Well, if she was being put to the inconvenience of living in his house for an unspecified amount of time, she would find a way to make him to tell her. Any hopes that she had harboured on a visceral level about indulging their mutual passion had been dashed by her moment of indiscretion, so she might as well satisfy her curiosity. It was the only part of her likely to gain any satisfaction, she thought.
Hell and damnation, the prime minister had plenty of other people to call on! Why insist upon thrusting Jake into one dangerous or politically volatile situation after another simply because he happened to be so good at ferreting out the truth? Derby was selfish and inconsiderate of the feelings of others. The next time their paths crossed, Olivia would not hesitate to tell him as much. The days of being sent to the tower for speaking one’s mind were long past.
‘Very well,’ she said, turning for the door, in too much emotional turmoil to risk looking at Jake again. ‘We will move tomorrow. Have the goodness to send a carriage for us. Mine will not accommodate us all.’
Chapter Twelve
To avoid the upheaval in the house the following morning, Amelia passed the time by walking in Olivia’s garden. Olivia and Eva were trying to decide what to pack, as well as organising the children who were overexcited at the prospect of an unexpected jaunt. Amelia had no such difficulty since her possessions were few. Eva had loaned her another gown for daytime and a second evening gown. They had already been packed for her by Olivia’s maid and there were no other preparations for her to make.
Amelia was unimaginably nervous at the prospect of leaving what already felt like a safe and comfortable haven here in Chelsea. She pinched herself, struggling to come to terms with the fact that she was about to live in one of the finest mansions in Grosvenor Square—as the guest of an earl, no less! Olivia’s home seemed palatial to her but she understood it was nothing compared to the opulent splendour of Lord Torbay’s establishment. His servants would notice her for the impostor that she was in the blink of an eye. Servants had a sixth sense in that regard and were often more class conscious than the masters they served. There was a strict order of importance below stairs and woe betide anyone who developed ideas above their station.
People such as her.
Well, she would just have to endure their disdain with stoicism. Papa had not found her yet, which was all that mattered. He must be furious with her, and very worried because he obviously had plans for her that would help him with his own ambitions. Plans that he had not troubled himself to discuss with her because, naturally, she would do as she was told.
‘How far I have come in two days,’ she muttered to herself, laughing at Tabitha as the cat stalked through the undergrowth. Her tail caused the bushes to rustle and sway, giving her presence away long before she reached the bough of a tree from which a bird peered down at her with a superior, beady-eyed look. The same disdainful look Amelia would likely receive from Lord Torbay’s servants. ‘You need to be a little less obvious, Tabitha,’ she advised as the bird took to the wing with a loud squawk and clatter of wings.
Amelia plucked at a daisy and whimsically tucked the bloom behind her ear, thinking of Lord Willard and his marked attentions of the previous evening. She had felt awkward and out of place but as the evening progressed and his easy manners endured she gradually relaxed. Open and friendly by nature, he talked to her as though she was his equal, drawing her out and finding something to interest him in the answers she gave to his questions. She congratulated him upon not falling asleep since Amelia must be the dullest person on the planet. She had never travelled outside London, had no great talents to lay claim to, was not even very pretty and became tongue-tied and clumsy—a blushing bundle of maladroit hesitancy—in such exalted company. She had absolutely nothing to recommend her, other than tales of a grandmother who’d had the courage to defy her family and follow her heart.
Frustratingly, Amelia knew little about that grandmother since her name was never mentioned except in quiet asides between Amelia and her mama. Why had Amelia not realised that before and thought to ask Mama why her grandmother was persona non grata? Were the family ashamed of her? In all probability Papa did not approve, either of Grandmama’s rebelliousness or the trust that precluded him from helping himself to her money. Baby steps, she thought, surprised and emboldened by her willingness to think badly of Papa. Each day she felt the chains of filial duty that had directed her every conscious thought and action loosen their vice-like grip. The hand of God did not strike her down for her disobedience and the earth continued to spin on its axis.
