‘Mmm?’ He looked mildly surprised at the interruption. ‘Oh, the spirit of adventure, I suppose. I always loved the idea.’
‘Did the reality match up?’
‘It wasn’t quite what I’d expected.’ A strange, inscrutable expression passed over his face. ‘Some parts were better than others, but I got to travel, to find out what I was made of, too. Unfortunately, it came to feel somewhat tainted.’
‘Tainted?’
‘Yes. My father died not long after I joined, but when I got the news I was already at sea and couldn’t come back.’ He paused, his voice sounding rougher when he spoke again. ‘By the time I had shore leave he’d been buried a year.’
‘Oh.’ She tightened her hand on his arm. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘So am I. Sometimes I think it was selfish of me to have left Bath in the first place.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘My father always worked too hard. I knew that. Maybe I should have stayed and forced him to retire.’
‘But did he enjoy working in the shop?’
‘He loved it. Belles was his pride and joy.’
‘Then maybe you couldn’t have forced him to stop.’ She looked at him steadily. ‘What about the navy? Did he object to your joining?’
‘No, he was happy for me. He knew how much I wanted to get out on my own and travel like he had. My mother wasn’t so enthusiastic, but at the time...well, Anna and my father were a good team in the shop and there didn’t seem any need for me to stay. He seemed in perfect health, too. There was no way any of us could have known what would happen, but when it did...’ He paused for a moment as they crossed Pulteney Bridge. ‘Miss Gardiner, if I ask you a question, would you promise to give me an honest answer?’
‘Of course.’
‘Thank you. You see, after my father died, I felt that it was my responsibility to come back and help run the business. That was what he would have wanted, but it’s not so easy to leave the navy, especially in wartime. There was nothing I could do to help except send money home, but I’d still like to know...how difficult have things been for Anna and my mother over the past few years?’
‘Oh...’ Henrietta sucked in a breath slowly. She didn’t want to make him feel bad by admitting the truth, but that was what he’d asked for and what she’d promised to give. ‘I believe that Anna did have a hard time running the shop on her own. The swelling in your mother’s hands and feet got so bad that it became impossible for her to help with the baking and they couldn’t afford to pay anyone else for the hours. Not for a while anyway.’
‘So Anna had to do it all by herself?’
‘Ye-es, but then she met the Earl and I moved in, so...’ She tried to sound positive. ‘It all worked out in the end.’
‘No thanks to me, but I appreciate your honesty, Miss Gardiner.’ A muscle clenched in his jaw. ‘So, what happened at the dressmaker’s?’
‘What?’ She almost tripped over her feet at the question. She’d thought they’d moved past that particularly unpleasant subject. ‘What do you mean, what happened?’
‘I just wondered why you left.’ He reached his other hand out to steady her. ‘Presumably you decided you preferred biscuits to dresses?’
‘Not exactly. That is, I do prefer working at Belles, but I had other reasons for leaving. Anna understood them.’
‘Ah.’ He gave her a sidelong glance, seemingly on the verge of asking something else before changing his mind. ‘Tell me about my new brother-in-law, then. Do you like him?’
‘Lord Staunton? Yes, very much.’
‘Good. Although he has another name, I presume?’
‘Samuel, although I never dare to call him that no matter how many times he tells me to. I’ll always think of him as Captain Delaney.’
‘Captain?’ He stopped walking abruptly.
‘Yes. He was Captain of the Colossus at Trafalgar.’
Mr Fortini adjusted the brim of his top hat, let out a low whistle and leaned against a wall looking out over the River Avon. ‘That was involved in some of the worst fighting. I like him better already, but how did a sea captain-cum-earl become acquainted with my sister in the first place?’
‘He came to the shop. You could see that he liked her straight away, but she wasn’t so sure.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well...’ She hesitated, her stomach churning in the way it always did when she thought of that day. Life-changing as it had been for Anna, it had been well-nigh disastrous for her. ‘She thought that he was a rake.’
