Keely crossed the chamber to the window and gazed at the sky's oceanic horizon. Anticipation of the evening's festivities swelled within her breast. With all of its potent and unseen forces, Samhuinn held sway as her favorite moment in the year's cycle and was especially important this year.
The sun rode high in the clear blue sky. Keely knew the Talbots and the Devereux already gathered in the great hall for the noon meal, yet she lingered a moment longer.
Pressing the palm of her hand against the window, Keely whispered, "Soon, Mother. Tonight we will be together again."
Keely turned away from the window and squared her shoulders with proud determination, then quit the chamber. Even if it killed her, Keely vowed to charm her noble in-laws. She prayed the dowager countess would prove as unconcerned with her scandalous birth as the earl had.
Keely stepped into the great hall and hesitated. The two families congregated in front of the hearth, which meant she was late again. And a pox take her malicious sister, Keely thought, if that one started hurling insults at her in the presence of the earl's family.
Duke Robert and a graying middle-aged man relaxed in the chairs in front of the hearth. The Countess of Cheshire and a petite red-haired woman stood with their backs to the hall's entrance and listened to their men's conversation. Young Henry appeared bored by the adult gathering; while standing off to one side, Morgana and Baron Smythe were deep in conversation. The unexpected sight of the baron sent a ripple of unease down Keely's spine. Then her gaze slid to the earl, who'd been staring at the hall's entrance as if willing her to appear.
Richard cast her his most disarming smile, a smoldering expression that heated the entire hall, and sauntered toward her. Like a pretty flower drawn to the sun's radiance, Keely started forward at the same time. They met in the center of the enormous chamber.
"Good day, my lord," Keely greeted him.
Richard kissed her hand. "You look divine, Keely."
"Civilized too?" she asked, giving him a jaunty smile.
The earl laughed, drawing the others' attention. Aware that they had an audience, Richard escorted her the remainder of the distance to the hearth.
"Mother and Uncle Hal, I present Lady Keely," Richard introduced them. "Dearest, I present the Dowager Countess of Basildon and Sir Henry Bagenal."
In spite of her nervousness, Keely dropped them a graceful curtsy and gave them a serene smile. "I am honored to make your acquaintances," she said. Her violet gaze fixed on the countess's hair. "My lady, your fiery crown does resemble your son's," she added.
Richard snapped his head around and frowned at Keely. If the heathen minx started babbling her nonsense now, he would take great pleasure in boxing her ears.
The dowager countess smiled. "Unlike my son's, silver strands of snowflakes do douse my own mane's fire."
In that instant Keely decided she liked the earl's mother. The countess seemed friendly and, more important, unconcerned with social blunders.
"Call me Louise," the dowager countess was saying.
"And call me Uncle Hal," Sir Bagenal added.
"I cannot tell you how pleased I am with Richard's choice for a wife," Louise Devereux said.
"And I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the earl's parents," Keely returned the compliment. Now what? she wondered, dropping her gaze to stare at her slippers. What should a bride-to-be discuss with her future mother-in-law? What would be a safe subject? If she said too much, she might appear "uncivilized."
Saving her from making small talk, Duke Robert rose from his chair. "And I'm pleased that everyone else is so pleased," he said with an unmistakably relieved grin. "We'll eat in the other room."
The table inside the family dining chamber, located off the great hall, had been set for nine people. Duke Robert and the Countess of Cheshire sat at the ends of the rectangular oak table. Sir Bagenal, the dowager countess,
Baron Smythe, and Morgana sat on one side while Keely sat between Henry and Richard on the other.
Several servants beneath Meade's supervision entered with dinner's first course of barley soup and Colchester mussels with dijon sauce. One servant poured red wine into their crystal goblets, while another placed freshly baked bread and creamy butter beside their plates.
"Tell us about the wedding," the dowager countess said to her son.
" 'Twill be at Hampton Court's chapel," Richard replied, "and Elizabeth has ordered the staff to plan the affair. Beyond that, there's nothing more to tell."
