Improper Miss Darling

by Gail Whitiker

  ‘London!’

  ‘Yes. She said she couldn’t stay here a moment longer because the memories of you both here were too painful to be borne.’

  ‘But what about Father?’

  ‘Father will have to accept your decision. You’re a grown man, Peter,’ Alex said. ‘And you’re not the first-born son and heir. You have the freedom to live your life as you choose and you have a lady out there who loves you to distraction.’

  ‘But you’re right about one thing,’ Peter said. ‘I’ll have no money. How can I support Linette without that? I’ll certainly have to let Ellingsworth go.’

  ‘Not necessarily. I’ve been giving some thought to acquiring a country property and I find I like Ellingsworth very much,’ Alex said. ‘I could take over the payments on the house and you and Linette could reside there until you found something that would provide you with an income. I’m sure Mr Tufton could be applied to for information. Perhaps he knows of a living that might be available in the area. In the interim, I will pay your expenses and provide for the two of you—’

  ‘No! It is too much, Alex!’

  ‘It is not too much. You are my brother and I love you. Consider it a wedding present, if you like. But I want to do this for you and Linette.’

  ‘But what if Father threatens to disinherit you?’

  ‘He can’t. I am his legitimate heir. He would hardly disinherit me over my efforts at helping my brother.’ He might for the other thing he intended to do, Alex thought narrowly, but he couldn’t worry about that yet. ‘However, if it makes you feel any better, I will do everything I can to make Father see that this is the right thing to do. I know Mother will back me up and hopefully between the two of us we can bring him around.’

  ‘And if you can’t?’

  ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, go and find Linette and tell her the two of you are going to be married. Just don’t mention anything to Father yet.’

  ‘But I don’t see how—’

  ‘Trust me, Peter,’ Alex said. ‘I’ll be returning to London today as well. There are a few other things I need to take care of. But believe me when I say that I am doing what needs to be done and that, by the time the dust clears, matters will have been settled for the best.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alex had visited the stately home of the Earl and Countess of Leyland and their daughter many times in the past, but never had he expected to be paying a call of this nature. Within minutes of arriving, he was shown into the music room where Glynnis was practising the piano. ‘Alex!’ She rose immediately to greet him. ‘I didn’t know you were back in London.’

  ‘I’ve only just arrived.’ He crossed the room to kiss her cheek, then stood back to look at her through the eyes of a man newly awakened to the subtleties of love. She was as beautiful as ever, but for the first time, he saw the shadow across her smile and realised her eyes were curiously flat. ‘How have you been?’

  ‘Well. Mama has been keeping me very busy with plans for the wedding.’ She bid him sit down. ‘Shall I ring for refreshments?’

  ‘No, I won’t stay long. I’ve come to talk to you, Glyn. There’s something I have to say.’

  Her smile was uncertain. ‘It sounds serious.’

  ‘It is. Come, sit down beside me.’

  She settled herself on the loveseat by his side and, for a moment, he just looked at her, seeing in her face that of the girl he had grown up with. He remembered laughing with her in the past, the joy in her eyes so apparent, so fresh. He hadn’t seen that joy once during their time together at Ellingsworth. Not even when he had asked her to marry him.

  How close they had come to making a dreadful mistake by going ahead with a marriage to which neither of them was emotionally committed. ‘Glyn, there’s something I have to tell you,’ he began, ‘and it’s not going to be easy—’

  ‘Say what you must, Alex,’ Glynnis interrupted. ‘You and I have always been honest with one another.’

  ‘Have we?’

  He knew the question caught her off guard. He saw the blood rush to her cheeks and watched her eyes fall. ‘Well, as honest as two people can be, I suppose.’

  He shook his head and, reaching over, took hold of both of her hands. ‘We haven’t been honest at all, Glyn. And I think…no, I know that it’s imperative that we be honest with each other now. Before we go any further down this road.’

  A tiny line appeared between her brows. ‘I’m not sure I understand.’

  ‘Glynnis, do you love me?’

  Her eyes widened in surprise. ‘Surely you know the answer to that.’

