by Joan Wolf
“Maria outgrew her old pony and we got her Candy a few months ago,” Diana said. “She was quiet when I looked at her, but she seems to have a habit of spooking.”
“Having a deer jump out in front of her would spook most horses,” Alex commented.
“True,” Diana said. “But there have been other occasions…”
“Remember that hellion of a pony I used to have?” Alex asked.
For the first time a faint smile tilted Diana’s lips. “You loved him because he would jump anything.”
“He would buck at anything, too.”
The smile disappeared from Diana’s face. “I hope the horses meet with your approval,” she said stiffly.
“Miss Diana has taken charge of the stable since your father died, your lordship,” Henley said. “She has made sure that everything runs smoothly.”
“I see that I must thank you, Dee,” Alex said. “I appreciate your time and effort.”
“It was nothing,” she said dismissively. “Now I think we had better return to the house and see what has happened to poor Maria.”
She strode down the aisle toward the door and he lingered a moment, watching her slim figure clad in a serviceable riding skirt and a wool jacket. Her red-gold hair caught all the light in the stable.
After a moment, he followed her.
Two
Maria had indeed broken her collarbone and Alex bent to kiss his ten-year-old sister and commiserate with her.
“Have you ever broken your collarbone?” she asked. Her face was white and her blond curls were tumbled.
“No, but I broke my arm once.”
“Falling from a horse?”
“Yes. My pony bucked me off.”
Maria said, “I don’t think I like Candy. She is always jumping at things.”
“Then we’ll get you another pony,” he said promptly.
“She was good when I tried her. It was just when we got her home that she started to act spooky.”
“Then she’s not the pony for you,” he said. “We’ll get you something more reliable.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, Alex.”
“Maria needs something like my Basil,” said Margaret, Alex’s twelve-year-old sister. “He’s very steady.”
“We’ll see what we can find,” he said.
Alex, Diana, Sally and Margaret were in Maria’s room and Maria was in bed, where Lady Standish had insisted she stay for the rest of the afternoon. Maria’s left arm was in a sling.
“At least it’s your left arm,” Margaret said.
“Yes,” Maria said glumly. “Jeremy is going to make fun of me when he hears that I fell off and broke my collarbone.”
Jeremy was Alex’s brother who was at Eton.
“No he won’t,” Alex said. “I won’t let him.”
Maria’s blue eyes looked hopefully at her eldest brother. “You won’t?”
“No.”
Maria smiled. “I’m glad you’re home, Alex.”
“I’m glad I’m home, too,” he said.
“I think we should all leave and give Maria a chance to rest,” Sally said.
Diana was the first one to turn to the door. She was followed by Margaret, then Sally and lastly Alex. He closed the door behind him gently.
Once they were out in the hall, his eighteen-year-old sister Sally smiled up at him. “We’re so glad you’re home and that you’re safe,” she said.
“I’m glad to be home,” Alex said for perhaps the dozenth time that day.
“Did Mama tell you that Diana and I are going to make our come-outs next month?” Sally asked.
“Yes, she did.”
“You can be our escort, Alex. Perhaps you will even find a girl you want to marry yourself.”
Alex’s eyes went to Diana. “Perhaps,” he said.
Dinner that evening was a festive affair. It was a welcome home dinner for Alex and both Margaret and Maria were allowed to join the family at the table. Diana and her mother were also present. Lady Standish explained to Alex that since his father had died she had invited her cousin Louisa and her daughter to join her for dinner every evening. “It would have been too sad, with just Sally and me.”
The Sherwood women lived in a cottage on the Standish estate and had done so for the past eighteen years. Lady Standish had invited her cousin Louisa to make use of the house when her husband had been called to military duty in India. Mr. Sherwood had eventually attained the rank of colonel and after India he had been called to the Peninsula, where he had perished in the Battle of Corunna.
The Sherwoods were not in the same social or financial class as the Earl and Countess of Standish, but because the two women were close friends, the Sherwoods had often taken part in the activities of Standish Court. The earl had been very tolerant of his wife’s cousin, but he had been more aware of the gap between the two families than his wife had been. Both women knew that if the earl had been alive, Diana would not have been making her come-out with Sally.
So Alex sat around the table that night with six females. It was a distinct change for a man who for the past three years had known masculine companionship almost exclusively.
“You must sit down with Billings and go over the estate books,” Lady Sherwood said to her son as the soup course was served. “I think he is a good man, but your papa was scrupulous about keeping up with all of the estate accounts. I believe there is also something that needs to be done with the property in Derbyshire.”
How different my life is going to be, Alex thought. All my life, all I wanted was to be a soldier. Now that’s over and I’m an earl. He let his eyes roam around the familiar but somehow strange-looking room. Then he looked back at his mother.
“I’ll talk to him, Mama,” he said.
Lady Standish gave him a grateful smile. “It is so good to have you home, my son.”
“Alex said he would get me a new pony, Mama,” Maria said. “Candy is too dangerous.”
“Good, good,” said Lady Standish. “We can’t have you breaking your bones, Maria.”
