Faith smiled. “Of course, my lord. That was a very good thing you did at dinner.”
“I’m not sure I know of what you speak, my lady.” It was a small lie.
Aurora patted her perfect golden hair as if it might have dared slip. “I’m certain that is not true. We have tried for years to coerce Mercy into wearing her spectacles in company without any success. You have managed it in one night.”
He wished it had not been so obvious. “I bullied her. I doubt she is as grateful as you two ladies seem to be. Though I appreciate your saying so.”
“You must understand,” Aurora began, “Mercy is not overly vain. She just wishes to please everyone.”
Time to get to work. “And what of you, Lady Radcliff? Do you make a habit of pleasing those around you?”
Sitting back, Aurora studied him. “We all have our roles to play, sir. You must know that.”
“Of course. Even an earl must play his part for society’s sake. But you hardly seem overly concerned with the opinions of others.”
“I have a title and money to protect me and if my contemporaries were to stop inviting me to balls, it would not forlorn me. I would always have my friends.” Aurora’s grin fell on Faith.
Faith clapped. “It doesn’t hurt either that two of those friends have married rather well.”
They all laughed.
A ball of white fur shot into the room, followed by a boy of perhaps eleven or twelve. The boy shouted, “Rumple, no!”
The dog bounded over to Faith and leaped into her lap with a vigorous attempt at licking her face.
Faith managed to protect her face. “Rumple, down.”
The dog complied but put one paw and his nose on her leg. His fluffy tail wagged furiously.
The boy had stopped a few feet inside the door. He pulled his cap from his head and worried it in both hands. His brown hair was tousled, but he was clean faced and pink cheeked. “I’m very sorry, my lady. He got away from me and he’s gotten much faster since you were here in winter.”
“That’s all right, Jamie.” Faith laughed and petted the dog. “Leave him here with me for now. I’ll have a footman take him out before we retire. You should go to bed. It’s quite late.”
Jamie made a half bow and ran from the room.
“That mongrel should not be allowed above stairs.” Lady Marsden’s complaints had become expected even in so short an acquaintance.
Aurora frowned in her mother’s direction before turning back to him. “Do you like dogs, my lord?”
“I do, my lady. I had one very much like this when I was a boy.”
As if he knew he was the topic, Rumple leaped over to Wesley for attention.
“Your mother is right about one thing.” Wesley scratched the dog behind his ear, earning him an occasional lick and a sound thrashing of tail to his calf.
“What is that?” Aurora’s blue eyes were wide.
“He is a bit of a mongrel. I’ve never seen such a mismatched group of characteristics on a dog.”
Rumple put his head on Wesley’s thigh and stared up at him with large, brown, doting eyes.
Faith laughed. “He is odd, but we adore him. He turned up at the West Lane house last winter and I’ve had him since. He’s only a puppy. Not yet a year.”
Already as tall as to pass a grown man’s knee, Rumple would be a good-sized dog. “He’s a bit coddled for the hunt. Will he chase off intruders for you?”
“He is quite protective,” Faith said. “But even if he were useless, we would keep him. He was here with us when we needed a friend. We’ll not abandon him.”
“My mother thinks only pure-blooded animals should grace the parlor.” The tone of censure in Aurora’s voice spoke much more than her words.
“If that were the case, most of us would need to show ourselves the door.” He leaned back against the chair’s cushion and watched her.
Aurora nodded, though her eyes narrowed on him. “Indeed, we would.”
Rumple trotted away to find Nick and reclined with his head on the duke’s feet.
“I have said something that troubles you, my lady?” Wesley asked.
“Not at all.”
Faith sat up straighter. Her petite height and curvaceous figure made her both adorable and seductive. The fact that she was a duchess made her even harder to overlook. “You say all the right things, my lord. I think that is what troubles us.”
“Are you looking for flaws in my character then?” He looked from the duchess to Aurora.
Aurora was as lovely as any man could hope for. Blond hair, blue eyes, with perfect gentle curves and lovely skin. She spoke with intelligence and never said more than was appropriate. He liked her, and yet…
“You might save us the trouble and tell us what is wrong with you, my lord.” Mercy said from just over his shoulder.
Despite his determination to focus on Aurora and thwart his attraction to Mercy, his pulse sped at her closeness. He stood. As she rounded the chair to take the last seat in the grouping, he couldn’t keep his eyes from her graceful form.
“I’m as flawed as the next man, Miss Heath.” He waited until she sat and then he did as well. “Besides, I’m certain you ladies have discerned all there is to know about me and my family already.”
Faith pursed her lips in an attempt to look put out rather than amused, but it didn’t work. “We know what is common knowledge, my lord.”
“Your Grace, I’m sure you then know that my grandfather lost most of my family lands rather than go to debtors’ prison.”
Aurora said, “And you have managed to prosper enough to buy back most of what was lost.”
A knot formed in his gut. “Most. Yes.”
“And I have the last of it.” Aurora sighed, not meeting his gaze.
“That is my understanding, my lady.” There was little point in lying. These were intelligent women and not to be trifled with.
