“True, but taking too much for too long is also common.”
“Understood.”
They spoke of it no more as they’d reached the entrance to All Saints.
“Why don’t you go in and find the others. I’ll sit here amongst the dead, or roll around in left-handed circles.” He tested it by grabbing hold of the hand grip on the left wheel and pushing down until he began to spin.
Simon offered him a wry grin. “Perfect!”
After his friend disappeared inside the stone church, Cam considered his words. Perhaps he should declare for Margaret. After all, she’d seemed perfectly happy to receive his kisses each time he’d doled them out. If only she didn’t seem happy to kiss everyone else, as well. What if she had kissed Gray while the two of them had been out riding the day before?
Luckily, he could find that out easily enough. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable question to ask his long-time friend, man to man. He knew his estate manager would be back outside soon since there could be nothing much fascinating in the interior of All Saints … except Margaret.
Unfortunately, when Gray did emerge, it was with the ladies Chatley and Cam’s mother. They seemed to be in an animated conversation about the belfry and the date of the oldest bell, which Cam knew perfectly well was 1682. Still, he stayed silent while Lady Emily Chatley droned on for a few moments, reading from a leaflet she’d found in the church’s nave.
Eventually, Jane looked over and waved to him, and then abandoned the others.
“You look better than you did at breakfast,” he remarked.
“Do I? I feel better. I suppose I had too much to drink last night.” Jane leaned close and whispered, “My mother has that effect on me. It really only takes a second glass of wine, and I feel as though I’m walking on board a ship.”
“Only two?” Cam grinned. “You would do best to stick to sober-water, my girl.”
“I know. And unfortunately, when I have wine, my stomach thinks I’m at sea as well.”
Poor Jane.
“Miss Blackwood helped me last night when I was insisting on storming your kitchen for a treat.”
“Did she?”
“Next thing I knew, I was ill. She took care of everything, and I confess to being cowardly and fleeing the scene.”
Poor Jane, indeed. And Margaret, too.
Right then, Margaret came out of All Saints with Simon behind her. Glancing toward where he and Jane had their heads together, she got a decidedly strange look upon her face.
“I should apologize to her and thank her,” Jane continued.
“Now’s your chance,” Cam said, but Margaret moved toward Gray as they began their tour of the church’s exterior. The group stopped to look at the molded interior arch of the south porch before heading back to the small cemetery.
“Do you mind if I walk with you?” Jane asked him. “When I’m trapped with my mother and other people, she goes on embarrassingly about my ‘accomplishments,’ and then always manages to bring up engagements, weddings, and babies. In that order, of course.”
Cam laughed. “Mothers treat their sons no differently. Anyway, what did you think of the wonders of our little church? Did you see the tower and the baptistery? The majestic nave? The brasses? The Mordaunt family monuments?”
“Yes, I saw it all. It is a positive gem to have. And handy, too, for when you marry.”
Hmm. Jane was right. He could have Margaret from his house to the church in under five minutes. Taking a sip of laudanum, he set it back in his pocket, and realized he was stuck. He could get nowhere with one hand, and he couldn’t ask Jane to push the heavy chair.
The others had all walked ahead and were examining the lichen-covered headstones.
When Margaret, whom he couldn’t keep his eyes off, looked back, Cam gave her a little wave. Quickly, she said something to Gray, who came back at a trot.
“Didn’t mean to leave you stranded, old boy.” Pushing him swiftly over the trimmed grass and pavers, he added, “Margaret reminded me of your plight.”
He called her Margaret now, did he?
“Nice of her since my two best friends forgot me.”
Gray nodded at Jane who walked beside them.
“Luckily, you had this lovely lady’s company. I think she got the wrong end of the sword though.”
“Ha! Now hurry up, let’s make sure no one misses the mausoleum. You and I have only seen it a hundred times!”
