A Charming Lady for the Intriguing Baronet: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Bridget Barton

  “You are mistaken, Phee. I have already been embarrassed by him.”

  And it would not happen again.

  Chapter 7

  The evening before seemed miles away from Selina as she laughed and chatted with the staff the very next morning. The kitchen was abuzz with activity as the breakfast dishes were being washed and lunch was being prepared. It seemed that no sooner was one meal done with, than another one was being prepared.

  “And then what did you do about the woman in church, Mrs Albermarle?”

  “I waited until she got outside, and then I gave her a piece of my mind. The nerve of the woman to suggest that my pork pies were the cause of her stomach ache! It was more so due to the amount of food she ate, foolish woman! You would think that she would not receive another meal at the rate that she was going at.”

  The kitchen erupted in laughter, everyone pausing what they were doing as they gripped their aching bellies.

  “No more,” Suzy said. “No more Mrs Albermarle. I will not be able to bend down should I continue to laugh like this. My belly hurts from all this laughter!”

  “Then best you block your ears!” The cook laughed.

  Suzy, one of the scullery maids, fanned her face. Her blotchy skin emphasised her bulbous nose and tiny eyes, but she had a kind soul. As far as Selina was concerned, what was inside far outweighed the outside.

  “Are you done with my potatoes yet, Selina? Should your mother see that you’re helping us ...”

  “Do not fret, Mrs Albermarle. Mama is resting upstairs. It will be quite some time before she comes down again. The ball last night exhausted her.”

  The cook nodded. “You all came in late. It must have been gone past two in the morning when you all returned.”

  “I thought that I would sleep in,” Ophelia said. “But I was up at the crack of dawn.”

  Selina smiled. “That sounds like excitement to me.”

  Mrs Albermarle stopped mixing her pot to look at the sisters.

  “And why should she be excited?”

  “Should I tell her or should you?”

  Ophelia’s cheeks turned a brilliant pink as she covered her face. Mrs Albermarle came to sit down, looking expectantly at Ophelia. The other servants stopped doing what they were busy with and turned their attention on her as well.

  “What did you all get up to at the ball last night? Did you meet a young man, Ophelia?”

  Ophelia said something, but her words were muffled behind her hands. Selina grinned.

  “Speak up, sister dear. We all would like to know what happened last night.”

  Ophelia’s hands slowly came down, revealing a smile. She stuck her tongue out at Selina.

  “You do love to tease me, Selina! You know full well that Simon is just a friend.”

  “We have a name!” Mrs Albermarle exclaimed.

  “Do tell us, Miss Ophelia,” Suzy pushed. “We would love to know about your young man. Is he handsome?”

  Ophelia sighed. “He is truly handsome. But I say this as a friend, nothing more. Simon is kind and thoughtful. Any girl would be lucky to marry him.”

  Selina saw the wistful look in her sister’s eyes.

  “Would you count yourself as one of those lucky girls?”

  Ophelia gave her a side look. “You have much to say for a woman who had her own drama last night.”

  “Should we be celebrating?” Mrs Albermarle asked. “I have a few biscuits tucked away.”

  Ophelia’s eyes lit up at the mention of the biscuits.

  “Biscuits? Tucked away? I would love some, please!”

  Being reminded of Alex had effectively put her off any thought of possibly eating some of Mrs Albermarle’s shortbread biscuits.

  “Not until we hear of the so-called drama of last night. I take it that there was a man involved, Selina?”

  All eyes were on her, but she had no words to speak. All she wanted to do was forget about what had happened last night.

  “It was nothing, Mrs Albermarle. I do not wish to speak of it.”

  Strong protests erupted in the kitchen. “You must tell us, Miss Selina!”

  “But there is nothing to tell!”

  “Selina,” her sister said. “Do tell the truth.”

  “Phee, there is nothing to tell. Now stop bothering me about this!”

  Selina bent down to her task of peeling the rest of the potatoes. She could feel an ache in her chest and a burning rage whenever she thought of Alex. Better to forget about him than suffer these turbulent emotions. Everyone in the kitchen turned away and busied themselves with preparations for lunch. They could all see that she was poorly affected by the events of last night. The happy mood of the kitchen had dropped, and it was her fault. Selina sighed. This is the last thing that I wanted, but I just cannot discuss Alex at this moment, not when my emotions are still so raw. Ophelia came to sit next to her, grabbing a few of the potatoes.

