He was no longer willing to live that way. He would seek out Miss Gardner, and offer to show her the paintings, even though Lady Grace could not accompany them. A maid would follow them, at a distance, for propriety’s sake, but he would, if at all possible, take the chance to declare his true feelings to Miss Gardner. He prayed that her response would be positive, that she might care for him, at least enough to consider accepting him.
Perhaps, he thought, he was even grateful that Lady Bromley had so occupied Lady Grace, for it had provided him this potential chance to be alone with Miss Gardner. He rose, and went towards the parlour with a determined stride.
He discovered Miss Gardner and her brother to be the only occupants of that room – another fact for which he was profoundly grateful. He approached her, nervous suddenly, and bowed before her.
“Good day, Miss Gardner. I trust that you are well today?”
“I am, Lord Chesterport. I am enjoying the comforts of your beautiful home.”
Her voice was melodic, and her smile radiant – it gave him courage to speak further.
“Miss Gardner, last night at dinner, Lady Grace suggested that today, I might show her, and you, the magnificent collection of art which this building houses. As Lady Grace appears to have been drawn into other activities, I thought to seek you out and offer to provide you with that tour of the art – accompanied by a maid, of course, for propriety – for you should not suffer simply because she is otherwise occupied.”
Miss Gardner blushed, and her eyes met his, filled with pleasure, and a degree of uncertainty. Her glance flicked to her brother for a moment, and Mr Gardner gave the tiniest of nods. She turned back to Max.
“Lord Chesterport, I am delighted to accept your offer.”
“Go, Amelia, and enjoy yourself. I will stay here, and assist our mother when she finally comes down.”, Mr Gardner turned from his sister to meet Max’s eyes, “I am afraid that our mother does not travel well, these last few years, and was excessively tired by yesterday’s journey.”
Her brother spoke quietly, but Max felt his heart speed to a desperate pounding at Mr Gardner’s words. His hope for time alone with Miss Gardner was being fulfilled!
He rang for a maid to accompany them, then offered Miss Gardner his arm. Shyly, she placed her hand upon it, and they stepped out into the hall, just as the summoned maid came scurrying up to them.
“Mary, please accompany us, at a suitable distance to give us some privacy of conversation, whilst I show Miss Gardner the galleries.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
They set off up the stairs, and Max spoke of the fact that both his father and grandfather had been fond of art, collecting not just portraits of the family, but a range of landscapes and other pieces, all reflecting their interests, and the character of the district. When they reached the first long gallery on the third floor, Miss Gardner paused with a gasp of wonder.
The room was long, and quite narrow, lined by windows on one side, and paintings on the other. The afternoon light streamed through those windows, bringing the colours in the paintings to glowing intensity.
“This is truly wonderful!”
“I agree – I have loved this room since I was a child. But come, let us walk along here slowly, and view each piece. Mary, there is a chair here, where you may sit whilst you wait for us – you can see the whole room from here.”
The maid gratefully dropped on to the chair, and Max led Miss Gardner into the room. His heart pounded, and his breathing was uneven – now was his chance – but exactly how was he to declare himself? Instead of doing so, he found himself speaking at length about various pieces, whilst internally cursing his cowardice.
Eventually, they reach the far end of the room. The paintings here were all landscapes, many quite old, and drawn from different schools of style. Many seemed gloomy to him, and yet hopeful as well – pieces done in the style of the Flemish masters, with late afternoon golden light highlighting the foreground, yet dark foreboding skies looming above that golden place.
Now, looking at them, they brought to his mind the painting which Lady Grace had made, of the Spectre’s Cloister ruins. Seeing these again made him appreciate her skill all the more, for she had captured the same moody darkness. And thinking of that day reminded him, again, of how wonderful Miss Gardner had been, in her care for his sister Jane. It was time that he spoke, past time.
“These paintings – do they not remind you of Lady Grace’s picture of the Spectre’s Cloister ruins?”
Her voice echoed his very thoughts.
“They do, indeed.”
They could get no further from the maid – this was as much privacy as could be achieved. He turned to Miss Gardner, to discover that her eyes were on him, not on the paintings. He swallowed.
“Miss Gardner, I must tell you…”
“Lord Chesterport, I…”
They spoke simultaneously, and both stopped, uncertain. Max swallowed again, and waved his hand, indicating that Miss Gardner should speak first. She looked oddly distressed, as if afraid of something, then she straightened her shoulders.
“Lord Chesterport… I... I wished to tell you something… this is very forward of me… but I could not let the potential events of the next few days proceed without apprising you of my feelings. And I must know the truth of your feelings, or I fear I shall go quite mad. Lord Chesterport, I have come to care for you. Deeply. In fact, I might dare to name this emotion as love. I know that your mother, and Lady Bromley, have hoped for a match between you and Lady Grace, and I realise that I am far below your social status, but…”
Her words trickled to a halt, her cheeks blushing a deep crimson, and her blue eyes full of a strange admixture of hope and despair. Max’s heart soared. She loved him! It was far more than he had dared to hope for.