"Keely, show the countess your betrothal ring," Henry piped up, flicking a sardonic smirk across the table at his sister.
Keely glanced sidelong at Richard, who nodded. Then she held her left hand up for the countess to see. "The jewels represent the word dearest," she explained, unable to mask the tender emotion in her voice. Embarrassed, Keely glanced at her sister and noted the other girl's unhappy expression, then hid her offending hand on her lap.
"My son has excellent taste in jewels as well as brides," the countess remarked. "Did Richard also gift you with that unusual pendant?"
Keely shook her head and dropped her gaze to her plate. "His Grace gifted my mother with it before I was born. 'Tis her legacy to me."
An awkward silence descended on those seated at the table as they noted the daughter's formality in referring to her father. In spite of her father's august rank, a daughter would call him Papa, not His Grace.
Ashamed both for hurting her father's feelings and for her illegitimate birth, Keely worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Bastard and pissy ingrate—that was what she was. But how could she instantly calm the turbulent emotions she'd harbored for eighteen years?
" 'Twill be the wedding of the decade," the Countess of Cheshire remarked, steering the conversation away from dangerous waters.
"That the Talbots and the Devereux will finally share a bond of blood pleases me immensely," Duke Robert said, then regretted his words.
Another uncomfortable hush fell over the diners as each person recalled that the earl had considered Morgana until he met Keely. Duke Robert redeemed himself by announcing, "Chessy and I plan to wed the day after Richard and Keely. Of course, 'twill be a subdued affair, since we're both long in the tooth and have been married previously."
"Several times for the countess," Morgana chirped.
The Countess of Cheshire cast the blonde a feline smile and bared her claws. "Some women have no trouble catching any number of husbands, while others, poor dears, cannot seem to attract even one."
Ignoring this spiteful byplay, everyone started talking at once. The news of two happy events seemed to cheer all but Morgana. The blond beauty seethed inwardly as she listened to the rounds of congratulations circling the table.
Keely noted her sister's silence and turned the conversation to a less controversial subject than marriage. "Tell me about Essex," she said to the earl's mother. "The earl hasn't shared much about his home county."
"Basildon Castle, our ancestral home, is located there," Louise Devereux told her. "You'll be its lady after you're married, though we do employ an excellent staff."
"Boudicca, the warrior queen, hailed from Essex," Henry said. "She and her tribe of Iceni destroyed the Roman settlement of Camulodunum before marching on London and destroying that too."
"I'm glad to hear you've learned your history lessons," Duke Robert complimented his son.
"Essex possesses rich arable soil, where fields of barley and wheat sway in the breezes off the North Sea," Richard told Keely.
" 'Tis bordered in the north by the lush meadows and green trees along the Stour River and in the south by Tilbury Plain," Uncle Hal added. "The Thames estuary and the marshes lie to the east, as well as the islands of Convey, Wallasea, Foulness, and Mersea."
"You'll love Waltham Forest the best," Richard said, casting her a knowing smile. "Herds of roe and fallow deer roam there, and the forest contains every kind of tree imaginable."
"Even oak trees?" Keely asked with a teasing smile.
/>
"Millions," he answered. "And I'm planning to introduce you to each and every one."
Louise Devereux sighed inwardly at the bud of love she saw blossoming between her only son and the lovely girl beside him. Her future daughter-in-law wasn't at all what she'd expected—a fact that pleased her immeasurably. She disliked the shallow misses at the Tudor court. "Richard made a fortune from Essex's wool trade and Colchester mussels," the dowager countess remarked, watching closely for the girl's reaction to her son's great wealth.
Keely cast the earl an admonishing glance and said, "I do hope you haven't cheated anyone."
"I would never do that," Richard assured her.
"Why should you care if the earl cheats the peasants?" Morgana entered the conversation. " 'Twould mean more coins in your pocket if he did."
"Your thoughts mirror mine," Baron Smythe said to the blond beauty. "A man needs to look after his own."
