London Ladies (The Complete Series)

by Eaton, Jillian

  “Dianna!” Cheeks flushed, eyes wide with both alarm and relief, Charlotte skidded to a halt. In her haste the straw hat she wore perched over her brow came askew and she ripped it off impatiently, tearing out her coiffure in the process before gripping both of Dianna’s forearms in a tight squeeze. “You’re here! You’re alive! You’re unharmed! Now where the bloody hell have you been?”

  “Could we discuss it in the solarium over hot tea and something to eat?” Even with the sun shining she was still cold, Dianna realized. And frightfully hungry.

  “Of course,” Charlotte said immediately. Tucking one arm around Dianna’s waist she guided her inside as though she were an invalid. “Tea and anything that is left over from breakfast,” she told the servant who greeted them at the door. Taking in Dianna’s rather bedraggled appearance with wide eyes, the servant nodded and scurried away. “And those little cakes with the chocolate frosting we had last night for supper,” Charlotte called after her. “Oh, and don’t forget the peach cobbler. I had two bowls at dinner and another before breakfast,” she confessed in a whisper as she propelled Dianna down the hall. “It is positively delicious.”

  “Where is Aunt Abigail?” Dianna asked, noting every room they passed was empty.

  “Upstairs resting. Almost everyone is, except for Gavin. He had to leave to attend unexpected business in London before dawn. I would still be in bed as well, if not for the baby trying to kick a hole in my side.” Charlotte pressed a hand to the middle of her softly rounded abdomen and shook her head. “She’s a strong little imp. I will have a maid bring up a note to the master suite that you have returned safe and sound. Abigail wanted to be wakened if there was any news, but the poor dear seems rather tired. Best to let her sleep, I think. She was up more than half the night. We all were.”

  Feeling a pang of guilt that her absence had caused so much trouble, Dianna followed Charlotte into the sun filled solarium and sat in the same chair she’d occupied just yesterday morning. “I feel horrible,” she said, her hands twisting in her lap. “I never meant to become lost, but I fell asleep beneath a willow tree-”

  “You fell asleep beneath a tree?”

  “Yes and then-”

  “Weren’t you concerned about caterpillars?” Charlotte’s shoulders shook in an exaggerated shudder before she reclined all the way back on a velvet chaise lounge and nudged off her walking slippers, letting them fall to the floor with a quiet thunk thunk. “I hate them. They’re so soft and wiggly.”

  “There were not any caterpillars.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “But” - Dianna took a deep breath - “Miles was there.”

  Charlotte’s nose wrinkled. “All things considered, I think I would have preferred the caterpillars.”

  Despite the knotted ball of tension in her chest, Dianna managed a tiny smile. “Yes, well, I doubt caterpillars would have been able come to my rescue. Somehow Miles found me. I still do not know how. I was half frozen, and don’t know how much longer I could have borne the cold and the rain.” Even the memory of it caused a shiver to trickle down between her shoulder blades. “He carried me to an old abandoned gamekeeper’s cottage in the middle of the woods.”

  “And?” Charlotte demanded, sitting up on her elbows when Dianna trailed off into silence. “He carried you to an old abandoned gamekeeper’s cottage in the middle of the woods and?”

  “And… here I am.”

  Charlotte gave a very unladylike snort. “Oh no you don’t. I want to know everything.”

  Fortunately, Dianna was temporarily saved from revealing every detail of her night spent with Miles when a brisk knock sounded at the door and Charlotte’s ravenous appetite won out over her curiosity. With a meaningful glance at Dianna that clearly said they would shortly return to the events of last night, she glanced at the door and called out, “Come in!”

  Two maids, neatly dressed in muted gray with white aprons and matching caps, entered one behind the other and set down a large platter of food on a long sideboard against the far wall before coming around to prepare the tea service.

