“Then you shall come, if your sister will allow?”
They both turned to Miss Standish. Grace gave such an expression of pleading, Morley wasn’t sure how anyone resisted the girl. And Miss Standish smiled, which brought the sun into the room.
“Will all of you join me?” His eyes met Miss Standish’s again, and he saw her reluctance. He dipped his head. “Or if you’d rather, I can explore on my own. I must check on the state of things, the progress in the construction.”
June cleared her throat. “We would be happy to come. Thank you for the invitation. I don’t wish to overwhelm. In the spare five minutes since you’ve arrived, we are promenading and visiting the castle together. Surely you have more to do than entertain the Standish sisters.”
Ah, so perhaps he was overstepping. “I understand. I shall not trespass upon your kindness much more than is necessary.”
Kate shook her head. “You are not trespassing at all. In fact, I have another invitation still. If you will be here for a few weeks, then you must attend the assembly. There are dances and a good selection of people. Perhaps you’d enjoy it?” Kate was the strong beauty of the sisters. And she held herself differently, as though she already knew she was meant for the nobility.
“And you have intrigued me with yet another opportunity here in Brighton. I thank you for helping me feel so immediately integrated into the neighborhood.”
“Our pleasure.” Kate sipped her tea.
After several breaths of silence, with Morley wondering just how much Miss Standish wanted his company, he nodded to Charity. “And what are you working on there?”
She started, her quill flying across the page, but she didn’t look up until she’d used up her ink. Dipping in her inkwell, she looked up. “Oh. Well, I…”
“Charity writes stories. She’s deep into the middle of a tragic gothic romance.” Grace grinned.
“Are you now?” Morley was intrigued. “And do you ever share your stories?”
“She does. But just to us.” Grace hurried across the room and sat back down at the piano. “Would you like to help us practice our country dances?” She played the opening bar of a light, energetic song he recognized. “They will be doing these very ones at the assembly.”
“Oh, then I should very much like a refresher on the steps, so that I might not scuff up some lovely lady’s slippers.”
“Grace. We needn’t trouble His Lordship with a request such as yours.” The look June gave Grace should have squelched her desires. But instead her bottom lip stuck out.
“He said he’d like to.”
June’s gaze searched his own.
He smiled. “I would enjoy a country dance. Anything we can do to help all you lovely ladies make the best impression.”
Miss Standish gave him a strange look and then nodded slowly. “Very well, then. Let’s just do the shortest of the bunch we know.”
Kate joined her. “It’s the one most often played at the assemblies anyway.”
Morley bowed in front of Miss Standish. “Would you do me the honor?”
“Me?” She looked away and then back. “Um, yes. I would.” She curtsied, and then they stood across from each other in the space allowed in the center of the room. The others joined their square, and the dance began. Miss Standish led out, so he had to watch carefully, but he found her steps easy to follow and her dancing delightful. Whenever their eyes met, she smiled. He couldn’t tell if his presence was enjoyed or endured, but he found her attention pleasant and that of her sisters delightful. And for the first time, he didn’t curse Gerald for his conniving.
He circled with Miss Standish and then took Kate around and then back to Miss Standish. They laughed and made merry. When the playing finished, he bowed before them all. “I haven’t had so much fun in a country dance in ages. Thank you.”
“And now we shall be prepared at the assembly.”
“Precisely. I thank you again.” He bowed. “And now, how are the plans going for the move to the castle? What can we do to help?”
He sat on the same sofa Miss Standish had occupied, but then she took another. For the first time, Lucy joined more of the conversation. “We have every room planned out. Crates will arrive, and the servants shall pack them up. We can assist, naturally, but it isn’t right if we are seen hauling our things…”
“Oh, not to worry. You certainly can rely on me and the servants to get you moved properly.”
“You?”
“Well, certainly. And I do feel you will be needing an increase in footmen. The castle has its own, but even with the addition of the staff already there, I feel it prudent to hire on some extras.”
“Oh, that’s lovely. Shall they have our own livery?”
“Yes. I’ve looked into it, actually. Northumber Castle, and indeed your Standish family name, has a renowned and respected coat of arms and livery. So measures need to be taken for those uniforms.” He paused. The ladies were silent. “Assuming you are in agreement?” he said.
“Certainly we are. Is that not right, June?” Kate rested a hand on Miss Standish’s arm.
“I have no complaints.”
Kate nudged her again.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry. And thank you. This is all too kind and much more than any of us expected.”
“I’m happy to be of assistance.”
He stayed for another hour, enjoying their company. Kate read to him from their poetry assignments. And then he shocked Miss Standish by sharing a poem by Byron. Grace played more on the pianoforte and sang, which he found lovely.
At length, and with some regret, he stood. “Thank you for the lovely visit. I’ve been charmed in every way.”
“Oh, no. You cannot leave without hearing June on the harp. She sings the loveliest French piece.” Kate held a hand to her heart. “I imagine men would swoon just at the hearing of her beautiful voice.”
“Kate!” June’s face turned the brightest of reds, and she shook her head. “Lord Morley has heard quite enough of the Standish sisters today. I imagine he’s had enough to last a month, at least.” She stood at his side. “I’ll walk you out.”
