Courting Constance (Fountain of Love)

by Osbourne, Kirsten

  Lady Lily laughed. “I married Lord Christopher.” She smiled at the younger girl. “I was hoping I could take you out to tea. Would your employer mind?”

  Alice bit her lip. “I don’t know. She doesn’t usually want us leaving the store in the middle of the day.”

  “Then come for dinner, but you need to bring a companion. I’ll send the coach for you, of course, but I don’t want you even getting out of a coach and going into your room at night without someone with you.” Lady Lily looked at Constance. “Will you come?”

  Alice smiled, and walked to stand beside Constance. “This is my friend and roommate, Constance. She would love to come with me.”

  Constance looked at the younger girl. “I don’t want to be an imposition. I can ride out with you and wait in the coach if you’d like.”

  Lady Lily frowned. “You will do no such thing. I’ll send the coach for you at six. The shop is closed at five, isn’t it?”

  Alice nodded. “It is. Oh, I can’t wait to catch up with you and Lord Christopher. All of us always hoped you’d marry, you know.”

  Lily blushed slightly. “I always hoped we would too.” She pushed Alice toward the back. “Get back to work so you don’t get into trouble, and I’ll see you this evening.”

  Alice hurried to the back of the shop and left Lily alone with Constance. “What type of dress are you looking for?” Constance asked, all business.

  Lily sighed. “I don’t know. All of my dresses have been taken out as much as they can be, and I’m ready for something different. Something in cotton that I can work in easily.”

  Constance looked at the other woman with surprise on her face. “Work? Surely you don’t work.”

  Lily laughed. “I work with the orphans and have for years. That’s how I know Alice.”

  Constance smiled, understanding then. “Until a couple of weeks ago, I was a companion for Lady Graves. Her land bordered the orphanages. I used to sit by the stream there and watch the children when I could.”

  Lily’s eyes brightened. “I think I’ve seen you there. I lived on the other side of the orphanage from Lady Graves. I was Lily Marsgate until I married.”

  “Oh! I know of your family.” Of course, everyone in the county did. Her brother was the Earl of Marsgate, the highest ranked gentleman in the area. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Lily smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you as well. I’m glad Alice has someone staying with her now. She never liked being alone. She always had one of the younger orphans with her.”

  “Well, I look forward to talking with you this evening.” Constance changed the topic back to the dresses Lily was ordering, and between them they found two that could easily be taken in after the baby was born and still look stylish.

  Lily sighed. “I don’t know why I bother worrying about that, though. With as quickly as I got pregnant with this one, I think I’m going to spend the next fifteen years or so carrying babies.”

  Constance looked at the other woman with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d said that to her. A moment later, a male head popped into the shop. “Lily? Are you almost finished?”

  Lily sighed. “I’ll be finished in a moment, Kit. I invited Alice and her roommate for dinner.”

  Kit shrugged. “What’s two more?” He saw that Lily was the only customer in the shop and stepped in behind her, his hands automatically stroking her shoulders. “I have work to do when you finally finish shopping, you know.” His words were harsh, but the look of love he had for his wife made Constance smile. That’s what she wanted. She didn’t care if the man in her life was a farmer or a king. She wanted a man who loved her the way Kit obviously loved Lily.

  Chapter Two

  Constance and Alice waited outside the shop for the coach that evening, and Alice talked about Lady Lily. “She was so good to us orphans. She was there every day and helped with meals and brought us all gifts.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “I had never in my life had a toy that was just mine before Lady Lily. She and her maid made dolls for each of us girls, and they brought little toy soldiers and horses for the boys. It made us feel so loved.”

  Constance smile. “She sounds like a good woman.”

  “Oh, she is. You’re going to love her.” Alice was practically bouncing up and down with her excitement. “I can’t believe she came to the shop just to see me.” She saw the coach slowly rolling to a stop and hurried over, scrambling up before the coachman had a chance to put down the steps.

  Constance waited, having ridden in a coach many times during her childhood. She understood manners a great deal better than young Alice ever would.

  When they reached the house, Constance was surprised it wasn’t larger than it was. Lord Christopher must not be an earl like Lady Lily’s brother. Not that it mattered to Constance, because she had never lived in a house even close to that size.

  Lily invited them both in and they sat in the small parlor as if she entertained girls who worked in dress shops every day. While they waited for their meal, the three talked about the baby that was coming, and Lily said she wanted some special clothes made. She looked at Alice. “That’s one of the reasons I came to see you. I remember how skilled you are with a needle and thought maybe you could use the extra money.”

  Alice nodded eagerly. “I would love to, but you don’t have to pay me. You’ve done so much for me. Let me just do it as a gift for the baby.” She smiled at Lily’s stomach. “When did you and Lord Christopher marry? And why didn’t I know about it?”

  Lily blushed. “We married last month.”

  Alice’s mouth dropped open. “But…last month?”

  Constance could see both women were uncomfortable with the topic and quickly changed the subject. “Are you hoping for a boy?”

