by Leenie Brown
“You and mother,” he grumbled under his breath.
“I think it can be a wonderful thing to be surrounded by friends,” Diana said to Grace. “And I am certain Roger is happy to see you again, Mr. Clayton.” She raised an eyebrow at her brother.
“Of course, I am not disappointed to see you, Clayton,” Roger admitted. “That was not my meaning.”
“Then was your meaning that you preferred not to be in company with us ladies?” Victoria knew she likely shouldn’t ask such a thing, but the opportunity to unsettle Roger when he had been what she would consider to be rude was just too tempting to ignore.
Roger pressed his lips together and looked at his sister. “Of course not,” he lied.
Victoria knew he was lying for he said the words with that particular smile he wore when he was avoiding being scolded. She caught her breath as the smile slipped into something more calculating and grimaced even before he opened his mouth, for she knew that whatever was going to be said was designed to be shocking.
“I find wandering in the wilderness with ladies – or, more precisely, a lady – to be a particularly enjoyable pastime. So much can be learned about life and nature during such a stroll.” He batted his eyes three times at Victoria, daring her to scold him for his innuendo.
“Do you collect flowers and leaves and press them in books?” Grace asked.
There was nothing but innocent curiosity in her expression. Oh, the girl was in desperate need of education before she was ready to seriously consider marriage. Victoria sent a pleading look to Diana, while Mr. Clayton attempted to recover from a sudden coughing spell.
“My brother is not speaking of proper pursuits,” Diana said softly.
“Then, of what is he –” Grace’s question stopped abruptly. Her eyes grew wide as her cheeks flushed a brilliant red. Apparently, she had deciphered Roger’s meaning.
“He is very wicked to speak of such a thing in the presence of ladies,” Victoria assured her young friend. “He is an absolute scoundrel.”
Roger had the decency to look somewhat censured.
“He just has not yet found the right lady with whom to walk and behave appropriately,” Diana added. “It is how it is with some gentlemen. They are nothing but rogues and rascals until they find a reason to be otherwise. Quite often it is a lady who compels such a change.”
“Yes, yes,” Grace said quite seriously. “Mr. Shelton has said as much himself.”
“When did I admit to such foolishness?” Roger demanded.
“Why at Heathcote! Do you not remember our discussion about why you did not wish to marry?”
“Indeed?” Diana said with much interest.
Roger’s expression twisted as if he had been poked by a hot iron.
“Oh, yes!” Grace continued. “Mr. Shelton fully intends to give up his current ways, which I now understand to be excessively improper, when he marries. However, he is not ready to do that just yet. And my cousin, Miss Tierney, said that he would no longer fear giving up his freedom when he met a lady who claimed his heart and caused him to fear losing her more than he feared losing his reprobate lifestyle.” She batted her lashes and gave Roger a pointed look.
Victoria bit back a smile. It appeared that though Miss Grace tended to ramble on at a fairly rapid pace, she was not without the ability to hide a reprimand within a pleasantly delivered bit of information.
“So, Clayton, how are you finding this gathering?” Roger, who looked eager to leave their current topic of conversation, motioned to the path ahead of them, indicating they should walk on. “Is it all you had hoped?”
The gentleman’s polite smile was back. “It is difficult to say since we have only been here a short time. However, the music this afternoon was delightful.”
This set Grace on a course of admiration for all the musical selections – again. Victoria smiled and nodded just as she had the first two times when Grace had shared her raptures about the musicale.
Indeed, it was Grace who bore the greatest share of the conversation as they continued down the path, past the grand old tree with a bench beneath it, around the loop where the path turned at the stream, and back to where the others were gathered on the lawn.
Victoria was excessively relieved when Diana suggested that Grace should make certain her mother was not missing her.
“My ears are weary,” Roger muttered as he dropped onto the lawn next to Victoria when Diana and Grace were well away from them.
“Miss Grace does possess a great talent for conversation,” Victoria agreed.