‘Was he?’ His expression sharpened at once.
‘No, but she thought so because of his companion, Mr Hoxley. As it turned out, she was right about him.’
‘I see.’ Mr Fortini held on to her gaze for a few seconds. ‘You know, you provoke a lot of questions, Miss Gardiner.’
‘Do I?’ She laughed nervously. ‘I don’t think I’m that interesting.’
‘On the contrary, I think you might be very interesting.’
‘No.’ She swallowed convulsively. There was a softness to his voice suddenly, an almost liquid quality that made her stomach twist and tighten even as it set alarm bells ringing in her head. ‘You’re mistaken. I’m really not.’
‘Which is a polite way of telling me to mind my own business, I suppose.’ He leaned slightly towards her. ‘Forgive me. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the company of a young lady.’
‘A lady?’ She shook her head at the description. ‘I’m hardly one of those either.’
‘And now you sound just like Anna. I’ve always thought that most people fundamentally misunderstand the word. Personally, I take it to mean honest, kind and thoughtful, all of which qualities you’ve already demonstrated. No, Miss Gardiner, I have to disagree. You seem quintessentially ladylike to me.’
Henrietta was aware of a strange duality of feeling, as if one side of her body were burning hot and the other icy cold. His words were unexpectedly touching, but she didn’t want to be touched, either metaphorically or literally, and she didn’t know whether to trust such a compliment either. He sounded sincere, but rakes always sounded sincere. Just because he was Anna’s brother didn’t mean that he wasn’t just the same as Mr Hoxley underneath! Or Mr Willerby for that matter... Or any of the other men who came to the shop trying to flirt with her!
‘Shall we go up to the Crescent?’ He turned his head in that direction, smiling again. ‘I’d like to be seen by as many people as possible. It’s not every day I have such a beautiful young lady on my arm.’
Beautiful? Henrietta took a step backwards, bumping into a pedestrian walking behind her as she tore her hand away from his arm. That did it! If there was one thing she’d made sure of that morning, it was that she did not look beautiful!
‘Mr Fortini.’ She apologised to the pedestrian before wrapping her shawl tightly around her shoulders like a suit of armour. ‘I agreed to come for a walk because I thought you simply wanted a companion.’
‘I do.’ He looked faintly bemused by her indignant tone.
‘Then I’d like to get one thing clear. No matter what impression I might have given during the night, I am not that kind of woman.’
‘What kind of—?’
‘I do not have loose morals!’
‘The thought never entered my mind.’ His bemusement faded instantly. ‘Miss Gardiner, if I’ve offended you then I’m truly sorry. It was unintentional, I assure you.’
‘You haven’t offended me.’ She blinked a few times to hide the lie in her eyes. ‘But just to be clear, I invited you to stay last night as a favour to Anna, nothing more. I may be an independent woman, but I do not care to be flirted with and I’d appreciate your putting any thoughts of that nature aside.’
‘Consider it done.’ He sounded sombre, though with a hint of confusion, almost enough to make her believe that
he meant it.
‘Good... And no more compliments.’
‘Understood.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Well then, shall we continue?’ He cleared his throat after a few moments of heavy silence, disturbed only by the fierce torrent of the river over the weir below. ‘Perhaps you’d allow me to buy you a cup of tea to make amends? As I recall, there used to be quite a good tea shop on Milsom Street.’
Chapter Four
‘Here we are, Miss Gardiner.’
Sebastian found them a small, octagon-shaped table in one corner of the tea room and tried to think of some innocuous subject to talk about. His companion was pursing her lips so tightly that she resembled a strait-laced and highly strung governess, a look exacerbated by her frankly appalling taste in clothes. She’d seemed tense from the moment they’d left Belles—since he’d come down to breakfast, now he thought about it—but he’d believed that she’d been starting to relax in his company. Obviously not. Whatever camaraderie they’d established during their walk was now completely gone. She seemed a whole different woman from the one who’d accosted him with fire tongs at midnight and he had no idea what the hell had gone wrong.
