Testing Miss Toogood

by Stella Cameron

  “They’re having a good spring, milady,” Lawrence told her. He had gray hair but he was quite young and well favored, Fleur thought.

  “We don’t have any sickness?” Lady Granville continued.

  Mr. Lawrence smiled and lines showed in tan skin at the corners of his eyes and mouth. “Nothing to speak of. May I tell them you asked?”

  Lady Granville agreed and they followed the rest into the salon where everyone was seated. Chloe sat on Lord Dominic’s lap and he stroked her cat while she whispered and used one small hand to keep his face turned toward hers.

  “McGee,” Lady Granville said. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “Thank you, my lady,” he said. He waited with an expectant expression on his face. “Your luggage is on its way to your suite. Is there something else I can do for you or would you like to rest now?”

  “Tea,” Lady Granville said. “Cakes, sandwiches, pies, lots of them. Their lordships will want something stronger but they’ll help themselves, I’m sure.” She took a seat beside the Dowager on a couch.

  “It is blooming six o’clock,” Lord Nathan said. “Bit late for tea.”

  “Language,” Lord Dominic told him at once.

  “Blooming six o’clock,” Chloe said as if finding out how the word felt on her tongue.

  Nathan grinned—until his mother shook her head at him.

  “Will that be all, my lady?” McGee asked.

  “Mmm.” Lady Granville rubbed a finger between her brows. “Do you suppose Mrs. Skinner has a strawberry syllabub or two hiding in the kitchens?”

  Fleur chuckled and caught Lord Dominic’s eye at once. He winked at her and she was sure they were both remembering when he’d told her he was a strawberry syllabub in comparison with Lord Nathan—which was completely untrue.

  Everyone had stopped talking at once. Fleur checked around and realized they were all watching Lord Dominic…and her. They must have noted the exchange between them.

  “I’ll see about the syllabub,” McGee said and left, closing the door gently behind him.

  Fleur felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t suitable for others to think she shared some secret amusement with Lord Dominic.

  Right away, as if he read her uneasiness, he told the rest about how he’d warned Fleur not to get on Lord Nathan’s mean side. A chorus of boos and shouts of, “Nathan’s a pussycat. You’re the ogre,” followed.

  “Now, Fleur,” Lady Granville said. “I’d like it if you’d stand where I can see all of you—if that wouldn’t discomfort you.”

  It may make me faint! “Of course,” Fleur said and made her legs move until she stood in front of Lady Granville.

  “Hmm. Your carriage is excellent, Fleur. What a blessing. I remember how much I had to go through to correct mine.”

  Fleur couldn’t imagine the other woman had ever been other than the perfect feminine creature she was now. “Thank you, my lady.”

  “And you obviously speak well quite naturally. I’m a cockney. I suffered through a great deal of elocution so that I wouldn’t be an embarrassment.” She beckoned Fleur closer and reached up to whisper in her ear, “Not too many people notice, but I still have a bit of the cockney.”

  She let Fleur go and smiled suddenly and brilliantly. “But I’m glad I’m a cockney. My father used to be a baker and my mother worked with him. Now, thanks to my darling John, they live quite near us in Bath and they both grow the most exotic roses.”

  “How lovely,” Fleur said. Lady Granville was proud of her beginnings, and she’d managed to do what Fleur longed to do—help her family to have a better life.

  The Dowager had been quiet, just smiling and watching the people she loved. “Fleur is the second daughter of an old friend of mine,” she said now. “I went to visit them some weeks ago and asked if I might have Fleur come to me so that she could make a Season. I’m glad her parents agreed. There’s a good deal she needs to learn but she will be easy to teach and as you say, Hattie, she has that certain something that could very well make her an originale.”

  Chloe climbed from Lord Dominic’s knees and stretched out on her tummy on the soft carpet. Her cat nuzzled her neck until she cuddled her. “Let us take our nap, Raven,” she said and Fleur realized the child spoke with a French accent.