“Her sister is little better,” Mr. Clayton, who had joined them, added.
Victoria looked at her companions uneasily.
“I thought you and she were destined to be married,” Roger said easily as he leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows.
“Are you certain you wish to discuss this here?” Victoria inserted. This seemed like a conversation that should be held between gentlemen when they were far removed from ladies.
“It is not a secret,” Roger replied. “I am certain Miss Grace has mentioned Miss Love and Mr. Clayton’s attachment.” He looked toward where his sister was walking with Grace. “She must have said something. I cannot imagine her keeping silent about such a thing.”
“Well, yes, she has mentioned it,” Victoria admitted, “but it was done in the privacy of my room and not in the garden.”
“How many were in your room?” Roger queried. “Three people?”
Victoria nodded.
“Then, the only thing different between Miss Grace telling you about her sister and Mr. Clayton’s attachment and my mentioning it now is our location,” he concluded before turning back to Mr. Clayton.
“I thought we were destined to be married as well,” Mr. Clayton replied. “However, I had little competition at Stratsbury Park. My brother would not give Miss Love a second look, and Max was her cousin. So, I was the logical choice, you see.” He blew out a breath. “However, at a house party with so many gentlemen of fortune, as this party has, a clergyman’s living seems to lack the polish necessary to hold her attention.”
“Has she broken off with you?” Victoria whispered.
Mr. Clayton shook his head. “Not yet, but I expect it.”
“That is dreadful!”
“Is it?” Mr. Clayton asked. “Or is it fortuitous? I hardly know, although, presently, I will admit that I find it rather dreadful.”
“Of course, you do,” Roger assured him. “But that does not mean it will always be as it is now. She might just be having a bit of fun and will realize that no one else measures up to you.”
Mr. Clayton shook his head. “Graeme warned me about her. Apparently, she was quite the flirt during the season. I thought my brother was just being my brother.” He shrugged.
“I helped Graeme secure his current lady, you know,” Roger said.
Mr. Clayton laughed. “Did you? I cannot say that I noticed.”
“That is because you noticed nothing aside from Miss Love when I was at Stratsbury Hall,” Roger retorted. “However, a little flirting with Miss Tierney and the threat of pursuing her myself were what brought him to the point.”
“That is how you arranged a match?” Victoria shook her head. “I fear that does not make you a matchmaker at all.”
“It most certainly does!”
“And are you going to flirt with Miss Grace to make Mr. Ainsley take notice?”
“You are attempting to match Miss Grace with Ainsley?” Mr. Clayton asked in surprise.
Both Victoria and Roger nodded.
“Good luck to you both,” Mr. Clayton continued, “I hear he has a beauty back home who will not be out until next season, but he has promised to wait for her.”
“No!” Victoria cried. “Are you certain?”
Mr. Clayton nodded.
“Then, what are we to do? Miss Grace finds him very attractive as a possible suitor.” Of all the rotten luck! Victoria looked to Roger for an answer, b
ut he only shrugged and shook his head.
“There were some others she mentioned,” Victoria said after a few moments of silence. “How did you not know this?” she demanded of Roger. “You were supposed to find out things about the gentlemen she listed.”
“And when have I had the opportunity?” Roger argued. “I spent the time you were practising with Carlyle in my room and then I have been with you, my sister, and Miss Grace ever since.”
He had a point. “Very well, I will allow you that,” she said.
“You would not trade the elder sister for the younger one, would you, Clayton? Miss Grace is a bit of a chatterbox, but she seems trustworthy, if a trifle naïve.”
“A trifle?” Victoria muttered, causing Roger’s left eyebrow to cock in question, though he said nothing.
“I am afraid I cannot oblige you in such a fashion,” Mr. Clayton answered.
“Are you certain?”
“Really, Roger!” Victoria exclaimed. “The gentleman’s heart is not free at present to consider anyone.”
“My apologies, Clayton.”
“I am not offended.”