She turned her face towards the sun, which was struggling to reveal itself from behind a bank of cloud, and smiled. It suddenly felt good to be alive.
‘You look very pleased with yourself.’
Amelia almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of Lord Willard’s deep, arresting voice. She took a moment to regain her composure before turning to face him. He leaned against a tree, watching her, an indolent smile playing on his lips.
‘Lord Willard, you frightened me half to death! I thought I was completely alone.’
‘Then I apologise for startling you.’ He levered himself away from the tree and walked towards her. ‘I thought you had company. I heard you talking.’
‘I was talking to Tabitha,’ she said, wincing as she thought how ridiculous that must sound to a sophisticated gentleman of his ilk.
He chuckled, but not unkindly. ‘One-sided conversations with animals can, in my experience, be most gratifying.’ He fell into step beside her. ‘At least they don’t disagree with one; nor do they offer anything other than uncomplicated and unconditional loyalty.’
‘That is undeniable.’ She sent him a sideways quizzical look. ‘What are you doing here, my lord? I thought we were moving to Grosvenor Square, not receiving callers.’
‘I have been despatched, along with Jake’s carriage, to escort you all. Jake has an appointment with Thorndike.’
‘The prime minister’s aide. Gosh, how very important he is.’
Amelia was rewarded with another throaty chuckle. ‘That is not quite how Jake described the appointment before he left to keep it. However, I shall not offend your sensibilities by repeating his precise words.’
‘I have a brother, Lord Willard, who does not always mind his language. I am also accustomed to visiting the glassworks where almost all the employees are men. They don’t moderate their language either, which makes for an interesting alternative education. I can assure you I shall not swoon if I overhear the odd profanity.’
‘Even so, you shall not hear them pass my lips.’
She inclined her head, dislodging the daisy, pleased with his pristine manners. ‘Thank you for that courtesy.’
‘You make it sound as though you are unaccustomed to gentlemanly behaviour.’ He elevated a brow in evident surprise. ‘Presumably your Mr Mason treated you with respect.’
Amelia plucked at a blade of grass and shredded it between her fingers, allowing the pieces to flutter to the ground. ‘He is not mine and, in fairness, I could find no fault with his manners. Just with the man himself.’
‘I am very glad to hear it.’ He sent her one of his crooked smiles that so appealed to her. ‘Anyway, why are you not part of the mayhem in the house? For someone who was reluctant to leave it for long, Olivia seems to have amassed a great deal of luggage in the hallway.’
‘She has a child to think of, as well as her own needs. Children are apt to accumulate possessions they cannot manage without.’
‘Ah, that would be it.’
‘Are you laughing at her, Lord Willard?’ Amelia sent him a reproachful look. ‘If you are, I ought to warn you that I shall protect my friend’s right to have as much luggage as she pleases; especially since she is being inconvenienced by moving, partly for my sake.’
‘I am smiling at your loyalty, which is an admirable trait. And speaking of luggage, are you not also thrown into confusion about what to take with you?’
; ‘I do not have anything to take,’ she replied, casting a dubious look at her gown. It was the same dull garment she had left her father’s home wearing, but at least her hair was now fashioned in a more flattering style and she had discovered a modicum of confidence in herself from somewhere. ‘Fortunately Eva has generously loaned me a few items, and I shall just have to make do with them.’
‘You are perfect just the way you are.’
Amelia blushed at the compliment and had no idea how to respond to it. ‘You know everything there is to know about me, Lord Willard,’ she said, clutching at the first subject that sprang to mind that diverted the conversation away from her. ‘My dull life is an open book but yours must be very different. And yet, apart from the fact that you are a viscount, I know nothing at all about you.’ Her blush deepened. ‘Oh, I beg your pardon! Your affairs are none of my business. Of course they are not. Please forgive me. You make me feel so at ease that I forgot myself for a moment.’