  Dominic sympathized with Fleur. She had suffered her examination and evaluation well, or so she made it seem, but these were difficult times for her. Still, if anyone could draw her out and help her enjoy the weeks to come it was Hattie.

  “Tomorrow,” Hattie was saying, “I shall take you to Bond Street, to a milliner there. Madame Sophie’s hats are treasures. And we’ll buy slippers. I’ll speak to Neville about colors first. Floris! How could I have forgotten wonderful Floris? We’ll go there to choose scents and soap and I want you to have a bone-handled brush for that hair.”

  “Hattie,” Chloe said. “I’m not hungry. Please may I play outside.”

  Hattie smiled at her and said, “Leave Raven here and be sure to put your bonnet and gloves on again,” before she allowed the child to leave.

  Dominic caught Nathan’s eye and gave a sign for him to come closer. He stood up before Nathan reached him. “How about a drink?” Dominic said. “I’ll do the honors.”

  “Capital idea. Our Fleur’s a beauty, don’t you think?”

  Dominic poured whiskey into two glasses. “Our Fleur?”

  “Well, we have more or less adopted her for a bit. I’d say she was ours and I know you’ll do a bang-up job of launching her.”

  He gritted his teeth. “If Hattie hadn’t agreed to come and take charge, I should have washed my hands of the whole thing.”

  Nathan took a swallow of his whiskey. Dominic felt his brother’s watchful eyes on him but pretended he didn’t.

  “You seem a bit strange, old man,” Nathan said.

  Dominic glanced at the ladies. The door opened and a succession of servants entered with tea and food enough for an army. The chatter grew louder again and he was amused to see how Hattie was the first to claim a syllabub.

  He turned his back on the room. “You have no idea just how strange I am at the moment. And I’ve a right to be. Have you ever kissed a woman you had no right to kiss, only to have her apologize for liking it?”

  “Come again?” Nathan said and his lips remained a little parted.

  “I warn you,” Dominic said, “don’t aggravate me more than I already am. You heard what I said the first time, but forget my question. It’s not important. It’s time you were married.”

  Nathan choked on his drink and Dominic slapped his back.

  “Nathan, Dominic, come and get something to eat,” Mother called. “There’s an egg pie so light it’s going to float away at any moment.”

  “We’ll let you choose what you want first,” Nathan said. He hadn’t taken his eyes from Dominic’s. He lowered his voice. “What wrong with you? Why would you bring up my marriage—or lack of one? What the hell business is it of yours?”

  “Just stating a fact. Mother and John think the same thing. It would do you good to get settled with a good woman who will help calm you down.”

  “Calm—me—down? Why you—”

  “Snot-nose or something, isn’t that what you feel like saying? Which helps make my point. It’s time to put the things of childhood behind you and think of having children of your own. You’ll make a sterling father and a fine, reliable husband. At least give it some thought.”

  Nathan tipped the rest of the whiskey straight down his throat and poured a hefty second serving.

  “You’ll get foxed,” Dominic said. “Not a good idea in front of the ladies—especially at this time of day.”

  “Don’t speak to me.”

  “What could be so bad about having a warm, willing, fetching woman in your bed every night? And taking care of you during the day—and bearing your heirs?”

  Nathan dropped onto a deep blue couch and indicated for Dominic to join him. “Let’s get back to kissing girls and ap
ologies, shall we?” he said. “You’re having a difficult time with some woman who interests you, so you’re using me as a diversion. I don’t hear you talking about your own marriage prospects.”

  “That’s because I don’t have any and probably never will,” Dominic said. He felt a momentary quiet when he said, “I’m giving some thought to entering the monastery eventually.”

  “Bunk.”

  “I’d have expected that response from you.” He shouldn’t have mentioned what was still an almost unformed idea.

  Nathan settled deeper into the couch. “You’re changing the subject just as you always do.”

  “No such thing,” Dominic said. “Oh, will you look at this? I didn’t think Hattie had brought anyone but Chloe and the coachman from Bath. I suppose we should have expected Snowdrop to be with them, too. Hattie dotes on her and so does Chloe. Don’t ask me why.”