Roger flopped back onto the grass and placed his hat over his eyes. “You will keep me safe from marauding females if I fall asleep, will you not?”
“Perhaps,” Victoria replied.
Roger lifted his hat and looked at her. She smiled in return, and he once again put his hat over his eyes. She would not let anyone accost him – at least, not anyone he did not wish to have accost him. The thought of him finally choosing someone to be his wife pricked her heart.
“You would not consider a parson, would you, Miss Hamilton?”
“No, she would not,” Roger said from beneath his hat.
“I think I can speak for myself,” Victoria retorted. “I am not opposed to the profession, but I am not certain I am best suited for the position of parson’s wife. However, if I were to find myself enamoured with a gentleman who was destined to be the caretaker of a parish, I am certain I would be able to find my footing. After all, I am not unfamiliar with serving the tenants on my father’s estate. I would imagine being a parson’s wife would be somewhat similar in some regards?”
“Most likely,” Mr. Clayton replied with a nod.
He looked so forlorn. She had yet to meet Miss Grace’s sister, but Victoria was certain she would not like the young woman. How could any lady toy with the heart of a gentleman who seemed as pleasant and obliging as Mr. Clayton?
“I am certain that, in time, you will find the right lady to fill the role of Mrs. Clayton,” she assured him. “And,” she added with a whisper, “I would not discount Miss Grace just because her sister has treated you ill. Grace is talkative, but she is the sort of young lady whom I do not mind claiming as a friend.”
“You are very kind, Miss Hamilton.”
“That she is,” Roger muttered from under his hat.
“And I would be happy to count you among my friends as well, Mr. Clayton, so if you are in need of a partner for a game of cards or for a dance or some such thing, I do hope you will consider asking me.”
Roger’s hat lifted from his eyes, but Victoria ignored him, choosing instead to smile at Mr. Clayton, who was thanking her for her offer.
If jealousy could work on Roger’s friend, then maybe, it could also work on him. She would not toy with Mr. Clayton. She was not the sort of lady to do such a thing. However, marriage could not be put off forever, and before she began searching in earnest elsewhere, she needed to know if she had any hope in securing the heart of the gentleman who had held hers for most of her life.
Chapter 7
“We will start from the top of the table, of course, with Amelia.” Mrs. Abernathy waited for her daughter to join her where she stood near the door to the drawing room in which all the houseguests were gathered to wait for dinner.
“Shall we see who it is who will dine with you?”
Miss Abernathy said an eager yes as her mother shook a bowl containing several small pieces of paper. She swirled her hand inside the bowl and pulled out a name. “Oh! How delightful! Mr. Carlyle.”
The gentleman straightened his jacket, crossed the room, and offered his arm to Miss Abernathy, whose waited only until her daughter and Mr. Carlyle had left the room before looking around and calling Victoria forward.
Of all the inane ideas! Roger crossed his arms and leaned against the wall near the window. The woman was obviously assigning gentleman dinner partners at random, but she was proceeding through the ladies based on status. Victoria was well-dowered. It was not something she published nor was it a fact she kept secret. He glowered at two gentlemen who had started whispering when Victoria’s name was called. He did not like it. His friend did not need any fortune hunters scampering after her.
“Mr. Clayton,” Mrs. Abernathy said.
Roger blew out a breath. It could be worse. She could have been stuck with Carlyle or one of those whispering gents.
Lady after lady was summoned forward and gentleman after gentleman was assigned as a partner.
“Is this not the best?” Grace said as she took Roger’s arm. “It is such a surprise! I do like surprises.”
“I do not,” Roger replied.
Grace giggled. “I will admit I had hoped I would be assigned someone different.”
“I hear Ainsley has a chit waiting for him at home,” Roger whispered.
Grace’s smile slid into a frown. “Does he indeed?”
“I have not asked him, of course, but that is what I have heard. We should proceed with caution.”
She tipped her head. “What do you mean we?”