  ‘I’m not sure I do. And until this moment, I’m not sure it mattered. But it matters now and I need you to be completely honest with me.’ When she still said nothing, Alex sighed. ‘Would it make it easier if I told you…I wasn’t in love with you?’

  It was a harsh thing to say and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. But he owed it to both of them to be brutally honest. Especially in light of what he was about to tell her. ‘Well?’

  Slowly, Glynnis pulled her hands free. She stood up and walked back towards the piano. ‘Why are you telling me this now? We are…engaged to be married.’

  ‘Yes, we are. But we aren’t married yet. And given the events of the last few weeks—’

  ‘Events?’ She glanced at him over her shoulder. ‘What events?’

  ‘My brother’s engagement to Linette Darling. Our meeting the rest of her family.’

  Falling in love with Emma…

  Glynnis turned, and for a moment, he saw a flicker of alarm in her eyes. ‘What has meeting the rest of her family to do with anything?’

  Alex’s gaze narrowed. Was it just his imagination or did her reaction to that one remark seem a little out of keeping with the importance of the comment? ‘It has a lot to do with everything.’ He slowly stood up and went to stand beside her. ‘Because as hard as it is for me to say this, it’s only fair that we both face the fact that…my brother is not the only one to have fallen in love with a member of the Darling family.’

  Her face went white, her gasp echoing around the room. ‘Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Truly. I never even meant that you should find out. It just happened. I was s-sitting for the portrait and we began talking and—’

  ‘The portrait,’ Alex said, grasping hold of something that might explain what she was talking about. ‘Towbridge mentioned something about a portrait.’

  Her eyes opened wide. ‘He did?’

  ‘Yes. He said if ever he’d seen a picture of a woman in love—’

  ‘Oh God, he said that? Then you’ve known all along!’ Glynnis said miserably. ‘I was stupid to think word wouldn’t get around.’

  And then to his astonishment, she burst into tears.

  Alex was dumbfounded. He had never seen Glynnis cry before. Except that one time when she had fallen out of a tree and broken her arm. Other than that, she had always been one of the most stoic and controlled women of his acquaintance. And yet here she was, weeping as though her heart were breaking. Had he truly misread the situation so badly? Was she so deeply in love with him that the thought of losing him to Emma truly had broken her heart…’Glynnis, I—’

  And then just as abruptly, he remembered something else she had said. I never even meant that you should find out…

  ‘Glynnis, what exactly are you trying to tell me?’

  For a moment, she gazed at him, her lips pressed tightly together as though afraid to say the words. Then, shaking her head, she sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Alex. I never meant to fall in love with him. But as the days passed and I came to know him better, I realised I had feelings for him that went far beyond anything I should have felt for him, and, well, one thing led to another and before I knew it, it was…too late.’

  Alex was very nearly speechless. She had fallen in love…with another man? ‘Glynnis, I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t know who or what you’re talking about.’
/>   ‘But you just said Tom told you about the painting. And that…you knew I was…in love with a member of the Darling family,’ she whispered.

  ‘No. I said someone was in love with a member of the Darling family,’ Alex said. ‘I didn’t say or suggest it was you.’

  She blanched. ‘You didn’t?’

  ‘No. I was trying to tell you that it was me. I fell in love,’ he said quietly. ‘With Emma Darling.’

  ‘Emma!’ Glynnis whispered. ‘You’re in love…with Emma Darling?’

  ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.’

  And then, to his astonishment, her expression altered and she actually started to laugh. ‘Oh, Alex, this is truly madness! We are both beyond help, do you know that?’ She wiped her eyes, took a moment to recover herself, and then said sadly, ‘Then you really didn’t know.’

  ‘Know what?’

  ‘That I am in love, too. With Ridley Darling.’

  Ridley Darling. It took a moment for the words to sink in. ‘You’re in love…with Emma’s brother?’

  She nodded.

  ‘The painter?’

  She nodded again. ‘Idiotic, isn’t it?’

  ‘I don’t know whether to be shocked or relieved,’ he said. ‘I don’t suppose you have any brandy in here.’

