“This be it,” Nash cried. “Where Ma worked.”
Three boys, some not much older than Nash, were playing shuttlecock on the lawn. They paused to stare at them as they continued along the raked driveway. Hayworth pulled the grays up in the turning circle in front of the entry.
The boys hurried over. “I say, sir, what prime cattle,” a gangling youth said, his gaze on the horses.
“Can I rely on one of you young gentlemen to take special care of my horses? If you’ll walk them, I’ll let you take the reins for a short ride around the drive when I return,” Hayworth said.
“You can rely on us, sir!” the youth said promptly while the others nodded.
Mark helped Eleanor down and tossed the reins to the tallest lad. Her arm in his, they walked to the front door.
Nash frowning, trailed behind.
Eleanor turned. “What is the matter, Nash?”
“They’re nobs,” he muttered. “I wouldn’t trust ’em with Sampson the donkey.”
“Nash.” Hayworth released her arm and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I am a nob; Lady Eleanor’s father was a nob. There’s a chance even you have a nob or two in your family. And one thing I can say about us nobs, we value our horses and take excellent care of them.”
Silenced, Nash dragged his feet after them to the door which was opened by a wide-eyed maid in a mobcap.
When Hayworth explained who they were, she bobbed a curtsey. “I shall tell Madame you are here.”
A moment later, a middle-aged lady in black appeared with a lorgnette hanging on a chain on her ample bosom. Her thin cheeks were tinged with pink. “Milord, milady. I am Mrs. Kirkwood. My husband is the headmaster here. Kirkwood is away at present. Please, do come into the parlor.”
They were ushered into a soberly furnished room. Eleanor declined the offer of tea while Haywood explained their wish to trace some of Nash’s relatives.
Mrs. Kirkwood stared at Nash. “He is nothing like his mother,” she said. “Annie had brown hair and eyes.”
“You remember Annie?” Eleanor asked surprised.
“I do. She did our mending, exquisite stitches. But I’m afraid I have no idea who the boy’s relatives would be.”
Aware of Nash alert beside her, Eleanor leaned forward. “Do you recall why Annie left her position here?”
She thinned her lips. “I shouldn’t like to say, although I have my suspicions. She gave notice without warning and I had trouble finding someone to replace her.”
“Are there any staff still working here who knew Annie?” Hayworth asked.
“Yes, my lord. Maud would remember Annie.”
Maud answered the bell. The maid wasn’t young, about Eleanor’s age. Scrunching her apron, she eyed them nervously.
“Lady Eleanor and Lord Hayworth wish to inquire about Anne Simkin, Maud,” Mrs. Kirkwood said.
“Please sit down, Maud,” Eleanor said. “Thank you, Mrs. Kirkwood. We shan’t keep you from your work.”
Mrs. Kirkwood looked regretful, but left without comment.
The red-haired maid sat upright in the chair, her gaze resting on Nash. “This is Annie’s son?”
“Yes. We hope you can tell something that will help us find his family.”
Maud hesitated. “I shouldn’t like to speak of it in front of the boy.”
“Shall we walk to the river, Nash?” Hayworth asked. “Lady Eleanor will tell you what she learns later.”
With a backward glance, Nash followed Hayworth from the room.
When the door closed, Maud turned to Eleanor. “It would upset Nash to hear the truth, my lady.”
“Why, Maud?” Although she’d expected something unpleasant, Eleanor was still chilled and apprehensive.
“Annie were a decent girl, lived with her father.” Maud frowned. “But she was pretty and caught the eye of one of the boys’ fathers. He gave her flowers and took her up in his carriage. Said he was a widower and would come for her. But he never did. Went away and left her in the family way. Annie asked me to say nothing. I used to slip away to give her small things for the baby, and she feared it might get me into trouble.” Maud narrowed her eyes. “Burton his name was. I’d never forget that or his face.”
Eleanor leaned forward. “Did his son remain at the school after this happened?”
“No. Frederick was taken away soon after.” She started. “Where is Annie now? Is she all right?”