*
Maggie could relax and explore the churchyard as soon as Grayson pushed John into her sight. Jane remained by his side, like a devoted fiancée. Maybe she was. Possibly they’d already come to an understanding. Perhaps they would announce their engagement at the picnic, and everyone would celebrate. Jane could become tipsy again and sit on his lap in the pushchair for the ride home.
“Why are you scowling?” Simon asked her, and she tore her gaze away to look at her brother-in-law.
“Am I?”
“Yes. Anyway, you don’t have to tell me. Some people feel that way in cemeteries.”
It was as good an excuse as any so she said nothing more.
“By the way,” Simon added. “I mentioned to Cam to be careful with the laudanum.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure he took it well.”
Glancing at John again, Maggie frowned.
“If they announce an engagement, I shall personally warn her of the danger. Then it will be up to her.”
Simon’s eyebrows rose. “Announce an …? Is that why you’re over here in the shadow of this sepulcher, scowling like a gargoyle?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Picking up her skirts, she decided she’d been too familiar with her brother-in-law. It was time to rejoin the ladies.
After a few minutes of aimless browsing, Lady Cambrey declared it time for the jaunt to the River Great Ouse. As Maggie let Simon help her into the landau, she was pleased to see Jane leave John’s side and board the carriage as well. Simon stayed with them this time to drive, and Grayson was elected to handle pushing John to the river.
For the entire short journey down the lane and to the water’s edge, Jane seemed to have something she wanted to say. The other girl was glancing at her, saying something with her eyes. Maggie decided she would let Jane get her alone after they ate and speak her peace. No doubt it had something to do with asking Maggie to leave the field of honor, so to speak. Having two single ladies buzzing around the same bachelor was probably unsettling.
However, after the kiss she’d shared with John, and the exquisite sensation of her body atop his, Maggie had more than half a mind to fight for him. He might have chosen Jane for her placid nature, solid head on her shoulders, and all that, even for her sweet face and inheritance. Yet, the sparks Maggie felt with him were very real.
Could he possibly feel the same with Jane? It flummoxed her if such were the case, because her own experimental kisses with other men had been like a tepid flicker compared to a roaring flame.
Deciding to do the unthinkable, she would ask John outright. Was he willing to give up the exquisite burning sizzle they shared for a mere glimmer of warmth?
Chapter Sixteen
The Great Ouse was not exactly the Thames. Maggie knew the river was very long, but there, near Turvey House, it seemed hardly any different from the River Don near Simon and Jenny’s Belton Park. Their carriage ride had taken slightly longer to get to the river than to the church since they’d driven practically back to the manor before taking a left onto a path leading down to the chosen picnic area. Mrs. Mackle, the Angsley’s extremely capable housekeeper, had sent servants to lay out a grand spread.
Where they alighted from the landau, there were multiple large cloths on which were already placed a stack of plates and silverware. Servants had carried down baskets of food and drink, which they now dished out as the ladies and gentlemen gathered around.
Grayson and John came last, and everyone turned away as the injured earl was helped from his c
hair to stretch out upon a blanket.
When he groaned, though, Maggie whipped her head around to see him rubbing his thigh before he pulled his laudanum bottle from his pocket. To her delight, however, he looked at it and then returned it to his coat without opening it. Maybe Simon’s words had got through to him after all.
She was pleased to see the meal was light, merely individual cold pastry pies filled with meat and vegetables, easy to hold in one hand, along with fruits and cheeses. She drank only lemonade and noticed Jane did the same. The older ladies tipped back glasses of wine, and Maggie wondered if the ability to keep one’s head came with age. All of a sudden, she missed her own mother and wondered what was happening back at Sheffield with Jenny, Eleanor, and the new baby.
Lost in thought, she nearly didn’t notice when Jane gestured for her to walk to the water’s edge. Brushing the crumbs from her hands, she stood up and followed. It seemed it was the time of reckoning. Or maybe Jane would simply try to be rid of any competition by shoving Maggie into the river.
