They had shared an amazing kiss in his bachelor’s quarters in London. A kiss he was certain her brothers were unaware of, for he wouldn’t still be standing if they had any idea of the passion and intensity behind it.
There was a knock at the door.
“Lord Grayson?” asked Westfield on the other side.
“Yes?” said Nate, as he slipped a small pistol into his pocket before opening the door.
The butler bowed to him. “His grace requests your presence in his study at your earliest convenience.”
That was odd. Nate and his father usually only saw each other at meals. And Nate was always careful to only eat from the dishes his father did. He wouldn’t rule out a poisoning, though he was fairly confident his father would not kill his only heir unless absolutely necessary.
Curious as to the reason for the summons, Nate followed Westfield down to the study where he found the duke at work. His father, though well into his sixties, was a fit man. He had once had fair hair like Nate’s, though now it was silver, but with very little of the thinning which was common to men his age. While the duke’s middle had thickened somewhat, his daily rides had helped him maintain a strong physique. Although Nate believed he could best the man in a fight, it would not be easy.
“You asked to see me, your grace?”
“If I hadn’t, you would not be here now. We have an invitation. An amusing one, at that. Did I ever tell you about the horrid American family who leased Ridgeway Manor late last year? Well, apparently, this…” Here, he looked at the invitation again. “…Babcock family has returned from London and has invited us to dinner, if you can imagine. The happy event will transpire in two days’ time.”
“You are not attending, are you?”
“I thought I might.”
“Why on earth for if they are horrid?”
“Ah, but there’s the rub. Some of my most fondly remembered dinners have been in the company of people I could not stand. I shall attend if only for the stories I will tell of it in the future. Will you be accompanying me?”
“No, thank you. Please extend my regrets.” This would give him a chance to search his father’s study.
“Did you and Ridgeway have a falling out?”
“No, sir. Why do you ask?”
“You refused to see Ridgeway and his brothers each time they have called and now you are passing up the opportunity to meet with them at dinner. It is very strange behavior.”
“They will be there?”
“Well, it is at their home, even if they are not living in the manor. And this Mrs. Babcock creature wrote a note at the bottom of the invitation telling me they are having not one but two earls in attendance. As if that might entice a duke to attend. I can only wonder what the woman is like in person.”
Nate thought how nice it would be to see the Emerson brothers. But then he thought of something else. “Will it just be the brothers in attendance?”
Judging from his father’s smile, Nate had given too much away.
“No. It appears that in addition to two earls, there will be other unnamed members of the Emerson family in attendance. Mayhap Winifred and her barrister husband will be there, as well as Lady Rosemary.”
Nate tried not to react at the mention of Rose, but it was a tall order given his feelings for her.
“What say you, Grayson? Are you up for an evening with the Babcocks? I hear they have a son. I imagine he has his sights set on Rosemary.”
“Your grace, it matters naught to me who this American may or may not have his sights on.” The hell it didn’t. “But I shall accompany you to dinner. I would not want my refusal to reflect poorly on you.”
“Yes,” his father said with a smirk. “I am certain I am foremost in your mind in all things.”
It was with great restraint that Nate was able to leave the room without letting lose the string of curses in his mind.
In two days’ time he would see the Emersons.
In two days’ time he would see Rose.
CHAPTER THREE
Rose believed the road to the manor house had never been this long. It was the evening of the Babcocks’ dinner and Rose and her family were on their way to the blasted event. Letty and Anna had stayed home with Mr. and Mrs. Stemple. It was unanimously agreed that the four of them would have a much better time than anyone else.
“Oh dear,” said Kate, as she walked arm-in-arm with Nick. “I am so afraid that I will embarrass all of you tonight by letting my tongue get the best of me. From what you have said, these Babcocks are terrible people. I am not certain I will be able to keep my opinions from making themselves known.”
