Lost in Lavender (A Christmas Bouquet Book 1)

by Patricia Kiyono

  But Richard would have felt pressure to have an heir. Was it embarrassment that had prevented him from sharing his condition with her? How unfortunate that she had no one to ask. His mother had perished with him in that accident, and the cousin who’d taken over the estate had hardly known him, and likely would have no idea.

  But what about the staff? Surely they would have heard something. A seed of an idea took root, and she took a blank sheet in the diary and began a list.

  Chapter Twenty

  James navigated the streets toward Selina’s shop. His heart lifted, as it always did, when he spotted the neatly lettered sign and the assortment of hats in the window of his destination. He’d never had difficulty finding her shop, even when he had no idea where he was or which direction he was headed. And lately, he realized, he hadn’t had trouble navigating his way anywhere.

  Lady Stormont had been delighted to invite the dowager countess to her fête, including the ball. He suspected she sensed his feelings for her, and fancied herself a matchmaker. But as of that morning, Selina hadn’t accepted. He suspected it was her reluctance to appear by herself, and he understood that. She was far too young to be seated with the rest of the dowagers and chaperones. She should be dancing, spreading her smile and light with those around her. With her at his side, he wouldn’t mind the vapidness of the social scene.

  Only a few months ago, he’d been a confirmed bachelor, with nothing but his plants for company. He still loved the outdoors, but now he wanted someone to share it with.

  He would accompany the Dowager Countess Milton to the ball. He’d dance with her and revel in the joy of holding her in his arms. He’d take her aside, to a spot where they could have some privacy. And then he would ask for her hand.

  He felt a bit of apprehension as he approached the hat shop. Would she agree to attend the fête? If she didn’t, he’d need to orchestrate some other plan.

  Two ladies dawdled inside the shop. One appeared to be waiting for Selina to wrap a purchase, the other perused the hats on display. The woman at the window was taller than most women, and there was something familiar about her. She turned, and his heart sank.

  The woman’s brows rose, and then lowered in a menacing leer.

  “Ah, there you are, James,” she cooed. “I’m surprised to find you here in town where you can’t ever find your way around. The family townhouse is over there, around the corner.” She pointed a slim finger toward the window. “Of course, if you want to go to the servants’ entrance, that would be closer. It might be more suitable for you. Look at your hands! So rough and dirty. You apparently never got over your childhood obsession with plants, did you?”

  James stood frozen, once again the little boy enduring his older sister’s constant criticisms. He’d learned to stay silent until the abuse stopped and the women in his life turned their attention to something else. His brother had been kinder, but had been absent most of the time. And his father had been totally disinterested, ignoring his complaints. James closed his eyes and clenched his hands, waiting for the assault to end. But the woman wasn’t inclined to put away her verbal daggers. She circled him, finding fault with his clothing, his hairstyle, and his posture. As he had done during his childhood, he stood still and remained silent.

  Please, please go away and stop spewing this poison. Just leave, so I can breathe again.

  His tormenter punctuated one of her barbs with a sharply pointed fingernail, causing him to inhale sharply. And that was when he noticed it — the calming scent of lavender. Tenseness drained away, and he inhaled deeply, drawing strength from it. He felt Selina there, standing beside him, and he was no longer the scared little boy with no one to protect him. He was a grown man, and he could stand up for himself and those he loved. He stood taller, ready to face his nemesis at last.

  “Nothing to say?” the woman taunted. “Of course not. You can barely construct a coherent sentence.”

  He opened his eyes and sketched a short bow. “Good day, Alicia. I wasn’t aware you’d arrived in Highgate. Forgive me for not inviting you for tea at the family townhouse.”

  The woman’s eyes widened at James’ self-assured response. James’ confidence grew as she realized her power over him had diminished. She stepped back, then cast a scrutinizing look at the woman standing next to him.

  “Alicia, how do you know this man?” The other woman had completed her purchase and now stood holding her parcel in front of her, as if the hat would provide a shield from the venom emanating from her friend.

  Alicia started, having forgotten her presence. “This person? Oh, he’s just... someone who was part of the household while I grew up. Michael and I used him for entertainment.”

  She swept out of the shop, her friend trailing behind.

  Selina watched the exchange, horrified at the woman’s rudeness. She’d recognized the statuesque brunette when she’d first entered the shop. Oddly, Alicia Whittier hadn’t seemed to recognize her, but it had been nearly two years since their last encounter.

  “Why on earth would that woman treat you so horribly?” she asked.

