The Great Estate

by Sherri Browning

  “I’ll settle for the adoration. But not now. Later. You can show me your appreciation after I’ve made you a delicious meal.”

  “Really? You’re going to cook?”

  “I told you I could. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity, but I’m not likely to get it at Thornbrook Park. Come on.” He held his hand out to her. “And bring your wine. If things go according to plan, we won’t see another servant for the rest of the night.”

  “Not even to turn down the bed or help me to undress?”

  “I think I can manage those things. Consider me at your beck and call.”

  “A lady’s maid and a cook all in one? This doesn’t bode well for the staff. Aren’t you the one always preaching that it’s our responsibility to provide?”

  “Believe me, I won’t do either job well enough to replace anyone. Besides, I’m counting on the kitchen maids to clean up for me once I’m done. And if anything, our household is about to expand now that we have a baby. We’ll be home to Teddy soon enough. For now, it’s finally time that I got you alone.”

  She followed him to the kitchen. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

  Twenty

  Fascinated, Sophia sat on a chair at the edge of the room and watched Gabriel’s hands deftly roll out the dough. He had mixed mashed potatoes, flour, eggs, and seasoning into a dough and rolled it all out like he was making a pie. It soon became apparent that this was no pie. He made the dough into ropes, cut them into pieces, and shaped them into tiny moons. The whole process had taken some time, long enough for her to finish her wine and for him to refill her glass and get one for himself.

  “You learned to do all this in Italy? And you remembered the recipe without consulting any notes?” She got up to stand closer to him, the better to watch his skilled hands as he worked and imagine them on her again.

  “It’s all up here,” he said, tapping his temple and leaving a white burst of flour behind. She didn’t bother to point it out. It softened him somehow, reminded her that he was as human as the rest of them, far from the perfection he radiated. “Signora Gugino was an excellent teacher.”

  “She was old, I hope. Ancient. White-haired, with a carbuncle on her chin. Enormously fat?” Sophia could hope. She found that the idea of him working in the kitchen with a potentially vivacious Signora Gugino left her a bit concerned.

  “Would you prefer to believe it?”

  She nodded.

  “Then I won’t tell you that she was barely thirty, a widow, with luscious curves that had only benefited from having given birth to four strapping young sons.”

  “Don’t tell me!” She laughed, took a small handful of the flour, and tossed it at him.

  “Is that the way it’s going to be? Throwing flour? I might have to remove you from the kitchen or seek revenge.” He tossed a small handful at her. It hit her on the nose, and she struggled not to breathe it in and sneeze all over their dinner. But she left it where it was, on her nose. Better that they matched. “How do you think I felt to come home and discover that you spent hours in my office holed up with your Mr. Grant?”

  “I suppose some women might find him handsome. He never really appealed much to me in that way. I do admire his business sense, but that’s not enough to tempt me.” She sipped her wine.

  “Signora Gugino was old,” he admitted. “And she would be ashamed of me for relying on Mrs. Peele to provide me with mashed potatoes for the gnocchi. When I told the cook what I needed, she said she would have plenty left over after making her pie and offered to prepare them for me.”

  “Is that what I smell cooking? The pie? Lamb?”

  “Steak and kidney, and thank you for reminding me. I promised I would take it out of the oven for her when it was time.” Wrapping his hands in two tea towels, he opened the oven, pulled out the pie, and set it on the counter. “Looks perfect and smells delicious. The servants might have a better meal than we do. Should we switch with them?”

  “Not on your life. I intend to try this gnocchi that you’ve made me with your own two hands. I’m very impressed watching your technique. You seem to really know what you’re doing.”

  “And I haven’t started the sage butter sauce yet. Just you wait.”

  When the dumplings were rolled, he dumped them in boiling water and sifted them out minutes later. Then he sautéed butter and sage in a pan, added some lemon, and tossed the cooked gnocchi in the sauce.