  “Probably because she dotes on them and both Parkers dedicate their lives to the family.”

  “That woman is addlepated,” Dominic said. “The development of her mind must be arrested, just as her growth is arrested.”

  Snowdrop Parker, Albert Parker’s wife, had slipped into the room and hovered near the door waiting for Hattie to notice her. Snowdrop was what John kindly referred to as “a character,” but Dominic considered the woman unpredictable, disconcerting and headstrong.

  “Snowdrop,” Hattie said. “Come and have some tea.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t, my lady,” Snowdrop said, her eyes demurely downcast. She had wound blue-black hair that reached her waist into a heavy chignon threaded with white flowers.

  Dominic and Nathan exchanged a knowing glance. “Look at the dress. What nursemaid have you ever seen decked out like that?”

  “Nursemaids often wear gray and white,” Nathan pointed out.

  “Gray velvet with white satin piping?” Dominic said. “And soft, gray leather slippers, and flowers in their hair?”

  “Keep your voice down,” Nathan warned.

  “She couldn’t be five foot, even on tiptoe. I’m wrong, she would be more than an inch under five foot even on tiptoe.”

  “Dominic.” Nathan glowered at him. “All of this is because you have other problems. Share them. Let me help you.”

  “No.”

  “Well, Snowdrop Parker is her husband’s pride and joy and I understand he won’t hear of her not being dressed like a lady.”

  “Clothes don’t make a lady,” Dominic said.

  “You, Dominic, are in a foul mood and I don’t think I want to talk with you further.”

  Dominic ran his eyes over the blue-and-maroon salon. Ridges in white marble pillars on either side of the fireplace were edged with gold leaf, and dainty furnishings reflected their French origins. His attention returned to Fleur, who stood behind Hattie where Dominic could see her green dress and the way the pleated back of the skirt showed off her rounded hips. Each time she turned a little he got a view of her breasts spilling firm white flesh at the neckline of her bodice.

  He groaned and leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and looked at his boots.

  When Nathan didn’t say a word—for far longer than was normal for the man—Dominic glanced sideways at him. Nathan watched him steadily, a speculative gleam in his eyes. “Are you sure there’s nothing you’d like to share? Other than your religious leanings.”

  “Nothing,” Dominic told him.

  “I’d swear you have a woman on your mind and you’re more interested than you’ve ever been before.”

  “That’s piffle. Now watch your mouth because Fleur’s coming this way.”

  Nathan turned on the couch to watch her approach and muttered, “She’s marvelous. I’m still impressed by Mother’s good eye for these things.”

  Fleur reached them before Dominic could respond. “Let me get you something to eat,” she said. “Everything looks good. I could bring you a selection.”

  “No,” Dominic said and just remembered to say, “thank you.”

  “Lord Nathan?” Fleur said.

  “Move over a bit, Nathan,” Dominic said. “Sit with us, Fleur. I for one am in a poor mood. Perhaps you can cheer me up.”

  She hesitated, then sat between them and Dominic could have kicked himself. Nathan must have the same gut-squeezing view of Fleur as he did, dammit. He caught his brother’s eye over her head but Nathan gave no hint of being fascinated by Fleur’s pale breasts, or the shadowy cleavage between them.

  Dash it all, the rattle should show interest in Fleur. If Nathan thought he’d seen better than she he was wrong. The point was to make him fall for her quickly. Dominic shook his head. He was a confused man.

  She may have thought he was doing her a service when he’d kissed her, but she could not possibly have benefitted as much as he had from the experience.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Fleur said to him in a rush. “Last night must have been very annoying for you yet you didn’t speak to Lord Nathan about it.”

  He shook his head, no, but didn’t answer her. He did pray she wasn’t about to spill the details of their encounter.

  “Oh, you’re too much of a gentleman to complain,” she said. “I owe it to you, and to Lord Nathan—” she glanced at him “—to make myself as little of a burden as possible. I heard a good deal of what you and Lord Dominic were speaking about yesterday afternoon.” She went on to confess her presence in the chapel the night before and how she had hidden in the family pew to listen to what Brother Juste and Jane Weller said.