  ‘As a matter of fact…’ Glynnis started towards a small cabinet in the corner and, opening the door, drew out a decanter and two glasses. She tried to pull out the stopper, but her hand was shaking so badly that Alex had to take over.

  ‘I think you’d best leave that to me. I hate to see even a drop of good brandy wasted.’ He filled the two glasses and handed her one. ‘But we both need a bit of a bracer. Cheers.’

  ‘Cheers.’ They downed the brandy, after which Glynnis pressed a hand to her heart. ‘Goodness! That certainly clears the mind.’

  ‘Excellent shock therapy,’ Alex agreed, refilling his glass. He held up the decanter, but Glynnis quickly shook her head.

  ‘Another one of those and I won’t have my wits about me. And I think I need to know exactly what we are both saying.’

  They were silent, gazing at one another as though seeing each other for the first time. ‘You’re in love with Emma Darling?’ Glynnis said finally. ‘Truly?’

  ‘That’s what I came here to tell you,’ Alex said softly. Then he laughed. ‘I thought it was going to be a shattering revelation. As it turns out, it is only one of many.’

  Glynnis bit her lip. ‘Oh, Alex, I cannot believe this has happened to us of all people. You and I have always believed in the sensible approach to marriage. We both agreed that to make such an important decision based on sentiment was the height of stupidity. And yet, look what’s happened. We were each promised to the right person, only to fall in love with the wrong one.’ She stared at him in bewilderment. ‘How could we possibly have been so mistaken?’

  ‘Because we didn’t know any better,’ Alex said. ‘Neither of us ever expected to fall in love.’

  ‘Does she know?’

  Alex shook his head. ‘I haven’t told her in so many words,’ he admitted. ‘And given what I did just before I left, it may not matter.’ In a few words, he told Glynnis of the letter he had written to Linette, of Linette’s reaction to it, and of Emma’s response to him as a result.

  ‘But never mind me,’ he said. ‘What about Ridley Darling? Does he know how you feel about him? More importantly, does he feel the same way about you?’ Glynnis blushed, but Alex saw the happiness in her eyes. ‘I see that he does.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Alex. I still feel so strange talking to you about this, but…yes, he loves me. I didn’t know for certain until the day I was leaving Ellingsworth. We’d had a terrible fight in London. Over the painting. That’s why it was so difficult for us when we met at the ball. I’m sure you noticed.’

  ‘I was aware of a certain tension between you,’ Alex admitted. ‘But we were all a little on edge that night. I put it down to the meeting between Father and Linette.’

  ‘That didn’t help,’ Glynnis acknowledged, ‘but that was entirely separate from what Ridley and I were going through. You see, that was the first time we had seen each other since we parted in London.’

  And then she told him what had happened with regard to the painting and to her relationship with Ridley as a result.

  ‘So you thought it was Tom Towbridge who had exposed you.’

  ‘I could think of no other way you would find out. He was the only one who saw the painting and I was sure he recognised the expression of love on my face,’ Glynnis said simply. ‘Naturally, my guilty conscience led me to believe he would put it down to my feelings for Ridley and tell you the same.’

  ‘He did nothing of the kind,’ Alex said. ‘He simply said he hoped he would be lucky enough to meet a woman one day who loved him as much as you obviously loved me. So he did recognise the expression on your face, Glynnis. He simply attributed the reason for it being there to me.’

  ‘Oh, Alex. This a fine mess we’ve landed ourselves in,’ Glynnis murmured. ‘What are we going to do about it?’

  ‘Well, we are going to start by releasing each other from our promises,’ Alex said, taking her hand and leading her back to the loveseat. ‘And then you are going to tell Ridley Darling that you love him and that he has to marry you. Or he will have me to answer to.’

  But Glynnis was already shaking her head. ‘There’s no point. Father won’t allow me to marry Ridley. He’s more of a stickler for propriety than your father. He would never allow me to marry so far beneath me. And if I don’t marry you, he’ll only push me in the direction of someone else with a title as good as or better than yours.’