  “It smells heavenly. Even better than the pie.”

  “We don’t have the right cheese,” he said. “But I think we can make do. I didn’t learn how to make Signora Gugino’s special cheese.”

  “And a good thing. If you added cheese-maker to your list of skills, I might have to give up on ever being good enough for you.”

  “You’re more than good enough, Sophia. You’re perfection.”

  “Why?” she asked, the wine making her bold. “I don’t have many skills, when it comes down to it. Or I’ve only recently discovered the few that I have.”

  “You’re wrong. When I met you, you were the most graceful dancer in the room. You had the ability to melt my heart with a smile, and you still do. When we were courting, I learned that you could embroider, paint, and play the piano with such skill as to rival the masters. You’ve a remarkable knack for knowing how to set people at ease, and you can make the most fascinating conversation with the dullest partner in a room. You’ve made me want to be stronger, better, smarter every day since I’ve met you. And I can’t fathom my life without you.”

  Her mouth fell open. For all her supposed conversational skills, she found herself utterly speechless. She knew that he’d loved her once. But that he still thought of her in such a way? It was beyond anything she could hope for.

  “Dinner’s getting cold,” he said. “Let’s get our plates to the dining room, and I’ll open another bottle of wine.”

  * * *

  Sophia put her fork down at the side of her plate. “I couldn’t eat another bite. It was delectable, all of it. It surprised me enough that you know how to cook, but that you know how to cook like that?”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed your meal. I didn’t find it all that bad myself. Signora Gugino would be proud. Ah, but I meant to sing to you while I cooked. I’m supposed to be delighting all of your senses, not just one at a time.”

  She laughed. “A man can only do so much. I’ll happily spend more time in London if you promise to cook for me like that now and then.”

  “I will do whatever it takes to keep you by my side.” He looked at her and hoped he could make her understand how seriously he meant it.

  “I haven’t had a chance to tell you things I think you need to hear,” she said. “I’m glad we have this night alone to finally talk.”

  “What things?” he asked, dread churning in his gut. Would she tell him that she’d never loved him, but she was happy to be his wife anyway? Or that he satisfied her and provided for her, and that was good enough, now that they had a baby?

  “Excuse me, sir.” Sutton came from the hall to interrupt them, despite his strict instructions that they were not to be interrupted unless there was important news. “You have a visitor. Lord Wilkerson has come to call. I tried to send him away, but he says it’s urgent.”

  “Urgent. Everything is urgent to Wilkerson. I assure you that it’s not as urgent as me being alone with my wife.”

  “Darling, perhaps you should see him. He can have his say and you can send him off again. How long could it take for a man to impart urgent news?”

  “You don’t know Wilkie. The man could blather on all night.”

  Sophia shrugged. “We simply won’t let him.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I suppose there’s no polite way to avoid him. Where is he, Sutton?”

  “I’ve had him wait in the parlor, my lord.”

  “We’ll join him there.” He
held a hand out to Sophia. “Come. Perhaps he’ll be quicker if he sees I have my wife with me.”

  “Or he may not be wearing his spectacles and he will mistake me for your mother and attempt to make passionate love to me.”

  “I’ll never allow it.” Gabriel laughed. “I wish I’d never mentioned her to him.”

  “And you thought I was the busybody always making matches.”

  “I should know better.” Gabriel kept his arm around her as he escorted her to the parlor. “Wilkerson, what brings you here so late?”

  “Late? The evening’s barely getting started. I came with news. Ah, Lady Averford. Good to see you again.” The man blushed, clearly remembering his earlier blunder. “We’ve got more support for the vote.”

  “For the Labour Exchanges Act? Wonderful. As you can see, I’m with my wife.”

  “Yes, I won’t keep you. But I wanted you to know. Lord Tavisham is with us. I’ve been working with him on the Child Welfare measures, and he’s all in. With his support, I believe we have all we need to bring it to a vote.”

