time formulating her own next comment.
It was most unfortunate behavior.
He must speak with her in the morning. Put an end to all of this. He would not have a wife who behaved in such a manner. It was going to reflect badly on him. Especially to Father.
No, this all must be nipped in the bud. Miss Natalie had to learn to grow up or this entire affair would end in disaster.
Chapter 21
Natalie rose the next morning planning fully on lying in bed until the bell rang for breakfast.
Unlike Bridget or Louisa who were up in the morning sending letters, Natalie detested the morning. She always slept in as long as she could.
This morning, however, when she woke up Louisa was all but standing over her waiting.
“What is it?” Natalie asked.
“Lord Ridgecleff has asked that you walk with him about the grounds,” Louisa said. “We have both been awake for some time waiting for you.”
Oh, dear. It wouldn’t do to keep Lord Ridgecleff waiting, not if she wanted to stay on his good side.
“I’ll be up in a moment.”
Natalie glanced at the clock. Honestly, who was up before nine in the morning anyhow? The milkmaids, those were the only people who should be up and about.
She dressed quickly in a simple frock and hurried downstairs. Louisa was talking quietly with Lord Ridgecleff in the library.
“I’m afraid Natalie doesn’t read much,” Louisa was saying.
Natalie paused just outside the doorframe, pressing herself against the wall. They were talking about her.
“I’m sure I read enough for the both of us,” Lord Ridgecleff replied. “It is not so much our differing habits that I fear.
“I know that I can go on walks on my own. I can read and enjoy books on my own. I can find other people to discuss those books with that are not my wife.”