‘I am glad you feel comfortable with me. Most people do.’ A congenial smile accompanied his declaration. ‘I suppose I seem approachable because, unlike Jake, I never manage to seem stern and intimidating. Not that he intends to. It’s just his way.’
‘He terrifies me, even though he is always charming and polite and does his best to put me at my ease. But I could never be entirely comfortable with a gentleman so far above me in society, even if he does not flaunt his position. There is…oh, I don’t know, just something about him. How to describe it?’ She threw her head back and closed her eyes, searching for the right words. Unable to see where she was going, she stumbled on an uneven flagstone, causing Lord Willard’s arm to shoot out to prevent her from falling. A frisson of awareness spiralled through her at the touch of his fingers on her arm. Her blush returned and she averted her now open eyes as she thanked him. ‘I must add clumsiness to my list of shortcomings,’ she said with a nervous little laugh.
‘Thank you for the advance warning. I shall have an excuse to remain on hand to catch you whenever you fall.’
The warmth in his expression as he made a joke of her ungainliness increased her awareness of his close proximity. Embers of nervous warmth worked their way through her body as he held her gaze. Lord Willard was not just being polite, she realised. He had come in search of her because he enjoyed her society. The realisation was liberating. One did not have to be beautiful, witty or well-connected to feel…well, a connection to a member of the opposite sex. Such reactions transcended the social order and were governed by animal instinct. That, she now understood, had been the vital element missing in her relationship with Mr Mason.
Her attraction to Lord Willard was unfortunate in its inappropriateness. She was not so lost to reason that she did not know that perfectly well. Even so, she could revel in the deep oneness she felt with him because only she was aware that it existed. A dangerous secret that she had no intention of revealing for fear of being laughed at or assumed presumptive. Perhaps their meeting of minds was the reason she had voiced her probing questions about his family circumstances. She wanted to know everything about him. She could have asked Olivia but would prefer to hear it from his own lips and know that he wanted to tell her.
‘An aura of power and invulnerability that I find daunting.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Oh sorry, before I almost tumbled at your feet I was searching for the right words to describe how Lord Torbay affects me.’
‘Oh, Jake has his vulnerabilities, just like the rest of us.’ Lord Willard screwed his features into an expression of doubt. ‘Well, I presume he must have but he seldom reveals them.’ He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘I think he perfected the persona he now shows to the world in his younger years to discourage ladies with ambitions of becoming his countess from setting their sights on him. Then he found it a useful way to deter members of both sexes from becoming too familiar. Everyone wants something from him, you see, and I can quite understand how tiresome that must become. The single ladies want to marry him, the married ones want…well, I am sure you can imagine what they would like from Jake, and gentlemen constantly want something from a man of his vast wealth and consequence. Anyway, he has a lot of responsibility and little time to follow his own interests.’
‘Yes, I can quite see that.’ Amelia wondered if he was referring to Lord Torbay’s obvious interest in Olivia and his disinclination or inability to do anything about it. She wanted to ask but it would definitely be an inappropriate question.
‘Don’t imagine I am deceived,’ Amelia said as they reached the end of the path they were following and turned to retrace their steps. Tabitha dashed across it in front of them, in hot pursuit of some hapless rodent, startling Amelia and causing her to stumble again. Her protector kept his promise and caught her arm.
‘Perhaps we ought to secure this here,’ he said, laughing as he tucked her hand firmly into the crook of his arm. ‘It might be safer.’
‘You see, you are doing it again,’ Amelia protested, feeling no pressing need to remove her hand from the rock hard security of its resting place.
‘How have I given offence?’
‘Well, first you tell me I can ask you anything I like about your family circumstances but every time I attempt to do so you change the subject. Instead we entered into a discussion about Lord Torbay’s circumstances. Then, clearly sensing that the conversation was about to return to you, you chose to refer to my clumsiness.’ She shot him a look intended to be disapproving but spoiled the effect when a smile slipped past her guard. ‘Hardly gallant. Besides, if you do not wish to tell me, simply say so.’
