The Reckless Love of an Heir

by Jane Lark

  She washed out her brush in the small bowl of water, then wiped it on the rag beside her, before dipping it in the paint to begin another petal. “Must you wear no waistcoat and morning coat? I’d prefer it if you wore more clothes if you are coming in here to sleep while I am working.”

  He laughed. “Much as I would love to oblige you, as it is bloody agony to put either on, while I am at home I intend to make free of my comfort and abstain. You are lucky I have bothered to put a shirt on so that I am decent at all.” He walked across the room. “And it is only because Alethea was coming that I endured that feat.” He stopped on the other side of the desk and looked down at her work. “That is a reasonable copy.”

  She met his gaze. “Reasonable? I am proud of it. It is much better than I thought I could achieve. I have been studying how the illustrator has captured the shades to give the flower its life-like depth. I know I shall never be—”

  The ignorant oaf laughed.

  Susan’s eyebrows lifted. He could be so arrogant!

  “Sorry, you are just such a ridiculous anomaly. You amuse me.”

  “If you are going to ridicule me, leave me in peace?”

  “I was not ridiculing you. I was admiring your efforts.”

  “By laughing at them?”

  “Never mind, Susan. I am too tired and in too much pain to fence words with you.” He turned away. “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon painting.”

  “I shall!” she called after him sarcastically, as he walked away. She smiled to herself. She preferred him awake. She felt better with things as normal between them no matter how nice Henry looked when he was asleep, and she refused to be swayed by her sympathy for the rogue, even though she knew he was lucky to be alive—it was his own fault.

  She and Alethea dined at Farnborough, and Aunt Jane invited them to stay rather than travel back and forth each day, but Alethea denied the offer because their mother would most likely prefer it if they did not entirely desert her.

  Although it was as if they were; they had left home at ten o’clock and would most likely only return in time to retire to bed. The days were not yet long.

  Henry remained in dishabille for dinner.

  He had a sickly pallor.

  Susan watched as Alethea took his plate to cut up his food so that he could eat with one hand. His expression became awkward, and there was no glint in his eyes for her kindness and attention—not even a smile. Perhaps he did not feel at all well?

  Yet whether he did or not, it was not Susan’s concern.

  She looked at Christine who was sitting beside her and opened a conversation. Yet Susan’s gaze was repeatedly drawn back to Henry as he spoke to Alethea, and she could not stop noticing the small indent at the base of his throat and the dark hairs visible on his chest due to the v formed by his open shirt as she recalled the bruises his shirt hid.

  Chapter Four

  Susan walked down the stairs, carrying her bonnet, with her cloak hanging over her forearm. Her bonnet bounced against the skirt of her dress with the pace of her steps as she held it by the ribbons.

  Alethea stood in the hall below, already wearing her bonnet, but she was not looking up to chase Susan into hurrying, but looking down at a letter.

  “What is it?” Susan called.

  “It is from Sarah,” Alethea looked up and met Susan’s gaze. “We cannot go. She says Henry intends to remain in his rooms and so he said it would be a waste of time for me to come.”

  “Why?”

  “He is feeling too ill, he does not wish to dress, but merely lay abed and rest his shoulder.”

  “He did look pale yesterday.”

  “I know. I felt so sorry for him. I would sit by his bed and keep him company but I suppose it is not the thing is it?”

  “And if he has taken laudanum he will probably wish to sleep.”

  “I suppose.”

  But Susan had been looking forward to going over to Farnborough to continue her painting and the carriage had already been called.

  “Mama!” Alethea called across the hall when their mother appeared from the drawing room. “We cannot go. Henry is feeling too unwell.”

  “But I would like to go to paint, Mama.” Susan said as she stepped from the bottom stair. “Do you think I might? I was looking forward to painting again today and Uncle Robert said he did not mind my using the library at all for a whole fortnight.”

  Her mother smiled. “If you wish to go, Susan, there will be no harm in it I am sure.”