He chuckled but dipped his head. “Thank you for the attention. I would enjoy hearing you sing though, especially after such high praise.”
“Oh, stop, please. She doesn’t know.”
“I do, too,” said Kate. “And you’re an angel.”
June waved her sister away and hurried him from the room. “Thank you for stopping by. I cannot account for the distinction of a visit, but we are grateful, nonetheless. You helped pass what might have been a rather dull afternoon.”
“I am pleased to have been a part. I look forward to our promenade.”
Stenson held open the door, and Miss Standish stood just inside as Morley stepped into his carriage. “We shall talk more of your move at the promenade. Until then, au revoir.”
“Au revoir.” Miss Standish stood and waved until he could no longer see her.
Once his carriage had rounded the bend, he sat back in on his bench and closed his eyes. Charming family. Even Miss Charity, who had been quiet most of the afternoon, scribbling on her sheaves of paper, had been lovely. And Miss Standish was the most lovely of all.
The eldest, an engaging, honestly fascinating woman, who obviously had no interest in him whatsoever, would have less so when she learned he was, in fact, the owner of the estate. But perhaps he could keep the knowledge from her as long as possible, at least until he knew her better.
They drove along through town. What a lovely little location just outside of Brighton. When the coachman pulled into his inn, he was ready to write some correspondence and rest for the evening.
But upon entering the front door, a ruckus greeted his ears, and a familiar voice called his name.
“Lord Morley! Morley, my friend! Join us.” A tall man with dark, curly hair—and a boyish grin that convinced all the ladies he was charming—waved to Morley.
A group of his peers from the Hou
se of Lords and from London in general sat at a table, mildly into their cups already.
He approached, pleased to see them. “What are you lot doing here?”
“Everyone’s here. London is dull as ever.” Lord Weatherby lifted up his cup and then downed half of it in one swallow. “We’ll be promenading tomorrow, and Kenworthy has set up cards at his place every night, if you’re looking.” Lord Weatherby’s smile grew. “It’ll be our own gaming establishment.”
A lazy, light-haired cad, who Morley barely countenanced, lifted his many-ringed finger. “Do join us. I’d like someone else there with a bit more purse, if you know what I mean.”
“Just because some of us are still on our father’s allowance.” Arrington waved to the server. “If I keep winning like I have, you’re going to be the one low on blunt.”
Lord Smallwood flicked something off his jacket. “That’s not likely to happen, is it?” His gaze lifted to Morley again. “Join us. What brings you to Brighton?”
Morley pulled up a chair, and the server brought him a cup full of ale without him asking. His gaze surveyed his peers. “Kenworthy, Weatherby, Arrington, Smallwood,…this group spells trouble if I ever saw one.”
They lifted their cups and clinked together in the middle. “Join us. You haven’t always been so staid.” Weatherby grinned.
“I haven’t always been the Earl of Morley either.”
“Tosh.” Smallwood shrugged. “Don’t see how that has to change anything.”
The men watched him, and Morley suddenly felt the need to keep his business closer to his chest. “I’m here though, aren’t I? Time to leave London for the beauties of Brighton.”
“The beauties? Is the confirmed bachelorhood of Lord Morley about to be challenged by a bit of a skirt?” Weatherby’s smug expression made Morley want to discuss anything else somewhere else. But he kept his seat. “I was referring to the sea. But I’m not opposed to a pretty face.”
“Ho ho!” Kenworthy grinned. “Who would be?” They all lifted their cups again.
“I’m here to aid the Standish sisters, actually.”
Conversation stopped, and Lord Smallwood’s smile grew in a slow, snakelike fashion. “Are you, now? And in what manner are you giving them aid?”
“That will be none of your business.” He toyed with his glass. “But now seems a good time to mention they’re looking for respectability, and those are the kinds of offers I’ll be considering.”
“Taking offers for them? Are you some sort of guardian?”
He sighed. “His Grace passed them off.”
“I heard it differently. I heard you won the castle, the cottage, and a whole lot of coin in a card game last month.” Weatherby’s eyes gleamed. “Will they be getting dowries?”
“His Grace arranged modest ones. But they’re lovely and deserve a good match, so if that’s not you, spread the word.”
The men quieted for a moment. Perhaps the mention of serious marriage opportunities sobered them all. Perhaps they were uninterested, which would suit Morley just fine. He hoped their loose speech would help get the word out, and the right sort of men would see the good in the Standish sisters. He wanted to do well by them. They deserved a secure and happy life.
He wanted to curse Gerald’s name again. Instead, he closed his lips and said nothing more on the topic.
Chapter Four
The house was full of happy chatter. June finished the last touches on her hair. She slept in the master bedroom, the one meant for her parents, were they still alive. And even though it was the largest room and a part of her thought the sisters who shared a room—Kate and Lucy—might benefit from the space, she couldn’t give it up. The solitude gave her enough strength to face the noise and stress of everyday life.
Shouts from the other end of the cottage made her smile. “Charity! May I borrow your slippers?”
“What will I wear?”
“Your other slippers.”
“No.”
“Please! I cannot bear to wear these old, faded things.”