“I’m afraid she passed away a few years ago.”
Maud jumped up. “Oh no. Poor Annie.” She fumbled for her handkerchief. “Poor boy.”
Eleanor rose, too. She patted the maid’s thin back. “Thank you for telling me this, Maud. You have been extremely helpful.”
“Mrs. Kirkwood knows nothing about this, my lady.”
“And she won’t learn it from us, Maud. Rest assured.”
“Thank you.” Maud looked relieved as she curtsied. “Annie would be pleased you’re lookin’ after him.”
When they left the room, Mrs. Kirkwood appeared in the hall. “I hope Maud was able to help you.”
“She was. Thank you, Mrs. Kirkwood.”
“You found the boy’s relatives?”
“We have more to do to find them, I’m afraid.”
Mrs. Kirkwood nodded. If she wished to learn more, she didn’t ask.
Eleanor walked over the lawns toward the river. The sun shone through a filigree of leaves above her head. She had found out who Nash’s father was, but it gave her no joy.
*
After they climbed back in the carriage, Mark had not been able to discuss it with Eleanor without Nash overhearing, but he could see that what she’d learned had unsettled her.
Eleanor smiled at Nash. “I have been given a name, Nash. But it is far from certain that this is your father. We shall have to investigate further. Did you ever hear your mother mention a Mr. Ralph Burton?” she asked him as they began their journey back to London.
Nash shook his head. “When Annie got sick, she told me dad was a baron’s son. She wrote him a letter. But we never heard anythin’.”
Eleanor heaved a sigh. “Oh, Nash!” She held out her arms to him.
Nash climbed over the seat into the front and she drew him onto her lap.
Nash looked sheepish. “I guess I forgot to tell you that. What is a baron?”
“He’s a nob, Nash,” Mark said, winking at Eleanor. He gazed at the boy resting his head on her breast, a little envious. She stroked Nash’s hair.
“Don’t worry, lad, Lady Eleanor will sort this out, and even if we don’t find your father, you will be safe.”
“I want to live with you,” Nash said in a sleepy voice.
“His lordship and I are not married, Nash,” Eleanor said.
Mark turned his attention to the horses. The boy was exhausted. No sense in continuing to upset him. It would have to wait until he and Eleanor were alone. She obviously thought the same, for she told Nash to rest, then fell silent.
When Mark looked around again, Nash was slumped down fast asleep in her arms. “We’ve tuckered him out,” he said.
Her anxious gaze met his. “Have we done the right thing bringing him here today? It has been most unsettling for him.”
He hoped his smile was reassuring. “Couldn’t have done it without his help, now could we?”
“I suppose not,” she said softly. “Hayworth…”
He smiled. “Call me Mark, Eleanor. We are surely on first-name terms now.”
“I hope you don’t think…” she began.
“I can hardly think of anything right now,” he said, interrupting her, his eyes flickering to her mouth, “but wanting to kiss you again.”
She flushed pink and put a hand to her lips. “Mark, I am not looking for a lover.”
He slowed the pace of the horses before swiveling to face her. “You believe me to be after a casual affair?” He groaned. “Of course you would think that. I have hardly wooed you in the proper manner. Forgive me, Eleano
r. My regard for you has become something deeper. I realized it today, which took me by surprise.” He turned back to the road. “But I don’t regret the kiss, Eleanor. Dash it all, we can’t talk of it here.”
“Are we home?” Nash roused and gazed around sleepily.
“Not far now,” Mark said.
“Eleanor.” He raised his gaze to find her flushed and confused. “May I speak to you when we reach London?”
She nodded, but her expression made him uneasy. The strength of his feelings surprised him. After Susanne died, he’d trifled with agreeable women without his heart becoming involved. Now, he’d fallen head over heels and behaved like a callow youth. Was the lady going to refuse him?
Chapter Seven
After Nash was taken up to the schoolroom, Eleanor sat with Mark in the small salon. She watched him stretch out his long legs in the armchair and observe her. Her heart was beating unnaturally fast as she tried to read his expression. He looked determined and…very handsome.
