Sweet Summer Kisses

by Erin Knightley

  Cora eyed her mother with shock. Her knees trembled, and she took her mother’s arm for support.

  “Cora? Are you all right, my dear?”

  “Yes, Mama,” Cora whispered before shaking her head in bewilderment. “But Aunt Mimi knows I do not wish to marry.”

  “I think we have all hoped that bit of stubbornness would pass with maturity.”

  Cora looked up then to see dear Aunt Mimi bearing down on them with Lord Momford in tow, although very clearly resistant.

  “Mama! I do not feel well. I think I must go lie down.”

  “I understand, my dear. If you truly do not feel well, then you must retire. I will make your excuses. Hurry now. Your godmother approaches!”

  Cora whirled around and made her way out of the ballroom. She despised running from the woman she loved as much as she loved her mother, but there was nothing for it. If Aunt Mimi would persist in this foolish scheme, Cora would avoid her until she desisted. It was no wonder Lord Momford sought to reaffirm at every possible opportunity his desire that Aunt Mimi not attempt to find him a wife.

  Rather than return directly to her room, she stopped by the library to select a new book for the following day, knowing she would most likely finish her current novel that night long after the dance had ended and all the guests had gone home. She slipped in through the door and lit an oil lamp.

  The library, not as warm and comforting as her father’s had been in her childhood home, boasted luxurious furnishings of brown velvet with splashes of cranberry brocade throughout. Satinwood tables were poised beside every chair and sofa, and her stepfather’s gleaming mahogany desk dominated the far end of the room near French doors that opened onto the gardens. Dark velvet curtains were drawn against the night.

  Lighting a candle, she moved over to one of the bookshelves that lined the walls of the library. She perused the books for a moment but found her thoughts distracted by the events of the short evening.

  She did not like to lie to her mother, and in saying she felt unwell, she had not entirely done so. She was not ill in the corporeal sense, but the sight of her beloved aunt Mimi dragging forth a reluctant suitor was more than she could bear. She had trusted Aunt Mimi as she trusted no other, not even her mother, and had comfortably shared with her godmother that she had no wish to marry.

  Though she had eagerly listened to Aunt Mimi’s stories of her nephew, Tobias, Cora had no notion that her godmother had long contemplated marrying her off to him.

  Cora ran her fingertips unseeingly along the spines of the books on the shelf before her. She felt betrayed, as if she no longer knew her godmother. The loss brought a dull ache to her throat, and she knew herself to be on the verge of tears.

  The door opened behind her, and Cora whirled around. It was not her mother or stepfather who entered the room but Lord Momford who slipped in, his back to her as he eased the door shut. He turned to survey the room and stopped short at the sight of her as if surprised by her presence.

  “Miss Prentice!” he exclaimed.

  “Lord Momford!” she said, equally astonished. “What are you doing in here?”

  He thrust his hands behind his back and bent his head in acknowledgement. Cora was forced to curtsey.

  “I apologize. I hoped that this was the library, but I did not suspect it would be occupied. I longed only to choose a good book to while away a few hours.”

  Cora recollected her manners.

  “Of course my stepfather would not begrudge you the use of his library, but should you not remain at my godmother’s side or attempt to mingle with the other guests?”

  Lord Momford quirked an eyebrow, which might have given his face a sardonic expression were it not for the mischievous smile on his lips.

  “I could ask the same of you, Miss Prentice. How is it that I find you here in the library and not at your mother’s side or mingling with your guests? Your mother told our aunt that you were ill.”

  “I am unwell,” she said stubbornly. “I sought only to find a book to read in the morning.”

  “You do not appear unwell,” he said with a tilt of his head.

  “Sir, you do not know me well enough to know how I appear when I am unwell,” she said rather inelegantly.

  He nodded, still standing by the door.

  “Yes, that is true. I believe that I offended you once again when my aunt came to find us, did I not?”

  Cora clasped her hands behind her back as well and lifted her chin to stare at him. She said nothing.