  Lily nodded. “I think so. I would love to have a little girl who I could teach to climb trees, but Kit needs a little boy to inherit.” She shrugged. “He was third in line and ended up being the Viscount, so we should probably have a whole passel of boys before we start on girls.”

  Constance grinned. “You want to teach little girls to climb trees?” She was certain she must have heard incorrectly.

  “Oh yes. I met Kit when I was six and sitting in a tree as he wandered down a path on the grounds of my father’s estate.”

  “It sounds like a fascinating story.” Constance didn’t feel like she knew the other woman well enough to ask, but hoped she’d share it.

  “Oh, it is. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Lily looked up as the butler came to the door of the parlor. “Your brother is here, Lady Lily.”

  Lily got to her feet slowly, her belly slowing her down. She hurried across the room to hug her brother tightly. “Charles, you came! I wasn’t certain you’d make it.”

  Charles hugged Lily close. “Of course, I made it. My favorite sister asked me to dinner, so I’m here for dinner.”

  Lily smiled at him. “I’m your only sister.”

  “That will never stop me from accepting your invitation.” He looked at the women seated on the small sofa. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friends?”

  Lily smiled. “Charles, this is Alice, she was one of the orphans, but she works at the dress shop in town now.”

  Charles nodded his head regally. “So nice to meet you, Alice.”

  Alice smiled at the man. “It’s nice to meet you too. We were all thankful that you allowed Lady Lily to spend so much time with us.”

  Charles tilted his head to the side studying his sister. “Yes, it was kind of me wasn’t it?”

  Lily rolled her eyes and swatted at Charles’s arm. “And her friend there is Constance. She was a companion to Lady Graves before her death.”

  Charles nodded at Constance. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Constance stared at the man, her heart skipping a beat. It was the man on the horse. “Thank you,” she mumbled softly. She couldn’t believe he was right there in front of her. She’d wanted to meet him for years, and suddenly, whe
n circumstances should have made it impossible for them to ever cross paths, he was there.

  Charles looked at Constance. “You look familiar.”

  Constance blushed, not willing to tell him where he’d seen her. “I shouldn’t. I’ve been a companion for Lady Graves for six years, and before that I was just a daughter of a poor country squire. We never had occasion to meet.” His eyes were just as brown as she’d imagined they would be. She hoped her face didn’t have a worshipful look on it, because that’s how she felt toward him.

  “Have you always lived in Devon?” he asked, obviously still trying to figure out where he knew her from.

  She nodded. “My entire life.”

  He shook his head. “I know I’ve seen you. It will come to me eventually.” He turned to Lily. “So we’re having dinner with a former orphan who happens to work in a dress shop. I love you for that.”

  Lily grinned and shrugged. “Honestly? I forgot that I’d invited you when I invited them. You don’t mind, though, right?”

  “Of course not.” He smiled at the two women on the couch. “Our numbers are uneven, so I’ll have to escort you both.”

  Constance shook her head. “No, just escort Alice.” She knew the younger girl would get a thrill from being escorted to dinner by an earl.

  He shook his head adamantly. “I couldn’t do that! If I escort her, I have to escort you as well.” He grinned down at her. “I have two arms!”

  Constance nodded, giving in. “That sounds fine then.” She knew they’d make a funny group, but what did it matter? It was just the five of them, and obviously Lady Lily and Lord Christopher knew Lord Charles was odd.

  Lord Christopher came into the room then and stood beside Lily. He held his hand out to shake Charles’s. “How are things at Marsgate?”

  Charles shrugged. “Same as usual. I think I’ve finally convinced James that he can come home from Scotland.”

  “Good. Lily will be pleased to see him.”

  The butler stepped into the room then to announce dinner was ready. Kit took Lily into dinner, and Charles followed with Constance on one arm and Alice on the other.

  As soon as Constance touched Charles’s arm, she felt as if a jolt of electricity shot through her. What was it about this man that made her feel so strongly?

  Charles looked down at Constance with surprise. Who was this woman, and how did he know her? He felt as if he’d met her before, and he needed to know how. She was a beauty, and he wanted nothing more than to get to know her better. Would she agree to him taking her home that evening?

  All through dinner, Charles watched Constance, and she watched her food, not daring to look up. She didn’t want him to realize that she’d been watching him for years. It would be humiliating for him to know he’d taken on the role of her dream man.

  Charles had never felt so attracted to a woman in his life. What was it about the beauty sitting at his sister’s table? If he hadn’t known better, he’d have assumed that she was a member of the nobility. Her manners and her motions imitated the upper class perfectly. He so badly wanted to get to know her better. “Who is your father?” he asked.

  Constance looked up at Charles in surprise. “He was Stanley Smythe. He died when I was sixteen.”

  “Is that how you became a companion?”

  She nodded. “When he and my mother died, I needed somewhere to go, and Lady Graves offered me the job. She knew my father.”

  He frowned. “You had no other family?” At sixteen? How could anyone have been stuck with that old woman at such a tender age?