His eyes flicked back down the long gallery to where the maid sat, and he was thrilled to discover that she appeared asleep, leaning back, and dozing in the sunshine.
He spun his gaze back to Miss Gardner.
He could not resist – he reached forward, and swept her into his arms, spinning her around wildly as he brought his lips down to hers. It was probably the most completely improper thing he had done in his life, and it felt wonderful.
When they stopped spinning, he set her carefully back on her feet, but retained a grasp on her hands.
“Miss Gardner, you cannot know how happy I am to hear those words from your lips! For what I was about to tell you, is that I love you – you captured my heart the moment that I first saw you, and I have been sorely troubled for these last weeks, wondering if there was any hope that you might return my affections. Miss Gardner, will you marry me?”
“I… oh… yes. Yes, I will marry you!”
“You have made me the happiest of men! We should…”
“No! I mean, yes, yes, I will marry you, but please, let us say nothing to anyone until the Ball. I am afraid… afraid that, if we did, your mother and Lady Bromley might attempt to do something to prevent our betrothal. Perhaps I am foolish… but…”
“Not foolish, no, simply cautious. But… now that I turn my mind to others – do you know what Lady Grace will think of this? Does she hope to marry me? Will she be distressed by our betrothal?”
Miss Gardner laughed, and Max blinked in shock – what could there possibly be to laugh about?
“She will be far from distressed, my Lord. I am afraid that she is convinced that you would make a dull husband – but that may simply be because she is quite desperately in love with my brother.”
Max felt an irrepressible smile claim his face.
“Then… is your brother aware of her affection for him? Might he intend to…”
“He is aware of it – I made sure that he was. I do not know quite what he plans, but I hope…”
“Then perhaps, at the Ball, we may have two announcements to make?”
“I most fervently hope so.”
Chapter Eleven
By the
evening of the Ball, Grace had accepted her fate, which rendered her mother’s comments unable to wound her anymore. At the least, Lady Bromley would let her dance – it was the purpose for which they had travelled so far, after all! And, whilst there was nothing that she could do to prevent Lord Chesterport from proposing, should he choose to do so, there was also nothing her mother could do, if that happened, to prevent Grace from refusing him. She was not sure, however, that she should do so. Her mother’s insistence that marrying Max was the right thing to do had left her confused and heartsick.
But before anything else, she needed to speak to Amelia, to discover whether Amelia thought that Theodore might possibly care for her…
Nothing of the lavishness on display could distract Grace when she entered the ballroom. Her purpose was clear, and the only obstacles she now saw in her path to reaching Amelia were the multitude of newly made acquaintances with whom she was required to briefly converse.
After a moment, she saw Amelia in the crowd and began making her way towards her, but as she approached, a gentleman invited Amelia to dance, and led her to where the couples were forming up for the first set. Grace stopped in the spot where her friend had previously been, unsure about how she was to proceed. Moments later Max appeared beside her - perhaps he had seen Amelia as well, and had arrived too late to ask her to dance.
“May I have the honour–” Max began, turning to Grace after he had stared longingly at Amelia.
“Of course, my Lord.” He offered her his arm, and the pair went to join the others. Soon enough, the elegant steps of the dance brought Grace and Amelia next to each other. “I have been trying to speak to you for the past two days!” Grace whispered to her friend.
“I’ve read your letter–” Amelia began, but they immediately had to part as the dance spun them away from each other. All that Grace could now see was her expression, smiling from ear to ear and beaming with joy – a rather large improvement from the disposition she’d had previously, at her departure from Hesterton Park.
Max seemed rather uncomfortable with the situation, but made no comment about it. He avoided looking at Amelia and ignored the ladies when they whispered to each other.
“And?” Grace insisted when the two were near each other again.
“This is a rather uncomfortable time to discuss it, do you not think so?” Amelia replied, visibly inconvenienced and trying to look amiable towards the gentleman with whom she was dancing.
“I cannot guarantee that my dear mother will let me out of her sight for long. I do believe time is of the essence.” Grace glided gracefully past Amelia, but the two could not properly converse until the dance was over.
After the set completed, Max bowed to Grace and, after curtseying to him, she turned away to look for Amelia once more, but she had already disappeared from the area set aside for dancing. However, as she stood there, uncertain, again, of how to proceed, Theodore approached her, almost shyly. Her heart beat faster, and instantly, the memory of that kiss in the ruins came to the surface of her thoughts. But, much as Grace wanted to be near him, she needed to speak to Amelia.
“I need to speak to your sister immediately.” Grace declared, looking past his shoulder. Her reaction gave Theodore a slight shock, but he cleared his throat which immediately caused her to look back at him.
“May we take a short walk about the garden, Lady Grace?” he asked in a most serious tone, while straightening his back into a position which seemed altogether too stiff for him.
“About the garden? Is there something the matter?”
She was unsure of what to expect from such an odd request, although, deep inside her, there was a part which wished, desperately, that he wanted to walk in the gardens so that he might kiss her again.