  “One of my many flaws, Miss Prentice, is my apparent inability to think before I speak. I should have realized that you would take umbrage with my words. I can offer no excuse, other than to say that Aunt Mimi is very persistent. Within moments of meeting you, I realized her intention was to foster a match between us. I have long heard her speak of her beloved goddaughter when she visited my aunt and uncle in Sussex, but I had no notion that she harbored a desire to see us wed. None at all until just prior to our arrival in the carriage when she voiced her wishes.”

  Cora raised her hand to her mouth to suppress a gasp at his frank words.

  “No, Lord Momford, you do not seem to think before you speak,” Cora said with a raised eyebrow, “and I have taken offense. Yet we appear to share similar sentiments on the subject of Aunt Mimi’s matchmaking. I too was taken aback when I realized what she was about. I do not think I would have understood her intentions had you not spoken so freely. I was just this moment mourning the loss of my close bond with my godmother, for I do not wish to marry, and I had confided such to her.”

  Cora felt the droop of her lips and shoulders, and she straightened and raised her eyes to Lord Momford, who had taken several steps forward as if to comfort her. She raised a restraining hand.

  “No, no,” she said hurriedly, “do not seek to console me, Lord Momford, for I fear that is what you are about. I will talk to my godmother soon enough, and we shall put this foolishness behind us. I believe she has my best interests at heart and would not wish to force me to do something I do not want to do.”

  Lord Momford dropped his hands and laced them behind his back again.

  “Just so,” he said quietly. He looked beyond her to the bookshelves. “And did you find a novel to your liking?”

  Cora blinked, startled at the change in subject. She turned to survey the shelves.

  “I had been on the point of doing so when you entered.” That was a lie, of course. She had been mightily distracted by her thoughts before Lord Momford arrived.

  Cora grabbed a volume from the shelf and turned.

  “Good-night, Lord Momford,” she said with a curtsey. She hurried past him with the book clutched to her breast. To his credit, Lord Momford sprang forward to reach the door just as she approached it, pulling it open for her with a bow.

  “Good-night, Miss Prentice. I hope to see you soon.”

  Cora did not acknowledge his words but moved through the doorway to hurry up the nearby stairs. She caught her breath once she reached her room and shut the door behind her.

  She lit a candle and looked down at the book in her hand, a discourse on the agricultural history of England, which she had once attempted to read and found very dry. With a sigh, she set it on her bed stand and moved to the window to look out over the garden. The moon, at present full, glowed, and she felt quite restless. Cora did not think her mother would countenance a walk in the garden when she was supposedly taken ill, so she refrained from grabbing a shawl and making her way down the back stairs.

  A solitary gentleman appeared on the path leading to the garden, his hands clasped behind his back. Bathed in moonlight, Cora recognized the tall, slender figure of Lord Tobias Momford. His shoulders, normally broad and erect, slumped as if he was dejected, and she wondered what troubled him. Surely he believed that Aunt Mimi would soon desist with her matchmaking machinations if both he and Cora were persistent in their refusal to countenance such. She should probably have reassured him that she had no intention
of allowing Aunt Mimi to pursue such a fantasy. Had she not done so?

  Chapter 3

  In the absence of garden torches, Tobias strolled only as far as the lights from the house lit the path. He turned and looked back at the house, his eyes immediately drawn to a figure in the window on the second story.

  Miss Prentice! Though he could not see her face, her dark hair was highlighted by the candlelight in the room, and he felt certain it was she. She quickly moved out of sight and drew dark curtains across the window.

  Aunt Mimi had not been incorrect.

  “I am so pleased that you and Cora will finally meet. You will like her very much,” she had said on the drive to Harrington Hall.

  “I hope to,” he had said unwittingly.

  “Tobias, you must know that it has long been my fondest dream that you and Cora should not only meet but perhaps form an attachment to one another.”

  Tobias stared at his aunt for a long moment, almost uncomprehendingly.

  “Aunt Mimi,” he begun.

  She raised her hand.