  “Just a bit of sugar and a spoonful of honey. Thank you,” Dianna said, gratefully accepting a cup of tea once it had been prepared to her specifications. Blowing across the top of the murky brown water to cool it, she took a sip as the maids excused themselves and left the room. The warm liquid felt positively divine as it slipped down her throat, helping to warm her from the inside out. Taking another liberal sip before setting her tea down, she joined Charlotte at the sideboard where her friend already had a large plate piled high with sausage, thinly sliced ham, two pieces of bread coated liberally in jam, and an enormous spoonful of peach cobbler.

  “Get two pieces of cake, won’t you?” she asked. “I don’t seem to have any room left on my plate.”

  Dianna bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. “Did you miss dinner?”

  “Certainly not.” Charlotte looked appalled at the very idea. “And this is not for me, if that is what you are thinking.”

  “Oh no?”

  “No. It’s for the baby. She is hungry all of the time.” Taking a knife and fork, Charlotte returned to her seat and promptly tucked in. “She has a preference for sweets,” she said, speaking around a mouthful of bread. “As well as meats and puddings. Can’t abide vegetables, though. Or that awful watery broth they’ve started serving already as though we are in the middle of winter instead of the beginning of fall.”

  “How extraordinary,” Dianna commented as she carried her much smaller plate across the solarium and sat down, “that your child likes all the things you do.”

  Charlotte paused with her fork in midair. Amusement glinted in her vibrant gaze, although she kept her mouth perfectly straight. “Uncanny, isn’t it? Now eat a bit and then tell me precisely what happened in the cottage.”

  Contemplatively chewing on a piece of sausage, Dianna tried to decide how much she wanted to tell Charlotte. The truth of it was nothing had happened… and everything had happened. Because as much as she desperately wanted to pretend any lingering feelings for Miles had been extinguished long ago, her aching heart was telling another story entirely.

  For reasons that were still not clear, Miles wanted her. He’d said as much outside the stables, but even if he’d not spoken a single word she would have still known. It was the way he looked at her, as though he could stare at her all day and it would still not be enough. It was the way he’d held her this morning and all through the night, as though he never wanted to let her go. It was he had kissed her-

  “DIANNA!”

  “What? What?” Jumping in her seat, Dianna nearly spilled her tea and sent her plate of food tumbling to the floor. Catching both in the nick of time, she set them aside and pressed a hand to her pounding heart. “In heaven's name, what?”

  Charlotte fixed Dianna with a knowing stare. “I called your name several times. You were daydreaming. I do not suppose I have to guess about whom.”

  “I wasn’t daydreaming,” she said defensively, even though she’d been doing precisely that. “I was merely thinking-”

  “About Miles Radnor.”

  “No, I wasn’t thinking-”

  “Do not dare lie to me Dianna Foxcroft, especially about a man. Do you hear me?”

  Hungry and bossy, Dianna noted, although neither of those things were new where Charlotte was concerned. Of the two of them Charlotte had always been the more outspoken, never afraid to say exactly what was on her mind at any given moment without a care for whether it was good or bad. Dianna alternately admired her friend for her boldness and at times - such as now - found it slightly irritating. If she couldn’t even manage to get Miles out of her own head the last thing she wanted to do was talk about him.

  “I do not wish to discuss the matter further.”

  Charlotte’s auburn brows darted together. “But what about last-”

  “I said,” Dianna interrupted, “I do not wish to discuss it.”

 
; Their eyes met. For once, Charlotte was the first to look away. “Oh very well,” she sighed. “I do not want to upset you, especially after everything you’ve been through. But dear, this is not something that can simply be swept under the rug. You were gone for nearly an entire day and night without a chaperone. The fact of it is, the only person who can vouch for your whereabouts is, well, the person you seem so determined not to talk about. If word gets out that you spent the night with him…” Her voice trailed off, but then she didn’t need to say anymore. Dianna already knew exactly what she wasn’t saying.

  If it were discovered that she’d stayed the night with a man outside the sanctity of marriage the results would be nothing short of disastrous. Her reputation would be ruined. Her good name thrown to the wind. Any potential suitors she might have had would disappear in the blink of an eye, for no one wanted a wife who could be considered spoiled goods.

