Nicholas should have known North would find the whole conversation amusing. His friend smiled back at her. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Miss Wakelin.”
“Excellent!” she cried as she whirled around to face her father.
“If you don’t mind, Papa, I will walk with the gentlemen back to Kenswick Hall. I need to check on little Ty as well as feed the pups Lord Thornton has been boarding for me in his stables.”
Nicholas watched as her father gave her a shrewd look that told everyone he wasn’t fooled by her act for a moment. His eyes swept past his daughter to give Nicholas a questioning stare.
“We would be happy to escort your daughter, Sir,” Nicholas told him.
The vicar nodded but glanced back at Christina. “I don’t know what you are up to, Daughter, but be assured I will find out.” He sighed and patted her on the cheek. “And please try to be on your best behavior. I would have Lord Thornton believe you have matured since the time you were a little girl and pushed his female friend into the lake!”
“Papa!” Christina gasped with embarrassment, as both Nicholas and the duke burst out in laughter.
“Good day, my lord, your grace,” he told them both with a nod before he exited the room.
On the walk to Kenswick Hall, Nicholas stopped her and demanded, “Can you tell me what that was all about?”
Christina looked up at him. “I heard you!”
“You heard what?”
“I heard you two talking about what you were planning to do! My room is directly above the parlor and the sound carries.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you were going to tell my father about our meeting in the gazebo and about the kiss I gave you!”
“Miss Wakelin, I was just going to apologize for my own bad behavior,” Nicholas tried to explain.
“I was the one who kissed you, my lord. I could not sleep all night for wondering what you must think of me.”
Nicholas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Miss Wakelin, you are not to blame, and I was flattered by your kiss. It’s just that I promised your father I would not be alone with you. I felt ashamed that I’d gone back on my promise and then almost kissed you.”
Christina frowned. “There, you see, it is all my fault. My kiss caused you to get carried away on the wings of romantic emotions.”
Nicholas stared at her blankly. “On the wings of what?”
She sighed with forbearance as if she were dealing with a child. “On the wings of romantic emotion. Helen told me that in her gothic romance books, this often happens to men when a woman gets too close.”
A loud blast of laughter startled them both. They turned to see North shaking his head as he tried to curb his mirth. “I’m sorry, but you two are more entertaining than the comedy I saw last month in a London theatre.”
Christina covered her mouth in horror. “Oh, dear. I forgot you were there, your grace.”
This time it was Nicholas who laughed, especially at the bemused expression on North’s face. “I daresay he hasn’t heard that many times in his life.”
North grinned. “Indeed. I believe I’ve changed my mind about going back to the hall and favor a walk in the country instead. Miss Wakelin, would you please excuse me if I cannot help Nick escort you the rest of the way?”
She smiled back at him. “Of course.”
North had the audacity to wink at them both before walking away. Subtlety was not one of his virtues.
Taking Christina by the arm, Nicholas turned her toward him. “Miss Wakelin, before we come to Kenswick, I want to be sure everything is all right between us—that you are not upset at me.”
Her smile was so breathtaking, he wished he could kiss her. Perhaps Helen’s books were not too far from the truth where “romantic emotions” were concerned. But a kiss was not the most important thing he desired. No, he wanted to put his arms around her and just hold her—to claim to the world that she was his.
He wanted her to return those romantic feelings.
She liked him, he could tell. But he could not tell if that liking ended at friendship or not. Perhaps she was after her first objective where he was concerned, to help him find God again.
If he told her he had begun to pray again, would she feel her duty was done and stop coming to his home?
He wasn’t going to take that chance. Not yet.
“Of course I am not upset! The figurine you made me was the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me. I shall treasure it always. But you must forgive me for being so bold, my lord. I reacted before I thought about it.”
Her words filled him with hope. “If you were not so bold, you would not be the Christina Wakelin I have come to know since childhood. You are the most unique woman I have ever met, and you constantly keep me on my toes!”
“I can’t tell if that was a complaint or a compliment,” Christina said.
He laughed. “Most definitely a compliment.”
Nicholas held out his arm. “Now that we’ve cleared the air, shall we continue on to Kenswick Hall?”
She placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and it felt so right to be by his side—like she truly belonged there.
As they walked, Nicholas dared to ask one more thing. “Do you suppose now that we’ve become such good friends, you can call me Nicholas?”
“Thank you!” she cried out with relief. “We have so few neighbors with titles that it has been hard to remember to refer to you as ‘my lord.’ ”
“I’ve been acknowledged by some sort of title or other since birth. I suppose I don’t even notice it.”
“I think it would be very hard to get used to, all that bowing and scraping people do just because of some exalted title you had nothing to do with!”
An enigmatic smile crept over his face. “I think you could get used to almost anything, Christina. Even an exalted title.”
She shrugged. “There’s no point in arguing, since I shall never be in such a position anyway.”
Never say never, dear Christina, Nicholas thought to himself, determination strengthening his resolve to be the kind of man she could love.
Never say never.
Twelve
“I’m in love, I just know it. I’ve got this nervous feeling in my chest and I feel quite dizzy when I look at him, so it must be love.”
