The Earl and His Lady: A Regency Romance (Branches of Love Book 4)

by Sally Britton

  “You aren’t asking,” he said, wishing to reach out to lay a hand on hers. Instead, he put all his sincerity into his voice. “I am offering. Insisting, in fact. When we entered this agreement, I promised to do all in my power to help you in raising your sons and preparing them for the life ahead. I promised I would look after Phillip’s estate, too. I will happily lend you my abilities.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip, meeting his gaze. He kept it steady, focused on her, willing her to accept his help. Accept him.

  “Very well. I would appreciate it, thank you. When do you think you would have the time?”

  He bit back a triumphant grin. “As soon as the arrangements can be made. It will not take more than a day or two to put things in order here.”

  “Do you think we ought to wait until your mother’s visit is over?” she asked, with a note of concern.

  “I think we ought to tell her of our plans. Likely she will insist on remaining here to look after things.” Lucas chuckled and stood, reaching to help Virginia stand. “Though she prefers London most of the year, I know she misses the country from time to time.”

  Virginia left her hand in his as he spoke, her smile warming him. “And what of Marcus and Ellen? Should we abandon them?”

  “Absolutely. He abandoned me in London, at the beginning of the season, to disappear into the country with his wife. It would only be fair I do the same to him.” Though Marcus had escaped with Ellen under entirely different circumstances, and with a much more pleasant reason.

  Virginia laughed and released his hand, holding her letter in both of hers. “Very well. I will send word that we are coming and I will make the necessary arrangements for the boys and Nurse Smythe to remain behind.”

  “And I will make the travel arrangements.” Lucas half-bowed. “And speak to my formidable mother.”

  She curtsied, almost playfully. “Thank you, my lord. Shall we discuss the particulars after dinner?”

  “I would like that.” He watched her leave, her step noticeably lighter than when she’d entered, and his heart gave a joyful, and somewhat painful, thump. To see her happy, even for just a few moments, did something to him. It gave him hope for their eventual future, yes, but it was more than that.

  He went back to his desk to begin making his own arrangements and the late afternoon sun broke through the clouds, bathing his desk in golden light. His eyes landed on his latest gift from Edward. It was a water-color this time, depicting a rose bush with a mix of pink and red blooms amid greenery.

  He wanted all of them happy and whole again. Virginia, Phillip, Edward, and himself.

  If only he could speed the process. There was just under eight months left for Virginia to mourn, but surely the healing she needed might begin sooner?

  Lucas would do all in his power to make it so.

  ¤

  “Why can I not go?” Phillip asked for the tenth time. “It isn’t fair. It’s my barony.”

  Virginia closed her eyes and counted to five before responding. When she opened her eyes again, she pulled the blankets up to his chin. “And when you are a little older, you will make every visit with me. For now, you need to stay here and look after Edward. I will not be gone long and you will have a great deal to keep you busy. You have your riding lessons, your new grandmother wishes to get to know you better, and your Uncle Marcus and Aunt Ellen have promised to keep you entertained as well.”

  Phillip’s eyes grew stormier and he turned over, putting his back to hers. “It isn’t fair.”

  Sighing, she reached up to run her fingers through his hair. What could she say to help him understand? “I’m afraid it isn’t, darling. But if you came, that would hardly be fair either. I cannot stay long. My duties as the wife of the earl keep me here. You would not have time to unpack your things or see your old friends. The trip would be too short to satisfy you. I will speak to the earl about a longer visit. I know we sent for most of your things, but is there anything you left behind that you would like me to fetch for you?”

  “I’d like my shell collection,” Edward said from his bed.

  Virginia turned to smile at him. “And where might it be hidden, Edward?”

  “In the crow’s nest,” he answered. “I hid it there to keep it safe from pirates.”

  She nodded seriously. “Very wise. I will bring them to you.” He had collected a jar’s worth of tiny shells on his first trip to the beach, just before they went to Bath. Charles had told her some time at the seaside would be all he needed to feel more the thing. Weeks after that trip he confessed he made that excuse in order to take the boys on one last adventure.