  Susan looked at Alethea, awaiting an offer to accompany her… There was still Sarah and Christine to visit, and after all Susan had only begun her painting project to accompany Alethea.

  Alethea turned away and walked towards the drawing room, with Sarah’s letter held tightly in her hand.

  Susan looked at her mother. Her mother was very like Alethea in temperament and she always gravitated towards her most exuberant daughter. She turned to Alethea, lifting a comforting arm to offer reassurance. “Alethea. Dear. I am sure he will be well enough to see you again soon.”

  Susan loved her mother dearly but they had never understood one another particularly. Susan was more like her father in nature.

  She turned to their butler. “Dodds, do not send the carriage away, I will be going but will you call for a maid.”

  Dodds bowed slightly. “Shall I help you with your cloak, Miss.” He held out a hand.

  She passed it over as her mother’s and Alethea’s conversation grew more distant.

  She put on her bonnet and tied the ribbons, then turned so that he could set her cloak across her shoulders. She secured it herself while Dodds opened the door for her.

  “Susan…” Her father entered the hall from a door leading out to the rear of the house and the stables. “Where is Alethea, is she not ready? I would have thought she’d be galloping with excitement to call on Henry.”

  “He is too unwell for callers. I am going so I may continue to paint.”

  His bushy white, eyebrows lifted, and the ends of his waxed moustache twitched. “Alone?”

  “It is only to Uncle Robert’s. It is only a couple of miles and I am taking a maid.”

  His forehead furrowed while he considered the idea.

  Susan held her breath.

  “And Susan is responsible enough to manage herself, Casper, let her go it will do no harm.” Susan looked at her mother who had come back out of the drawing room and stood just before the open door.

  Only days before her mother had been afraid of highway men, obviously Susan’s responsible nature would frighten them away. Or perhaps it was the ridiculous anomaly she presented. She heard the words in Henry’s voice.

  Her hand lifted and her fingers slid her spectacles farther up her nose.

  Her father looked at her. “Very well, you may go.”

  “Thank you, Papa.” She walked over and wrapped her arms about his neck.

  His arms came about her, knocking her bonnet loose, so it tumbled off her head and rolled down to hang from the ribbons about her neck.

  “Enjoy your day,” he said into her ear.

  “I shall immensely.” They let each other go. “And at the end of the fortnight I shall show you my endeavours. I am quite pleased with myself.”

  “Bless you.” His fingertips touched her cheek.

  She turned away, without putting her bonnet back on, and walked out through the open door. Dodds was standing outside, speaking with one of the footmen. She had a sense that he had bestowed a warning for the men escorting her to take greater care as she travelled alone with only a maid to guard her reputation. The maid had already taken her place on the seat beside the coachman.

  She smiled at Dodds when he opened the door of the carriage, accepted his hand and climbed up.

  Within the carriage she righted her bonnet as Dodds shut the door. Then they were away.

  She had not travelled in the carriage alone before.

  Her heart pulsed quickly as she stared out of the window
watching the passing view around the brim of her bonnet.

  The tall remains of the walls of the ruined abbey in Farnborough’s grounds peaked above the trees in the distance. The Abbey marked the border of Uncle Robert’s land and Henry’s cousin’s, Rob’s, property. She had known Rob since her childhood too, his father was also a friend of her father’s.

  She had always liked Rob. He was quieter than Henry and he’d never been self-obsessed. She liked Rob’s wife too. Caro was also quiet, and friendly, though, she shied away from crowds and strangers. They therefore never attended the local balls but Susan saw them frequently at her parents’ and Aunt Jane’s dinner parties.

  The road followed a wall which surrounded Uncle Robert’s estate. The wall stretched for miles, but they were not following it all. It broke at the main gateway and the carriage turned to pass between the open iron gates and the giant lion statues guarding the entrance.

  The carriage slowed when the gatekeeper came out of his lodge, but he looked at her father’s emblem on the side and waved them on.

  The drive to the house from the gate seemed nearly as long as the journey had been from her home. But it was pretty this time of year, with the huge horse chestnut trees covered in white flowers.