  James shook his head. “Alicia has always been... critical of my shortcomings.”

  “You’ve known her a long time.”

  “Yes. She’s my sister.”

  Time stopped for her, although the clock continued its ticking.

  “Alicia Whittier is your sister?”

  He nodded, and she stepped back as if struck. James had come from the same family as the woman who’d turned her life around so horribly. Her first inclination was to banish him from the shop.

  But something prevented her from doing that. James had seemed as surprised to see her as she’d been. His expression hadn’t shown delight, as she would expect when seeing a long-lost sibling. His reaction had been fear, resignation, and defeat. She’d gone to stand beside him, ready to ask the woman to leave, but he’d suddenly gained the strength to address her.

  “You’ve never mentioned having a sister. When we talked about Christmas gifts for your family, you didn’t ask me to make a bouquet for her.”

  He shook his head. “No. I haven’t seen her in several years. She defied our parents when she married. To Mother’s horror, she married a man with no pedigree. Apparently, she met him at a party and before we knew it, she’d eloped. Mother was apoplectic, Father was indignant, and she was cut off entirely from the family when they discovered her marriage to— er, I’ve forgotten his name.”

  “Freddie. She married Freddie Whittier.”

  “Yes, that’s it. Do you know him?”

  She sighed. “Freddie is the cousin who inherited my husband’s title and estate.”

  It was his turn to step back in shock. “Freddie is now the Earl of Milton? So she’s...”

  “Countess Milton.”

  He shook his head and started to pace. “I had no idea. She and Freddie disappeared, and I heard they’d gone to America. But if the title went to him two years ago, why hadn’t I heard about it? Mother would have known. They never said anything at our Christmas gathering last year. Of course, I didn’t spend much time with them and left early. Perhaps she arrived afterward.”

  He stopped pacing. “This is unbelievable. Now that he has a title, Alicia is certainly back in Mother’s good graces.” He froze then, as he realized something else.

  “Alicia cast you out of your home.” He said it as a fact, not a question. “She had no consideration for you or your loyal staff. I am so ashamed. My family has hurt you.” He turned away and made to leave.

  Watching him walk away from her, she began to panic.

  “Wait!”

  He paused, but didn’t turn. Despite her jumbled feelings, she knew she couldn’t let him go. James, she realized, had nothing to do with his sister’s actions. She needed to make him understand she wouldn’t hold him accountable for what Alicia had done.

  “When you came in, you seemed to have news for me. What was it?”

  He paused, considering, and the
n shook his head. “It’s not important.”

  “Could it possibly have something to do with the invitation I received yesterday? For Lady Stormont’s winter garden fête?”

  He remained frozen, facing away from her. She saw his hands clench and unclench and knew she’d guessed correctly. She went around him and reached up, cupping his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. His cheeks still bore angry scratches from his encounter with Edwina, but she knew this was the face she wanted to see every day for the rest of her life.

  “You are not like your sister. The woman who just left wouldn’t have been so kind to a stable master’s son. She wouldn’t have taken the time to look for and rescue a kitten. Those are the actions of a man of integrity, compassion, and kindness. The kind of man I wish to have by my side when I attend my first ball in over two years.”

  His eyes lit with happiness, and his arms came around her.

  Betsey hurried toward the hat shop for her weekly tea with Selina. She brought with her the most recent issue of Ackerman’s Repository with a bit of tissue to mark the page showing the latest hats. Hopefully, Selina would be able to recreate one to match the new moss green cloak she’d ordered from her favorite modiste.

  Entering the shop, she froze in the doorway. Her best friend and Mr. Benton stood wrapped in each other’s arms. The couple was so engrossed in each other they apparently hadn’t even heard the doorbell.

  After slipping a glove over the bell to silence it, Betsey tiptoed across the room and closed the window curtains to prevent others from disturbing the couple. Then she retrieved her glove and quietly slipped out. She’d return another day for tea. And if her dear friend had good news for her, she’d feign surprise.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Outside, the snow fell, but the people inside the ballroom at Rosebriar Estate were warm, dry, and in excellent spirits. A monstrous storm had nearly prevented the event from taking place, but the ladies of the ton had no intention of letting the weather dictate their social calendar. As a precaution, some guests had brought necessities for several nights’ stay. The ballroom itself would become a dormitory for the male servants after the evening’s festivities ended.

  But it would be several hours before anyone would be settling anywhere for the night. Hundreds of candles shed light on the guests, all dressed in their finest. The musicians kept people moving, playing dance after dance, and the effect was rather like a fireworks display.