  Behind the well-constructed walls, her pitiful heart glowed with the memory. When Charles had admitted the truth to her, she’d been hurt and afraid to lose him. Looking back on their time at the seaside, she realized her husband had given his sons a beautiful gift. Their last adventure with him had been grand. They’d spent every morning combing the beach for treasure and every afternoon picnicking in the sand. They’d chased waves away from shore and been chased back in return. She could still hear Charles’s laughter mingling with the giggles of their sons.

  “You look happy.” Phillip’s statement interrupted her thoughts and she looked down to see him facing her again, a curious expression on his face. “You don’t always look happy anymore.”

  Although her first emotion was guilt, Virginia shook that away. “I know, Phillip. Sometimes I am caught up in being sad or worried. But I was thinking of when we went to the beach with your father. Do you remember it?”

  He stiff little body relaxed beneath the blankets, his eyebrows shot up. “I do. We found a crab and followed it to its home.”

  “And collected our treasure,” Edward said. “That’s why I need the shells back, Mama. I want to ‘member it better.” His words slurred and his eyes blinked heavily at her.

  “Papa bought me a ship,” Phillip said from beside her. “I left it on my shelf in the nursery. Could you bring it back for me, Mother?” His frown was gone and in its place was a gentler expression, a hopeful one. “I’d like to have it here.”

  Virginia’s relief at receiving the request made her shoulders sag. “Yes, darling. I will bring back your ship and Edward’s shells. I promise.” She bent to kiss his forehead, then went across to give Edward the same token of her love. They said their goodnights and Nurse Smythe saw her to the door of the nursery.

  “Don’t you worry about a thing, my lady,” the nurse said. “I’ll look after the young masters. They’ll be perfectly safe and sound until your return.”

  “Thank you, Nurse.” Virginia gave the woman a grateful nod and left the room, her dinner gown swishing softly as she walked down the hall. She paused just before she reached the landing, looking at the table where Lucas had put the candle down to hold her. Had that been only three weeks ago? It felt far longer.

  Continuing on her way, Virginia allowed gratitude for the earl to slip through her walls. Truly, he had done much for her and the children, and he continuously gave far more than he needed to. He halted his work once or twice a week to take her children riding. He laid down whatever was at hand to answer her questions about household matters. He conversed with her at breakfast, even if he’d been reading through correspondence. And Lucas always remembered to ask how her day had gone, if the boys needed anything, and if there was anything he might do for her.

  Virginia had been relieved to find Lucas Calvert kind, but she did not entirely know what to do with someone who so consistently put her needs above his own.

  Only Charles had ever done that before.

  Charles. She missed their easy way of talking, she missed knowing what he would say almost before he said it. Would it ever be possible to feel such closeness to another?

  Dismissing that thought, she went down the stairs and to the parlor adjacent the dining room. The adults in the household would go in to dinner soon. There would likely be more conversation about Virginia and Lucas’s trip. They h
ad discussed little else the preceding two evenings and tomorrow was the departure.

  When she came down to the first floor, she saw Ellen preparing to descend the stairs to dinner. Her new sister-in-law smiled in her quiet, welcoming way.

  “Good evening, Virginia,” she said. “I am sorry it will be the last one we spend in company. I have enjoyed coming to know you better.”

  “Thank you, Ellen. It has been such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for staying on while we’re away, helping with the boys. Mother Calvert dotes on them, but I think their energy can be too much for her at times.”

  Ellen’s eyebrows raised and her eyes glittered with amusement. “Best not let her hear you say such things. She will be terribly affronted that you’ve perceived a weakness in her.”

  They both laughed softly.

  “I am glad to do it,” Ellen added more seriously. “They are marvelous boys, and I am quite accustomed to being around children. My sisters have more than a few.”