“Don’t go swimming, girls,” Lady Cambrey called after them, as if knowing Maggie’s thoughts. “Looks can be deceiving, and the current is rather swift.”
“I haven’t swum in a river or in the sea since I was a child,” Jane mused. “I think it would be fun and most definitely refreshing.”
Maggie looked out at the moving waters. “Perhaps deadly unless you’re a strong swimmer. There are probably bends in the river where it is more placid.”
Frankly, she was surprised at Jane’s words, still thinking her more reserved than she’d proven herself to be either now or the night before. It seemed there was an adventurous, amusing Jane, one who had captured John’s heart, and Maggie was only now seeing her.
Jane’s glance went from the river to lock onto Maggie.
“I simply wanted to say thank you.”
Oh, of course. Why hadn’t that occurred to Maggie? She’d assumed it had to be about John. Offering her a reassuring smile, Maggie waved her hand, trivializing the moment.
“You’re welcome. Besides, I ate your piece of cake, too.”
Jane laughed. “You deserved it. You saved me from humiliating myself in the kitchen or utter mortification in the drawing room.”
“We’ve all done something we wish we hadn’t.”
Jane sobered instantly, looking back at the group. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw John’s gaze upon them.
“I suppose you’re right,” Jane murmured.
Maggie burned to know what Jane was recalling but asking her was out of the question. If she wanted to spill her secrets, she would.
“I like you,” Jane told her abruptly. “I wish we’d been friends during the Season.”
Feeling as if she’d been petty in some of her uncharitable thoughts regarding Lady Jane, Maggie could only agree and add, “There’s always next year.”
“Somehow, I doubt it,” Jane said, sounding dour. “I don’t think there will be another Season for me. At least, I hope not.”
Feeling her heart clench, Maggie was certain Jane meant she would soon be off the marriage market, as it was called. Next year, Jane might be hosting parties for other debutantes at the Cambrey townhouse.
Maggie would prefer tossing herself into the Great Ouse than attending a party thrown by the Earl and Countess of Cambrey, especially if she were still a single lady enduring her third Season.
The others started to walk toward them, and their private moment passed.
“If you look farther along, you’ll see our raspberry bushes are plentiful,” Lady Cambrey said. “Not that I’ve ever picked them, of course, but our cook makes raspberry pie and sponge with fresh raspberries and cream. She makes preserves for morning toast, as well as raspberry wine and vinegar, too.” She paused for a moment. “Then she starts putting raspberries over half the dishes we eat at lunch and dinner.”
Staring at the bushes, Lady Cambrey frowned. “Come to think of it, maybe I should tear them all out.”
Simon laughed. “It can’t be that bad. Besides, I have fond memories of picking pails of them. I’m sure Cam, Gray, and I ate more than we gave to the cook.”
Cam’s mother smiled. “Soon, I hope there will be a new generation of Angsleys to pick berries.”
Cam, who was back in his chair and being pushed by Gray, gave a loud mock groan. As Maggie watched, he shared an amused glance with Jane.
“Remember what I told you?” he called to her.
Jane nodded, giving a slight shrug.
A private joke between the couple, Maggie thought. They might have already discussed having children as soon as possible to please his mother or hers.
“Shall we walk farther?” asked Lady Cambrey. “There’s a small bend a short way up. It’s where John used to paddle as a boy.”
“Mother,” he admonished her.
Disregarding him, Lady Chatley cooed. “I would love to see it. Wouldn’t you, Jane?”
Simon added in a loud voice, “Then we’ll take a tour of where he had his first diaper changed.”
Everyone laughed.
“Only you could get away with such irreverence,” John told him. “As far as my mother is concerned anyway.”
*
Cam never thought he’d be glad to get back to bed and have his leg in the infernal sling, but he was. Even the modest outing of the day had been a painful, tiring ordeal.
Closing his eyes as soon as his head hit the pillow, he said to Gray, “Don’t go yet.”
The butler had already left, and Simon had decided to write a letter to Jenny. Thus, they were alone.