"Farmers and fishermen and merchants are not peasants," Richard informed them. "Because I treat them fairly, they fight to do business with me. Thus, I accumulate even more gold than I could otherwise."
" 'Tis profitable and honorable," Keely praised the earl, gazing at him with an expression of adoration.
"Why do you even bother?" the baron asked. "Working is so plebeian, and you have more than enough money."
"My lord finds a respectable day's labor most rewarding," Keely shot back, irritated by the baron's criticism.
Richard chuckled and leaned close. "Sweetheart, I am quite capable of defending the way I choose to live," he assured her.
"I would never defend you," Keely said, feigning innocence, making the earl smile. "I merely wished to explain why you work so hard, in case the baron would care to try it sometime."
Several servants entered the chamber from the doorway behind the Countess of Cheshire. One man brought bowls of artichokes dressed in oil and vinegar, while another served them turnips and cabbage. A third carried a tray laden with a variety of Cheshire's best cheeses. Meade walked into the chamber last, and what he carried shocked the watching diners into silence.
Instead of placing the meat platter in front of the duke, as was the custom, Meade set it down before the Countess of Cheshire. It took less than two seconds for Lady Dawn to react to what she saw.
There on the sterling silver tray rested a roasted goose. A gold collar inlaid with diamonds and emeralds adorned what had once been a long neck.
"Anthony!" the Countess of Cheshire cried, and swooned.
Duke Robert leaped out of his chair and raced around the table, while the earl and the baron, seated closer to the unconscious woman, jumped up to assist her and kept her from falling. The duke slapped his beloved's face lightly. When she moaned and her eyes fluttered open, Duke Robert turned a murderous glare on his major-domo.
Richard heard Henry chuckling behind him. He whirled around and caught Keely holding her hand in front of her mouth, while her shoulders shook with suppressed merriment.
Honk! Honk! Honk!
The real Anthony waddled into the room. Behind the goose walked Jasper and Bart.
"My beautiful baby bird," the countess cooed. She roused herself enough to break off a piece of bread and offered it to Anthony. The goose gobbled it up and honked for more.
"Return Anthony to the safety of his chamber," the countess ordered the two boys.
Duke Robert returned to his chair, as did the earl and the baron. Livid, the duke leveled a furious stare at his smiling son and his giggling oldest daughter.
Faced with his anger, Keely struggled against her laughter and won. "I do apologize," she said to the countess. "Pranking you was Henry's idea."
Heedless of his father's fury, the young marquess accepted full credit for the disturbance. "We pranked you good," he told the countess. " 'Twas almost too easy to fool you."
"I haven't had this much excitement since my own children were young," the earl's mother said. "I can hardly wait until Devereux House echoes with the sounds of my own grandchildren's laughter." Her remark calmed everyone, including the duke who managed a faint smile.
"I cannot imagine the earl as a boy. Can you tell me what he was like?" Keely said, glancing sidelong at him.
"Richard was even more arrogant a boy than he is a man," his mother told her. "Three older sisters managed to keep him humble."
"Those three witches are the most incorrigible hoydens I ever met," Richard said. He winked at the countess and teased, "Shame on you, Mother, for raising such disreputable females."
"I raised my girls the same as my son," she shot back. "You turned out rather nicely."
Richard grinned. "My brothers-in-law would tell you their wives lack obedience."
"Piss on obedience," the dowager countess said. "Life is for living, not obeying." She looked at her future daughter-in-law and advised, "Do not believe his lies, child. A smidgeon of challenge keeps a man's interest primed."
Keely smiled and said, "Please tell me about your daughters."
"Kathryn lives with her husband in Ireland and has made me a grandmother six times," the countess replied.
"Three boys and three girls," Richard said.
"Then there's Brigette, who lives in Scotland," the countess went on. "Iain and she have gifted me with four grandchildren."
"Three boys and one exceedingly spoiled girl," Uncle Hal added.
"As the saying goes, 'the leaves do not fall too far from the tree,' " Richard interjected. "I always wished Brigette would be blessed with a daughter who inherited her temperament."