  “You are well practiced at being an aunt. I think the boys could sense it the moment they met you.” Truthfully, Virginia hadn’t seen them take to anyone in such a short time, even Christine. “I hope you aren’t spending too much time away from your own household.”

  Ellen lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “The wonderful thing about well-run households is that they are well-run even when you don’t oversee them.” She looked down at her dress, a beautiful pink evening gown with a dark blue sash, and smoothed her skirt. “Will this do for dinner?”

  “It’s perfect, and very lovely on you.” Virginia tried to keep the note of longing from her voice. Charles had loved when she wore pink, but it hadn’t been her favorite color. She much preferred the richer hues permitted married women. But anything would make her feel more alive, more like herself, than gray. Tonight she wore gray crepe, the fabric made in such a way that it didn’t shine as a silk gown would.

  Charles had told her once, when they first received the prognosis, that he would hate to see her in mourning. She had said he wouldn’t have to, of course, and wore her most beautiful gowns every day she attended to him. He never saw gray or black upon her in those final days.

  “If it is not too personal for me to ask, Virginia, are you in half mourning?” Ellen motioned to Virginia’s gray dress.

  “Not precisely.” Virginia looked at her lavender gloves. “To tell the truth, I am uncertain where I am in mourning. It has been four months since Charles passed away, but I feel as though it has been so much longer. And as a newlywed, where does the duty to my late husband end and my present husband begin? It leaves me out of sorts.”

  Ellen didn’t speak for a moment, but Virginia did not rush her. The other woman, she had learned, possessed a thoughtful nature.

  “I cannot imagine your position, your feelings, on the matter.” Ellen reached out and laid her hand on Virginia’s wrist. “But I do know something of marrying into a rather impossible position.”

  “You?” Virginia couldn’t contain her surprise. “Marcus is entirely devoted to you.”

  Humor sparkled in Ellen’s eyes. “He is, isn’t he? But it was not always that way for us. When we married, it was a matter of convenience. It took a little time for us to understand one another. Your situation is very different than mine, and I will not pretend otherwise. But I wish to give you hope, Virginia, that where we begin is not where we must end. Lucas is a good man, as I’m certain you know. If you are struggling, if you cannot find the footing you need in your relationship with him, speak to him.”

  Though she did not think herself able to follow such advice, Virginia appreciated Ellen’s words. “Thank you, Ellen. You are a kind friend.”

  Ellen shook her head, deflecting the compliment before she spoke again. “You will be alone in a carriage with your husband for nearly all of tomorrow. Make use of that uninterrupted time.”

  A tiny prick of anxiety touched Virginia’s heart. She had avoided thinking about the long journey by carriage. Why, she could not say, but with Ellen’s words the truth came into her mind at last.

  Their journey to Heatherton Hall would put them alone, truly alone, for the first time. Thus far, they had only spent snatches of time in each other’s company, nearly always with a servant or family member present. Or else they spoke to each other with a very specific purpose, such as she checking menus with him and he asking if he might take the boys to their riding lessons. They never simply talked.

  Oh dear. What if we have nothing to say?

  Marcus appeared at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at them. “There you ladies are. You had better come down to dinner. Mother is convinced you are both having a wonderful time without her.”

  Virginia and Ellen shared quick smiles before saying, in unison, “Coming!” They laughed and descended together, going directly to the dining room. Ellen went in on her husband’s arm, though he offered to take Virginia in, as was correct.

  “It is a family dinner,” Virginia had protested. “We need not be formal here.”

  When they entered, she saw her mother-in-law already seated and Lucas standing beside her chair, waiting to assist her into it. Their eyes met and his lightened with his smile. Virginia’s heart gave an odd twist.

  The carriage ride became all the more daunting.

  Chapter Seventeen

  If the roads stayed dry, Lucas calculated it would take ten hours on the road to reach Suffolk. They would travel for six, changing horses twice, and stay the night in Kentford. He had sent Randal and Virginia’s maid ahead to prepare the way for them and sent letters to the stable yards along the way to ensure a speedy change of horses when they stopped.