“Would you like tea or coffee, or wine, perhaps?” she asked in an unsteady voice.
“No, thank you. Eleanor.” He rose to sit beside her on the sofa and took her hand. “I must explain myself. I’ve decided to marry again.”
She withdrew her hand. “Then you will need time to find the right person,” she said crisply.
He smiled. “I have found her. But I’m not sure what she thinks of me.”
“We hardly know each other.” She refused to tell him she loved him, madly and deeply. It was ridiculous for a woman of her years to fall in love at the drop of a hat, like a girl just out of the schoolroom. But this wasn’t infatuation. She’d admired and adored everything about him from that first day. And because she loved him, she would not marry him. She could not risk seeing the years go by and witness his disappointment.
“Mark, you want a son. Please don’t deny it.”
“I do hope for children. And who’s to say we won’t have them together?”
She looked away from him. “I was married for some years.”
“I’m aware of it, Eleanor. Your husband was unwell, was he not?”
“Gordon suffered from consumption. There seemed no reason why he wasn’t able to sire a child.”
“I see.”
“We consulted doctors and tried different things.” She tried not to think of those awful, passion quenching methods. “Nothing worked.” She firmed her resolve, straightening her shoulders. “There are many healthy young women this Season who will give you a brood of children.”
“No one can be sure of that, though, can they.” A sad expression darkened his eyes. “Sometimes things go wrong. Childbirth is dangerous.”
Eleanor forced herself not to reach out to him. “Yes,” she murmured. “I am so terribly sorry.”
“Eleanor.” He took her hand again and pressed a kiss to her palm, sending warmth and sensation flooding through her.
“Go, please Mark,” she said gently, removing her hand. “We will talk again soon, when you’ve had time to put things in perspective.”
“I see I shall have to be patient.” He rose. “I will attempt to locate Burton’s address and call again tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Tomorrow then.”
The door closed, and Eleanor sank down into the sofa, suddenly exhausted. When Mark had time to reflect, he would see that the cost of marrying a woman approaching middle age was too high. But he was an honorable man. She must make it easy for him. With a heavy sigh, she rose to go to Nash. He required a bath, and afterward, she would read to him until he fell asleep. That would give her the opportunity to make sure he wasn’t too disturbed about today.
Eleanor climbed the stairs, as Mark’s passionate gaze filled with entreaty, appeared in her mind. A small moan escaped her lips. Life could be so cruel.
She paused on the landing. Georgina would be eager to hear how today went. It was a wonder she hadn’t appeared already. Hopefully, social engagements kept her and Hugh from home. If she told her sister that Mark had asked her to marry him, Georgina would urge her to do so, and Eleanor would have a battle on her hands she didn’t feel strong enough to fight. She felt more like a good cry.
*
It was after midnight when Mark pulled off his cravat, undid his two top buttons, and poured himself a brandy in his library. He’d had to endure a lengthy, sleep-inducing dinner at Carlton House, but now, maddeningly, sleep seemed far away. How might he convince Eleanor that they were right for each other? He could kick himself for the way he’d handled it.
Why hadn’t he kept a cool head and courted her in the proper manner? Would he then have had a better chance? He doubted it, for he had nothing with which to counter her argument. Eleanor was convinced she would not be the right wife for him. Did she just not want him and was too polite to tell him so? If that was the case, he would accept it without question, but the kiss told him far more than any words would do. And dammit, he wanted more of her kisses and a lot more besides. He wanted to wake to find her in his bed every morning for the rest of his life, God willing.
Fortunately, his inquiries tonight had been fruitful. He now knew that Burton’s home was Burton Green, in Coventry. He intended to visit him, and he wanted Eleanor to go with him. Together, they might bring this man up to snuff. Even if he didn’t want Nash, he might help the boy. Perhaps he had loved Annie in his way. Mark was prepared to give the man the benefit of the doubt. And if not, a little persuasion might work, if Burton feared the ton would hear of it. Traveling to Coventry with Eleanor served a dual purpose. It would remove her from societal influences while he convinced her to marry him.
