“Indeed, which is why this has been a dilemma for Albert and is the reason why he made the offer. Yet his son might have finally married this last year for all we know. And Albert was angry when you didn’t come for your Season last year to try to win him. I was forced to tell him you weren’t here, that you went into exile with your father. I didn’t hear back from him after that.”
“It’s going to allow Father to come home, isn’t it?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes, it would have. And it had seemed like the perfect solution at the time, but that was before I knew how willful you turned out.”
“Not about this. I’ll do anything to break Father’s chains. He never deserved any of this. So write to Rathban again. If he’s just making you stew because the marriage didn’t happen on his time schedule, assure him that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to bring his son to the altar—if the boy is still available.”
Chapter Twenty-two
THE TWINS WERE WAITING for Vanessa in her room across the corridor, the door left open so they could see when she left Kathleen’s room. Such forbearance! She would have eavesdropped, but they probably didn’t even consider it, Kathleen had trained them so well.
But both girls were impatient and didn’t even wait until she was fully in the room before asking, “Why are you already affianced?”
“Did you know?”
“And didn’t mention it to us?”
“How could you agree?”
Vanessa almost laughed, having to glance back and forth between the twins. It so reminded her of their childhood. But she closed the door, then turned to give them a wry smile.
“It was—unexpected,” she said.
“Then why did you agree?” Emily asked.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“No, we were promised choices.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t here for that conversation,” Vanessa pointed out. “But in either case, why would I refuse before I even meet Lord Rathban? I’d be very annoyed with m’self if I end up liking him.”
“Then you will decline if you don’t like him?” Layla guessed.
She just shrugged. Of course she wouldn’t, but the less said, the better. Because on one issue she did agree with her mother—this most exciting year of the twins’ lives shouldn’t be ruined by the revelation of unsavory truths they were presently unaware of. So her real reason for wanting the match couldn’t be mentioned.
But Emily was still confounded by her easy compliance and wouldn’t let the subject go. “Why was such a marriage arranged at all? There’s always a particular reason for something that antiquated.”
Yes, a recalcitrant boy who didn’t consider it his duty to continue his family’s line, but Vanessa wasn’t about to tell the twins that or mention her other reasons for agreeing to the match. But she was still able to answer Emily’s question without revealing too much by making a logical guess based on something her father had told her about the Rathbans.
“The eldest Rathban is an earl,” she said. “But they have much higher ranks in their ancestry, including a duke. They are an old and very highly esteemed family, which is why Mother couldn’t refuse such an offer when it was made.”
“But what do they want if they are already so well-connected?” Emily asked. “Money?”
It was Layla who answered that. “Don’t be a goose, Em. Have you forgotten about grandfather’s title that’s still unclaimed? Nessa’s firstborn son will become the Marquis of Dawton, more’n enough reason for an earl, however rich and highly esteemed he already is, to suggest the match for one of his sons.” But then she gasped and stared wide-eyed at Vanessa. “It is with a son, yes? Not a doddering old earl?”
“Yes,” Vanessa said with a chuckle, then decided to change the subject by offering her sisters a treat. “Let’s go for a ride. I’ll find you some horses, even teach you how—”
Emily cut in. “We have our own horses.”
Vanessa was amazed. Other ladies rode, but not Kathleen’s daughters—except now they did? “How did that come about?”
“Mother was just waiting until we were old enough,” Layla said.
Emily added, “She was afraid that when we were children we wouldn’t be able to handle a horse that might get out of hand or spooked; she made us wait until our fifteenth birthday.”
“Why the devil couldn’t she just tell us that instead of always saying no?” Vanessa complained.
“Mother has never really explained herself, Nessa, surely you realize that by now,” Layla said. “She is a firm believer in the old ‘Because I said so!’ instead of explaining what she considers obvious, even when we were too young to find anything obvious.”
