by S Cinders
Lydia allowed the young man to help her stand. Besides a rather incessant ache in her hip and side, she did not feel that she would have lasting damage from the altercation.
“Thank you, Mr. Ridenhour, I am Miss Lydia Pritchard.”
“Miss Pritchard,” Kit looked positively forlorn, “Do you suppose that we could just keep this little incident to ourselves?”
Lydia’s lips almost betrayed her, but she waited until she could speak in a steady tone.
“Well, Mr. Pritchard, you were driving at an unbearably fast clip, especially when there are pedestrians present. Where ever were you going in such a hurry?”
The twins who couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen flushed. They were remarkably good-looking boys and in time would be gentlemen of the first stare.
“I do most humbly apologize, Miss Pritchard. You see, it is only that I cannot seem to arrive on-time to anything and my Uncle warned that I was not to be late to meet his Godmomma. It was as Tom said, I was driving much too fast. Especially given that there are people present and I do not know the thoroughfare.”
“That was very prettily said,” Lydia twinkled at him. “And I do believe that you have learned a good lesson today.”
He nodded with alacrity, “Yes, most certainly I did. I shall not allow my valet to over keep me when Uncle Jasper is waiting.”
Lydia could not help the bubble of mirth that passed her lips, “Very well, I suppose that is a lesson, Mr. Ridenhour.”
Tom shook his head in disgust, “She doesn’t give a fig for your toilet, Kit. Your lesson is to slow down you Nod Cock before you kill anyone else. At least you had the good sense to run down someone nice. Had your victim been a harpy we could all be in the suds.”
The light dawned in Kit’s eyes, “Oh yes! By Jove, you are dead right.”
He looked over to see Lydia’s eyes dancing at him, and an answering smile met hers.
“Let me try that again, Miss Pritchard,” Kit began.
But Lydia only laughed and patted Kit’s arm in a friendly manner, “Goodness me, no! I shan’t sit through it another time if you do. Pray, if you were late before, just think about how behind you are now? Whatever is your Uncle Jasper going to think?”
A whiskey smooth male voice answered instead of the youthful exuberance of the twins, “That is a fine question indeed. What is Uncle Jasper to think?”
The three of them turned. The twins in dread and Lydia if only to discover what sort of man was Uncle to two such ramshackle youth.
The arresting sight that met her gaze had her floundering for a moment. He had much the same coloring of the boys. Only this was no youth.
Tall and lean, with steel gray eyes and a square jaw, the boy’s uncle cut an imposing figure. He was rigged out with the finest of linens. His pants cut in the severe style flattering a shapely calf and long muscular thigh. There was no padding or flummery to his costume, his colors were muted, and the only adornments he wore were a signet ring and an ox pin in his cravat.
“Have these two whelps been harassing you, Madam?”
Lydia loved the timbre of his voice. It was dark and decadent. It took her only a moment to realize she had been spoken to.
“Oh, not at all, they have been most,” she paused trying to locate the correct term, “entertaining.”
“I see,” there was not a fleck of emotion in his handsome visage to confirm this.
“Truly, all is well,” she bumbled on, “as you can very well see. And, I had best be on my way.”
With the first step pain radiated from her hip. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t walk, it was only that the discomfort and ill at ease of the business, showed on her face.
The Uncle frowned, “If you would wait just one moment, please? I am very much assured that all is well, but what I would really like to know is the truth. Out with it, halflings, what have you done?”
Kit swallowed, “Is it too late for you to play dead, Miss Pritchard? I may wish to join you.”
CHAPTER 2
“Why the devil have you taken a ladies companion of all things?” Ravenstock stood with his back to the fire in his godmother’s boudoir, eyeing her with a critical air. “Are you ill?”
Lady Amanda Avery shook her blond curls, “Dearest, it is nothing of the kind, please, come and sit beside me so that we might be comfortable and I shall tell you the whole of it.”
Ravenstock assessed her, still quite lovely, his widowed godmother had not reached her fiftieth year. He knew that she tended to be lonely and was eminently kind hearted. What worried him the most was that this Miss Pritchard had found a plump pigeon to pluck.
And if that were the case he would soon make short work of her. She was far too lovely to be a ladies companion, there was something havey-cavey going on, and he was going to get to the bottom of it post haste.
“Very well, Godmama,” Ravenstock crossed the room and took a seat beside her. “I will have the truth of it. And no nonsense, I have enough of that to deal with from the twins.”
Lady Avery’s eye’s alighted as they always did when Kit and Tom were mentioned, “Is it true that they were trying to smuggle a demimonde into Eton?”
Ravenstock looked taken aback, “Goodness no! Wherever did you hear that?”
“It is the latest on-dit for their being sent down,” her lips twitched. “What did they do this time?”
Ravenstock sighed, a hint of smile entering his eyes, “Nothing so dramatic I assure you. They tried to switch places for a maths exam. You know how terrible Kit is at arithmetic, they would have done better to remember to have Tom miss a few answers. As it was when a perfect paper was turned in the headmasters knew that a hoax had been played.”