  ‘But you’re in love with Ridley,’ Alex said softly.

  ‘Yes, and you’re in love with Emma. But you haven’t said you’re going to ride back to Little Moreton and ask her to marry you.’

  ‘I’m not even sure she would have me.’

  ‘You’ll never know if you don’t ask.’

  Alex looked at her and, for the first time, felt a fleeting moment of regret that he hadn’t been able to feel more than friendship for her. ‘You are a very special lady, Glynnis. Darling’s a lucky man.’

  She reached out her hand and gently caressed his cheek. ‘I think the problem with us, Alex, was that we were always such good friends. You looked out for me and I did my best to protect you from the girls who were after you for all the wrong reasons. Somehow in the midst of all that, we developed feelings for one another that were anything but romantic. You are truly the best of men and I admire you tremendously, but…’

  ‘You don’t love me,’ Alex finished softly.

  She shook her head. ‘Not in the way a woman should love the man who would be her husband. I didn’t have the courage to tell you that before. And I would have married you, rather than disappoint everyone else. I thought perhaps you did care for me, in that way. But it would have been like marrying my brother.’

  He snorted. ‘That would have made lovemaking decidedly uncomfortable.’

  ‘Oh, Lord!’ Her cheeks flushed crimson, but then she started to laugh. ‘Yes, it would, wouldn’t it.’ And then they laughed together as the truth of the situation hit them both. ‘So, what do we do now?’ she asked.

  Alex got up and said nothing for a moment. He hadn’t expected any of this, but now that they had cleared the air, the answers suddenly seemed obvious. ‘Glyn, would you consider leaving London if it meant you could be with Ridley Darling?’

  She looked up at him with an expression of surprise. ‘Probably, but Father would never approve—’

  ‘I didn’t say anything about your father approving. I asked if you would be willing to live somewhere other than London if it meant you could be Ridley’s wife.’

  She gazed at him in silence for a few minutes. Then, slowly, she nodded. ‘Yes, I would.’

  ‘Then that is what you must do.’ He walked back to where she sat and drew her to her feet. ‘You must contact Ridley and
tell him that I have released you from your promise and that you and he must make plans to marry as soon as possible.’

  ‘But how—?’

  ‘You are both of age. I will make arrangements for a special licence and will be present at the marriage to witness that everything is done legally and above board. Then you and Ridley can return to London as man and wife and present yourselves to your parents. Based on what your father says, you will go from there.’

  ‘What if he tells me to get out?’ Glynnis asked.

  ‘Then you will have to decide where you want to live,’ Alex said. ‘You have, I believe, an inheritance from your mother’s parents?’

  ‘Yes! I’d almost forgotten. Papa has always been so generous with my allowance, I’ve never had to draw upon it.’

  ‘And I believe Mr Darling has money of his own. From all I’ve heard, he is making quite a name for himself as a portraitist; once the scandal of this dies down, he will be in demand again. You, however, may have to reconcile yourself to the fact that you will never be received by good society again, especially if your father chooses not to recognise your marriage. But outside of London, there’s no reason why you can’t lead a very happy and fulfilled life. Most importantly, you will be with the man you love and I wager your father will eventually come round.’

  ‘I’m not so sure.’

  ‘I am. Your father adores you. He would cut out his heart rather than see you walk out of his life altogether. And I will do all I can to facilitate his acceptance. After all, he will blame me for it happening. Not you.’

  ‘But I do not wish him to have the wrong opinion of you, Alex,’ Glynnis said. ‘It is only fair that he knows I fell in love with someone else, too.’

  ‘Will that matter to him?’

  She slowly began to smile. ‘It may not matter to him, but it will to Mama. She turned down a duke’s proposal to marry my father, because she loved him and not the duke. She often tells me the story. I think, in her heart, she was always a little sad that you and I weren’t marrying for love.’

  ‘Then it sounds as though you’re already halfway there,’ Alex said. ‘Between your mother and myself, I’m sure we’ll be able to bring your father around. Especially once he meets Ridley. The man’s a charming rogue, but he’s likeable all the same.’