Amelia was hot with embarrassment. What had happened to the shy, retiring Miss Amelia Armitage who never spoke without first considering her words? Lord Willard had obviously done away with her and replaced her with a more entertaining creature, for which she could scarce blame him.
‘Actually, it was you who broached the subject of clumsiness, not I.’ He sent her one of his friendly smiles, making it impossible to take offence at the reminder. ‘And I have not the least objection to telling you all there is to know about me, which is remarkably…well, ordinary. Unlike Jake, I am neither handsome nor filthy rich.’ He grinned good-naturedly. ‘It seems grossly unfair that Jake should have been smiled upon by Mother Nature as well as the circumstances of his birth, but there you are. Life is not fair.’
‘No,’ Amelia agreed, wanting to tell him that she thought him every bit as handsome as Lord Torbay and far easier to talk to. ‘It is not. I have good reason to know it.’
‘My family has a small estate in Hertfordshire. I inherited that and the title when my father died five years ago. I have three older sisters, all married and scattered throughout the country, and no brothers. My mother died two years ago. My circumstances are modest, I keep a suite of rooms here in Park Street and spend my days toiling away for Jake.’ He bestowed an engaging smile upon her profile. ‘And that, Miss Armitage, is all there is to know about me.’
‘I don’t believe that for a moment.’ She canted her head and returned his smile. ‘What do you do for Lord Torbay? I hope you are not always putting yourself in danger.’
He laughed. ‘I am grateful for your concern but let me assure you that I am more likely to die of boredom. I know of Jake’s various assignments but he seldom has need to involve me in them.’ He grinned. ‘Political intrigue is not my bag and it is by pure chance that I am involved on this occasion. My sister brought Mabel to my attention, you see. Fanny helps at a church school in the East End, which is how she came to know Mabel. She stuck in my sister’s memory simply because she was one of Fanny’s few success stories; keen to learn and determined to improve herself.’
‘Which is how she got into trouble with my brother,’ Amelia replied, wrinkling her nose. ‘He picked up on her love of reading and exploited it to his own advantage.’
‘I would love to be able to reassure you, but unfortunately that appears to be the case.’ L
ord Willard fixed her with a sympathetic smile, probably sensing in his intuitive way that she still had difficulty aligning her brother’s behaviour with the man she thought she knew. ‘Anyway, my sister asked me if I could do anything to help the girl. I knew of Jake’s interest in your father’s business, thought the girl might be able to shed some light on it, and that is how I became involved.’
‘I see.’ They reached the paved terrace behind the house and seated themselves on a bench in the sunshine that had briefly won its battle with the clouds. Lord Willard removed his hat and ran his hand through his mop of unruly curls. He was like an overgrown schoolboy, Amelia decided, thinking just how appealing he seemed with his lack of artifice and congenial temperament. ‘What are you normal duties for his lordship?’ she asked.
‘I manage his obscene fortune for him,’ Lord Willard replied, grinning. ‘I am good at investments, have a knack for figures, and he trusts me to advise him on the matter.’
‘How very clever of you.’
‘Ha, if I was that clever I would not need to work for someone else.’
‘I am not deceived.’ Amelia sent him a knowing look. ‘I think you rather enjoy your association with Lord Torbay.’
‘Well, life is certainly never dull when Jake is around.’
‘Do you spend the majority of your time in town?’
‘I come and go as necessary. I have a reliable manager but the estate still needs some of my attention and I don’t like to embroil myself too much in society.’ He stretched his legs out in front of him and his affable expression faltered. ‘I cannot abide all the artifice, if you want to know the truth.’
‘And I suppose you are a target for the match-making mamas as well.’
‘Yes. Incredible, isn’t it? I have a title and a modest property and so I must be suitable marriage material. Compatibility doesn’t come into it.’ He turned to smile at her and the frosty grip of winter left his eyes. ‘It is one of the few subjects that rouses me to anger.’
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