Lady Avery giggled, “What did the boys do?”
Ravenstock rolled his eyes, “They admitted their part in the farce right away, you know how they are.”
She laughed, “No doubt they thought it was a grand joke!”
“Oh, they did,” Ravenstock added darkly, “Until I let them know that they would not be kicking their heels in London as they were as lief to do. I thought a nice long visit in Bath ought to be a good enough punishment for them.”
“So that they could spend time contemplating their terrible crimes amidst the quizzes and elderly patrons. How very clever you are, Jasper!”
Ravenstock glowered at her, “And then I come here to find you have Aphrodite posing as your ladies companion. Devil take it, how did such a thing come about? And please do not tell me the same nonsense that Miss Pritchard tried to feed me. I want the truth—dammit!”
Lady Avery patted his arm, “Now Ravenstock, you are taking a pet, and this is not good for you at all. I haven’t the slightest notion what dear Lydia has done to upset you. But you mustn't get yourself all worked up about this.
He stared at her in disbelief, “Madam, you are evading my question.”
Her bright smile met his, the amusement in her blue orbs causing his teeth to clench.
“Dearest, are you concerned that the boys have a slight tendre for Miss Pritchard? Do not for a moment let it worry you. I promise you that they are merely dazzled by an older woman. She is five and twenty to their seventeen.”
Ravenstock was arrested for a moment. He hadn’t realized she was as old as that, not that it signified. “I want to know why she is here, and where she came from.”
“For the normal reasons I assure you. Lydia is the most lovely sprite. I am quite the luckiest of creatures to be able to have her attend me. You can have no notion of how fortunate I account myself. And we get along much like a house fire darling, so very well.
I think her people are from the North, dear, or perhaps East,” Lady Avery smiled vaguely, “Now I must go check on Lydia, I do believe that she was injured much worse than she led us to believe and then I shall dress for dinner.”
Ravenstock stood, concern immediately lacing his features. “Of course, do you feel we should send for a physician?”
“I had Halverson send for the Doctor when we arrived home. Hopefully, all is well, but I would like to ascertain that for myself.”
“I won’t keep you any longer then, Godmomma,” Ravenstock went to leave, but Lady Avery stopped him.
“How long do you and the twins plan on staying? I do hope that you will make an extended visit. I have missed you all so very much.”
Ravenstock went to her and took her hands in his own, “I am sorry Godmomma, I have neglected you for far too long. We shall stay for at least a fortnight. You know that you are always welcome at any of my homes.”
Lady Avery smiled up at him, curls bouncing, “Yes, dearest, you are the kindest of god son’s. And I am blessed to have you. Indeed I am. But I have found my little nitch here in Bath, and I like to think that they would quite fall apart without me.”
Ravenstock let a rare smile pass, “Indeed Madam, Bath would waste away without your vivacity.”
Lady Avery squeezed his hands before releasing him, “Flatterer! Now, be off, and I shall see you all at dinner.”
It wasn’t until Ravenstock was dressing for dinner that he realized he had been well and truly played. Not only had his lovely Godmomma avoided his questions about Miss Pritchard, but she had sent him on his way like a little schoolboy, much like he would the twins.
Him! The Earl of Ravenstock! He had to chuckle. The woman was indeed a rare bird—but she wasn’t going to get away with it. He would find out what his Godmother and Miss Pritchard were hiding if it was the last thing he did.
A small thrill went through him—it had been awhile since he had been faced with an equitable foe.
Bring it on Miss Pritchard. He would be ready.
It was then that he heard the door open. Thinking it to be his man, he gave the instructions to bring his shaving items necessary to ready himself, but when no response was given, he turned and found himself face to face with a small child of four or five.
“Who the devil are you?”
The little boy blinked, “Max, sir. Who are you?”
Ravenstock starred, the little boy reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t think of whom. “I am Ravenstock, where are your parents?”
“I haven’t any, but I do have a sister,” his dark brown curls were wind blown. “But she isn’t feeling well right now, so I am not to bother her.”
Understanding settled upon Ravenstock, “You are Miss Pritchard’s brother?”
Max bobbed his head up and down, “Yes, sir. But she has hurt her ribs and cannot take me on our afternoon walk. Lady Avery is dressing for dinner, and she said that I was to stay in the nursery or the big bad wolf might eat me.”
Ravenstock lips twitched, “And you went in search of the wolf?”
“I couldn’t have you eating my sister, sir,” Max said with alacrity. “Even if she does make me attend that horrid Sunday School and eat my vegetables. What kind of brother would I be?”
Ravenstock took a moment to answer, “Yes, I can see that it would be hard to consider saving someone that made me attend church and eat spinach—most intolerable.”
“And you aren’t a wolf,” Max continued, “You said so yourself.”
Ravenstock raised a brow, “I did?”
“Certainly,” Max continued, “you are a bird. Can you turn into a raven at will or does it just sneak up on you?”
**
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