by Carol Arens
Slept? He nearly laughed out loud. He’d scarcely sat down before he’d left the library to walk the grounds and visit the stable. He’d come inside at dawn. Then he had bathed, shaved, dressed and spent time in the office going over ledgers.
It was essential to become reacquainted with the estate after an absence.
That was what he told himself, but the truth was, it might have been done later. The true reason he had lost sleep was because he missed sleeping close to Madeline and was tempted to sneak into her chamber to sleep on the floor near her bed.
‘Good morning, Rees.’
Daybreak and his wife’s smile seemed one and the same to his way of thinking—both were sunshine to his soul.
Madeline Dalton was so beautiful, smiling and making plans with his mother.
‘Where are the twins?’ he asked.
Madeline lifted the hem of her skirt to reveal Victoria Rose, lying on her belly on the floor and peeking out while she hugged her doll.
His mother did the same and he spotted Emily Lark in an identical position.
‘You finded us!’ Victoria Rose laughed while scrambling out from under Madeline’s skirt.
‘It’s time and past you hired a governess, Rees. Surely you do not expect your new Viscountess to tend them all day long? It would be improper.’
‘We wants Mama!’ Emily Lark declared, then crawled from her grandmother’s skirt to Madeline’s, wrapping herself in the grey woollen skirt.
‘See if you can get Mrs Warren to watch them for the day, Rees. My daughter-in-law and I must visit the seamstress.’
He would rather she did not go to the village. Gossip surrounding his sudden marriage would have reached here by now.
If he could prevent it, he would not have people casting judgemental glances at Madeline as if she was the reason for Bethany Mosemore’s disgrace.
It would be better if she remained at home.
Soon enough curious neighbours would come calling. He would give her a bit of time to prepare for it.
‘I’m sure Mrs Warren is busy. I’ll call for the seamstress to attend you here.’
‘Would you not rather see the village, my dear?’ His mother poured a cup of tea and passed it to Madeline.
‘Perhaps it would be better to wait until Rees finds a governess. I imagine he is correct and Mrs Warren is busy.’
‘Sit with us, my son.’ His mother patted the table. ‘Once plans for our ball begin in earnest, we won’t have much time for you, or you for us.’
And yet time with Madeline was what he needed.
Rees took his slice of ham, buttered a piece of toast, then slathered it with strawberry jam. He sat down beside Madeline.
‘Are you sure you would enjoy a ball?’ he asked. ‘Wouldn’t you rather take time to settle in?’
Hopefully his mother would listen to what Madeline wanted.
‘I would adore a ball. It seems like for ever since I’ve attended one—yes, it was all the way last April.’
‘And this one will be in your honour!’ His mother clapped her hands gleefully. ‘And Bethany’s, too, of course. What a boon to gain two daughters within such a short time. It will be quite the event.’
‘We ought to wait until the scandal subsides.’ He was right in this.
‘Nonsense.’ His mother liked to say he was authoritative, but he’d clearly got that trait from her.
Who else would dare to contradict a viscount?
‘Your mother is right. A ball will put the wagging tongues to rest.’
Evidently his American wife would dare to. He was certain Wilson’s bride would do no such thing.
Why was he grinning when he ought to be frowning?
He was grateful to be wed to a woman who convinced him she was correct with a pretty smile and a happy blue-eyed wink—that was why.
It did occur to him that her agreement to a ball meant that she was willing for people to know her as Lady Glenbrook. He dared to hope this meant she was considering keeping her title—and him.
‘A ball there will be, then. Just keep in mind that people still talk about Father galloping into the ballroom on his favourite horse.’
‘You should be aware of the scandal, Madeline.’ Mother shrugged, shook her head. ‘Although over the years it has grown more humorous than offensive. But you see, Lord Glenbrook took it into his mind that such a thing would be funny. The noise those big hooves made on my beautiful polished wood was deafening, but not more deafening than the screams of the ladies fleeing the dance floor or the curses of the gentlemen. Hmm, as I recall, a few of them screamed, too. Oh, but my husband thought himself grand, swinging his grandfather’s sword over his head. He even managed to lift a glass of whisky and shout “God save the Queen”. It might not have been so bad had he not started singing afterwards and if the horse had not made a mess for Lady Fenwick to slip in. It was an exceedingly expensive gown.’
‘I’m told my father enjoyed his fun, but I scarcely remember.’
‘Ah...’ His mother sighed, gave a soft smile. ‘It was not always appropriate but, yes, he did.’
He’d always thought Mother must have loved Father very much. Numerous times over the years she had been offered marriage and each time refused her suitor. Either no one measured up or she feared someone would.
‘I worry Emily Lark takes after him,’ he admitted.
‘But Victoria Rose is more like you, Rees.’ His mother picked her granddaughter up, nuzzled her soft brown curls.
‘Me like Mama,’ Emily Lark declared, then climbed up Madeline’s skirt and took possession of her lap.
His sweet Emily Lark was nothing like the timid woman who had given birth to her.