  “Excellent news, Wilkie. Lord Tavisham, you say?” He hadn’t considered Tavisham at all, but a thought had just occurred to him “Nash is his family name, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Do you happen to know the family well?” Sophia asked.

  “Not very. I knew Tavisham’s younger brother well at one time. We were mates at Harrow. Fell into some disgrace, he did. Sharp fellow though. Made lots of money importing Lord knows what. He has an office over by the East India Docks. Leamouth Road.”

  “The East India Docks?” Gabriel shot Sophia a look.

  “Matthew Nash.” Wilkerson nodded. “I haven’t looked him up in a while, but I suppose he’s still there. I could ask Lord Tavisham, but I don’t think he likes to be reminded. His brother was quite a rebellious sort.”

  “Ah, well then.” Gabriel rubbed his hands together, eager to head over to check out the Nash connection. It was late to be out at the docks, but it might be their best chance to find Anna. “Thank you for the news.”

  “I’m hoping you will remain in London for the vote.”

  “Ever hopeful, Wilkie.” He clapped the man on the back and steered him to the door. “You can count on me to do my best.”

  Once Lord Wilkerson left them, Gabriel turned to Sophia. “I think I should go alone. It’s a rough neighborhood at night.”

  “That’s more reason for us to stick together.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I thought you might say so. You must stay very close to me then.”

  “I think I can manage it.” She smiled.

  “And let me do all of the talking.”

  “Agreed.”

  “All right. Let’s arrange for a car. There’s no time to waste.”

  * * *

  A while later, they found themselves at a tavern on Leamouth Road, near Nash’s warehouses. “We’ll need to go in and ask questions. It’s not the sort of place I want to bring you, but we’ve no choice. I won’t leave you outside on your own. I’ll warn you though, you might see things that unsettle you.”

  She shook her head. “Gabriel, I’m a grown woman. I understand what might go on in rough, old taverns.”

  “You do?” He cocked a brow.

  She shrugged. “Drinking. Whores. Maybe a fistfight or two. I think we’ll manage. I’m not likely to be mistaken for a whore, and you’ve got a strong left hook. Or so your brother seems to think.”

  “Did he say so?” Gabriel curled his fist and looked down at it with apparent appreciation.

  She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go in.”

  The place was dark, fortunately, lit only by the candles on some pitted, round tables and a gas lamp behind the bar. She wouldn’t want to see the place in broad daylight, considering that it looked filthy and in grave disrepair in the dimness. When something, a mouse or rat, scurried along the floor at the edge of the room, she managed to contain a shriek. Gabriel led them straight to the bartender.

  “I’m looking for Matthew Nash. Any idea where I might find him at this hour?”

  The bartender, a portly lout, wiped a grimy glass and looked up but didn’t say a word. His dark eyes looked Sophia over from head to toe before he turned his attention back to Gabriel. Gabriel held out a pound note or two. Sophia couldn’t be certain how much, but she wasn’t surprised they had to resort to bribery. They were dressed too well to fit in with the regular crowd, which was one couple off in a corner and a single ruffian in rags at the end of the bar.

  “Nash is a popular man today. ’Nother couple came in looking for him earlier. They didn’t belong here any more’n you lot do.”

  Sophia’s heart soared. Anna and Ethan, it had to have been them. They were going to find them! Sophia only hoped it wasn’t too late. There was no chance they were married yet, but that might not stop them from sharing a bed. Especially if they were low on funds and forced to share a room.

  “And where did you direct them?” Gabriel offered more pound notes.

  The bartender took them, nodding. “Nash is out of town for the week. He keeps a house in Bloomsbury, but he ain’t there. I sent them to a guesthouse my sister runs.”

  “And where is that?”

  The bartender put down one glass and picked up another, not answering until Gabriel held out more pound notes. “Farrington Lane. Not far from Nash’s house.”

  Sophia was glad to hear it. The man’s sister kept her house in a considerably better neighborhood.