“No one sees them. They’re fully under your skirts.”
“Just wear mine. I can’t stand your begging.” Lucy’s impatience was her greatest vice but sometimes her strongest asset.
June smiled. She loved these sisters of hers. Her gaze lifted to the portrait of her parents on the wall. As she stared into the painted eyes of her mother, she whispered, “How am I doing, Mama?”
With no answer to the question any time she asked, she stood and kept moving forward, for what else could she do but her best and hope everything worked out?
When she left her room and stood at the top of her stairs, she held her head high. She liked this particular hairstyle, and her dress flattered her. Even if their efforts to find good matches for her sisters were not directed at her in any way, she would represent the Standish sisters well.
The last time the Duchess of York visited, she had been so kind. Just about every member of the peerage who visited suggested who they should try to marry. The Duchess was no exception. June knew it was kindly meant, but no more was ever done to help the suggestion come to fruition, until the Duke of Granbury. She smiled. He was a good man. She’d heard he married his second love, Amelia. He deserved such a happy event in his life.
“Are we ready?” she called quietly down the upstairs hallway.
Charity came first. She wore a beautiful, deep blue. It brought out the striking color of her eyes. Her hair was tied back in a simple knot, but her face was clean and her gloves as well which might be all the effort Charity wished to exert at the moment.
“You look lovely.”
“Thank you. I don’t have much of a desire to meet anyone on this outing. I’m looking forward more to see the promenade itself. What do people do? Simply walk about on the lawn? I’m so intrigued.”
“I don’t know either. If it’s anything at all like Hyde Park, that’s exactly what they do.”
Lucy joined them. “And, of course, we must behave with the utmost decorum. We are outside on a beautiful day in the park, Charity, but this does not mean the situation calls for romps and rolling about on hills, or laughing over loud, or—”
“I think she understands.” June smiled at Lucy, who looked unconvinced.
Kate joined them next with an overabundance of extra ribbons. On anyone else, the look might have seemed overdone, but on Kate, it just made her all the more charming. Her bonnet covered just enough of her face, and the lovely purple tied under her chin brought out her own complexion.
“I don’t know why you should get all the extra ribbons.” Lucy sniffed.
“Because no one else wanted them. Just because now you can see what I’ve done doesn’t mean they should have been yours to begin with.” She lifted her chin. “A little creativity can do beautiful things to our limited wardrobes.”
Grace at last joined them, and June smiled at her youngest sister. She’d dressed like the others, but there was an air of youth about her, a sense of someone still in the schoolroom, and June was grateful for at least that.
As they made their way down the stairs, Kate sighed.
“What?”
“I wish, just once, there would be a whole mass of handsome men at the bottom of these stairs, looking up at us, ready to take our hands.” Kate rested her hand on the railing. “But I shall not be melancholy. We are going to promenade. We’re going to assemblies. It feels like a bit of a fairy tale. There was a time, I thought we’d be locked up in our tiny cottage forever.”
“Isn’t the Duke of Granbury wonderful?” Grace skipped to the bottom of the stairs.
And then a knock sounded on the door.
“Who could it be?”
Grace almost opened it, but June called out, “Stenson will take care of that.”
“Oh, true.” Grace stepped to the side and allowed their butler room to open the door.
Lord Morley entered with a flourish, dressed in top hat, cane, and jacket, his breeches fitting spl
endidly, his grin wide, and his bow deep.
Behind him, a magnificent carriage waited in front of their cottage.
“We don’t have to walk!” Grace jumped up and down.
And Lord Morley laughed. “You most certainly do not. I have come to fetch the loveliest ladies in all of Brighton for a promenade.” He held out his elbows, and Lucy and Kate each grabbed one. A quick wink over his shoulder sent June’s stomach leaping around, tickling her insides.
Charity linked her arm. “He’s everything a man should be, June.”
Surprised, she turned to her usually unromantic sister. “Do you think so?”
“I do, and I think you should let him know as much.”
“What!” June looked away, her face warming.
“There’s no reason you can’t marry like the rest of us.”
“And you? Are you going to marry?”
“I might.” The secretive smile on Charity’s face rose some suspicion in June’s mind, but she decided to press her sister more on the topic later.
Lord Morley had assisted her other three sisters into the carriage already. Charity stepped forward. He helped her alight, and then he turned to June.
His gaze intensified as he held a hand out to her. “Miss Standish, your carriage.”
She dipped her head. “You are too kind.” When her fingers rested on his palm, a lovely feeling of warmth spread through her. Not the tingly kind of response she’d often read about when two people fell in love, but the reassuring, trusting kind. When their eyes connected again, she smiled, thinking she might prefer this warmth to any other.
She found a seat in the overly populated carriage and was surprised when Lord Morley closed the door without entering.
“And where will you sit?” Grace leaned forward.
“I shall ride up top with the coachman. Perhaps he will let me direct the horses.”
“And that’s what I think would be the most diverting.” Charity lifted her chin.
Lord Morley seemed greatly amused by her observation. “Perhaps I can return with a smaller cart, and you could help direct the horse that would lead the more manageable conveyance?”
The Earl's Winning Wager Page 3