Mercy asked, “Will you then offer to buy Aurora’s property?”
The way her green eyes begged him to consider the option was more than tempting. It was a foolish dream to desire to gaze into those eyes as the sun set and then again upon a new day. He blinked to break the spell she held over him. “I cannot afford to buy the property even if her ladyship were willing to sell.”
“I have never seen the land.” Aurora’s light tone cut into his malaise over what he could not have.
He focused on what his duty demanded. “Have you not?”
“No. We go from Parvus at the end of our stay to see what all the fuss is about. It seems it was a fair price for my hand in marriage. My father was very keen to have it.”
“How did the property come to you, my lady?” Wesley had seen records showing Aurora owned his ancestral lands, but he had no idea how that transaction had taken place.
“After Radcliff died, my brother gave me the land. He felt I deserved my purchase price after enduring my marriage.” Her gaze was more direct.
“Is a marriage to be endured then?” he asked, unable to let the curious statement rest.
“Some more than others.” Mercy’s flat tone startled him.
There was something he was missing, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of a way to politely ask what it was. “I’m afraid you have talked me into a corner.”
Faith chuckled. “We Wallflowers of West Lane have a way of doing that, my lord. Let me say by way of apology for our secrets, we have much to hide and have told you more than we divulge to most. That must mean we have some trust in your good nature.”
“If that is true, I am grateful for it. However, can you give me a way to ask what you must know I want to know without being rude?” He smiled at each of them in turn.
They burst out laughing. Faith recovered first. “I’m afraid not. Perhaps at some point you might venture just to ask t
he rude question and let the fates decide if you will be granted an answer.”
“Oh, is it up to some unseen deity and not the self-proclaimed Wallflowers?”
Mercy eased forward, which forced her bosom to the front of her pearl neckline. “There are some things one must take a leap of faith on, sir.”
Distracted by those pearls, he almost missed what she’d said. He longed to traced a path along those pearl beads with his fingers first and then his mouth. Lord, this was impossible. “May I ask how the Earl of Radcliff died?”
“He cheated at cards or some game of chance and was murdered for the deed.” Aurora’s tone was flat. Not the slightest hint of emotion laced her description of how her husband had met his fate. There was a lot more to know about these ladies.
“I assume he was not gambling at Whites.”
Mercy’s eyes lit with ferocity. “Radcliff preferred less lofty establishments for his entertainment.”
He met her gaze, looking for the detail he was missing, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “It is never wise to cheat, but to cheat in an unsavory crowd is quite foolish.”
“As the earl learned.” There was that rigid anger again from Mercy. How a woman who could glow with the deepest emotion when playing music could also seethe with such intense anger was a miracle of a kind.
All that bottled-up passion led his mind to baser, more intimate thoughts about Mercedes Heath and what it would be like to be with such a passionate woman.
These women were trying to tell him something more than the words, but either the information was flawed or his reckless desires were keeping him from grasping the detail.
“Wes, come play a hand or two. Mercy has left us one short.” Nick’s call from the card tables saved him from losing his mind.
Standing, he bowed. “Ladies, if you will excuse me.”
* * * *
Wesley spent most of the night trying to figure out what clues were hidden in the information they’d divulged about Radcliff and the rest of the night trying to determine if any of it mattered to him. The answer to the latter was no. He needed to regain control of the land his grandfather had lost and nothing was going to stand in his way.
Half-lidded, he went to the stables. Maybe a good ride would refresh him. The sun rose over the sprawling hills and he was once again reminded of what a fine piece of property Parvus stood on.
Inside the garden, Geb Arafa stood from what appeared to be his prayers.
A footman folded the blanket Geb had been kneeling on.
Geb turned. “Good morning, Lord Castlewick. Did you sleep well?”
“I’m afraid not. I had much on my mind.” When Geb walked to him, he offered his hand for shaking.
His host’s hand was rough but warm. “Something troubles you? Is it something I might help with?”
“I was just going to take a ride. Would you care to walk with me to the stables?” Wesley was eager for some exercise to free his mind.
Falling into step beside him, Geb said. “I too often ride to clear my head. You will find I have some fine Arabian horses. Not as big as your English stock, but what they lack in size they make up for in stamina.”
“Thank you. I will try any one you suggest.”
Geb wore a turban for his morning prayers and a footman ran to him to collect the coiled cloth. When he saw Wesley watching, he said, “I find my English guests are more at ease if as their host, I am dressed in the English fashion.”
“I am not ill at ease, Mr. Arafa. If that were the case, I would not have solicited an invitation to your home.” Wesley liked his host and it disgusted him that he worried over such things in his own home.
“You are the exception, sir.” He waved off the issue. “What can I do to ease whatever kept you tossing through the night?”
Wesley sighed. “I’m afraid it has to do with the ladies and to ask the question I need answered would not become a gentleman.”
“Ah.” Geb smiled. “Well, these particular ladies are complicated, to be sure.”
“Indeed, they are.”
Geb stopped as they approached the gray stone of the stables. Several grooms rushed out to greet them. “Saddle Khamsin for his lordship.”