“I just knew I loved you,” said Rose. “And I would like to remind my brothers and sister once again that they did an excellent job of finding spouses. The Babcocks were terribly rude to Ava, Letty and Anna when they were here before. Now I am certain they will be wonderfully jealous of our beloved Countess of Ridgeway. I, for one, am quite looking forward to it, though I am surprised they invited any of us to dinner, since I now have no unmarried brothers.”
“I cannot tell you how happy I am about that,” said Colin. “As much as I dread the socializing portion of the evening, I am glad to have an excuse to be back at the manor. I would like to have a look around to see if I can find any clues about Father’s activities during the war.”
“You mean when he was supposedly a spy for France?” asked Win. “I still cannot believe it of him, though I know he was desperate for funds.”
Rose watched as Alex leaned over and kissed Win. She knew he would have done anything to have saved her from the terrible ordeal of her first marriage, caused by the former earl’s money problems. They all would have. It was simply the Emerson way to sacrifice for a loved one, to risk everything to help.
All too quickly, they found themselves at the manor house.
“Are you cold, dearest?” Alex asked Win, who was shivering despite the warm night.
“No, I just have so many bad memories of this house.”
“We can still return home,” said Nick, hopefully.
“No,” said Win. “I believe it is best to carry on. We will make the best of it and laugh about it all later.”
“And I shall try my hardest to behave,” said Kate.
“Pray do not try too hard to curb your tongue,” said Rose. “I would hate to be the only one to tell them exactly what I think.”
Their old butler, Marvins, greeted the family with slightly more warmth than he had when they had actually lived there. Mayhap he was none too fond of the Babcocks, either.
Rose noted with interest the abundance of flowers in the entryway. Some poor maid had probably raided an entire meadow to get them there. The furniture was dusted to a fine sheen and the floors were spotless. The servants had been paid to stay at the manor for the duration of the Babcock family’s six-month lease, which was now drawing to an end. No doubt a few were now nervous about what would happen when the lease was up.
Rose was nervous because she did not know if Nate would be there. The thought had kept her awake at night ever since Colin had received the invitation. She could not wait to see him. To take in his easy smile. To drink in his elegant form.
She finally saw him as they were ushered into the grand sitting room, where Nate was the object of Nora Babcock’s attentions. And the lady herself – if she could be called a lady – was leaning over, exposing much of her ample bosom.
And to think Rose had been worried about him.
* * *
From the moment Nate had entered Ridgeway Manor and found himself under siege by both Nora Babcock and her insufferable mother, he had cursed his decision to join his father for dinner. He wondered if the duke had tricked him into coming simply to torture him with first Mrs. Babcock’s incessant praise of her eldest daughter’s beauty and wit – the latter of which was wholly lacking – and then with said offspring’s extremely forward attempts to curry his favor. The two ladies were so brazen, he half expecte
d to be ushered off to a bedchamber by Miss Babcock, then be locked in by her scheming mama.
He had been there for half an hour and was waiting with some impatience to see Rose and her family walk through the door. At one point he had panicked, thinking they would not come. But only moments later, Marvins had quietly announced to Mrs. Babcock that the Emersons had been sighted walking up the drive.
“Walking!” Mrs. Babcock exclaimed. “I have never heard of anything so common. Why, I am quite certain we would never arrive at a party on foot, would we, Mr. Babcock?”
“I should say not, though I imagine Ridgeway cannot afford a carriage. I am surprised he has not been thrown in debtors’ prison since last we saw him, despite having kept the money for our lease.”
Nate’s jaw clenched so hard he thought it would break. But he could not defend Colin too much, for his father might use his affection for the family against him.
The village’s biggest gossip, Mrs. Stennis, lowered her voice in a conspiratorial tone. “I even heard he has tried to make his living as an author, if you can imagine. Mayhap, he will write a lurid novel about his sister the murderess.”
“Mrs. Lewis is not a murderess,” said Nate, despite the fact his father was watching him with interest. “The Crown made a grievous error in charging her. Pray bear that in mind since slander is also a crime.”
