The Earl and His Lady_A Regency Romance

by Sally Britton

  Her gaze darting to Phillip, who had his arms folded and his eyes turned to the ground. Virginia nodded her assent. “Most certainly. We will come for lessons as often as you will give them.” She had the pleasure of seeing Phillip look up, surprise on his face.

  Had she not told him those would continue? Virginia’s heart fell. Perhaps that was one reason for his surliness.

  Thomas took her hand and bowed over it, murmuring his congratulations. His father did the same. In another moment, they were outside. The boys were helped into the barouche first, then Lucas climbed into the driver’s seat before reaching down to lift her inside.

  A different sort of conversation must now be had, for the children. The drive to their new home, though short, she hoped to pass pleasantly.

  Before she could say a word, however, Lucas began talking.

  “I’m looking forward to having you fine young gentlemen at Annesbury Park. I spent most of my growing-up time there, and it isn’t the same without boys running about the place.”

  Virginia turned sideways in her seat to see how this line of conversation went over. Phillip, with his arms crossed, glared down at his feet. Edward stared at the back of Lucas’s head curiously.

  “Did you like growing up there?” Edward asked.

  “I liked growing up at Heatherton Hall,” Phillip said before Lucas could answer his brother’s question.

  “I’m certain it is a wonderful place. Someday soon, I hope you will give me a tour. But for now, will you allow me to share my home with you? And would it help matters if I told you there is a secret passage in the second floor?”

  Edward’s eyes went as round as pie tins and Phillip’s gaze lifted briefly.

  Virginia folded her hands in her lap and raised her eyebrows at her sons.

  Phillip narrowed his green eyes. “Is there really a secret passage?”

  “There is. In fact, I don’t think I’ll show it to you. Half the fun of a secret passage is hunting for it, after all.” Lucas glanced her direction and dropped a slow wink. “I will show you everything else. We will confine ourselves to the house today, but there are gardens, stables, a lake, and a grove of the most magnificent trees.”

  When the boys said nothing, the earl added, a trifle absently. “There’s plenty for boys to do.”

  “What will Mama do?” Edward asked, regarding his mother with an almost pitying expression. “None of that sounds like what she likes.”

  Virginia folded her hands in her lap and answered with a cheerful tone. “I will do as I always have. I will tend to you, the house, and my own amusements.”

  Edward looked unconvinced. But then, sewing, hostessing, and playing the pianoforte did not rank high as amusement for children.

  “You’ll want to pay attention now,” the earl said, turning to speak over his shoulder. “We’re turning into the drive.”

  They turned off the country road and onto a lane. There was an open gate, with a small gatehouse nearby. Though Virginia barely glimpsed the ironwork, she could see the curls and twists were intricate. The lane itself, hard-packed earth, was lined with mature chestnut trees, stretching out every which way without ever quite touching their neighbors. They created a pleasant canopy over the path.

  A gradual bend in the road brought them out of the last of the trees and laid out, all at once, a sloping grassy hill. At the top of the hill sat the house, tall and stately, as though it surveyed all the rich green land around it with a sense of pride.

  A very tall, rectangular brick house, reminding her of a cat basking in the sunshine. From the main building, she could just make out a slightly lower roof attached, curling away to one side. As they neared it, she counted the number of windows and saw twenty, in white panes, at the front alone. The house rose to meet them, the green lawn stretching out in every direction.

  She half-turned again, thinking to see the boys’ reaction, but stilled when she saw Lucas watching her. His mouth was straight, his expression nearly unreadable, but his slate blue eyes held a different emotion. Not pride. Uncertainty?

  “It is one of the loveliest places I’ve ever seen. Which means there must be a defect in it somewhere. Perhaps the chimneys smoke terribly?”

  His cheek twitched but the smile did not appear. “I am afraid not. Most of them were redone in my father’s day. The house itself was built in 1756.”

  “That’s an old house,” Edward said, sounding genuinely impressed.