"Heather married Prince Khalid and lives in Istanbul," the countess finished. "I have one grandson, two granddaughters, and a baby on the way from them."
"When Heather sailed to France nine years ago, pirates attacked her ship," Richard said. "Prince Khalid rescued her. They promptly fell in love and married." He glanced across the table at his stepfather and added, "Changing the subject a bit, are you interested in buying a few shares in my Levant Trading Company?"
Uncle Hal nodded and would have spoken, but Louise Devereux said, "Discussing business across the dinner table is terribly ill-mannered, Richard. Leave that dull subject for your study."
"How can you say that?" he asked, surprised by her unaccountable opinion.
" 'Tis dull to me," the countess insisted. "I warrant your bride-to-be would much rather speak of other things. Wouldn't you, my dear?"
"Why not tell us about your childhood?" Morgana said to Keely, then glanced down the table at the dowager countess. "Your future daughter-in-law was born on the wrong side of the blanket. For the earl's sake, I do hope she hasn't inherited any bad habits."
Keely flushed with hot embarrassment. But what could she say? Morgana had spoken with brutal honesty.
"Guard your manners," Duke Robert warned.
" 'Tis the truth," the blonde defended herself.
"Morgana, darling," the Countess of Cheshire drawled. "Swallow your tongue."
"My sentiments exactly," Richard said, glaring at the woman he'd briefly considered marrying.
"What a woman carries inside her heart is more valuable than into which household she was born," Louise Devereux told the blonde. "Though we select our spouses and our friends, choosing our family is beyond our ability. We're stuck with whatever fate gives us."
"Isn't that the God-awful truth," the Countess of Cheshire agreed, glancing with distaste at Morgana.
"Well said, my love," Duke Robert added.
Keely felt her brother nudging her thigh. Glancing down, she saw him giving her "the fig." How could she have forgotten that quaint English Samhuinn custom?
"My lady, you defend me so prettily," Keely said to the earl's mother. "I must say—" She held her right hand into the air and poked her thumb through her index and middle fingers.
Everyone but the earl gasped in horrified surprise. Richard bolted out of his chair, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her out of the room.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" R
ichard snapped as the door closed behind them. "Is that your idea of civilized behavior?"
"Is telling your mother I like her forbidden?" Keely asked, confused by his anger.
"Telling my mother—?" Richard's emerald eyes widened, and unexpectedly he shouted with laughter. "Dearest, this"—he gave her the fig—"means 'fuck you.' "
"Holy stones! Henry pranked me," Keely cried, her hands flying to her breast as she realized the enormity of what she'd done. "Oh, Richard," she moaned. "I told your mother—what will I do?"
Richard pulled her into the circle of his arms and said in a husky voice, "I like the sound of my name on your lips."
"Hang that," Keely groaned. "I can never face your mother again."
"Consider the bright side, dearest. Queen Elizabeth could have been sitting in my mother's place."
Keely couldn't quite suppress the horrified giggle that bubbled up in her throat.
"I'll make the necessary explanation," Richard said, taking her hand.
Everyone was awkwardly silent when the couple returned to the dining chamber. They'd heard the earl's anger and then his peal of laughter.
Richard cleared his throat and, fighting against a smile, announced, " 'Twould appear that Keely has become the butt of a Halloween prank. Henry told her that gesture meant 'I like you.' "
"I'm sincerely sorry," Keely apologized to the earl's mother. Sliding into her seat, she promised her brother, "I'm going to strangle you."
"Give over," Henry said, wearing the most unrepentant grin. " 'Twas a stroke of genius and the best Halloween prank yet, though roasting Anthony was fun." He glanced at the earl and threatened, "Wait until you discover what we've planned for you."
Richard cast the boy an unamused look. "Henry, I shall derive the greatest pleasure from holding you down while Keely squeezes the life's breath from your devious body."
"I'll help," Morgana piped up. "And so will I," the Countess of Cheshire said. Keely looked at the dowager countess. "Would you care to join our Halloween celebration tonight?"
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