  It wouldn’t matter that nothing had happened between her and Miles. Oh no. The ton was never so discerning. Scandals were viewed strictly in black and white, with the woman always receiving the short end of the stick, no matter who was actually at fault.

  It wasn’t fair. Then again, in Dianna’s experience, life rarely was.

  “I went to see him yesterday,” Charlotte said suddenly.

  Dianna paused with her cup of tea halfway to her lips. “Who?”

  “Radnor, of course. Oh, do not look at me like that.” Charlotte made a face before she reclined all the way back on the chaise lounge, using both hands to gently massage her belly. Sunlight glinted in her hair, turning the tousled copper strands a bright fiery red. “You disappeared without a word. How was I to know if he’d taken you?”

  “Miles is guilty of many things,” Dianna said wryly, “but I don’t believe kidnapping is among them.” At least I hope not.

  “Where Radnor is concerned I’ve learned it best not to set my hopes very high.”

  Even though her tea had long since cooled, Dianna still blew across the top before taking a sip. “You never liked him, did you? Even when we were children.”

  “I thought we weren’t speaking about him,” Charlotte hedged.

  “Oh go on,” Dianna said with a sigh. “He is all I can think about anyways.”

  “Very well. In that case, I never liked the idea of him. Forcing two children to become betrothed before they even know what marriage means is beyond antiquated, not to mention horribly cruel.”

  “Miles had no control over that,” Dianna pointed out. “It was our parent’s doing.”

  “Details, details. I forgot to ask, where are your parents? I don’t recall seeing them at the wedding or the reception.”

  “In London. I will be joining them there at the end of the week.” To begin, yet again, another season. Dianna frowned faintly at the thought. She’d come to dread each season more than the last and was not looking forward to this one in the least. While most women - and even some men - lived for the months between November and May when high society came alive, Dianna positively loathed the endless parade of balls, parties, plays, and luncheons.

  She had long ago grown tired of pasting a faux smile on her face and keeping it there from sunup to sundown. She’d grown tired of the whispers. Tired of the stares. Tired of thinking if things had turned out differently, she would be spending the winter tucked away in the country with her husband and their children, a daughter with her blonde curls and a son with his father’s piercing green eyes… “Although all things considered, I should be leaving before Saturday,” she said hastily, earning a raised brow from Charlotte.

  “Why on earth would you be in such a rush to get back to London? Surely not to see your parents.”

  It was no secret - at least between close family and friends - that the Foxcroft’s were not a loving family. They respected each other, but they’d never understood one another. As though as Dianna remained quiet and well-mannered they left her to her own devices, and she’d stopped expecting them to pay more attention to her than they did their never ending whirlwind of social events long ago.

  Placing her half empty teacup on a glass topped coffee table, Dianna stood up and walked to the large bay window overlooking the front lawn. After the storm last night the foliage was lush and vibrant, from the gardens surrounding the manor to the trees lining the stone drive, their leaves caught somewhere between the lingering traces of summer and the bright colors of autumn. She braced her fingers against the sill, pressing until her knuckles turned white. “I am afraid of what will happen if I remain,” she whispered.

  “With Radnor, you mean.”

  “Yes.”

  Dianna could not see Charlotte, but she heard her sigh clearly enough. “If you do not want anything to happen, then do not see him. It is as simple as that. After all, there’s nothing that says you have to. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

  “But it is complicated,” Dianna cried in a rare display of true emotion as she spun from the window. “It has always been complicated, and I fear it will always be complicated. I loved him Charlotte.”

  Her gaze unreadable, Charlotte quietly asked, “Do you love him still?”

  “I… I do not know,” Dianna confessed miserably. Shoulders hunching, she sat on the edge of the sill and looked down at her hands. “I don’t want to. But after I saw him at Aunt Abigail’s wedding reception and again last night… My mind is a jumble. I don’t know what to think anymore. It seems as though he has changed, and he says he wants to make amends, but I don’t know if I can trust him with my heart again.”