  “Ours is older. Built in 1658.” Phillip’s proud tone of voice did not get past Virginia. She offered an apologetic look to the earl.

  “It is, darling. But neither house needs to be better than the other. They are both lovely in their own way.”

  Her son grumbled something she did not quite catch and Virginia thought it best to ignore the comment.

  “We are lucky to be the caretakers of such important homes, full of history.” He nodded again at the house. “And see, I have many who help me to care for it, and they all wish to meet you.”

  Virginia saw the staff standing in two neat rows and wondered if anyone had been left inside or at the stables. There was a row of people who obviously worked outdoors, wearing browns and blacks with tanned faces and holding their hats respectfully. Then there were younger men in dark trousers and jackets, though they were not in full livery as the footmen were. Goodness, the six footmen were of equal height. Doubtless when she had a closer look, they would be close to identical in other aspects. Then there was the butler, the housekeeper, a row of maids in aprons of different colors, likely marking their duties, and kitchen staff in blue-striped dresses and white caps.

  “It’s like an army,” she whispered.

  Lucas chuckled and she felt her cheeks warm. She had not meant to speak the thought aloud. Her father had been an earl, with her unfeeling elder brother now occupying the title, but she knew they had never had so many servants at one estate.

  “They are your army now, my lady.” The horses stopped and a groom came forward to take the bridle of the lead animal. “And eager to meet you.” Virginia nodded and lifted her eyes to take in the height of the building again.

  The boys came out of the carriage first, then Lucas reached for her hand. No sooner had her feet touched the ground than introductions to the chief members of the staff were made. The head of the stables, the head gardener, the butler, the housekeeper, and the cook were introduced by name while the rest waited only to curtsy and bow in groups.

  For a brief moment, Virginia feared herself unequal to the task of seeing to the needs and work of such a crowd.

  You are an earl’s daughter, now a countess and a baroness. You were raised for this task.

  Reminding herself of those things, Virginia did not hesitate when Lucas offered his arm to escort her inside.

  Walking through the large white doors, Virginia’s first inclination was to stop and stare. How could she possibly be the new mistress to such beauty? The white marble floor was well polished, the walls were covered in rich tapestries and paintings, and the whole hall was filled with light from windows above and below. A staircase of stone, matching the floor, stretched upward in a graceful curve, while the landing boasted a magnificent railing where one could look down at the entry.

  She took off her bonnet, her gloves, and her shawl, giving them into the care of the butler. The man appeared nearly as old as the house itself, and every bit as stately.

  Virginia reached down for Edward’s and Phillip’s hands as the two stared in wonder at what must seem like a palace to them. When she looked to Lucas again, she realized he had offered his arm to her, as it dropped to his side in that instant.

  Lucas gave her an understanding smile and knelt before Edward. “Where shall we begin our tour, do you think?”

  Would he always be so kind to another man’s sons? She hoped so. She felt it would be so. Time would tell.

  Chapter Ten

  Lucas looked up from his newspaper when the door to the breakfast room opened. His wife o
f four days entered, wearing her customary gray. She had taken up her mourning colors as soon as she’d gone to dress for dinner the first evening in the house. He didn’t mind. Virginia showed a great deal of respect to her late husband, as was the man’s due, but seeing her in colors more suited to her beauty had naturally drawn his admiration.

  Which was why, of course, it was best she put the widow’s colors back on.

  “No tray for you, Virginia?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “I thought at first you were merely being polite, but now this has become a habit.”

  Her pale pink lips turned upward. “Of course I’m being polite, but I also like to be awake with the rest of the house. I’m still learning the routines and schedules and there are the boys to look after.” She went to her end of the table.

  “The morning post came.” He pointed to a tray and one of the footmen came forward to lift it and carry it to her. “There is something for you, sent over from the Gilberts.”