With a nod, the lanky groom ran to do his bidding.
“You will enjoy Khamsin. She is fast and loyal. Her name means wind and she is well deserving of it. Names are a strange thing, my lord. I have often wondered if the name makes the person or if it the other way around. Take the two unmarried young ladies staying here at Parvus. Both are extraordinary. Aurora means dawn and the lady shines brightly with much beauty. The dawn is also life giving. Mercedes or Mercy is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness. From what I have seen the lady is the embodiment of her name. Always forgiving those around her for slighting her. Always offering kindness, when greeted with prejudice. Perhaps I should learn a lesson from her.”
Wesley didn’t know what to say. There was truth in the assessment Geb had formed around the ladies and their names, but to say anything could give away too much.
Geb sighed. “I should like to have such a choice before me.”
“What?” Wesley suddenly realized Geb’s misunderstanding of his situation. “I am not in a position to make any choice, sir. The ladies are both lovely, but I do not court either of them and would never think to court them both.”
Brows rising, Geb cocked his head. “I must be mistaken then. You are right about their being complications surrounding these Wallflowers of West Lane. Of course, I am not at liberty to divulge their stories.”
“I understand.”
“You English never just ask the questions for which you so much need the answers. It makes life quite complicated in my experience.” Geb turned and walked back toward the castle.
“Indeed, it does.” Wesley agreed long after Geb was out of hearing.
The groom brought a pure white mare to the yard. She was a magnificent beast with clear eyes and a full long main tipped in black.
Taking hold of her bit, Wesley gentled her forward. “Khamsin, you are quite the pretty girl.”
The horse nudged him with her nose.
Once he’d checked the cinch and hooves, he mounted and trotted out of the yard and down the road. Before reaching the village, Wesley turned to follow a path along a lush green field. The warm sun reminded him that soon his life would make sense. Things would be settled once Aurora was his wife and her lands merged with his.
So why did his mind continue to return to Mercy and her kind eyes and quick wit? She was far too available was the problem. Perhaps Mr. Colby needed a push toward offering. That would solve two of his problems.
He nudged Khamsin into a canter across the top of the ridge.
If Mercy was betrothed, she would no longer be able to keep him away from Aurora and Wesley would no longer be obsessed with her. It was the perfect solution to his problem.
Slightly nauseated by his brilliant plan, Wesley galloped across the lush green hills until he and the magnificent horse were too tired to continue. Turning toward Parvus, he dismounted and they walked back.
Chapter 11
It was a perfect day for a picnic. They loaded up the carriages and rolled out of the Parvus yard toward the lake. There, tables and chairs had been set up with food as well and blankets for those who wished to sit on the ground.
The sun glinted off the lake like a thousand diamonds and Mercy sat with Faith and Poppy. She’d removed her bonnet and allowed the midday sun to warm her face. She would be pink from the indulgence, but she didn’t care. The delight in closing her eyes and letting the warmth infuse her was worth a few days of pink cheeks and a few freckles.
“I thought Aurora would have joined us by now.” Poppy nibbled on some cake she’d brought from the table.
Faith shrugged. “Perhaps the problem with her dress wa
s more serious and she had to change.”
“I thought it was a torn hem.” Mercy sighed as she put her bonnet back on and protected her skin. “Surely Jane would have fixed that by now.”
“Mr. Arafa sent a carriage back for her. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” Faith picked up a slice of cake from Poppy’s plate and popped it in her mouth. “Oh, that’s quite good.”
Poppy nodded. “You were right about the cook here being wonderful, Faith.”
“She’s just a girl really. Imagine how good she’ll be in a few years.” Faith grinned and waggled her brows.
“I can’t imagine anything better than this cake.” Poppy put the plate aside and rubbed her stomach. “But if I eat any more, I will explode.”
Several of the men, including Nick and Rhys, were playing ninepin several yards away.
Mercy was careful not to look at Wesley despite his arriving at the carriages with his hair still damp from a bath and smelling warm and fresh on the ride to the site. Proud of herself for giving no outward indication of the effects his bathing had on her, she still noticed that he spoke in confidence with Mr. Colby throughout the game.
What the two could possibly have to talk about at such length, she couldn’t imagine.
“He is quite handsome,” Poppy said.
“Who?” Faith’s attention returned to the ninepin game.
“Lord Castlewick. It’s a pity Aurora has no interest.”
“I like him.” Faith sounded like it was an apology. “I want to find fault in him, but he’s honest and easy to converse with.”
Mercy’s gut knotted. “He wants to marry Aurora for a plot of land. That does not sound like the kind of man any of us could like.”
“People have married for less.” Faith was the most practical of the foursome.
“Says the woman who married for a love so pure you were each willing to die for the other.” Mercy sat up on her knees and stared her friend down.
Not intimidated, Faith gave a weak shrug. “Not everyone is such a fool, Mercy. I would not expect you to display such an unharnessed bout of emotions over a man.”
“A piece of music yes, but not a man,” Poppy agreed.
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