  It would be a long day of travel, but hopefully a pleasant one. His cook had provided them an excellent hamper, at his request. One never knew what sort of food they would find at roadside inns.

  Lucas waited for Virginia in the entryway, the whole family lingering to bid them farewell. Ellen was speaking with the boys in a soft, lilting voice while Nurse Smythe smiled encouragingly at them both. His mother sat on a cushioned bench, dog in her lap, watching everyone around her with an indulgent look. And Marcus stood next to him, hands tucked behind his back, staring upward at the chandelier.

  “I like your wife,” his brother said, tone low enough that only Lucas heard him.

  Lucas turned and raised his eyebrows. “Do you? I rather like yours, too.”

  Marcus’s smile appeared, though crooked. “It would seem we both have an unusual amount of luck, to stumble into marriages with women who are rather perfect for us.”

  This gave Lucas pause. His brother’s match hadn’t begun with affection, but Marcus’s own desperation. Eventually, Marcus had fallen in love with his wife, and had been perhaps the last to realize it.

  “You needn’t look at me like that,” Marcus continued after Lucas stayed silent too long. “I think you know precisely what I mean. I’ve seen you, and the way you watch her.”

  Lucas cleared his throat and turned his eyes away, studying a faded tapestry hanging on the wall in front of him. “She’s in mourning,” he said at last. “And she would not have married if she hadn’t needed to protect the boys.”

  “You’re playing the gallant hero, Luc, as you always do. But I think you and she are rather meant to rescue each other. Those boys are already worshiping you, even if you won’t tell them where the secret passage is.” Marcus clapped his brother on the shoulder. “And what kind of man would you be if you didn’t notice your wife’s beauty?”

  Lucas opened his mouth to protest, but his eyes caught movement on the stairs and he raised them to see Virginia. All thought went out of his head as he took her appearance in. She wore a travelling suit of soft gray, putting him in mind of a dove, with a matching bonnet. But she could’ve been dressed in a gown made from burlap and still looked lovely. The angles of her figure had softened in her time as his wife, the color in her cheeks more often a pleasant shade of pink.

  Marcus had spoken truly
enough. Virginia’s beauty stole Lucas’s breath away.

  He waited to approach her, allowing Edward and Phillip to step forward first, slinging their little arms around her waist and legs.

  “What’s this? Darlings, I will be back in a week’s time. There is no need for tears.” But as she bent to return their embraces, Lucas caught the sheen of moisture in her eyes.

  Lucas put a hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “Excuse me. Duty calls.” He stepped in behind the boys and crouched down to their level. “Gentlemen. I feel I need to speak to you both very seriously for a moment.”

  Phillip wiped suspiciously at his eyes and Edward looked up, not bothering to wipe at his tears.

  “You see,” Lucas continued, his mind reaching back to what would’ve soothed him as a boy. “We must exchange duties for a time. I am leaving my estate, and my guests, in your care.”

  “In our care?” Phillip asked, incredulous as always.

  “Quite right.” Lucas didn’t crack a smile. It was important they knew he was serious, that they knew he held them in high esteem. “I expect you to be good hosts to my mother and your uncle and aunt. Treat them with respect and kindness. See to it the staff fulfills their duties. Be good to Nurse Smythe. And for the time we are away, I will look after your mother. I will protect her and see that she is safe and comfortable. When I return, I expect to confer with you both so we may report on our successes. Does this suit you, Phillip? Edward?”

  Little Edward nodded at once.

  Phillip regarded him with a frown and Lucas’s heart dropped. He thought they’d been making progress, becoming closer, but maybe not.

  “You will keep Mother safe? You promise?” the child asked, his voice quiet.

  “I promise.” No one who heard Lucas speak could doubt him. He wasn’t just speaking to the boy, but to everyone in the room. “You have my word.”

  Phillip nodded. “I’ll look after things here, too.”

  “Excellent.” He reached out to shake Phillip’s hand and the boy nearly smiled at the grown-up gesture.