“Well, at least we know Ridgeway did not buy her way out of trouble, since he has no coin to spend,” said Mrs. Babcock.
“His half-brother, the Earl of Layton, has plenty of money,” said Mrs. Stennis, whose presence at the party was a mystery to Nate. He could not imagine inviting the annoying woman to anything. “Who knows what he arranged? There are even rumors that he would have killed his cousin Simon, had he not died…” Here, her voice trailed off a bit. No doubt she realized she was speaking of a death which had occurred at Bancroft Castle.
The duke himself looked oddly amused.
“Yes,” said Nate casually. “Simon Chilcott’s death was rather sudden, though I am quite certain the Earl of Layton would never have harmed his cousin.” What lay unspoken was that Nate was fairly certain his father had had something to do with Simon’s death.
“My lord,” said Miss Babcock, as she leaned toward Nate. “I must tell you I find the Wiltshire countryside quite beautiful in spring. It must look especially lovely from your castle on the hill.”
The chit’s cleavage was much too revealing for an unmarried woman, though her gown was obviously an expensive one. Miss Babcock’s younger sister Myra was also wearing an expensive gown. While she wasn’t as favored as her sister in looks, she was sitting across the room, speaking little and looking quite bored.
Nate was brought back to the present by Miss Babcock’s hand on his thigh. She had arranged her skirt to cover the area between her and his person. No one could see that she was touching him, though he had a feeling that if informed of it, Mrs. Babcock would utter a hale “Well done, clever girl.”
“I would dearly love to see the views from the castle,” said Miss Babcock, as she ran her fingers up his leg.
He caught her hand, then pushed it away as gently, but firmly, as possible. She grabbed hold of his fingers with a grip which could crush bone. They were inches away from each other, thusly engaged when he suddenly became aware of the men standing because the Emerson ladies had just entered the room. And Rose was staring straight at him.
Glaring was more like it, though she quickly schooled her features and smiled brilliantly at the room.
He almost groaned aloud. But at least their arrival gave him an excuse to rise from the settee and escape Miss Babcock’s clutches.
He bowed to the ladies. Rose gave the briefest of curtsies, then turned to their hosts.
“We did not have the opportunity to meet Lady Winifred when last we were here,” said Mrs. Babcock.
“Actually, I prefer to be called Mrs. Lewis,” said Win with a fond look for her husband.
“Well, that is very queer, is it not?” asked Mrs. Babcock. “I was told a lady may continue using her title, even after marrying a plain mister. Is it because this is your second marriage that you have given up your title or because of that whole murder business?”
“It is because I love my husband with all my heart, that I prefer to be called by his name,” said Win with the grace she was known for.
When Mrs. Babcock looked to be on the verge of another rude comment, Kate spoke up. “Mrs. Babcock, I am so very glad you brought up titles. The last thing I ever expected was that one day I would be a countess, what with all the bowing and scraping and jewels and what not. What about you, Lady Ridgeway? It must have come as quite a surprise to just suddenly become a countess with absolutely no effort on your part.”
Nate had to bite his cheeks to keep from laughing at Kate’s deceptively innocent question. No doubt the Emersons had told her how much the Babcocks had schemed to get Colin to marry Nora. And now the new Lady Layton had just lobbed a shot across the bow at Mrs. Babcock because she had insulted Win.
Rose looked like she wanted to kiss Kate. Nate rather wished Rose would look at him like that.
Ava coughed – perhaps to cover a laugh – then smiled at her new sister. “It has certainly been an adjustment, though I am simply happy that our family is all together again. And I am very pleased to welcome the new additions.”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Stennis. “I imagine Lord and Lady Layton’s wedding was quite nice, though no one here was invited. Of course, I understand your need to keep the wedding breakfast a small affair.”