He folded one long leg over the other and bit back a sigh. In all honesty, he was having regrets about inviting her to walk at all, but ironically, he’d wanted to spend more time with her. Hard as it was to believe or remember why at that moment, he’d wanted to enjoy his newfound freedom with her and a walk in the sunshine. Now he had the impression that she was regretting it, too. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was actually counting the minutes until he took her back to the shop, which didn’t say a great deal for his company, but then he supposed he was somewhat out of practice in talking to the opposite sex.
Months on end at sea with eight hundred other sailors tended to have a somewhat coarsening effect on a man’s manners, which was probably why he’d ended up offending her, although calling her beautiful wasn’t such a terrible thing to do, was it? Especially when he’d been entirely serious. She would have been stunning wearing a sack. And he didn’t even know where to begin with her declaration about loose morals. She was acting as if he’d just tried to seduce her in the street in broad daylight!
Not that he would have been entirely averse to the idea...
‘Thank you.’ Miss Gardiner managed a half-smile as the waitress placed two cups of tea on the table in front of them. ‘And you, too, Mr Fortini. This is very kind.’
‘Don’t mention it.’ He nodded tersely. At least he’d got one thing right that morning. ‘My mother always liked this tea shop. I’m glad it’s still here.’
‘Yes.’ She took a sip and then placed her cup back in its saucer with a loud rattle. Or at least it seemed loud in the silence that followed since neither of them appeared to have any idea what else to say next.
‘Tea in the navy is appalling.’ He groaned inwardly as the words emerged from his own lips. Why not just talk about the weather?
‘Really?’
‘Yes, the leaves get weaker and weaker over the course of a voyage. We had to give up on them eventually on my last ship. Quite a calamity for an Englishman.’
‘I suppose so.’ Her lips un-pursed slightly. ‘Nancy and I were thinking about selling tea at the shop. Or coffee, perhaps, to go with the biscuits. I thought I might suggest it to Anna the next time she visits. Of course, we’ll probably have to hire another assistant, but the shop’s doing well enough that I think we can afford it...’ Her voice trailed away as if she thought she’d just said too much. ‘We’ll see.’
‘It sounds like an excellent idea to me.’ He shifted forward in his seat. ‘Miss Gardiner, about before—’
‘It’s quite all right,’ she interrupted quickly. ‘Perhaps I overreacted. In fact, I probably did. It’s just that I prefer not to be complimented.’
Sebastian resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows at such a curious statement. Surely a woman who looked the way she did received dozens of compliments every day? And compliments were generally considered to be good things, weren’t they? Why would she object? Then again, why would a beautiful woman deliberately dress herself in a garment that resembled nothing so much as an old coal sack? Not to mention a bonnet that seemed intended to drain all the colour from her complexion. Unless she was wearing them deliberately to discourage him from offering any form of flattery? Because she didn’t want to look attractive? He thought back to her earlier protest. I’m not that kind of woman... What the hell kind of impression did she think she’d given him during the night?
He gave a jolt, realising that she was still waiting for an answer. ‘Of course.’
‘In fact, I’d prefer it if you’d speak to me as you would to Anna, as if I’m your sister.’
This time he had to wrench his eyebrows firmly back into place. Apparently, he really had lost his touch with the opposite sex if she was experiencing fraternal feelings towards him. Not that it ought to matter since he was leaving Bath soon anyway, but a man had his pride. Still, if fraternal was what she wanted, then fraternal was what he would give her. Which meant, first and foremost, that he needed to stop paying quite so much attention to her lips. Even pursed, they were still decidedly tempting: plump in the middle, with a peaked cupid’s bow that he wanted to run his finger along. What would it be like to kiss her? he wondered. To slide his hands into her hair and bring her face to his, to press his own lips against her forehead and cheeks, maybe the tip of her nose, then finally her mouth...