The next afternoon, he joined Eleanor in the salon. It was a blustery day, the wind battering the branches of a tree about beyond the window. A footman had taken Nash to the park to fly a kite with the nanny and the duke’s heir.
Mark told Eleanor he had obtained Burton’s address.
“I will write to him.”
He frowned. “There was no response when Annie wrote to him. Burton needs to be confronted.”
“I don’t see that…”
He shook his head before she launched into what he suspected was her final rebuff. “Allow me to make a suggestion.”
She widened her eyes. “What?”
“We go to Coventry together. The two of us will be more persuasive. Let’s see what Burton has to say for himself.”
“I can’t just waltz off to the country with you. We would have to stay at inns. It would be sure to cause gossip.”
“Ah. And then you would be forced to marry me.”
She shook her head. “Well, that isn’t going to happen.”
He stared at her, exasperated. He wasn’t used to failure, and yet he undoubtedly was failing to convince her. “I can’t see what else is to be done, can you?”
“Let me try a letter first,” Eleanor said.
“The man won’t acknowledge it. He won’t want to put anything in writing and open himself up to blackmail.”
She frowned. “As I cannot go with you, we must take that chance.”
“So that’s it?” He studied her face, taking in each delicate feature, her mouth set in determined lines. “Am I never to know if you care for me?”
She put her hands to her cheeks. “Mark, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Why would you hurt me? Because the kiss was merely an enjoyable impulse which meant nothing? Would another man have done as well?”
She flushed crimson. “That’s a horrid thing to say! And I know you are deliberately goading me.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, I am no match for you. The consummate diplomat. You will continue until you get what you want from me.”
He gave her a soft look. “I would appreciate you giving it willingly.”
She sat up straighter. “There, you see? You’re still toying with me.”
“Not with your affections, Eleanor. Never that.” Frustrated with himself for yet again making a hash of it, he pushed back his hair with both hands.
“It’s just that I am absolutely sure, that we are right for each other.” When she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, his blood deserted his brain and traveled to other more hopeful places.
She gazed down at her hands in her lap. “I do have feelings for you, Mark. I won’t deny it. But that isn’t enough, not when I cannot give you what you most desire.”
“You are what I desire,” he said, wishing to show her how much. “That I might have you for my wife has come to mean everything. What can be more important than that?” He nodded. “Ah. I see. You believe me to be fickle. That if a child does not come from our marriage, I shall blame you and turn against you. Hardly a flattering portrayal of me, is it?”
“Oh no, I didn’t mean…” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “You are incorrigible.”
He laughed. “But you still like me a little, despite it?”
She folded her arms. “You won’t tease another word of response from me.”
He watched a smile curve up the corner of her mouth. “Not even if I tell you I have learned more about this fellow, Burton?”
She raised her golden eyebrows. “What?”
“He has inherited the baronetcy.”
“Oh. My goodness! Then it seems he is Nash’s father.” She paused. “What do we do now?”
“We go to Coventry.”
“There must be something else we can do.”
He sensed she was weakening and pushed his advantage. “It’s simple. Marry me. We can go as man and wife.”
Tears flooded her eyes. “Oh stop, please, Mark.”
“My love.” He stood and pulled her to her feet, his hands at her waist. “Say you will make me the happiest of men,” he murmured against her hair, breathing in the fragrant scent of roses.
She leaned her head against his shoulder. He felt her heart beating fast in rhythm with his own, and when she failed to push him away, allowed himself to hope.
He bent and lifted her chin, sliding a thumb over her lips. “Eleanor.” His voice low and husky, he lowered his head and sought her mouth, kissing her passionately, his fierce yearning for her deepening the kiss. When he drew away, she was gasping, her eyes darkened with need. So, he kissed her again, his arms tightening around her, drawing her slight frame hard against his body, showing her how much he wanted her. They were both breathing heavily while her fingers stroked over his nape and threaded through his hair.
Regency for all Seasons: A Regency Romance Collection Page 119