  “No, let me finish. I know both of you intimately, and I believe you would do well together. You have said you do not wish to marry, Tobias, but you really must. You cannot truly believe that you can let your estate pass to...whom?”

  Tobias had always managed to evade this particular issue. Yes, his estate—the house and farms in Hertfordshire. He had a townhouse in London, but he had bought that only last year, and it mattered little to him if it fell away from his holdings. It was the house and farms in Hertfordshire near his godmother’s home, leased since his parents died, which would fall to the realm if he did not name an heir...or produce one himself.

  “I do not know,” he murmured. “At the moment, I can think of little else other than that you are attempting to find me a bride though you know of my aversion to marriage.”

  “Not simply any bride, Tobias! Cora is as dear to me as you. You two would suit so well, both of you bookish and shy. If only you would give the matter some thought. Do not say no outright.”

  “I am afraid there is little to consider. The answer is no,” Tobias said, a bit mulishly. “I am sorry, Aunt Mimi, but no.”

  “Not until you give me one good reason why you do not wish to marry.”

  Tobias fell silent. He truly had no good reason not to marry. He simply did not want to engage in the myriad of social events that women seemed drawn to. His aunt Mimi was no exception, enjoying dinners and dances, card parties and fetes. He much preferred a quiet life in the country with his books, his horse and Aunt Mimi’s dogs.

  “My reasons might seem very feeble to you, Aunt Mimi. Even as I contemplate them, they seem rather foolish and self-serving, but I remain adamant that I do not wish to marry.”

  “Let me be the judge of what I think is feeble, my dear.”

  Tobias sighed and attempted to articulate his reasoning.

  “I do not care for society, Aunt Mimi. I wish to live a simple life in the country, perhaps on my estate when the lease ends. My aunt and uncle did not go about much, and I grew used to that lifestyle. I do remember that my parents enjoyed attending many festivities, as you do yourself, but it seemed they were often gone, spending little time at home.”

  Aunt Mimi studied him for a moment.

  “They were a lovely couple, Tobias. I still miss them.”

  “Yes, I know they were,” he said, “and I miss them as well. I missed them when they were alive.”

  She sighed, and he regretted his moment of weakness. He rarely discussed his feelings about his parents.

  “Yes, perhaps they did gad about a bit too much, leaving you in the hands of your nanny and tutors. But they loved you very much, Tobias.”

  “I know, Aunt Mimi.” Tobias turned to look out of the carriage into the darkness. He had said more than he wished and desired that the subject be closed.

  Now, several hours later, he gazed up at Miss Prentice’s window. The curtain twitched, and he saw her dark head once more as she peeped out. Without understanding his motives, he bent at the waist to bid her good-night once again, or perhaps to acknowledge that she watched him. The curtain dropped, and she vanished.

  With a sigh, Tobias returned to the ballroom with little enthusiasm.

  He declined to dance, blithely ignoring his aunt’s disapproval of his rudeness in doing so. As soon as he could make good his escape, he returned to the library to peruse Lord Hayes’s books, turning often when he thought he heard footsteps at the door, and he spent the rest of the evening wondering about Miss Cora Prentice—what sort of books she liked to read, whether she had any favorite pets and why she truly did not wish to marry. For he did not find credence in her postulation that she wished only to live in the country and read books in her garden. No young women truly wanted such an ideal life of quiet.

  After some hours, he consulted his watch and decided the dance must surely be nearing its end. He returned to the ballroom to collect Aunt Mimi, and together they bid Lord and Lady Hayes good-night.

  “I am sorry that Cora was taken ill,” Lady Hayes said to Aunt Mimi. She favored Tobias with a bright smile, and he blinked. A handsome woman indeed with dark hair and blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, Miss Prentice favored her mother quite a bit, with the exception of her height. The top of Miss Prentice’s head came to about the middle button of his coat.

  “Yes, I was sorry to hear that as well,” Aunt Mimi said. “If you have no objection, Tobias and I will call upon you and Cora tomorrow.”