“Either that or you’re coming down with a bad cold,” Christina said to Helen in a wry voice. She really wished the duke would leave Kenswick so her friend would cease making a fool of herself over the man.
“No, no. I’m quite sure of my feeling,” Helen continued with firm resolve. “We shall have a large wedding, since he is quite known in England, and a long wedding trip to Paris, Rome, and possibly Milan.”
Christina rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Dear Helen, it is good to dream big dreams, as long as you can separate fancy from truth.” She gave her friend a gentle look. “You know as well as I the Duke of Northingshire must marry within his social class. It would never be accepted by his family if he decided to marry a commoner.”
Helen sighed. “Yes, but miracles have been known to happen. Just look at you and Lord Thornton.”
Christina frowned. “For the last time, Helen, Nicholas and I are just friends. Anything more is impossible!”
Helen leveled a gaze at Christina. “I know when a man’s smitten with a woman, and Nicholas Thornton is that man! Lord Kent does not yet display his feelings when he looks at me, but given a little time I’m sure he’ll come around.”
Poor North had been wearing more the look of a hunted man these last three days. More often than not, when he walked into a room and saw Helen there, he quickly walked right back out.
Christina had tried to warn Helen that ladies do not pursue gentlemen so blatantly, but she merely replied that she was going to be twenty-two in a month and was not getting any younger.
Christina could have told Helen that Archie McGregor, a young Scott who’d just inherited a farm in Malbury, had tried in vain to speak with her severa
l times in church lately. But Christina doubted Helen would even hear her.
Soon North would leave and Helen would be able to come to her senses again.
Christina stood up from the bench they were sitting on, located within the church courtyard, and tightened the ties to her bonnet. It was Sunday, and the two had been enjoying the sunlight while they waited for the service to start.
“Well, I suppose we must go inside,” she told Helen with a sigh. She tried to sound more cheerful, but it was difficult.
Nicholas had not come.
Knowing her thoughts, Helen stood and linked her arm with Christina’s. “I’m sure he’s just delayed.”
Christina nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. Yet I can’t help feeling I bullied him into this.”
“Well, come along. Waiting out here is just making you worry.”
The choir had begun to sing the first few measures of a hymn when a low hum of whispers started at the back and quickly filtered its way forward in the church. The more indiscreet of the parishioners craned their necks to see who had come through the door, while others made a subtle show of taking peeks behind their fans.
Christina, however, had no need to look back for she knew exactly who it was.
The Earl of Kenswick had come to church.
From her pew, Christina had an excellent view of the two gentlemen, but her eyes studied only one of them. He was so handsome in his black coat and gray britches. He’d even trimmed his hair. He looked every bit the nobleman he was, and it was a heavy reminder that his station was so far above her own. All her feelings for him were going to cause her nothing but pain. They were from two completely different worlds.
Why couldn’t she remember that?
“Oh, here they come!” Helen whispered excitedly as they stood outside the church after the service ended.
All the love she felt in her heart came bubbling to the forefront the moment she too spotted the men coming their direction.
Nicholas gave Christina a teasing grin. “Were you worried I wouldn’t show?”
She suppressed a smile and gave him a mock glare. “Were you late just to make me worried?”
North threw back his head with a booming laugh that drew everyone’s attention. “I really like this girl, Nick,” he declared as he slapped his friend on the back. Then to Christina he said, “It’s too bad you were never presented at court. With your wit and spunk, you’d be declared an original!”
Nicholas shook his head, laughing. “It would never work. In town there are too few trees to climb and animals to doctor. Christina would be like a fish out of water.”
“Well, ladies, we’ll bid you a good day,” he told them after his laughter subsided. “But before we go, I would like to invite you to tea, along with Mrs. Sanborne and Ty, of course, this afternoon.”
Annoyed that he thought her so unsophisticated, it was on the tip of Christina’s tongue to refuse when Helen broke in with, “We’ll be there!”
“Splendid!” Nicholas declared, while giving Christina a curious look.
After the men walked away, Christina noticed that almost the entire congregation was still standing in the church courtyard, staring at her with speculation.
Straightening her backbone, she forced herself to smile and mingle among the crowd, speaking pointedly to each one, inquiring about children and health and anything her mind could think of. If she pretended all was normal, then perhaps they’d believe it.
But everything wasn’t normal. She was in love with a man who was far beyond her reach. That fact was made even more clear that afternoon when she and Helen went for tea at Kenswick Hall.
❧
Christina held Ty on her lap, and Mrs. Sanborne was making everyone laugh with a story of how the baby had rolled off his mat and under the decorative skirt of his baby bed. She’d ransacked the room in a panic before he came rolling right back out.
Christina was looking down at the baby with a smile when the laughter came to a strange, abrupt halt. She looked up to find out the reason for the sudden silence and noticed every eye was turned toward the parlor door.
“Well, Nephew, have you lost all your manners, or will you give your aunt a proper greeting?”
Christina’s eyes flew to the door, where she found a short, trim woman, her nose and chin thrust upward. As her cold blue eyes scanned the room, they soon came to rest on Christina.
