Papa’s Joy

by Sue Lyndon

  “Are you an angel fallen from heaven, miss?” he asked with uncharacteristic humor as he leaned closer to the girl.

  An impish grin overtook her features. “I don’t think anyone has ever mistaken me for an angel, my lord.” She giggled, and her laughter was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.

  Edward glanced up long enough to deduce that Lord Grayson and Miss Heathrow were indeed in agreement about getting married, Miss Wickersham was wearing an expression of dire exasperation as she assisted the older girl who’d fallen on the chair, and the formerly pistol-wielding lord was escorting the other young lady from the room.

  It was at that moment the vicar walked in. The elderly man stopped in his tracks and clutched a book to his chest, his surprised gaze sweeping around the room.

  Well, Edward supposed he ought to give Lord Grayson and Miss Heathrow some privacy to exchange their vows. He would not and could not force Miss Heathrow to marry him since she so obviously desired to be with Lord Grayson. He had never seen a couple look so in love as they stared at one another. When Lord Grayson glanced up, Edward gave him a polite nod, silently conveying that he did not plan to interfere with their nuptials, however unorthodox they might have come about.

  Edward turned the dark-haired beauty in his arms and guided her out of the study, still unable to take his hands off her. It was most improper of him to keep touching her waist, and he quickly started to understand Lord Grayson’s plight.

  A fierce and sudden attraction for the young lady in his arms burned through Edward, and he realized with startling clarity that if any man tried to pull this girl from his grasp in this moment, he would do away with such a man swiftly and violently. He felt downright deranged and animalistic as he led the girl into the great room and helped her sit. He sank onto the sofa next to her and boldly draped an arm around her.

  “Are you all right, little miss?” He eyed her with concern. “Should I call for a doctor? Or, if I remember correctly, you have a nurse in residence at Talcott House. Shall I take you to the nurse?”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, please don’t take me to see Nurse Lister,” the girl said. “She’s a most dour woman. Grumpier than Miss Wickersham is when she hasn’t yet had her breakfast and so very bossy. Even bossier than Garland, and you would not believe how bossy she is, my lord.”

  “Very well, then,” he said with amusement building. He found her the most fascinating girl. Talkative and adorable and filled with energy, she was an absolute delight. Her mere presence made his worries and the darkness in his heart melt away. He grasped her delicate gloved hand in his and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss upon the back of her hand. “I am Edward Kensington, Earl of Sterling, and I am so very pleased to make your acquaintance, young miss. Would you please do me the honor of telling me your name?”

  The prettiest blush stole over the girl’s face. “My-my name is Miss Daisy Smith. I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well, Lord Kensington. I hope it is not too bold of me to tell you how sorry I am that your morning has not gone as planned, but I admire you for not standing in the way of true love, for it is my opinion that Cynny and Lord Grayson are deeply in love. Did you see the way they looked at one another? My mother always said love matches were as rare as a flower that blooms in moonlight, which by the way I have never seen happen—do you know what kind of flower she was talking about?—but as I was saying, you did a kind and noble thing by allowing their marriage to take place this morning. I do so dearly hope that you do not feel too sad, my lord. Perhaps one day you will meet your love match. I advise you to keep your eyes peeled,” she said with utmost seriousness as she chattered fast as a little hummingbird might flap its wings, “for my mother also once told me that true love can strike in the most surprising places and between the most unlikely of people.”

  Edward stared at her in silence for several seconds, feeling his jaw start to drop, but he quickly pressed his lips together and allowed himself a moment to digest everything she had said. In her sweet innocence, he realized, she was not even talking about herself when she advised him to keep his eyes peeled for his true love. She wasn’t trying to attach herself to him as a pushy eligible young miss might attempt to do at the balls and other social festivities Edward preferred to avoid. She was simply trying to comfort him.

  At that precise instant, a piece of his heart broke off and attached itself to her. His throat tightened and he swallowed hard, as unfamiliar emotions—not sadness as she had feared, but something else entirely new and exciting—rolled through him.

  “My lord? Are you going to cry?” she asked, her eyes going wide with sympathy. “Oh, my lord, as I said, your time for true love will surely come one day, and perhaps it will come soon. Please do not cry, but if you cannot help it, just say the word and I will stand guard at the entrance to the great room so no one interrupts you. I don’t like it when other people see me cry.”

  He had the strangest urge to grab her and kiss her soundly. But he didn’t. He had only learned her name seconds ago, and until a few minutes earlier, he had still been betrothed to another.

  Instead of grabbing her and kissing her, he found himself laughing. A real laugh, the first laugh he could recall having enjoyed in a long time. This sweet young lady had enamored herself to him without even trying. She had made him smile and laugh and wish he could drag the vicar into the great room to perform another wedding ceremony this morning. Miss Wickersham might have thought Miss Heathrow was the best choice for Edward when she’d arranged their betrothal, but Edward now very much questioned the headmistress’s matchmaking skills. It was this sweet young miss with the dark hair and the adorable blush—the lovely Miss Daisy Smith—who was perfect for him in every way. He had never been more certain of anything in his entire life.

  She tilted her head, giving him a puzzled look. “What is so funny, my lord? You were being so awfully quiet that I feared you might start crying, yet now you are laughing as if you don’t have a care in the world.”

  He reached for an errant lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear, letting his fingertips trail ever so lightly along her flesh. It wasn’t proper. Not at all. But he couldn’t help himself. It was all he could do to keep from pressing her down on the sofa and placing kisses along her neckline. “I was being quiet, my sweet, because I did not wish to interrupt you. You are the most talkative and delightful little miss I have ever met, as well as the most beautiful and endearingly sweet.”

  She gave a little gasp and appeared surprised, and he wondered with an aching heart if anyone had ever told her how pretty and sweet she was. A girl like her deserved to be showered with compliments and praise on a daily basis, and he longed to be the man to dote upon her in such a fashion. His feelings for her were so strong and sudden that he didn’t experience the slightest bit of heartache when the wedding party passed the great room and bustled outside.

  Miss Wickersham paused in the entryway of the great room and crooked a finger at Daisy. “You!” the older woman said in an accusing tone. “I will be back to deal with you very soon, little girl. Eavesdropping is not an acceptable pastime for a proper young miss, and this is not the first time I have had to remind you of it.” Then the headmistress all of a sudden seemed to realize Edward was holding Miss Smith with far too much familiarity, and she promptly placed her hands on her hips and turned her glare on him. “Lord Kensington, I will thank you to take your hands off my little charge. There will be no canoodling at Talcott House. ”

  With great reluctance, Edward unwrapped his arm from around Miss Smith and held his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender. Miss Smith giggled beside him and folded her hands in her lap, and the two of them straightened in their seats and conveyed an exaggerated air of innocence to Miss Wickersham until the older woman finally walked away after someone called her name.

  “Oh, you naughty, naughty lord,” Miss Smith said with a waggle of her eyebrows. “You better run and hide or Miss Wickersham might take her ruler to you.”