But like Madeline? He had to admit his stomach lurched. He suspected his child would do whatever she needed to in order to have her life be the way she thought it should be.
Even run away from home.
He saw himself one day standing in James Macooish’s shoes. He saw it with a painful squeeze of his heart.
Where was Macooish? If he was only miles distant, there was only one thing to be done. Go to the man and inform him that his granddaughter was safely wed and living close by.
If that were the case, the reunion between Madeline and her family must happen more quickly than he wanted it to.
‘Come, Madeline, let’s take the children to play in the garden.’ He caught his mother’s frown. The invitation did sound more like a command. ‘If you would not mind. It looks like snow before too long and I’d like them to take the fresh air while they can.’
Chapter Ten
‘Snow! Truly?’ Madeline covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing the urge to jump up and down. Snow? Here? ‘I’ve only ever seen it from a distance on mountaintops. Oh, but even that is a rare thing.’
She set Emily Lark on the floor, then stood up.
‘I’ll have your coats brought.’ The Dowager Lady Glenbrook set Victoria Rose down, then stood, brushing the wrinkles from her skirt. ‘I’ve a million things to do. I hope Wilson and his wife come home straight away. It won’t do for them to miss the party.’
With everyone bundled up they left the dining room, going out through the glass doors leading to the garden.
Clouds hung low and grey in the sky, but nothing white fell from them.
‘All of the Christmas cards show images of snow, but where I come from, December the twenty-fifth is almost always an idyllic sunny day. Once in a while it rains, but even that is rare.’
Walking after the girls, keeping an eye on them as they ran down garden paths, she imagined what the place would look like cloaked in snow.
Right now the garden was washed in shades of brown and gold, which was lovely, but to see everything white and glittering would be like stepping into fairyland.
‘I hope you like it as well on
ce you’ve lived in it for a while.’
For a while? Those words so casually spoken meant much more. He cast the thought out like bait on a hook. As though he was planting a seed in her mind, hoping it would take root.
Lord Glenbrook was a sneaky fellow. She could do nothing but carry on as if she had not noticed.
‘Oh, it is cold, but it is not as penetrating as it was out on the ocean. And now we both have warm coats, not just the one to share between us.’
‘I didn’t mind that.’
No, she hadn’t minded it either. Especially when they had been wrapped together while watching the stars, sharing a kiss.
‘I’ll have the seamstress make you a few of your own so that you need not borrow Mother’s. You’ll need gowns and everything, I imagine.’
The children found a bush and dashed in circles about it, trying to catch one another.
She and Rees sat on a bench, smiling at them.
Madeline could not recall a specific instance, but she was certain she and Clementine used to play the same game many years ago. She missed her cousin—her best friend—dreadfully.
She had faith that Rees would help her locate her family as he promised to do. As anxious as she was to begin the search, she understood he needed some time to get things caught up at the estate. More than that, he needed time with his daughters.
For her the wait was hard, but after everything she could wait a bit longer. Until then she would enjoy where she was and the people she was with.
Very quickly, she was becoming fond of these new people in her life. For so long it had been only Clementine and Grandfather.
‘I did come to you rather lacking. But don’t worry—I’ll have Grandfather repay you for what you spend.’
Rees’s expression changed, subtly as if he were trying to hide it.
His gaze shifted from watching his daughters play to looking deeply at her, seeing inside her in that way he had of doing.
‘Do you like Green Knoll Manor? I know you’ve not been here long enough to know for certain, but do you think you could be happy here?’
Oh, she did like it. It was lovely, yes, but would she be happy here? She honestly had no answer. Which was a surprise because only a short time ago she believed there was only one place she would be happy. With Grandfather and Clementine.
Had he asked if she loved him it would be easier. Of course she did, no matter how swiftly it had happened. She remembered the analogy of yeast and believed it to be true. What troubled her was what to do with love when it was conflicted.
All she could do was answer what he asked, not what he meant.
‘It’s a wonderful home. I haven’t seen it all, but I’m sure the rest is no less welcoming than the first. Your mother is wonderful. I cannot recall my own.’ Was she going to cry? Her tightening throat gave every indication that she might. She swallowed hard. ‘But your mother—right off, at breakfast this morning, she asked me to call her “Mother” and—oh, Rees, it touches me deeply.’
If, when the day came, she went away with Grandfather, she would not only be saying goodbye to her husband, but his family.
That was a cost she must count when making her choice.
‘What about them?’ He nodded towards the children. ‘Would caring for them be a burden?’
‘No, Rees.’
It ought to frighten her how quickly she was coming to care for his children. It was a lifetime bond she was considering making with them. Oh, but were they not sweet playing like a pair of lively pups? Her affection for them was growing faster than she’d expected it to.
Then again, perhaps she should’ve expected it to, given how quickly she had come to care for their father.
Yeast. Love and yeast, not so romantic a notion, but accurate for all that.
Ah, but these precious ones, parting the shrubbery to peer after a bunny, were not bread, but endearing little girls. And their father—well, she had no words to describe how handsome, strong, virile and manly he was.
