A Gentleman's Kiss

by Kimberley Comeaux

  He finally found the older man sitting on a crate in the last row with his head buried in his hands. His anger faded the moment George lifted his head, and he saw the misery in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, my lord. I know my behavior was inexcusable.”

  Cameron pulled up another crate and sat across from him. “Tell me what happened,” he said kindly.

  “She has the features of her mother,” he told Cameron, his voice shaky. “I noticed the first night you brought her to your house, after she’d been injured. I guess some part of me knew who she was, but I wouldn’t let myself believe it.”

  Cameron thought back to the night and the way they both looked at each other. “She told me that night that you seemed familiar to her. Family ties are often stronger than we’d like to admit.”

  George stared down at his hands. “But some have to be broken anyway.”

  “Not this tie, George. You don’t seem to understand—Claudia is not going to rest until you speak with her. You may be stubborn, but she is even more so.”

  “Are you ordering me to speak with her, my lord?” he asked stiffly, still looking down.

  “Of course not, George! I’m just asking you to consider it.”

  Cameron watched the older man wring his hands. “I’ll think on it, my lord,” he said finally.

  “Thank you, George.” He stood to go to the dining area.

  “She’s important to you, is she?” George asked.

  Cameron turned and saw the concern in the old man’s eyes. He may not want to speak to his granddaughter, but it didn’t mean he didn’t care for her. “Yes, she is. Very important.”

  George simply nodded and stared back down at his hands again, and Cameron left to join the others.

  When he reached the main room where everyone was eating, he couldn’t find Claudia. His searching gaze met North’s eyes, and he stood and crossed the room to Cameron.

  “She’s outside sitting on the pier,” North told him, without his asking.

  Cameron smiled sheepishly and clapped North on the shoulder. “Thank you.”

  As he stepped outside, he spied Claudia standing on the shelter’s private pier, which overlooked the Thames. Part of her beautiful dark hair had come loose in the wind and was blowing about her bare neck.

  “You’re not contemplating jumping in, are you?” he teased, hoping to lighten her gloomy mood. “I’m afraid the smells alone would do you in before the undercurrent could.”

  She glanced over and tried to smile at his words but only managed a grimace. “I confess I tried to eavesdrop at the door but was unable to hear your conversation.” She kept her gaze focused on the water.

  Cameron looked up at the sky as he attempted to hide his grin. “Well, I would have expected no less from the woman who befriends pirates and alligator hunters.”

  This time her small smile was genuine as she peeked at him from the corner of her eye. “Do not keep me in suspense. What did my obstinate grandfather have to say?”

  “He says you look very much like your mother, and I believe that looking at you makes him miss her.” He bent down and picked up a stick at his feet. He broke off pieces and threw them into the river. “He says he will consider speaking with you, but you must give him time to get used to having you here.”

  “That’s wonderful!” she cried, turning to him with her arms held wide. “When? When will he meet with me?”

  Cameron threw the rest of the sticks in the river and, after dusting his hands together, reached and took her hands into his own. “Give him time, Claudia. As he sees you day after day, it will be natural for you to get to know one another slowly.”

  “But that sounds like an eternity. I want him to acknowledge me now!”

  He tucked one of her hands into his arm and led her to an old bench. “Could God be showing you something else in your work here? Patience, perhaps?”

  She sat beside him and smoothed her skirts, avoiding his gaze. “I suppose you could be right.”

  Cameron chuckled as he leaned back on the bench, turning slightly toward her. “God has taught me all sorts of needed lessons since I’ve started the shelter. So you are not alone.” He thought of the conversation he had when he visited the family castle. “I learned a valuable one about my father just this week. He’s much more aware of my life than I thought.”

  Claudia glanced at him. “You know, I don’t know much about your family. Tell me about them.”

  His family was quite the odd lot, and he had to think about where he should begin. “Well, you’ve already met my mother,” Cameron said dryly.

  Claudia nodded, giggling. “Yes, and she gave me quite the direct cut at church yesterday.” He winced.

  “Yes, well, let’s quickly move on to my father,” he said with mock anxiousness, and she laughed again. “My father fancies himself quite a hunter, and though he can’t see more than three feet in front of him, he frightens all the poor birds of our shire with his bad shooting. I think he hunts mainly to stay out of the path of my younger sister Lucy. He simply does not know how to handle her.”