That was a pointed reminder that the Emersons’ finances were still precarious. But before Kate could come to the rescue again, Miss Nora Babcock stepped forward. “Mama, is it not time for us all to go into dinner? Lord Grayson, would you like to escort me?”
Then she slipped her arm into his and Nate realized he’d been neatly outmaneuvered again.
He hoped he would have better luck in his strategy with his father than he was having tonight with one ambitious American chit.
CHAPTER FOUR
Rose wasn’t certain she would be able to make it through dinner without pulling Miss Babcock aside for a discussion. Preferably by grabbing her hair and dragging her out of the dining room.
Miss Babcock was shamelessly brushing her bosom against Nate’s arm at every opportunity and he, of course, was doing nothing to stop it. And it didn’t help matters that Richard Babcock had insisted on escorting her into dinner and was now sitting much too close and nattering on about all of the plays and operas he had seen in London.
“Richard,” said Mrs. Babcock. “What are you discussing with Lady Rosemary?”
“I was just telling her about some of the entertainments I’d experienced in Covent Garden.”
“Excuse me, sir?” said Nate in a tone which surprised Rose with its harshness. “I hardly think that is a proper topic of conversation with a lady.”
“On the contrary, Lord Grayson,” Rose couldn’t help but adding, just to see if she could be even half as interesting as Miss Babcock’s bosom. “I would have liked to have seen the entertainments of Covent Garden when we were in London.”
Her brothers coughed and suddenly Rose realized there might be a second meaning to Covent Garden entertainments. She had only been speaking of the various theatres which populated that area of the city.
“Oh, really?” said Richard in a manner which only confirmed Rose’s fears. “How I wish I would have known that when we were both there.”
“What my sister means,” said Colin, “is that she has always enjoyed the arts. She has been a voracious reader since an early age. Indeed, I would like to take some of the books from the manor’s library back to the dower house.”
“You may do as you please with the books,” said Mrs. Babcock. “We have no use for anything of a bluestocking nature.”
“Mayhap I can escort Lady Rosemary to the library right now so she may take what pleases her,” said Richard.
“That is enough, Babcock!” said Nate, before any of Rose’s brothers could say it.
Fine, thought Rose. It was all well and good for Nate to flirt as much as he’d like with Miss Babcock’s bosom, but just let a cretin like Richard Babcock show any interest in her and it was as if Nate owned her.
Even if he did have possession of her heart.
Marvins led the staff in for the next course. They removed the covers to reveal fish sautéed in peppers and onions. It was an especially pungent dish and certainly a departure from the simple, but delicious meals Maude prepared.
“Ava, my love, are you well?” asked her worried husband.
Rose turned to see that Ava looked rather green. Indeed, it appeared as if she might be sick at any moment. Both Colin and Irene were at her side, helping her stand and leading her away from the table.
“Please excuse me,” said Ava, as she leaned into her husband.
Rose’s first instinct was to go to Ava, but she was certain her sister-in-law wouldn’t want any more attention directed her way. Ava had had other bouts of sickness in these early months of pregnancy, though Anna had assured her that they would soon be behind her. One of the girl’s tasks in her village had been to help deliver babies. It was odd to think that Rose’s six-year-old niece knew more about how babies were born than she did.
“I suspect she might be in the family way,” said Mrs. Stennis. “Though I must say it is most inconsiderate of her to disrupt our meal.” She then ate her fish as if the fish were trying to eat her.
Before Rose could give Mrs. Stennis the setdown she deserved, Win stepped in. “It is most inconsiderate to speak ill of a person in her absence, especially since she is one of the kindest ladies of my acquaintance.”
“I am quite certain I would not behave in such a manner if I were enceinte,” Miss Babcock said to Nate quietly, but loud enough for Rose to overhear. “Being with child does appear to be a rather distasteful state, though I believe the process which leads up to it would be a great deal more agreeable. Would you not agree, Nate?”
Always Forever (Emerson Book 5) Page 2