That had not been well-thought-out. He had forgotten that Miss Grace was not in on the scheme to see her married. “You seemed fond of him, and I had thought to help you in securing him.”
“That is very kind of you, Mr. Shelton.”
“Think nothing of it. Anything for a friend of Miss Hamilton.”
“She is very nice,” Grace said as they waited for the remaining couples to enter the dining room.
“The best,” Roger replied, looking down the table to where she sat across from Miss Abernathy and next to Everett Clayton. She was smiling and leaning her head toward Clayton to hear what the fellow was saying. Truly, she needed to learn some restraint. Such open interest even for a chap thought by many to be firmly secured by Miss Love was not wise. Tongues would wag, and chaperones would scheme.
Grace touched his arm. “Are you fond of her?”
He nodded. “We have been friends for longer than I can remember. My first memory of our friendship was when I brought her a toad and placed it in a teacup on this little table that she had which she would lay out all properly with a cloth and imaginary biscuits.”
“A toad!” Grace giggled. “And what did she do?”
Roger chuckled. “She nodded her head in greeting and instructed Mr. Brown – that is what she named him – that he was not to spill his tea or eat all the biscuits. And then, she proceeded to instruct me with the same rules and scolded me for my dirty hands. She has been scolding me ever since.”
Grace giggled but pressed her lips together as Mrs. Abernathy entered with her husband and took her place.
“My hands are clean, I assure you,” Roger whispered to Grace as a bowl of soup was placed before him.
“I shall have to thank Miss Hamilton for having taught you such good manners,” Grace teased.
He glanced down the table at Victoria once again. She had taught him many things over the years. Was there ever a better friend that anyone could have? She leaned toward Clayton again. Roger caught his scowl before it could form and turned back to his soup.
“If she is such a good friend,” Grace whispered, “why do we not attempt to find her a husband? Every young lady needs one eventually.”
“She does not wish to marry just yet,” Roger answered.
“But she does look very pretty sitting next to Mr. Clayton and talking as she is. I know he has his hea
rt set on my sister, but…” she let her words fall away, replacing them with a simple shrug.
Victoria looked pretty no matter who was sitting next to her or whether she was talking, being silent, or scolding him. Roger applied himself to eating his soup and attempted to keep his eyes from wandering too often down to where his friend sat.
“There are other gentlemen.”
Grace did not seem ready to give up the idea of seeing Victoria matched with some gentleman at this party.
“Not Mr. Carlyle, of course,” she added quickly. “He was very demanding when they were practising, and Miss Hamilton said that such behaviour indicates a gentleman who will not be an attentive husband.” She slurped a spoonful of soup. “And every lady wishes for an attentive husband, do you not think?”
Roger nodded his head as he scooped the last spoonful of soup from his bowl. It was a small comfort to know that Carlyle was not someone Victoria admired, no matter how much the gentleman had seemed interested in her earlier.
“Tell me, Miss Grace, what do you wish for in a husband? If I am to help you find one, I must know a thing or two about what you would prefer.”
“But,” she protested in a whisper as her soup bowl was taken away, “we have not settled on a match for Miss Hamilton.”
Roger had no desire to settle on a match for Victoria. The very idea of her marrying anyone made him wish to refuse the venison placed before him, and, if anyone knew him as well as Victoria knew him, they would know that venison was among his most favoured foods.
“I believe since she is not so desirous to marry as you are, it might be best if we decide upon a match for you before we attempt to arrange something for Miss Hamilton.”
“Do you truly think that would be best?”
“Yes.” He was very sure of it.
“Very well,” Grace said, and, while Roger savoured his venison and occasionally glanced in Victoria’s direction, Grace enumerated all the qualities she wished for in a husband.
~*~*~
“She actually cares about how she will be treated and not just how he looks or what style of architecture his house is,” Roger said later to his sister. He blew out a breath. “She is not completely without sense.” The fact still surprised him. He had not, to this point, thought that Grace possessed any great amount of substance, and he still did not think she possessed much. However, she was not without some depth.