  “Nor should you, until you are absolutely certain his renewed affections for you are nothing less than genuine.” Charlotte toyed absently with a loose curl hanging down behind her ear. “I will say that after speaking with him, I agree with you. He does seem to have changed. For your sake, I hope it is for the better, but only time will tell. Whatever happens, remember there is no rush. You waited for him for four years. He can certainly wait a bit as well.”

  Yes, Dianna thought silently, he certainly could.

  She may not have known what she felt for Miles, but she did know her feelings would not be clear in a day, or a week, or even a month. Perhaps returning early to London would be best after all. It would give her the space she needed, and enough distractions to keep her mind occupied on something other than Miles Radnor.

  When they were young, he had consumed her entire world. Every thought had been of him. Everything she’d done had been for him.

  If - and that was a very large, very questionable if - she decided to give him a second chance, it would be on her terms. Miles could be a part of her world, but he would never again be the entire thing.

  She wouldn’t allow it.

  “Aunt Abigail will be disappointed,” she said, thinking out loud, “but hopefully she will understand why I need to depart early.”

  “Of course she will,” Charlotte agreed. “If you’d like, I can even go with you. Without you or Gavin here there would really be no reason for me to stay.”

  “Aunt Abigail adores you.”

  “As I do her, but there are a hundred and one things that need my attention at Shire House,” she said, referring to the Graystone’s palatial manor in the middle of London. One of the largest private residences in the entire city, it was where she and Gavin spent most of their time, for although they also owned a manor not far from Ashburn, nearly all of Gavin’s business dealings required him to be present and accounted for.

  “In that case,” Dianna said, “I would love it if you came with me.”

  “Excellent.” Springing to her feet with surprising quickness given the amount of food she’d just devoured, Charlotte clapped her hands together. “Now why don’t you go upstairs for a bit? Get out of those filthy clothes, take a nice hot bath, and a long nap. We’ll have one last dinner with everyone tonight and leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Accustomed to following her mother’s orders without question, Dianna didn’t ba
t an eyelash at Charlotte’s, mostly because a hot bath sounded absolutely divine, as did a long nap. “What about you? What will you do?”

  “Oh I believe I will stay here and read a bit,” the redhead said airily.

  Perhaps if Dianna weren’t so tired and her mind not so preoccupied she would have been able to tell Charlotte was lying through her teeth. As it stood she merely smiled and nodded before slipping out of the solarium and dragging herself up the long staircase one step at a time.

  Waiting until Dianna was gone, Charlotte hurried down the hall and into the front drawing room. Finding parchment and a quill inside the drawer of an antique writing desk, she penned a letter quickly and efficiently, scarcely lifting the tip of the quill from the crisp white page. When she was finished - a mere four sentences later - she blew on the ink to dry it, folded the letter into an envelope, and rang for a maid.

  When one arrived a few moments later, slightly out of breath and cap askew, she pressed the letter into the girl’s hand and look her squarely in the eye. “I need this to be taken to Winfield with all haste. Do you know where it is?”

  “Aye Mrs. Graystone. My little brother works in the stables. He can get it there.”

  “Excellent.” Charlotte took a deep breath. “Might I ask your name?”

  Looking slightly bewildered by the personal question, the maid said, “Nessa Roberts.”

  “Nessa, I have one other request to make of you.” When the maid warily bobbed her head, Charlotte continued, “If anyone asks, I did not see you today and we did not speak.”

  “We didn’t?” the maid said uncertainly.

  “And you certainly did not deliver a letter to Winfield. Do you understand?”

  “I did not deliver a letter to Winfield,” Nessa repeated after a long pause. “Aye. I understand.”

  Ignoring the trickle of guilt at the back of her neck, Charlotte smiled and squeezed the maid’s arm. “Thank you ever so much, Nessa. I am in your debt.”

  Bemused but obedient, the maid performed a short curtsy before she hastened from the drawing room, leaving Charlotte standing in the middle of it, one hand wrapped around her belly while the other rubbed her chin.