Considering how disappointed she’d been, year after year, that she couldn’t ride here at Dawton and didn’t think she would ever be able to, Vanessa grumbled, “I suppose.”
“And I’m pretty sure you weren’t bold enough back then to demand answers.”
That came from Emily with marked disapproval, which raised Vanessa’s brow. “Is there something about me that you object to, Em?”
Emily sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m disconcerted by how much you’ve changed.”
“She was with Father too long,” Layla pointed out. “We can’t expect him to have taught her any of the female virtues Mother taught us.”
“Mother taught me about those before I left,” Vanessa said. “I just missed the comportment lessons.”
“Then how did you become so bold?”
“I could ask the same of you, Em,” Vanessa countered with a stare. That made Emily blush, which had her amend, “I’m sorry, it’s simply that I’ve been away long enough to have forgotten how intimidating Mother can be, and since I’ll be married soon, I don’t feel a need to buckle under, as it were.”
It wasn’t the whole truth. Yes, six years of freedom from Kathleen’s motherly oppression and restrictions had indeed changed her. But it was more than that. Unlike the twins who wanted to please their mother, Vanessa didn’t. She used to, but anger and resentment had gotten in the way of that. And despite what Kathleen had told her about Henry Rathban’s despicable efforts to blackmail her and the scandal that would have ensued if she hadn’t given in, Vanessa couldn’t seem to shake off those feelings yet.
Chapter Twenty-three
THE SISTERS RUSHED INTO the house laughing, having only just missed, by seconds, the downpour now pattering outside the front door. But having avoided getting wet, they all three composed themselves and comported themselves properly now, just in case Kathleen was nearby. But Vanessa was still grinning when she noticed that neither her mother nor any servants were in sight, although Monty was. He was coming down the grand staircase.
Once again, her breath caught for a moment. Fashion did not make this man. No matter what he wore, he was a feast for the eyes. Today his blue jacket was open, his dark auburn hair loose, a crop was in hand. He must not have noticed the rain approaching.
She whispered to Emily, “I’ll meet you in the parlor for tea. Give me a few moments to arrange for those dancing lessons.”
Emily followed her gaze and gave Monty a brilliant smile before she whispered back, “Only if you bring him with you for tea.”
“I’ll certainly try,” she replied, and removed her riding hat.
Monty had reached the bottom of the stairs but paused there as she walked toward him. He bowed in an exaggerated manner, then held his hand out to her, palm up. When she just stared, he said, “You’re supposed to offer your fingertips to be kissed.”
She tsked. “I’m aware of that, but you’re a houseguest. We can dispense with that amenity every time we cross paths here, and you know it.”
“Ah, but this is the first time I’m meeting the complete lady. Humor me—Lady Nestor.”
She burst out laughing. “I will not, and you’ll stop calling me that. You didn’t really want to kiss my gloves, anyway.” She raised her arm to wiggle her gloved fingers at him.
“I disagree,” he said, a
nd snatched her hand to plant his lips on her knuckles. “I will take my kisses where I can get them.”
She snatched her hand back. “Don’t think you’ll get away with that again.”
“I can wait until you are . . . gloveless.”
Why the pause? It was such an innocuous word, and yet he somehow made it seem naughty. Or was it the sensual expression in his eyes? She still felt her breath catch, feeling a distinct rise in temperature, and she couldn’t even remember why she’d approached— Oh!
“How do you feel about dancing?” she blurted out, still a little breathless.
“An excuse to hold a pretty lady in my arms.”
“So you know how?”
“Of course,” he said indignantly.
“Then you wouldn’t mind teaching me?”
He grinned. “I’ll find us a secluded spot—”
She laughed before saying, “You won’t. We’ll need music, and my sisters have agreed to play their favorite instruments for us tonight after dinner.”
He sighed dramatically. “So we’ll have an audience? Not quite what I’d hoped for.”
“Then you’re declining?”
“Absolutely not!” he assured her. “Did I not just say any excuse?”