  Excitement gathered inside her when she neared the house.

  Her new project was stimulating, she had never been very good at idleness, and embroidery and sewing were really not her calling. As the carriage passed beneath the arch into the courtyard, she smiled at herself when her reflection appeared in the glass for a moment. Perhaps she was like Alethea in some ways; she had just admitted she was no good at being idle. Perhaps in her, her mother’s and Alethea’s enthusiasm and constant hurrying and need for activity, was exposed in a desire for an active mind.

  Uncle Robert walked out of the house surrounded by three of the dogs. Not Samson.

  He stopped and stood still as the carriage turned and drew to a halt then he came forward and opened the door. “I thought Henry had sent word to say do not come.” He looked beyond Susan, clearly seeking Alethea, but then he held out his hand to Susan to aid her descent as the dogs barked their greeting. Once he’d let go of Susan, Uncle Robert silenced them with a lifted hand. They continued to wave their tails.

  “He did, but I was ready and I wished to come over and paint anyway. You do not mind?”

  “Of course I do not mind, Susan, you know you are welcome. Come I shall escort you in before I go about my business.”

  The large dogs walked beside them, tails swishing at the air. If Samson had been among them he would have surreptitiously, out of sight of Uncle Robert’s discipline, nudged Susan’s hip for some particular attention. Perhaps that was another bad habit that Henry had encouraged, and another reason why Samson was so attached to the heir of the family.

  She did not see Aunt Jane, Sarah or Christine when they walked through the house. He opened the library door. “There.” He stepped back and let her pass. “You’ll not be disturbed, Sarah and Christine have returned to their lessons now that the excitement over Henry’s return has settled down, and Jane is with Henry, I believe.”

  Susan looked at him as she undid the ribbons of her bonnet. “Is he suffering very badly?”

  “I believe so, but it is what he deserves, and it may yet teach him the lesson he has kept refusing to learn from me. But today I think he is simply feeling sorry for himself. He has refused to dress because it is too painful, he has said he merely wishes to remain in his room so he might rest without the need for a sling. I am sure he will be up and about again in a couple of days and Alethea may call to fuss over him once more.” Uncle Robert’s pitch seemed to laugh at the idea.

  Susan did laugh—at his jocular manner—not at the fact that Alethea would fuss or that Henry was in pain.

  As Uncle Robert’s eldest son, and his heir, Henry had been spoilt horridly.

  Uncle Robert had often admitted it too and mocked himself for the error of it, although perhaps never in Henry’s hearing. It was usually when he was speaking with her father. Perhaps she was not meant to have heard…

  “Shall I have a maid bring you some tea?”

  “Yes, please. Thank you.”

  “I will have Davis tell Jane you are here, and that you are not to be disturbed.”

  She was not always sure with Uncle Robert when he was speaking seriously and when he was making fun. His tone of voice always held a lilt which had a measure of amusement and unless he chose to reveal the humour in his words, sometimes it skipped past her. His manner of mocking life, and himself, made him extremely likeable, though. She supposed it was where Henry had inherited his charm from.

  “Good day, Susan.” He bowed his head in parting then turned away. “Come!” he called at the dogs, rallying them. “Susan shall not want you disturbing her, you may go down to the kitchens.”

  “Good day, Uncle Robert!” She called as he shut the door.

  She took off her bonnet and cloak and set them down on a chair. The maid could take them when she brought the tea.

  Her parchment, the box of water paints, her brushes and the book she’d been using were left where she’d used them on the desk yesterday. She opened the giant book and sought a new orchid to copy. Ophrys apifera. It had a petal which looked as though a bee was sitting on the flower. It would be hard to capture correctly and yet she wished to challenge herself, and at least on this there were only three small flowers, others had dozens of flowers on a stem.

  Her hand lifted and her fingers pushed her spectacles a little farther up her nose. She bit her top lip as she chose a charcoal to sketch the picture with first.