“Not at all.” He was quick to answer. “I have watched you, and you seem distressed. I presumed that you are finding the event rather taxing, and I thought that you would find a breath of fresh air invigorating.”
He smiled with confidence and extended his arm, which she took with slight suspicion, still, of the purpose of his request.
She truly wanted to say that it was his sister’s avoidant behaviour which she found taxing, and that a turn about the garden would do nothing to help her situation, yet she did not wish to refuse him. As they made their way out of the ballroom, she observed him silently.
Theodore had never looked more charming. He was dressed with impeccable taste, and though she was not used to seeing him in such elegant attire, she could not deny it suited him well.
The summer evening was pleasant, and the air outside was perfumed with the sweet scent of roses. Grace clung to his arm, and felt a great deal fainter than she had been feeling inside, so intoxicating was his presence.
At last, they took a seat on a marble bench overlooking a small stone fountain.
“Lady Grace,” he spoke after a long pause. “I confess I had not the courage to speak truthfully to you before…” he paused again, giving her ample time to understand exactly what he might be about to say.
Grace rose in surprise. Her sudden gesture seemed to stifle Theodore’s words.
“Go on,” she whispered, sitting back down.
“It was not until my sister–”
“She surely did not give you the letter I wrote her!” Grace exclaimed, standing up again. This prompted him to do so as well.
“No! Of course not! But having acquired that recent knowledge, she merely encouraged me to do something I have long dreamed of doing. She suggested to me that your words had indicated that such an action on my part would likely not be rebuffed. I hope that I may trust her judgement on that matter?” He took Grace’s hands into his. She felt cold and was slightly trembling – surely he could feel that shiver running through her? “Lady Grace, will you–” he began, but Grace took a step back and turned away from him.
Her heart was breaking inside her. How could she let him say the words, knowing that her mother might still try to force her hand, that Max might still offer for her…
It was all too much.
For a moment, they were completely silent. Then, despite her determination to be strong, she found herself sobbing quietly, all of the despair of the last few days coming to the surface. Here she was, almost certainly about to hear the words she had dreamed of hearing, from the man she loved, and yet unable to simply accept.
“Mr. Gardner, you must not ask me, for you already know, very well, I am sure, the answer I would wish to give. However, I am afraid that we are in a bit of a predicament.”
She tried to mask the tears in her voice.
~~~~~
Theodore was torn between a desire to laugh almost hysterically, and a need to pull her into his arms and calm her distress. He did neither, fearful of her reaction.
“How so?”
“My mother is under the distinct impression that Lord Chesterport intends to propose to me. She insists on me marrying him although I have explicitly stated –”
Her last words rang with anger, but Theodore swiftly cut her short.
“Well, I am afraid that is not possible,” he said, finally allowing the laughter to escape him.
Lady Grace immediately turned to him, no longer concealing her reddened eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
“Why? And why are you laughing?”
“Why, sadly for her, while your mother has been dragging you about with her, Chesterport proposed to Amelia. And she gladly accepted.”
He could see that Lady Grace was speechless. After a moment, her expression transformed from woeful to joyful, and she flung herself into his arms, laughing with delight.
“How unfortunate for my mother’s plans!” she exclaimed.
“Most harrowing. Luckily…” he began, holding her beaming face close to his.
“…luckily it all turned out for the best,” she finished his sentence, and lifted her face to be kissed. Overhead, summer lightning split the sky, and a roll of thunder boomed out.
&nbs
p; “Do I take it by that, Lady Grace, that you are willing to marry me?”
“Yes, oh yes, Theodore, I could wish for nothing more than that.”
“Then we had best get back indoors, before we are drenched, and find my sister…”
She laughed at his words, and rose on her toes to kiss him again.
“I have rather fond memories of the last time we were storm drenched together, my Lord of the Storm, although I expect that you are right, appearing sodden in the ballroom would not be ideal.”
He took her hand, and still laughing, they ran together through the first drops of rain, back into the grand ballroom of Chesterport Grange.
~~~~~
Grace was giddy with happiness as they stepped back into the ballroom. She had intended to seek out Max and Amelia, but in the end, she did not need to, for they found her. As soon as the doors had closed behind her, before she and Theodore had even had the chance to brush the rain drops from their hair, Amelia appeared with Max at her side.
Amelia looked at Theodore.
“Did you… did she…?”
“Yes, and yes.”
“Wonderful!”
Amelia turned to Grace, and quickly embraced her.
Max, looking happier and more relaxed that Grace had ever seen him, met Theodore’s gaze.
“So, shall we make the announcements, before anyone can do anything to disrupt our plans?”
“Indeed, let us do so – or rather, you do so, with us by your side – it is your residence, after all.”
“Certainly.”
Max led them the short distance to the small podium near the orchestra. As he stepped up onto it, leaving the others standing just below him, Grace saw Lady Chesterport and Lady Bromley hurrying through the crowded room towards them. Max signalled to the orchestra, who immediately fell silent. The dance in progress stopped, and all faces turned towards him, full of curiosity.
Lord of the Storm: The Common Elements Romance Project (Regency Gothic Book 1) Page 7