  Claudia nodded. “She sounds a lot like my sister, Josie.”

  “Katherine has always been the calm, reasonable one, so when Lucy came along he wasn’t prepared for her mischief-making ways.”

  “I’ll bet you are a wonderful big brother to your sisters,” Claudia said as she looked at him.

  He grinned. “If you don’t count the time I tried to engage Katherine’s husband, who was then her fiancé, in a duel, then I suppose they might say I’m a good brother.”

  As she smiled at him, he couldn’t help but reach up and smooth a stray hair from her face then let his hand linger on her cheek. “You are very beautiful, Claudia,” he said softly.

  “And you are getting off the subject,” she answered him, though she didn’t push his hand away.

  “Do you realize we have not argued once this whole day?”

  “It’s an absolute miracle.”

  “I think it is because you are beginning to like me.”

  Claudia rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away. “No, it is because you were finally behaving yourself, but apparently you can last only a few hours.”

  Cameron laughed and stood up, holding his hand out to her. “Come then. Let’s go in before you feel the urge to kiss me. I have my reputation at stake, you know.”

  Claudia ignored his hand and stood on her own, pursing her lips sternly to hide her smile. “You, sir, are a. . .a. . .”

  “Cad? Rogue?” he supplied.

  “Rascal!” she announced, looking pleased with herself.

  He walked her to the door and before opening it said, “But a very lovable rascal, am I not?”

  She groaned and covered her face with her hands. He took her hands from her face, kissed them both, and, before she could react, opened the door to the shelter.

  ❧

  The afternoon passed quickly for Claudia as she and Helen finished off the day by playing a game of hide-and-seek with the children. The men were busy bringing in more donated supplies and placing them in the storeroom.

  Though she had fun interacting with the children, Claudia’s mind kept returning to her conversation with Cameron on the pier. A change in their relationship seemed to have occurred during those few moments; a realization of sorts had come over her, ringing deep in her heart.

  She was falling in love with Cameron Montbatten.

  Claudia had always thought it would be different when she met the man she wanted to marry. She imagined the gentleman seeking her out at every ball; then after five or six such gatherings the young man would go to her grandfather and ask for her hand in marriage. After that they would go on chaperoned outings to the theater or perhaps a picnic. The wedding would follow after a couple of months, and Cl
audia and her husband would live happily ever after.

  Neat and tidy.

  But from the beginning her relationship with Cameron had been like sailing on a ship in rocky waters. She was happy one minute and upset the next. Sometimes she thought Cameron really liked her, and yet at other times she wasn’t certain of him at all.

  She still did not know how Aurora fit into his life. He never talked about her—never explained why he was sitting by her in church. He had spoken of her being his childhood friend, but didn’t friends like that often grow up and marry?

  Why couldn’t she be certain? Would he go to her grandfather soon and declare his intentions? Would he declare them to her?

  Claudia stopped a moment to bend down and tie a little girl’s shoe. While she did so, the child pulled off the white silk ribbon that had been pinned to Claudia’s hair. Knowing her hair was in ruins anyway, Claudia smiled as she took the ribbon and pinned it into the girl’s soft blond locks.

  She didn’t quite expect the little girl to throw her arms around her neck and thank her with so much fervor. One might have thought Claudia had given her a brand-new doll, instead of a piece of silk.

  Tears filled her eyes as the child ran back to her mother, proudly showing off her new bow. She was reaching up to dash away the tears when she saw Cameron standing by the doorway, staring at her with eyes filled with an unfathomable emotion.

  Embarrassed by her display of emotion, she stood and busily brushed her skirts, hoping he’d just walk past her.

  But Cameron, she knew, had a mind of his own.

  “I believe you are the only woman I’ve ever known to stay dry-eyed after being accosted yet cry when a little girl thanks you for a trinket,” he observed, walking up to her.

  She felt under her eyes to make sure they weren’t wet. “I was hoping you didn’t notice that. I usually never cry and—”

  He stopped her with his hand on her arm. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, my lady.”

  He smiled at her then strolled down the hall where the other men were. She glanced down at her arm and saw she still had goose bumps from the adoring look he’d flashed in her direction.