  “Did you know that Simon and Sir Russell are friends? He told me that last night.”

  “Yes, the baronet said as much.”

  Where was her sister going with this? Did she not make it clear enough that she did not wish to speak about him?

  “Well, Simon told me a few things that I believe that you should hear.”

  Selina looked at her sister. “About who?”

  Her sister kept her gaze down, carefully removing the skin of the potatoes.

  “You and Sir Russell.”

  What could Simon possibly know about her? Unless the baronet had spoken of her. Would he have said something about me? Against her better judgement, Selina found herself wanting to know just what had been told about her and Alex.

  “What did he say? About the baronet and I?”

  Ophelia looked up. “That the baronet could speak of nothing more than your afternoon together.”

  Selina was stunned. She sat back in her chair, still gripping the paring knife in one hand, and a potato in the other.

  “What else did he say?”

  “Well, the baronet clearly thinks highly of you. He praised your sketching skills, and he thought you a wonderful woman.”

  Was her sister lying to her just to make her feel better? No, Ophelia would not do that to me. She knows me better than that. What she is saying must be true.

  “Well, what he thinks of me does not match with how he treated me. Actions speak volumes, Phee.”

  “That may be, Selina, but I’m more certain than ever that there was a misunderstanding between you and Sir Russell.”

  Ophelia was still a naïve woman who believed the best in everyone. Selina was one herself until Alex came along and showed her exactly who he was. A wealthy man with not a care for anyone else but himself. But he did not come across as a selfish man. In fact, he had seemed kind and friendly to all whom he greeted at the ball. Selina couldn’t understand him, but what she did know was that he had lied to her, whether on purpose or by omission, which was just as bad in her opinion.

  “Did I hear you two speaking about Alexander?” Mrs Albermarle asked. “The baronet on the land next to this one?”

  “Yes,” answered Ophelia. “Do you know him?”

  “Know him? I used to work for him! But that was many years ago when his parents were still alive.”

  Selina’s eyes were like saucers. The cook knew Alex? It seemed as though she couldn’t get away from him. She would have left the kitchen if it wasn’t for her inquisitive nature. I’ll stay, just for my peace of mind. Mrs Albermarle will probably confirm all that I believe about him.

  “Do tell us, Mrs Albermarle!” Ophelia insisted. “I, for one, would love to hear about our handsome baronet.”

  Selina didn’t say a word but just listened.

  “It was ages ago, really. I was their cook for many years, but an altercation with one of the other servants forced me to leave. I don’t have nothing against them, mind you. Honest folk, they were.”

  Honest? I suppose that Alex’s honesty got lost somewhere.


  “Alexander was never like the other boys his age. I do not think that you could find a young man with a kinder heart than him. He was always with the animals, tending to them, caring for them. Often, he would fall asleep in the stables, nursing a sick horse. Barefoot, messy, but happy is how I remember him. One could easily mistake him for one of the servants’ children!”

  As she had mistaken him for a stable groom.

  “Such a lovely young man. Humble, too. Alexander was always most at home with the servants than mingling with folk of his own status. He used to get into trouble with his father quite a bit. Now, do not get me wrong: the late Sir Russell was a good and kind man, especially towards his servants, but he also understood the necessity of interacting with people of his own station.

  Alexander did not like that idea much, often butting heads with his father. He was simply not interested in the frippery of his social class and would often escape many dinners and balls held at the estate. I find it amusing that he is now hosting the very same balls that he would run away from as a young boy. But Alexander knows his duty as the baronet. If there were one thing that he would always do, it would be to do the right thing.”

  Selina found that hard to believe. The right thing would have been for him to tell her that he owned the land that he had sat upon, instead of having her find out at the ball. That had been a hard blow to deal with.

  “I have seldom seen him in gentleman’s garments. He prefers to wear a commoner’s clothing for everyday activities. This, unfortunately, has earned him some raised eyebrows, and a bit of a reputation among your social circles.”

  Selina had a feeling that the cook was about to mention something along the lines of what Lavinia had told her.

  “And what reputation would that be?” Ophelia asked.

  “I don’t know if I should be saying anything to you young women.”

  “You have to finish what you started!” Suzy complained. “We need to hear the full story.”

  “Very well, but this did not come from my lips, you hear?”