  The room seemed darker today, there was not as much light on the desk. She looked up and realised the shutters were still closed over the windows before the sofa.

  When she opened them, her mind’s eye saw Henry lying on the sofa, asleep, a patchwork of ghastly colours.

  A slight knock tapped the door. “Come!” The maid who had brought the tea entered. “Set it there please. Thank you.”

  The maid bobbed a curtsy and left with Susan’s cloak and bonnet.

  Susan poured herself a cup of tea and carried it over to the desk, then concentrated on copying the shape of the orchid correctly.

  When the clock in the room chimed once, there was a gentle knock on the door.

  Susan jumped. She’d been entirely absorbed in her painting. Her tea cup was still full and the tea within it chilled.

  The door opened. “Susan.” Aunt Jane stood with the door handle in her hand. “You must come and eat luncheon with us. You cannot hide yourself away in here all day and starve.”

  Susan straightened up and smiled. “Thank you. I will be there in a moment.”

  “Very well.” Aunt Jane turned away. Susan dipped her brush in the water to clean it, then dabbed it on the rag to dry it. She looked down at her painting, it was slow work today because there were so many tiny details on the bee petals, but she thought she was progressing well, she seemed to be improving.

  The family at the table were Aunt Jane, Sarah and Christine.

  Uncle Robert was still out undertaking whatever business he was about.

  “Is Henry not coming down, Mama,” Christine asked as Susan sat down.

  “He is not. He is not dressed.”

  “But we are only family, it would hardly matter if he did not have his shirt on.”

  Aunt Jane looked apologetically at Susan.

  “Susan is like family,” Christine declared, disregarding the subtle reprimand.

  Guilt pierced Susan’s side, she had not come here to prevent Henry having the freedom of his home. “I am sorry. I did not realise. I should not have come—”

  “Nonsense. Do not be silly,” Aunt Jane chided. “It will do Henry no harm to remain upstairs, and he has been sick most of the morning so I do not think he will attempt luncheon regardless of his state of dress.”

  Susan’s guilt cut deeper. “Has he a fever? Uncle Robert said he was only
in too much pain to dress.” She had thought Henry in a lazy, sullen mood. Her instinctive sense of empathy, that she had fought yesterday evening, pulled within her.

  “It is not a fever; he took too much laudanum without eating and is suffering for it. I think he also took a bottle of his father’s brandy to his room last night to help further numb the pain, and of course nor do laudanum and brandy mix. I think now he has had enough of laudanum.”

  Christine and Sarah laughed.

  Laughter gathered in Susan’s throat too, but for the first time in her life she felt wholly in charity with Henry. She could no longer deny her instinct to feel sorry for him, and wish to help. He had been in a lot of pain when he’d come to the library yesterday she did not think less of him for seeking to free himself from it.

  She would not stay long after luncheon, then if he wished to come down and take tea with his family, shirtless, he might. An image formed un-beckoned in her mind of him lying asleep on the sofa in the library, shirtless, an artwork of bruises.

  Once Susan had eaten she returned to the library. She would finish the detail on the flower she was working on and then she would ask Aunt Jane if she might travel home in their carriage.

  A maid came into the room at three. “Miss Susan, Lady Barrington sent me to ask if you wished for tea?”

  She had worked on and on and forgotten the time. “No, thank you, but is my aunt in the drawing room.”

  “She is, Miss Susan.”

  “And has Lord Henry come down?”

  “No, miss, he is taking tea in his room.”

  He must have risen from his bed at least then.

  “Susan.” Christine walked about the maid, entering the room with a quick stride. “Sarah and I are going to take the dogs out as far as the meadow, would you like to come? It is one of those lovely fresh days, with a breeze to sweep away the fidgets and a pleasant sky without the sun pounding down upon you.”

  Susan looked out of the window. It was a middling day, with a light grey sky, and she could see the breeze was strong as the clouds whisked across it. It would be refreshing to go for a walk before she returned home. She looked back at Christine. “Thank you, I would love to join you.”