‘Very well.’ He cleared his throat, feeling hot under the collar all of a sudden. ‘But I should warn you this gives me licence to pull your hair and untie your apron strings.’
There was a faint spark in her eye. ‘Then I’ll just have to keep my bonnet on and be vigilant.’
‘Excellent idea. You can’t be too careful.’ He leaned backwards, relieved that they’d cleared the air slightly at least. ‘So where shall we wander to next? Up to the Circus?’
The spark faltered and then went out. ‘I think perhaps I ought to return to Belles. I’m not happy about leaving Nancy to mind the shop all alone.’
‘Ah...’ He inclined his head. It seemed she really was counting the minutes, after all, although perhaps she was right and it was better to put their promenade out of its misery before they ended up talking about tea again. ‘As you wish. In that case, I’ll escort you back.’
‘There’s really no need.’
‘There is to me.’ He picked up his teacup with a terse smile. ‘I said I wasn’t much of a gentleman, Miss Gardiner, but I do make a bit of an effort. We’ll leave whenever you’re ready.’
* * *
‘Sebastian Fortini?’ A strapping, chestnut-haired man wearing a leather apron put down the barrel he was carrying and strode across the shop floor to greet him. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I came to visit an old friend, but I can’t see him anywhere.’ Sebastian made a show of looking around. ‘You look a bit like him, but you can’t be. The James Redbourne I knew was a scrawny lad, all skin and bones.’
‘I was a late developer.’
‘Late? You must have grown at least a foot since I left.’
‘A foot and a half, actually.’
‘Well, it’s good to see you again.’ Sebastian found himself enveloped in a bear hug. ‘Even if you are taller and broader than me these days.’
‘Without any obvious bruises either.’ His old friend peered at his face. ‘What happened to your nose? Have you been fighting?’
‘No. For once in my life, I’ve been entirely innocent of wrongdoing. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to make any difference to the result.’
‘Then I want to hear all about it. Come on.’ James draped an arm around his shoulders, jerking his head at one of the women behind the counter as he steered him towards a small and pristinely tidy office.
‘Take a seat.’
James gestured towards a green leather-backed chair in front of a mahogany desk and then sat down behind it, extracting a bottle and two glasses from one of the drawers. ‘Whisky?’
‘I wouldn’t say no.’ Sebastian eased himself into the chair with a contented and approving sigh. ‘The place looks good.’
‘It’s a new start.’ James poured amber liquid into the two glasses and nudged one across the table. ‘Our old premises were getting cramped so, once I took over the business, I decided we had to move.’
‘I’m impressed. I thought your father would never retire.’
‘So did I, but in the end my mother made the decision for him. Something to the effect of waiting fifty years for his attention and it was either her or the shop. Now they have a cottage in the country and are both happier than I’ve ever seen them. He’s even taken up gardening. Delphiniums are his speciality.’
‘Good for him. And even better for you. You’re obviously a hands-on kind of manager.’
James glanced down at his leather apron and grinned. ‘We had a delivery of brandy this morning.’
‘I’ll drink to that.’ Sebastian raised his glass. ‘Apparently I came home at just the right time.’
‘Cheers!’ James swallowed a mouthful and then gave him a searching look. ‘But what are you doing in Bath? Shouldn’t you be in Derbyshire, visiting Anna? Or the Countess of Staunton, I suppose I should call her now.’
‘That’s going to take some getting used to.’ Sebastian rolled his eyes. ‘The truth is I didn’t know that she’d left, or that she’d got married either for that matter. I only found out when I got back to Belles last night and my mind is still boggling.’
‘You only got home last night?’
‘During the night, yes. That’s how I ended up with this bruise.’
‘Don’t tell me, the charming Miss MacQueen?’
‘Miss Gardiner actually.’
‘Miss Gardiner?’ James spluttered on his drink. ‘She hit you?’
Unexpectedly Wed to the Officer--A Historical Romance Award Winning Author Page 4