Apparently she did have words because potent and kissable came to mind, as well.
She adored him; she adored his children.
She mistrusted herself.
In spite of her vow, she feared she would run if Rees kept the truth from her again.
Victoria Rose fell, hit her elbow on a stone and began to cry.
In an instant Madeline was on her knees, gathering the child and rocking her against her bosom.
‘Mama,’ she sobbed. ‘Hurt!’
She had never encouraged them to call her ‘Mama’. Right there on the cold ground something inside Madeline went soft.
The name sounded right; it felt right. Perhaps it was because she had been them once, longing for a lost mother.
It did not have to be so for those sweet babies. She could offer them what she and Clemmie had never had. Not only could she, but she wanted to.
‘It’s all right, sweetling. I imagine it feels better already, doesn’t it?’
Victoria Rose nodded, then dashed off to resume her game.
Now it was Madeline whose throat tightened. In her mind’s eye she saw the twins growing, becoming happy girls and then young ladies with bright futures. She saw herself being a part of it.
Still kneeling, she glanced up at Rees. ‘They are wonderful. No one would think it a burden to raise them.’
‘Bethany would have, I believe, but you would not?’ He reached a hand down to help her up.
She sat beside him, closer than she had a moment ago.
‘Oh, no, it would be a joy. A complete and utter privilege.’ She closed her eyes, tipped her face towards the clouds. ‘But I must be honest with you. I don’t know how to act when they call me “Mama”. I like it, of course. It touches me in a way I can’t quite explain, but how can I allow it, not knowing our future? But at the same time, how can I tell them no? I understand what it is to want a mother.’
‘Let us be your future, Madeline.’
If only it were as easy as murmuring the word yes.
She could not utter it. At the same time, she could not outright refuse. All she could do was look into his eyes and get lost in the love she saw in them.
She touched his cheek and wanted to cry. If only love was all that mattered.
In the end, maybe it was.
‘Do you want me to speak to them about it? Ask them to stop?’
Make her decision right now? That was what she would be doing, whatever her answer to him was. Still, she could not.
‘I think I should go back inside and help your mother.’
‘There is no need. She’ll have the servants dashing about. She is hardly a novice at putting together a gathering on short notice. She delights in it.’
‘In any case, it’s getting colder. We ought to take the girls inside.’
‘Sit with me, my angel, just a while longer. We can talk about the weather in Los Angeles or the latest fashions ladies are wearing—whatever you like. Just be here.’
‘I can’t think in a straight line when you call me that. Please do not.’
He did not say he wouldn’t. In fact, he shot her the half-smile that was always her utter undoing.
Oh, and he was aware of it! Used it against her as the most seductive of weapons.
‘If I see one little shiver from them we are going inside,’ she uttered sternly because she was feeling softer than she ought to. ‘Now, tell me what it was like growing up here. Who were you as a child?’
‘Mother claims my brother and I were hooligans.’ He put his arm about her shoulder, hugged her close to his side. Wisdom would advise her not to allow it. But wisdom had never been her strongest trait, so she snuggled into his warmth. ‘She smiles when she says it, though.’
‘My grandfather says the same about me and Clementine! Not hooligans, though. Pixies up to no
good was the way he described us.’
‘And all you wanted was a bit of fun. Same as we did. We never thought staining our clothes while rolling down hills was the wicked thing Mother and the laundress did.’
‘Just so! It was simply good fun rolling in the surf and getting our bloomers full of sand and our hair caked with salt water. But our nanny always complained to Grandfather about it. We told him she was simply envious because she was too old to join in the fun. Of course, he knew us better than to believe it.’
‘What mischief will those two get into, do you think?’
Whatever it was, she doubted he would ever do anything but smile indulgently at them.
‘They’ve already begun, Rees. Look, Emily Lark has torn her dress.’
He nodded, a restrained smile ticking the corners of his mouth. ‘Look at those leaves stuck in Victoria Rose’s hair.’
‘Pixies and hooligans,’ she pointed out.
His strong, solid shoulder shook when he laughed under his breath. ‘I’m a blessed man, am I not?’
Greatly blessed, she knew, looking at his face and loving the way his blue eyes shone for his children.
She could be blessed along with him. He’d offered this to her.
The choice only needed to be made.
* * *
The couch in the library was too short for his frame. Rees shifted position. Too narrow, as well.
He turned on to his back with his legs dangling over the arm, recounting the day as he tended to do before falling asleep.
There had been no success in his most urgent order of business, which was finding out if Madeline’s family was in residence at Fencroft Manor. He’d advised his wife and his mother that he had business in the village and would be gone several hours.
He did stop there for a few moments to have coffee and a biscuit. As much as food and drink, he wanted to know how deeply gossip about his family had spread.
Naturally, no one spoke openly of his rejection of Bethany, nor did they bring up his hasty marriage. He did get curious, sidelong glances which let him know there had been talk.
In the end, the excursion had been a waste of time. The family was not present and the staff had had no word as to when they would return.