“Everything you say just proves you are incorrigible,” she rejoined. “I could have sworn you said you would behave once I donned the persona of lady.”
“Did I fail to mention ‘in public’?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you neglected to include that stipulation.”
“But my rakishness amuses you, sweetheart,” he teased. “Admit it.”
“A lady would never admit that. But I do cordially invite you to tea with my sisters and me.”
“Gads, you’re going to drown me in proper, aren’t you?” he complained. “Cordially? Really? How about a pact instead, that when we speak alone, we be ourselves?”
That finally made her blush because she had a feeling he was no longer teasing. So she said pointedly, “I bloody well need the practice in proper ladylike speech and behavior, and you are the perfect foil to wield my lessons against.”
“Much better! By the by, navy blue is taboo for you. Your mother didn’t tell you that pastels and more pastels and still more pastels are all you get to wear until you marry?”
“I believe you know I’ve been away with my father for a number of years, but I’m well aware of the silly restrictions placed on the wardrobes of young ladies. Riding habits are the exception—in case you didn’t know.”
He grinned. “And how magnificent you look in that one. I just enjoy watching you get all defensive. You’re so adorable when you do.”
So the teasing hadn’t ended, after all. She snorted before stating, “Tea. Come or don’t come.” And she moved into the parlor without waiting to see if he would.
“Will the dragon be joining us?”
It was the first thing Monty said when he followed her into the room and, with a bow of greeting for the twins, sat in the chair beside the sofa. And Vanessa wasn’t surprised he’d given Kathleen that nickname after her mother had gotten so sharp with Emily at dinner the other night. But both twins giggled, knowing exactly who he meant.
Vanessa joined them on the sofa before saying, “If she does, we give you leave to run from the fire.”
Both girls kept up a running stream of conversation, Layla’s quite proper, Emily’s bordering on intrusive, but Monty evaded with aplomb. “In the east,” was his answer to Emily’s question about where he was from. “Youngest son,” he replied when she asked how many siblings he had. If Emily tried to pin him down on particulars, and she did once when she asked if Montague was really his first name, he just gazed at her with a smile, making her blush.
Vanessa decided to stay out of it. She wasn’t about to assume her mother’s role and censure Emily, not when Monty didn’t seem to mind the questions. And she even knew why Emily was persisting after she’d been warned not to. It wasn’t to piece together information so she could figure out his real identity. She simply liked Monty as Layla had said and thus, wanted to know everything about him. Vanessa knew the feeling.
The tea tray arrived precisely at four o’clock as it did every day regardless whether anyone was in the parlor, which was one thing that hadn’t changed at Dawton Manor. Kathleen didn’t join them, but Charley did, arriving in a flourish of bouncing golden hair and a long satin coat that defied fashion, flaring at the hips, dark green on the outside, bright red on the inside. And the lace! It extended from both wrists and overflowed from his cravat. Wherever he was from, they were quite behind in fashion—or he was just so extravagant that he preferred to create his own.
He gave the ladies a very courtly bow, smiling at each twin, but when his dark blue eyes moved to Vanessa and he paused, she had the alarming thought that he was going to call her Nestor and ask what she was doing in female attire. But he didn’t.
If he did recognize her, he didn’t let on that he did, saying, “You must be Lady Vanessa, home from your travels? I am Charles, Max—”
“That’s—” Monty started to cut in.
“And I’ve been told to call you Charley,” Vanessa interrupted Monty, wanting to spare Charley from being scolded.
“Have you?” Charley glanced at Monty, but when his eyes came back to her, they were alight with, she wasn’t sure what, until he said, “You are exquisite. You must marry me.”
Layla giggled. “He’s asked us to marry him, too.”
Vanessa didn’t laugh, but she did ask, “How many wives are you allowed where you come from, Charley?”
“One, though I’m sure an exception can be made for twins,” he said, and winked at Layla.