“What do you think is going to happen in France, Alex?” Mrs. Sherwood asked.
Alex looked at her. She was still very attractive but she had never been the beauty her daughter was. “We have Napoleon on the ropes, ma’am,” he replied. “He is going to have to abdicate.”
“Does that mean the king will come back?” Diana asked.
Alex turned his eyes to her. She was dressed in a simple ivory evening dress that set off the pure white of her skin. It gave him a shock of physical pleasure just to look at her. She was even more beautiful than the image he had carried in his heart for all those years. “He said Louis has been waiting patiently in England for this chance for a long time.”
“Well, I hope they set up a government more like ours, with a parliament that gives the people some power,” Diana said. “It would be a shame for France to have gone through all it has only to end up with the same old Bourbons again.”
Alex smiled at her. “Still a revolutionary, eh Dee?”
“I wouldn’t call it revolutionary to wish for a governing parliament,” Diana replied soberly.
“I don’t think France will ever be the same again,” Alex said. “The revolution has left its mark, that’s for certain.”
“Well, I think that’s a good thing,” Diana replied decidedly.
Sally said, “When do you think we can leave for London, Mama?”
“I would like to have our ball before the end of April,” Lady Standish replied. “That means we will have to be in London several weeks earlier, to make plans and to buy clothes.”
Sally smiled. She had golden curls and sky-blue eyes like Alex. She said now, “It is going to be such fun, isn’t it, Diana?”
Diana smiled back. “Yes, it is.”
“What’s all this about a ball?” Alex said.
“We must have a ball to introduce the girls to society,” his mother said. “You will be the host, of course.”
He frowned. “
I don’t know about this, Mama. I’ve been away at war for the last three years. I don’t know anything about balls.”
“You won’t have to do a thing,” his mother assured him. “Louisa and I will do it all. All you need to do is be there and stand in the receiving line with us. Oh, and dance with each of the girls, of course. And with as many other ladies as you can.”
Alex’s frown remained. “I had no idea when you called me home that I was going to be thrust into the middle of London’s social whirl.”
“It is your proper place,” his mother said. “You are the head of the family now, Alex. You have responsibilities.”
I know I do, he thought a little grimly. I just didn’t think that one of them was going to be to help Dee find a husband.
The following week was a whirlwind of activity for Alex. His estate agent, John Billings, took him all over the property belonging to Standish Court and pointed out the things that needed to be taken care of. His banker came from London and spent many hours going over his assets and encumbrances.
The late Lord Standish had been a prudent man and the estate was in good financial order. His mother had a widow’s jointure and use of the dower house should she want it. His brothers and sisters were Alex’s responsibility, but there was ample money to fund the boys’ educations and the girls’ come-outs into society.
In fact, Alex was a very wealthy man.
Mr. Billings had a few pet projects—like a canal on the Derbyshire estate—that he had been trying to get the late earl to invest in, and he brought them up to Alex, who put him off, promising to think about them.
Alex drove over to Oxford and Eton to visit his two younger brothers, who each managed to cadge ten pounds off of him.
By the end of the week, the whole family was as comfortable with Alex as if he had never gone away. Everyone, that is, except Diana.
He had tried numerous times to be alone with her, but she had not cooperated. She didn’t want to take a ride with him; she didn’t want to take a walk out to the lake with him; she didn’t even want to go with him to look at a new pony for Maria.
It was very frustrating.
He even stooped to trying to stir up a little sympathy from her by remarking that the damp weather was bothering his wound. She simply gave him a brilliant, dark-eyed stare. “What a shame,” she said, and walked away.
It didn’t help that she was so beautiful, that every time he saw her he wanted to catch her in his arms and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. It was quite clear to him, however, that such an action would only alienate her further.
“Why are you so angry at Alex?” Sally asked Diana suddenly one afternoon as the girls were sitting side by side in the Yellow Drawing Room looking at magazines of the latest styles in clothing.
Diana felt a stab of alarm. “I’m not angry at him. Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Well, you’re very short with him, that’s for certain. And he is trying to be so nice to you. It’s not like you, Diana, not to be friendly. Especially to Alex.”
“I’m friendly,” Diana said defensively. She couldn’t meet Sally’s honest gaze so she kept her eyes on her magazine.
“No, you’re not. Look at me, Diana. What’s wrong?”
Diana looked up, her brown eyes meeting Sally’s sky-blue gaze. The two girls were very close, and it was difficult for Diana to fib.
“Nothing is wrong,” Diana said crisply. “You’re imagining things, Sally. It’s just that my mind is on things other than Alex right now. I’m very excited about our London come-out.”
Pretty color flushed into Sally’s cheeks. She was a lovely girl, the picture of innocent girlhood poised on the brink of becoming a woman. She had been allowed this last year to attend one or two local assemblies and house parties where she had encountered young men, but her experiences had not given her any hint of sophistication.
“I’m excited about it, too,” she said. “It will be so different from our usual life here at Standish Court.”