  They all eagerly nodded their heads, even Selina. Mrs Albermarle had them all hooked with her tale about the Baronet of Chesterfield.

  “Well, people have pegged him to be less than virtuous, but far be it from them to say it to his face. I have heard it spoken through the grapevine. I do not believe that anyone would wish to get on his bad side, no matter how they disapprove of his alternative lifestyle.”

  It was just as she had thought. Alex was a flirt, and he got away with it because of his wealth.

  “I do not believe a word of those rumours–they are nothing but lies! People will take something that is innocent and run with it. Such is the way with society.”

  “But what happened, Mrs Albermarle?” Ophelia asked. “Where did the rumours start, and why?”

  Mrs Albermarle made a show of adjusting her body in her seat, sighing loudly. It all just added to the build-up of what she was about to tell them.

  “Years ago, he had a romance with one of the servant girls. It was a meaningless romance, really. It was just what I would call puppy love. They were both young and foolish, and it came to nothing. They both parted on the best of terms. As I said, it was nothing serious.”

  Alarm had travelled through her at the mention of this romance. It was disturbingly similar to Jane’s story, only the romance had not ended well. Jane had been shunned due to her pregnancy, while the man had gotten away scot-free. Her uneasiness began to grow the more that she thought about it. He is worse than I had initially thought him to be. Not only did he lie to me, but he may have fathered my friend’s child and left her to deal with the consequences of their mutual romance on her own. Selina needed a good walk to clear her head.

  “Excuse me, ladies, I’m going for a walk.”

  She carefully placed both the knife and the potato on the table and rose from her seat.

  “Selina? Are you all right?”

  Selina looked at her sister. What could she say? That the mere thought of the baronet left a bitter taste in her mouth? Ophelia did not see him as she did; therefore they would never see eye-to-eye.

  “Yes, I am perfectly all right. I just need a walk to stretch my legs. I will be back in time for lunch.”

  “And my potatoes?” asked the cook.

  “I’m sure that my sister can take over from me, Mrs Albermarle. She is quite capable of peeling a few potatoes. I shall see you all later.”

  Selina all but ran out of the kitchen and into the open, increasing her pace until she was out of view. She looked for a shady area before sitting down.

  “That certainly went downhill fast.”

  Selina wished that she could speak to Jane and ask her just who the father of her baby was. Should it be Alex, she would publicly bring him to task for it, exonerating her best friend from the shame that must be dogging her every step.

  The carriage ride to Lavinia’s home was quiet. Selina had remained deep in thought for the remainder of the day, not wishing to be engaged in conversation by anyone. She was simply not looking forward to the dinner that was to take place. Lavinia was up to something, Selina could feel it in her bones. What could she possibly want with my sister and me? I have nothing that she could be remotely interested in, and I do not believe that her reason is to become reacquainted with me.

  She needed to be on alert. Selina was through being made a fool of by Lavinia. They were no longer young girls, but women who had minds of their own. Lavinia should be past the stage of wishing to humiliate others, but somehow I do not believe that she is. She had that same air about her, as though she is about to strike. But Lavinia would not meet her mark because Selina was watching her. Any false move and Selina would remove herself and her sister from the situation, no explanations given.

  Alex had been informed that Selina was to attend the dinner as well.

  “I will organise a private conversation with her. She will not get away from me so easily this time around.”

  Alex was to arrive with Simon, not wanting to leave his friend behind when he had been so clearly captivated by Ophelia Seymour. He also needed reinforcement, for he felt that he might just need it–Lavinia Mostyn was not a woman to be taken lightly. He had first declined her invitation to attend her dinner, but when she had mentioned the guest list, Alex had soon changed his mind.

  “I believe that she must have known that very fact or she would not have told me who was coming.”

  The woman did nothing without reason–that much he was sure of. Each action undertaken by her was done with such precision so as to get the result she sought after. This time around, that result may include him, and he was having none of that.

  “I am not a prize to be won; neither do I wish to be won by Miss Mostyn.”

  She was beautiful, but that beauty did not reach to her soul. She was as calculated as her parents were. Alex almost felt sorry for her; it must not have been easy growing up with two parents who were so self-absorbed in their own lives. He gathered that Lavinia did whatever she had to do to make sure that people took note of her, even if that whatever included scheming.

  “I wonder what she is up to.”