  “No. It was just my parents and me.” She brought another spoonful of soup to her lips, wondering why he was asking her so many questions. “I didn’t end up in an orphanage.” She looked at Alice and smiled at the younger girl who was in a conversation with Lily and Kit.

  He frowned. “I knew Lady Graves. You may have been better off in an orphanage. She wasn’t the most…nurturing woman I ever met.”

  Constance chuckled. “No, nurturing was not one of her qualities. She did pay me a steady wage and give me food and shelter, and I shall be forever grateful to her for that. Not many people would have taken on a sixteen year old companion.”

  “What are you doing now?” Charles hoped she was between positions. He could find something for her to do. He needed to keep her close, however that could happen.

  “I’m working at the same dress shop as Alice. The owner put me at the front desk because my accent is more genteel, and she’s hoping it will bring in more customers.” She didn’t add that the woman was hoping for a higher class of clientele than she was used to, because the words were implied.

  “I see.” He leaned back in his chair as his soup was taken from him and replaced with the main course. “How do you like working there?”

  “Oh, it’s nice. I get regular breaks, and I have my evenings all to myself. I have no complaints at all.”

  Her words told him a lot about what life had been like for her under Lady Graves’s roof. “You’re happy there?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d say happy, but I’m content. I have work that I’m good at, and no one is yelling at me. It’s a good life for someone in my position.” She nodded to Alice. “I even have a room behind the store that I share with Alice.”

  Charles closed his eyes. The picture she painted for him was grim. She’d been raised to be of a higher class than she was living in, and he wondered that she didn’t rage about the unfairness of the world. Instead, she calmly accepted that she was doing what she needed to do. He couldn’t help but admire her for that. He thought about positions he had in his house that he could offer her. He knew there was nothing that was comparable to being a companion, though. “Wouldn’t you rather be a lady’s companion again? Or a governess?” He could picture her with a child on her lap, smiling into the child’s eyes.

  “I have no references. My only employer has died, so I don’t have a way of finding another position like that. I don’t need more than I have.” The last words were a reminder for herself. Every time she looked at Lord Charles, she wanted a great deal more than she had.

  He sighed. He didn’t agree with her at all. “Will you let me see you home this evening?” he asked. He wanted to make her an offer. It wasn’t one he could make in front of his sister, but it was one that would make him very happy and would get her away from the life she was living.

  She shook her head with a smile. “I can’t. I was only invited this evening so that Alice wouldn’t have to be out alone at night. I need to accompany her home.”

  He sighed. He’d let her go for now, but he’d find out where she worked and look in on her the next day. He had to talk to her alone if at all possible.

  Constance looked back down at her food. What was going through his mind? She’d never had a man show so much interest in her before. He was an earl. There was no way he could be interested in her romantically, could he? As much as she wanted to believe he was, she couldn’t. She had a firm grasp on reality, and she knew that no earl could ever be interested in her.

  *****

  Charles had to get to know her better. He didn’t know what it was about Constance Smythe, but he was definitely smitten. If she was of the nobility he would be at her father’s door begging for her hand in marriage. As it was, he had no idea what he should do.

  He knew where the seamstress shop was. If he could go there, he could get to know her. Ask her…what? His father had pounded into his head for years that he needed to marry the daughter of an earl or a duke. “A Marsgate never marries beneath him.”

  H had to have her, though. How could he live the rest of his life without her face smiling at him in the mornings? He’d get to know her and ask her to be his mistress. He cringed at the words even as he thought them. He was going to ask the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with to be his mistress? If she slapped him in the face, it would be nothing less than he deserved. He couldn’t not ask, though. It was better than
being alone for the rest of his life. Wasn’t it? It had to be.

  Chapter Three

  When the bell over the shop door tinkled the following morning, Constance automatically looked up and smiled her greeting. She froze when she saw it was Charles standing before her. What was he doing here? He didn’t even have a wife to buy dresses for. “How can I help you, my lord?”

  Charles leaned on the counter in front of her. “May I take you to lunch today?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t go to lunch with you.” How could he think she would? “You can’t be seen with a shop girl. You’re an earl!”

  He shrugged. “Being an earl means that I can be seen with whomever I choose to be seen with. In London it might be a problem, but not here in Devon.” He took her hand in his. “Please, Constance, have lunch with me. I want to get to know you better.”

  “I can’t.” She turned from him and put the orders received that morning into the basket that was meant for the seamstresses. If she got to know him better, she knew she would just fall deeper in love with him. Her heart was already aching for him and she barely knew him. Getting to know him better was the last thing she should do.

  “Then meet me after work. I want to talk to you.” His voice was begging her to do as he wanted.

  She shook her head. “I can’t.”

  He studied her for a moment before taking the book of dresses off the counter. “I want to order five dresses please.” The words were loud and rang out through the shop.

  Constance turned back to face him. “And who are you buying them for, my lord?” Five dresses? Mrs. Jackson would be thrilled for the order, but why would he order them?

  He shrugged. “For anyone who needs dresses, I suppose. If you’ll only talk to me as part of your work day, then you can sell me some dresses. I’ll buy them for you.”