  “Thank you. You’ve been most helpful.”

  Gabriel directed her back out the door. Their car waited at the end of the street.

  “To Bloomsbury,” he informed the driver. “Farrington Lane.”

  “Do you think his sister will require as many bribes to be forthcoming with information?” Sophia asked him.

  “In the first place, she’s probably not his sister. Perhaps a past partner in crime. And I’m not optimistic. Money gets answers.”

  As luck would have it, Ethan Nash was walking out the door as they arrived. Gabriel hastily paid the driver and leaped out after him.

  “Mr. Nash, a word.”

  The boy turned, his eyes wide. “Lord Averford. A surprise to see you here.”

  “Oh, is it? I should think you would be expecting us after running off with Anna Cooper. Where is she?”

  Ethan sighed. “She’s in her room. I came out to find us something to eat.”

  “Her room?” Sophia breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re not sharing.”

  “She wouldn’t. Not until we’re legally wed. Though I tried to tell her it didn’t matter what people thought. They would think it anyway, and we could have saved some money by sharing.”

  “I can assure you, Mr. Nash, that it very much matters what people think. Anna has her family’s reputation to consider as well as her own. As, I assume, do you. The Duke of Tavisham is your relation?” Sophia tapped her foot.

  Ethan startled. “Yes. My father. How did you know?”

  “Your father?” Gabriel, like Sophia, had clearly assumed that the elder Nash might have been an uncle or something else. “So Matthew is your uncle?”

  Ethan nodded. “I’m the youngest of three sons and a great disappointment to my father. I left school to work on a farm when he wouldn’t let me choose my own course of study at Cambridge. Mr. Higgins has no idea. I was hoping my uncle would welcome us.”

  “Due to his estrangement with your father? You fancy yourself in the same lot as your uncle, who previously separated from your family?” Gabriel asked.

  “That’s about right. I never imagined you would find us so fast.”

  “I’m as surprised as you are,” Gabriel said. “Dumb luck.”

  “I still intend to marry Anna. Just as soon as we can.” Ethan pulled himself up to full height, w
hich was equal to Gabriel’s.

  “I’m sure you do, but you’re both young. I believe this all happened rather fast. I would like to speak with Anna and hear what she has to say,” Sophia said.

  “I’ll take you to her. She’ll tell you that we want to marry as soon as possible. When love happens, you don’t need time to figure things out. You just know. Anna and I belong together.”

  Gabriel shared a glance with Sophia. “I can agree on that. Once upon a time, I was young too. I looked across the room and saw my future bride. I just knew. But I also knew that I had to make things right for her. Are you sure running away is right for Anna?”

  Ethan hesitated. The moment’s hesitation was all it took to prove to Sophia that they weren’t too late. The young people could still be talked out of making a hasty decision that could affect them, for better or worse, for their entire lives.

  * * *

  “Lady Averford!” Anna’s eyes were wide as saucers when she opened the door to find Sophia standing there. Gabriel had taken Ethan for a drink at a tavern so that she would have some time alone with Anna.

  “You were expecting Ethan? I’m sorry. I’ve come to find out why you’ve run off. Your family will be very worried.”

  “Then they don’t know yet?” She nibbled her lip.

  “How could I tell them? They left you in my care. Your mother will never forgive me.”

  Anna nodded. “By the time they all find out, perhaps I’ll be able to sign my name as Mrs. Ethan Nash.”

  Sophia quirked an eyebrow. “And do you think that will make things right? Knowing you eloped and lived alone with a young man before marriage?”

  Anna waved her hands. “Times have changed. Ethan says that no one will pay much attention to what happened before the wedding as long as we do wed.”

  “Times haven’t changed that much, Anna. It could ruin any chance for your younger sister to marry properly. Have you considered that? Not to mention how it will break your mother’s heart to miss your wedding. And your older brother? Imagine if he were the one to have found out and come after you.”