With the boy so full of himself as usual, it was an amusing moment, until Emily said, “Vanessa must decline. She’s already engaged.”
Was Emily being catty? Vanessa wondered. Her tone didn’t suggest it, but that was information that certainly didn’t need to be dropped on the table.
“I am devastated,” Charley said, but then flicked his hand dismissively. “A minor inconvenience that can easily be broken when you know that I can make you a—”
“Bloody hell, Charley! D’you need a foot in your mouth? Mine will fit.”
Vanessa wasn’t sure why Monty was suddenly so angry, but she was sorry to see Charley blush and stood up to hook her arm through his, teasing, “D’you always state your wishes as if they were facts? You do know that you have to do some wooing before proposing?”
“Actually, I do not have to,” he mumbled low.
“Well, I came home and found out I was engaged, but I’m not sure what I think about it yet.”
“She needs to meet the fellow first,” Layla put in.
“So wishes for your future happiness aren’t in order yet?” Monty suddenly asked.
They would never be in order when she was prepared to commit herself to a loveless marriage, but she wasn’t about to mention that and merely said, “A bit premature, when I’ve only found out about it today.”
“Who is the lucky chap?”
She laughed a bit wryly. “I actually don’t know his full name. It’s Albert Rathban’s boy. Do you know the Rathbans?”
“Lord Rathban has only one son. Daniel isn’t a boy by any definition—and condolences might be more in order.”
Chapter Twenty-four
CONDOLENCES? AND MONTY DIDN’T stick around to explain such an incredible remark. He’d very rudely left the parlor directly after saying it.
Layla was alarmed and asked Vanessa, “Do you know what he meant?”
Vanessa made light of it, replying, “Mother told me the Rathban son is rather quiet and shy. I suppose Monty might think he’s a boring fellow.”
“I’m sure we don’t want boring,” Emily put in.
“But if it’s just a matter of shyness, won’t that change after marriage?” Layla added.
Vanessa smiled at Layla’s logic, but the fact was, the excuse she’d given didn
’t really explain Monty’s remark, and she intended to find out what would.
She went in search of her mother after tea, but was frustrated to learn Kathleen had gone to Dawton town after lunch and wasn’t back yet. She considered riding to the town her grandfather had founded, well, the marquis had founded the village of Dawton, which had since grown into a township, but she ended up breaking propriety and knocking on Monty’s bedroom door instead. But that just increased her frustration because he wasn’t in it—or wasn’t answering.
She began to wonder if he hadn’t meant to say what he’d said and was now embarrassed by it. He’d been angry with Charley, after all, and her engagement had been mentioned immediately after, so his condolences remark could have just been a churlish remnant of that anger—or from his surprise at hearing she was so suddenly engaged. Or he simply didn’t want to be cornered to explain because he had no intention of explaining.
She stood at the top of the stairs, debating whether to look for him further, when Mrs. Edwards suddenly approached from the east wing with a wide smile and tears glistening in her eyes. “Welcome home, Lady Nessa! You have been sorely missed by the staff, you and the earl both. We look forward to his return very soon, too.”
Vanessa was surprised by the housekeeper’s warm greeting, but the mention of her father just made her miss him all the more and strengthened her conviction that she was doing the right thing in accepting the arranged marriage to end his exile—boring groom or no.
She gave up on her search for more answers and ended up taking a long bath before dinner. And then the maid arrived to do her hair, sent by the twins. When the girl was finished, Vanessa barely recognized herself. The hoyden was definitely gone. She’d never once tried to coif her hair in Scotland. She probably could have, but she was too active there to want to be bothered by slipping pins and unraveling locks, so she’d simply worn her hair clubbed, braided, or loose—one of the little freedoms she now had to give up.
She did find her mother before dinner, catching Kathleen’s maid leaving her room and slipping inside before the door closed. Kathleen was still sitting at her vanity. “A private word, Mother?”
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