  She thanked the footman and took the paper, her eyebrows drawn down. “It is from Mr. Macon. I wonder if he wrote this before or after being informed of our marriage?” She did not say it spitefully, as he would almost expect, but with mere curiosity. She slid her finger beneath the seal and broke it while the footman brought dishes from the sideboard for her selection.

  “Some toast and eggs please,” she said absently, her eyes already on the page in her hand.

  The footman served her efficiently and stepped away, just as another servant stepped forward to fill her teacup. They had already begun to memorize her preferences, he knew, and it pleased him that she accepted the attention as a matter of course.

  Lucas watched as she read, not even trying to disguise it, as the contents of a letter from her brother-in-law must naturally be suspect. Watching the color drain from her face, leaving her a shade that nearly matched her dress, made his stomach clench. He almost stood. He almost went to her.

  But he waited. Despite their marriage, they were still little better than acquaintances.

  She looked up. “This was written before he was informed, I think. He demands to wait upon me and will be arriving at the Gilberts’ home tomorrow.”

  “We ought to warn them.”

  She stared at him. “That is the first thing you can think to say?” Her tone was not upset, only surprised.

  Lucas shrugged and sat back in his chair, hoping he looked as calm as he meant to. “I see no harm in his visit. Not anymore. Your sons are safe here, as my wards. The paperwork has already been completed by my solicitor and your very considerate barrister. He will come, we will inform him of what has occurred, and he will leave. Unless you wish to invite him to stay?”

  Virginia shook her head. “I risk sounding petty, but I would not want him as a guest under any roof where I resided. He made the last weeks of the baron’s time more difficult. They never got on. Mr. Macon is a bitter man, I’m afraid.”

  “Then he will not be a guest here. There is an inn down the road where he will do very well, if necessary.” He nodded to her plate. “Your eggs are getting cold, Virginia.”

  “I’m afraid I’m not very hungry anymore.”

  He frowned. She hardly ever ate more than a few mouthfuls of anything. Did that account for the sharpness of her features? Had she always been thus?

  “As you wish, of course, but I have it on good authority that Cook is doing her best to impress you.” He gestured with his chin to one of the footmen. “She has made the most delightful French pastries you’ve ever seen.”

  The footman took up a serving tray and brought it forward, allowing Virginia to see the sampling of iced, stuffed, and custarded pastries.

  Virginia hesitated, looking from her pitiful plate of eggs to the pastries. She finally took one, and though it was tiny he counted it a victory.

  He well remembered the weeks after Abigail’s death. He hadn’t wanted to touch food. His appetite had fled completely and it was not until his worried brother brought his attention to the problem that Lucas had realized it. His valet had been taking in the waists of his trousers, without saying a word.

  Virginia needed her health and strength, and as her husband he would see both restored to her.

  “What have you planned to do today?” he asked, trying to distract her from the letter and the fact that she was nibbling on a pastry. “I have my suggestions, of course. The boys were all over the grounds with Nurse Smythe yesterday, but you’ve yet to see more than the gardens. Would you care for a tour?”

  She smiled around a bite of pastry and swallowed before shaking her head. “I am conducting interviews today with the staff. I want to understand how the household works before I attempt to lead my army.”

  “A good plan. Gresham and Mrs. Hail will be happy to help. Gresham has been here for as long as I have memory.” Lucas put extra cheer into his words as he continued. “Perhaps you will allow me to take you on a tour tomorrow, after Mr. Macon intrudes upon us?”

  Though her eyes did not look entirely convinced, Virginia nodded. “As you wish, my lord.”

  “Virginia,” he said her name with a put-upon sigh. “Please. Call me Lucas. I hear my lord dozens of times a day, but rarely my own name.”

  She laughed, surprising him. The short burst of amusement gave him hope she was not always staid and proper. Virginia covered the laugh with her hand. “I am sorry, Lucas. You reminded me of myself with that comment.”

  Lucas raised one eyebrow and leaned forward, folding his hands beneath his chin. “Do tell, Virginia. You cannot leave it at that.”