  A smile passed across Lady Hayes’s face, and she cast a sympathetic glance in Tobias’s direction. Tobias pressed his lips together but said nothing. His aunt was one very determined woman!

  “That would be lovely, Aunt Mimi,” Lady Hayes said. “I am certain Cora will be well by morning.”

  Aunt Mimi beamed and took Tobias’s arm as he led her from the house.

  “You must think I did not hear or understand your desire to live a reclusive life, my dear Tobias, and that I am attempting to force you into society, but that is the furthest thing from my mind, truly. I simply wish to ascertain for myself Cora’s state of health, and I feel certain you would not want me to gallivant about the countryside alone at my advanced age.”

  Tobias handed her up into her carriage.

  “No, certainly not, Aunt, though I am not certain who accompanies you when I am not here.”

  She patted his arm as he climbed in opposite her.

  “No one, my dear. Therefore, I knew you must not mind.”

  Tobias could not argue. Not only would it not be seemly, Aunt Mimi was dear to his heart. He knew she was still intent on making a match between Miss Prentice and himself, and to his surprise, he had little desire to thwart his godmother’s plans. Well, perhaps just a little, but so as to be almost insignificant.

  ****

  The following day, they sallied forth in the carriage and presented themselves at Harrington Hall. A maid ushered them into a charming room brightly decorated with flowered prints and furnishings, but it was to Miss Prentice’s person, primly sitting on the edge of a sofa, that Tobias’s eyes were drawn. Lovely in a pale-pink frock and matching shawl, Miss Prentice, along with Lady Hayes, rose to curtsey, and Tobias bowed low before taking a seat across from Miss Prentice while Aunt Mimi joined the ladies on the sofa.

  “My dear Cora, you look well rested. Your cheeks are quite rosy. I trust you are feeling better?” Aunt Mimi asked, clasping one of Miss Prentice’s small hands in her own.

  “Yes, I am much better, thank you, Aunt Mimi. It was just a headache.”

  “Good,” Aunt Mimi said.

  Tobias watched Miss Prentice and noted that she seemed to avoid his gaze. Did she still harbor some anger toward him? He thought they had been on amicable terms when they parted in the library. But what did he know? He knew nothing of women and understood them even less. His hands itched to pick up a book and study its spine, but no book lay conveniently nearby, so he rested one elbow upon the arm
of his chair and covered the lower half of his mouth.

  Miss Prentice did glance at him then, and he dropped his hand to smile, but she looked away again. He drew in a deep breath and listened to the cordial, if undistinguished, conversation between Lady Hayes and Aunt Mimi, wishing he had the courage to suggest a walk in the garden. But he lacked that courage and, in fact, had never invited a young woman to walk anywhere.

  “Cora, my dear, I have some pressing matters to discuss with your mother, and I wonder if you could take Tobias into the garden for a spell.”

  Tobias rose quickly. Aunt Mimi, a most resolute woman, had facilitated what he wanted. The expression of alarm on Miss Prentice’s face startled him, and on the point of offering her his arm, he hesitated.

  “Yes, do go. Thank you, Cora,” her mother insisted.

  Without a word, Miss Prentice rose and slipped her hand under Tobias’s arm. She averted her eyes from him and led him toward a doorway on the far side of the room that opened onto a lovely garden.

  Once outside, she dropped her hand and stopped to stare up at him with glittering eyes.

  “Are you going to do anything about this?” she demanded.

  “About what?” he asked, taken aback.

  “About Aunt Mimi attempting to make a match between us. I thought we were agreed neither of us wanted that!”

  Tobias clasped his hands behind his back.

  “And you think I can dissuade her?” he asked.

  “Probably better than I,” Miss Prentice muttered. She turned to march down a path, and Tobias followed, quickly catching up to her given his longer stride.

  “Our aunt is a very determined woman,” he said. “I think it is best we simply allow her to think she is getting her way until she discovers that she has not.”

  Miss Prentice looked up from her seeming fascination with the gravel on the path.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Let her believe she has made the match, and perhaps she will soon set her sights on some other project.”