“I know,” Diana said. She tried to focus her mind on their upcoming London visit. “Cousin Amelia says that there are places to ride. Hyde Park is evidently a popular venue. We will need horses. I wonder if Alex knows which ones he is going to bring.”
“Ask him,” Sally urged. “You will be miserable if you can’t ride.”
“I know.”
“Then ask him. You know Mama is leaving the horses up to Alex. Find out from him what he is going to do.”
Later that afternoon, Diana had an opportunity to ask Alex this important question. They were both at the stable at the same time. Diana was lunging Candy when a carriage came in with a jet-black horse tied behind it. Shortening up the lunge line, Diana went over to look at the black horse, which was standing quietly looking around him.
He was a large animal, with a beautiful arched neck, short back and long, strong-looking legs.
Henley came out of the stable and went over to the carriage. “This must be his lordship’s horse from the Peninsula,” he said to the driver.
“That’s right,” the driver answered. “This is Black Bart. I’ve brought him all the way from Bordeaux.”
“I’ll send to the house to tell his lordship you are here,” Henley said.
While they waited for Alex, Diana introduced herself to Black Bart. He took the piece of carrot she offered and pricked his ears forward when she began to talk to him. Then, once they were acquainted, she proceed to run her hands down his legs and over his nicely sloping shoulders.
“Bart!” It was Alex’s voice. “How are you, fellow? I’ve missed you!”
The horse nickered when he heard the familiar voice. Alex went over to rub his forehead and scratch under his mane in a place he clearly liked.
Diana said, “He’s a beautiful horse, Alex.”
He turned his head to grin at her. “He saved my bacon a few times, I can tell you that. Unlike many cavalry horses who simply gallop forward out of control, Bart always listened to me.” He turned back to the gelding. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you fellow?”
Bart tossed his head in reply.
Alex turned to Henley. “Is his stall ready?”
“Aye, my lord. We’ve had it ready for several days now.”
The sun glinted off the black of the horse’s coat and the black of Alex’s hair as he took the rope that had tied the horse to the carriage, turned him and began to lead him toward the barn.
Diana followed.
Once Bart had been established in his stall with a bucket of fresh water and a pile of hay, Alex turned away from the door and for the first time seemed to notice Diana’s presence.
“So you like him, Dee?” he asked.
“Very much.” She began to walk out of the barn with him. “Have you decided what horses you are bringing to London with you?”
They had left the stable yard and followed the path back to the house. “I will have the carriage horses, of course, and I will bring horses for you and Sally to ride. And I’ll bring Bart for me.”
“Do you think you could bring Monty for me?” Diana asked a little breathlessly. “Annie is basically retired. She’s lame more often than she’s not.”
He frowned. “Monty’s all right in the country, but can you trust him in the city, with all the traffic? He’s never been in a city in his life.”
“I’m sure he’ll be all right,” Diana said.
“Perhaps we would be better off buying you a horse accustomed to London. I can always go to Tattersalls and pick you up a good riding horse.”
“I’d rather have Monty,” Diana insisted. “I have grown very fond of him since you left. I ride him almost every day.”
He stopped and regarded her with lifted black brows. “So you took over my horse, eh?”
“You left him,” she said, her beautiful lips set into a grim line. “You didn’t care what happened to him.”
He kept looking at her, then he turned and began to walk again. “I left him in my father’s
stable, where no horse has ever been neglected. I had no worry that he would be mistreated. Moreover, I knew from Sally that you were riding him.”
It was stupid to alienate him, she thought. Not when she wanted this favor from him. “He’s like my own horse,” she said in a softer voice. “Please, Alex, if you’re not going to bring him for yourself, bring him for me. I’m looking forward to going to London, but if I can’t ride I shall be miserable.”
“Very well,” he said abruptly. “I’ll take Monty.”
She drew in her breath audibly. “Thank you,” she said.
He nodded and they continued their walk. After a minute of silence, he said, “You don’t have to go to London to find a husband, you know. You can marry me.”
She had spent her whole girlhood thinking she would marry Alex. But that was all changed now. “That’s good of you,” she said expressionlessly, “but it’s too late, Alex.”
“You’re only twenty and I’m twenty-two! How can it be too late?”
All of the anger and pain and feelings of abandonment bubbled up inside her and this time she couldn’t push them back down. She turned on him passionately. “It was too late the day you made your decision to go into the army,” she said angrily. “That was the day you killed whatever it was that I felt for you.”
He caught her arm and held her facing him. “I can’t believe that’s true.”
She stared down at his hand and slowly he opened his fingers and let her go.
“Believe it,” she said, as she turned and walked away. “Because it’s the truth.”
Three
It was several days since the shock of seeing Alex again had caused Diana to jump and her breath to accelerate. When he had called her Dee…no one else in this world had ever called her Dee. It was a symbol of the bond between them, that name.
But as the time passed, and the unexpectedness of seeing him began to wear off, she found herself more able to steel herself when she was in his presence. He was busy about the estate and she often didn’t see him until dinnertime. There, surrounded by the rest of the family, it was easier to be cool and composed, to let herself pretend that she was indifferent to him.