  The new Mr. and Mrs. James Benton received congratulatory greetings, having been married by special license three days earlier, just before the storm arrived. The wedding had been a quiet affair, held in the Mushroom Pavilion in the center of the winter garden, with Lady Stormont and Lord Godolphin and the ever-present Edwina as witnesses.

  Earl Sutton and his wife stood nearby, accepting congratulations and responding to inquiries about their extended trip to the continent. After the success of the winter garden, along with several new commissions, Lady Sutton seemed to have forgiven James for his plebeian pursuit. Their son Michael and his wife also came to celebrate the nuptials.

  But the Earl and Countess Milton were curiously absent. During a quiet moment, Betsey informed Selina about what she’d seen earlier in the week.

  “I attended the garden tour earlier, and of course most of the ladies wore hats from your shop. But one woman — I think Lady Sutton called her Alicia — kept making snobbish remarks about everything, from the gowns the rest of us wore, to what she referred to as our rustic speech. She kept comparing the garden to others she’d seen on the continent and insulted your husband, who, I learned later, was her own brother! She’d already made several enemies by the time we reached the pavilion in the center. But then she made the worst insult to Lady Stormont.”

  Betsey lowered her voice. “When we came to the mushroom-shaped pavilion, she said, ‘Look at that monstrosity. Who on earth would want a structure shaped like a plant? The only thing worse would be if it had been shaped like a household pet.’ Of course, the rest of us had heard about Lady Stormont’s original request that it be shaped like a cat, and before we knew it, this lady and her husband were gone.”

  Selina couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman, though she was relieved Alicia wouldn’t be there to ruin the celebration for James. She looked up with pride at her handsome husband as one after another, people lined up to congratulate him on a job well done.

  Back at the Benton family townhouse, the staff busily prepared the rooms for their new owners. James’ parents had turned over the home as a wedding gift to James and Selina, having decided to purchase a townhouse closer to the social center of London.

  Henson presided while much of the work was done by Jennings, who’d officially accepted a position as James’ valet, and Mrs. Pennywinkle, the newly installed housekeeper. Under their supervision, the walls were painted a light cream, and ancient portraits of forbidding ancestors were replaced with bright landscapes. Heavy draperies were taken down, and light gauzy window coverings let daylight in, illuminating the lavender plants spilling from vases on every surface.

  In a small sitting room near the master bedroom lay the trunks Selina had kept in her room above the millinery. Selina had planned to give away the trunks with her old gowns and linens, but Mrs. Pennywinkle had convinced the new Mrs. Benton to keep them. The older woman had asked for and received some of the larger table linens for a special project. In her head, she drew plans for a tiny layette and christening gown.

  Next autumn, she knew, they would be needed. She’d known about Richard’s childhood illness but never realized Selina had blamed herself for their childlessness. But the Benton home would be full of happy children, secure in their parents’ love.

  It was a wonderful beginning to their story.

  The End

  About the Author

  During her first career, Patricia Kiyono taught elementary music, computer classes, elementary classrooms, and junior high social studies. She now teaches music education at the university level.

  She lives in southwest Michigan with her husband, not far from her children and grandchildren. Current interests, aside from writing, include sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, and music. A love of travel and an interest in faraway people inspires her to create stories about different cultures.

  Also by Patricia Kiyono

  The Stitching Post Romances

  with Stephanie Michels

  The Calico Heart

  The Friendship Star Quilt

  Christmas stories

  The Christmas Phoenix

  Christmas Journey

  Christmas Wishes

  The Partridge and the Peartree

  Two Tutor Doves

  Three French Inns

  Standalone stories

  The Legacy

  Aegean Intrigue

  The Samurai’s Garden

  Searching for Lady Luck

  Boxed sets

  Autumn’s Kiss

  Love and Diamonds

  Second Chances

  EsKape Reunion series

  The Road to Escape

  Available from now until Valentine’s Day 2019!

  Thanks for reading! Dingbat Publishing strives to bring you quality entertainment that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I mean honestly, with a name like that, our books have to be good or we’re going to be laughed at. Or maybe both.

  If you enjoyed this book, the best thing you can do is buy a million more copies and give them to all your friends… erm, leave a review on the readers’ website of your preference. All authors love feedback and we take reviews from readers like you seriously.

  Oh, and c’mon over to our website:

  www.DingbatPublishing.ninja

  Who knows what other books you’ll find there?

  Cheers,

  Gunnar Grey,

  publisher, author, and Chief Dingbat

  t Book 1)