  Her eyes lowered to her plate and she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It is nothing important. After Edward had started talking, he must’ve said Mama a hundred times a day. Phillip, too. And the servants called me my lady. Charles had gone away for a fortnight and when he returned, he did not say my name once for the first hour he was home. I finally begged him to do so, that I might hear it. I’d missed being Virginia those weeks he was away.” Her eyes darted up, meeting his gaze, and then lowered again. “I’m sorry. It must seem I am forever talking of before—”

  “I don’t mind.” He couldn’t let her regret her feelings. Could anyone understand them better than he? “You need never be concerned that bringing up Charles will do any harm to me or our conversation.”

  Virginia nodded, not looking at him again. She took her last bite of pastry and then tapped her napkin to her lips. She turned her attention to the footman nearest her, who continued looking stoically ahead. “Please give Cook my compliments. It was a delicious puff pastry, as light as air.” Then she stood. “Excuse me. I had better write the Gilberts.”

  “Of course.” He stood and watched her leave the room, then looked over his silent row of footmen. They did excellent impersonations of marble statues, but he wondered what the servants made of the relationship between him and their new countess.

  He took himself away rather than stay to contemplate the idea. He had his own correspondence to see to.

  ¤

  Virginia paced the length of the upstairs parlor. It was a comfortable place, spacious, decorated in gentle blues and ivory-hued furniture. She immediately felt at ease in such a soothing environment. But not at the moment. Nothing could’ve set her at ease, really, given the impending visit of her brother-in-law. She’d hardly slept the night before, for worrying over what she would say to him.

  Virginia twisted her wedding band around her finger and then looked down at it. It was the band Charles had given her. Lucas had asked, when they arranged their wedding, if she would like to keep it or wished for another. At the time, she said she would keep the one she had, though she took it off for him to place on her finger when the vicar came to that moment in the ceremony.

  She paused in her step and sat on the couch facing the door.

  Had that hurt his feelings? Why had she not considered it before? Had she slighted him when she kept the ring from her first husband?

  He hadn’t batted an eye and the service
had gone on, with him providing a ring for her to slip on his finger. Was it new or from his previous marriage?

  With Mr. Gerard Macon at her doorstep, now was not the time to become flustered over the issue. She took in a deep breath and prepared for her brother-in-law to enter the room.

  The door opened and she nearly jumped to her feet, but it was Lucas who stepped inside and shut it hastily behind him. He came striding across the deep green carpet of the formal parlor, reaching his hands out to her.

  Reflexively, she raised her hands to his. The warmth of his grasp surprised her, as did the gentle way he brought her hands together to hold them securely.

  “Virginia, you’ve turned white as wool. That will never do.” He gently squeezed her hands and some of his warmth went up into her arms, then into her cheeks as a blush. “That’s better. I have instructed Grisham to take his time showing Mr. Macon to this room. One of the benefits of an elderly butler is he can make a tortoise’s pace look believable.” He grinned at her, the boyish expression looking at home on his handsome face.

  “I didn’t wish to disturb you—” she started to explain but stopped speaking as he shook his head.

  “You are my wife, Virginia. Your concerns are mine. I did say yesterday that we would inform Mr. Macon of all that has transpired, though one would hope he has realized by now you are under the protection of someone with influence.”

  He moved to stand by her side, retaining one of her hands in his, for which she was grateful. The contact kept her anchored and allowed her to feel his strength. Lucas wasn’t an idle nobleman. She had felt it in the grasp of his hands, seen it in the way he carried himself, in the square set of his shoulders. She needed his strength at her side for what she guessed would occur.

  Gerard Macon was an unpleasant man.

  The doors to the sitting room opened and Gresham stepped inside, bowing slowly and formally. “My lord and my lady,” he said with great slowness, voice ringing with more pomp than Virginia had heard from him thus far. “May I present Mr. Charles Macon, brother to the late Baron of Heatherton.”