“Haven’t you had enough of my company?”
“Just a quick question, but an important one.”
Gray pulled a chair over to the bed. “All right.”
Cam opened his eyes and looked at him. “You might not want to answer.”
Gray nodded. “All right.”
“When you went riding with Miss Blackwood, by any chance, did you kiss her?”
“What?” His long-time friend scrunched his face up into a curious expression, both disbelief and amusement.
Despite the shard of embarrassment cutting through him, Cam continued, “Actually, at any time you’ve been alone with her, not only on a ride. Or even not alone, I suppose.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Look, simply tell me if you’ve kissed her?”
However, Gray was already laughing, first merely a chuckle but then a loud guffaw escaped him.
“I fail to see what’s funny?” Cam said, his tone clipped.
“Because I’m not the one asking you a ridiculous question. I’ve only just met the lady.”
“That’s neither here nor there. Upon first seeing her, you could have developed a great passion, which you then expressed to her while riding together. She should have had a companion, not been out alone with you.”
“Because I’m such a randy beast?” Gray’s satisfied smile never left his face.
“I don’t know.” Cam groaned. “My head feels muddled. All I know is I would certainly kiss her if I were alone with her. I have done, in fact, and upon numerous occasions.”
Why had he felt the need to say that? It was disrespectful, he knew, but it did stake his claim.
“Oh, really?” Gray raised an eyebrow. “Besides here in your bedroom, do you mean?”
Cam scowled. “I’ll not compromise the lady by discussing it with the likes of you. Answer the bloody question.”
“I thought I had. The answer is a resounding no. I have not kissed her, nor do I want to.”
That got Cam’s undivided attention. “Whyever not? What’s wrong with her?”
Gray laughed until he howled, holding his stomach and doubling over with mirth. All the while, Cam lay stock-still, arms crossed over his chest. Damn the man for being amused.
At last, in a calm voice, Gray asked him, “Do you want me to sing her praises or tell you what I don’t like?”
“Neither,” Cam told him. “I already know wha
t’s wonderful about her, and I don’t care what you don’t like. I’m glad there are things about her you don’t like. She’s mine, not yours.”
“Good. I think you’re well-suited. Why don’t you tell her? I believe Miss Margaret and Simon are leaving soon.”
Cam groaned. “Look at me. How do I approach a lady when I can’t walk?”
“Pick a place,” Gray said, suddenly in earnest, “and I’ll get you set up first and then bring her to you.”
“I’ll think on it,” Cam said, feeling grateful and irrationally emotional. This could be very important to the rest of his life. “Thank you.”
“Am I dismissed, my lord?”
“Stop it, and yes, you are.”
At the door, Gray turned. “Don’t choose the spot where you had your diaper changed.” He ducked out of the way as Cam threw a pillow at his head.
*
The next morning, he didn’t bother getting up early and racing everyone to the breakfast room. He didn’t feel like eating anyway. His stomach pained him. Perhaps it was from lying awake most of the night pondering where he should declare his affections for Margaret. He didn’t have the extraordinarily lovely gardens like Simon had at Belton Manor, but Turvey House had some lovely views of the river. There was a stone bench which might do nicely.
At mid-morning, his mother appeared at the door with her newspapers.
“I didn’t expect you to come today, not with a house full of guests.”
She bent down and kissed his cheek. “Why didn’t you come downstairs today?”
He shrugged “I felt tired when I awakened.”
“And no wonder. You went from no exercise to quite a bit yesterday.”
He didn’t tell her he felt tired or groggy a lot of the time anyway. He only knew when he tried to skip a dose of laudanum, everything hurt more.
“Anyway, everyone is having a good time,” she informed him. “Simon is out with the ladies riding, and he said he would come see you when they get back. Since Lady Chatley is by herself, I’ll leave you the papers. I shall take her for a walk into the village.”
Heading for the door, she turned back to him. “I hate to leave you alone.”
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