  Fleur continued, giving every tiny detail of what the two had talked about and finishing up with an apology for her behavior.

  Dominic leaned against the couch and spread his arms along the back. She showed no intention of broaching more personal matters. He sighed.

  Nathan looked at him. “I do believe we’ve been entrusted with a rare gem. A scrupulously honest woman.”

  Dominic smiled.

  Fleur said, “I know many honest women. In fact, I’m not sure I know a dishonest one.”

  “I was just having a little fun,” Nathan said. “I should tell you a story or two about women I’ve known who tended to say whatever suited them regardless of truth.”

  “Please don’t,” Dominic said, but he grinned at the thought of seeing Fleur’s face if Nathan did share some of his amorous relationships and the scrapes he’d been in.

  “Just one,” Nathan said. “Remember Isabella who needed to be kept in a safe place because some rogue was after her? It was only the second day after I put her in that little St. John’s Wood villa when she told me all her clothes had been stolen while I was out and she needed a completely new wardrobe. She met me at the front door in nothing but—”

  “Just so,” Dominic said, narrowing his eyes at Nathan. “Before long we’ll have to get ready for dinner. I’d like to hear more about Fleur’s family first. I’m very fond of the Cotswolds.”

  The Dowager Marchioness of Granville sipped tea and watched Dominic, Nathan and Fleur on the couch at the far side of the salon. She watched the way her middle and youngest son interacted with the girl, and the way she looked at each of them. Fleur couldn’t be more comfortable with two men who were unrelated to her, nor could she be more animated, or more attentive to whatever they said.

  The Dowager glanced away, afraid someone would notice her staring at the trio. When she looked again, Nathan was speaking to Fleur and her prodigal son bowed over the girl, giving her his full attention. While he talked, he looked into her eyes and, just once it was true, he touched the back of Fleur’s neck lightly.

  Dominic’s dark expression made him more handsome than ever. She could see how his eyes deepened and his nostrils flared, and the way he set his mouth—and the sharp cut of his jaw. He studied Fleur with an intensity that might have pleased the Dowager had she not seen Nathan turning on his considerable charm for their young charge.

  She had been too clever with her plan to involve Dominic with Fleur. He had seemed set on a path wh
ich would never include marriage, which had justified her actions. At least it made them understandable. How could she have guessed something might go dreadfully awry? What would she do if both of her sons fell in love with Fleur Toogood?

  12

  Augusta Arbuthnot could not have worse timing. Dominic wanted to be right where he had been, with Fleur and Nathan, but McGee had discreetly asked him to go to the study.

  Dominic tapped on the door and walked in without waiting for an answer. He deliberately left the door ajar.

  “Hello, Dominic,” Gussy said, turning baleful brown eyes on him. “Forgive me for interrupting the family reunion—I didn’t know Hattie was coming today.”

  Much as he would rather not receive Gussy, he reminded himself that she could always decide to reveal something useful. “Don’t look so crestfallen,” he said. “Out with it. Tell me what’s on your mind and if I can help, I will.” As if it wasn’t already enough that he was to see a great deal of her in coming weeks.

  “You have always been the most sensible man I know,” Gussy said. “You deserve better from me than deceit. I wasn’t completely truthful the last time I saw you. I’ve come to make amends. Oh, I should have told you everything before, but my family made me promise not to say a word to anyone.”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t go against your word.”

  She flopped into a chair and let her hands trail over the arms. “I don’t have a choice. This is no longer something that only involves me. I must try to warn others without anyone attaching my name to the matter. If everyone learns what happened to me, my reputation will be ruined and so shall I.

  “Dominic, several weeks ago I was kidnapped and only released when my family paid a ransom for me. If the money wasn’t paid, the kidnapper threatened to let it be known that I had spent a night in the company of a man. As if I didn’t have enough ghastly problems already. It just isn’t fair.”

  “It’s an outrage,” Dominic said, making a good job of appearing shocked, he thought. “But what makes you think this villain will do it again?”