A look of horror crossed her aging features as she fastened her dagger gaze back on Nicholas.
Nicholas, as well as North, had stood up the moment she spoke, and both men bowed in her direction. “Aunt Willie. So good of you to visit. I had heard you were abroad,” Nicholas greeted smoothly, his face unreadable.
His aunt’s chin rose even higher as she frowned and made a sniffing noise. “Do not call me that atrocious name! Now, I would like to know if the baby being held by that unfamiliar young woman over there is my great nephew.”
Nicholas glanced at Christina and then turned back to his aunt. “Yes, it is. Now let me make introductions,” he began as he motioned toward the duke first. “You know North, of course.”
“Of course,” she answered with an imperial nod. “I’ve known his grace’s family for many years.”
“Always a pleasure, my lady,” North greeted with another bow.
He motioned to Mrs. Sanborne. “This is my nephew’s nanny, Mrs. Sanborne.” He turned to his employee. “Mrs. Sanborne, this is my aunt, Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope.”
Christina watched as the nanny rose to greet the lady but was cut short when the haughty woman didn’t even acknowledge her presence. Instead she glared at Christina and Helen.
“And who are they?” she demanded.
“These dear ladies have been a great help to me since my nephew came to Kenswick. May I present Miss Christina Wakelin and Miss Helen Nichols,” Nicholas replied, his voice filled with warmth as he spoke.
Lady Wilhelmina’s sharp gaze focused on Christina. “Wakelin? Where do I know that name from? Who is her father?”
Christina answered before Nicholas could. “My father is Reverend Wakelin, the vicar of Malbury.”
“I see,” the woman said, her tone suggesting the information was of no importance. “Well, it appears I have come none too soon. Nicholas, have my rooms readied. I shall need to rest before I rectify this dreadful situation you have gotten yourself into. And do not doubt that I have heard of your abhorrent behavior in London and your withdrawal from society. That is another matter that needs my immediate attention. Now ring your man and let’s get on with it!”
Christina glanced at Nicholas and noticed the muscle in his jaw clenched with tension. “Pierce!” he bellowed. The butler appeared right away.
“Yes, my lord?”
“Have the upstairs maids prepare my aunt’s rooms right away.”
Pierce bowed. “Very good, my lord.” He bowed to Lady Stanhope. “My lady? This way, if you please.”
Without a second glance at anyone, she marched out of the room behind Pierce.
For a moment no one spoke. “What do you think she meant by rectifying a dreadful situation?” North finally asked.
Nicholas shook his head while raking a hand through his curls. “I was afraid to ask.”
Christina had the feeling the “dreadful situation” had something to do with her. Standing up, she carried Ty over to Mrs. Sanborne. “I think it best we leave,” she said, looking toward the earl.
North nodded. “I believe my time here has come to an end also. I need to get up to my estate in Scotland.”
“What you both are saying is that you are abandoning me, am I right?”
Christina grinned as she and North exchanged a glance. “Yes,” they replied together.
“But. . .but you cannot leave!” Helen cried as she stood up and looked wildly in North’s direction.
“Now, now, Helen,” Christina said. “I realize we’ll both miss our newly acquired friend, but I’m sure he’ll visit Kenswick Hall again.”
She maintained a death grip on her friend’s arm.
“’Tis so!” North concurred. “But it shall not be until the new year. I will be journeying to America from Scotland and will not be back for some months.”
Helen started to protest, but Christina whispered in her ear, “Perhaps distance will make his heart grow fonder!” She felt guilty for giving Helen false hope, but at least it worked, for her friend stifled whatever she was going to say.
Nicholas grimaced. “So I will have to deal with my new visitor alone, I see.”
“She is, after all, your aunt,” Christina teased. “Surely she can’t be all that terrifying.”
“You’d be surprised,” Nicholas replied.
Thirteen
It didn’t take long for Nicholas to realize his aunt’s sole purpose for being at Kenswick Hall. She intended to ruin his life.
Or so it seemed.
“Now, I have already sent out invitations.” She stopped and glared at her nephew. “Nicholas, do pay attention, Dear. I’m doing all this for your benefit!”
From behind his desk, Nicholas stifled a sigh and drew his tired gaze to the settee his aunt was perched on. “Aunt Willie, I know you mean well, but I do not feel like entertaining members of the ton here at Kenswick. If I can refresh your memory, I’m not exactly in the ton’s favor at the moment, and I’ve grown quite provincial in the last few months. I relish the peace and quiet the country provides. If you bring strangers here, it will no longer be so.”
“It’s Aunt Wilhelmina, and these are not strangers we are talking about. These are your peers. Peers that are all set to forgive your lapse in decorum, especially since I explained the reason you behaved that way.”
Nicholas found it hard to clamp down his anger. His life was finally getting to the point where he enjoyed it again. He liked the person he was becoming, and he enjoyed being with the lady who had helped him get there.
His aunt’s interference in his life could ruin everything.
“Let’s be honest, shall we, Aunt? Every family that is on your list has a daughter of marital age. It is your plan, is it not? To get me married?”
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