  “Oh, my!” Helen said, startling Claudia.

  “Uh. . .where did you come from?” she asked her friend as nonchalantly as she could manage. “I was about to come and find you.”

  “Of course you were,” she said, smiling. “And I suppose the amorous exchange I just witnessed between you and Cameron was a conversation about the weather.”

  Claudia opened her mouth to refute what Helen was implying, but she was eager to confide in someone. “Actually I don’t know what happened. I fear I am falling in love with him, but I am uncertain if he feels the same for me.”

  Helen shook her head. “Claudia, it is obvious Lord Kinclary is head over heels in love with you. He looks at you every time he enters the room.”

  “He does?”

  “Yes, and did you know he asked North to make sure we took you home every day? He doesn’t want you going to our home and then walking home by yourself.”

  Claudia considered her words for a moment. “But, Helen, shouldn’t he tell me of his feelings or perhaps go to my grandfather and state his intentions?”

  Helen nodded. “Yes, but give him time, Claudia. With the shelter on his mind and George on yours, he might want to take things slow. I’m sure he will not be able to wait long.”

  Claudia was not convinced but decided there was no use worrying about it either. “I hope you’re right. It’s so difficult having these feelings and not hearing them reciprocated from the man you love.”

  Helen nodded and smiled. “I went through the same thing with North. I loved him for years, even though everyone around me told me such a match could never be.” She patted Claudia on the shoulder. “Just keep believing God has it all under control. If you are meant to be married, then God will make it so.”

  Hearing her words made Claudia feel more confident. She had been praying for God’s guidance in her life, and He had led her to the shelter. It also seemed He had led her straight into the path of the Earl of Kinclary. Of course God would give her the answers she needed.

  “There is one thing, though,” Helen spoke again. Claudia did not like the hesitation in her friend’s voice. “I spoke with Katherine, Cameron’s sister, yesterday. She mentioned something about Aurora Wyndham and a rumor that Aurora’s father has given her an ultimatum to find a husband or else he’ll marry her off to old Lord Carmichael.”

  Claudia frowned. “Hasn’t he already been married four times?”

  “Yes, and she said Aurora has been pleading with Cameron to help her find a husband.”

  Suddenly Claudia felt lighter. “This is why he’s been talking to her so much. He’s helping her make a match!”

  Helen wasn’t smiling. “Yes, but I don’t know if I trust Aurora, and neither does Katherine. She told me Aurora was very good at manipulating people, and Katherine fears she’s using this only to get Cameron to marry her.”

  The light feeling left and was replaced by a sinking one. “Perhaps Cameron has feelings for Aurora, too,” she said faintly, hating the words as she spoke them.

  “God will sort it out,” Helen told her again more firmly.

  “Of course He will,” she answered, then prayed He would “sort it out” in her favor.

  Eleven

  “Lady Claudia! Please pay attention!” Mr. Loveless ordered in an irritating nasal tone, tapping the board with his piece of chalk. He so startled Claudia out of her daydreaming state that her elbow slid off her desk and hit her funny bone.

  Cradling her elbow and grimacing with pain, she responded to him, not even trying to mask her annoyance. “I’ve told you, Mr. Loveless—I know rules of proper address. Must we keep going through it?”

  He pinched his thin lips together, pushing his wire spectacles higher on his long nose. “I have been hired by his grace because he believes you to be ignorant on the subject of peerage, Lady Claudia, but for that to be accomplished I must have your cooperation!” He glared at her, then reached in his pocket and drew out his gold watch, snapping it open with a flick of his thumb. “Since it is the noon hour I shall allow you to break for lunch.”

  Claudia blew out a relieved breath and started to rise from her seat. “However,” he said, and she slumped back down, “I suggest you carry your notes with you and study them as you eat. We shall discuss them when you return at one o’clock sharp.”

  Claudia didn’t move in case he had anything else to add. But when he sat at his desk and started to draw food out of his bag, she stood and all but ran from the room.

  It had been like this for two days—ever since her grandfather found out she had addressed Baron Willetton as “sir” and not “my lord” at one of the balls she’d attended. He’d immediately sent out for Mr. Loveless, a tutor who specialized in the English Peerage, a directory of all the titled noble men and women of England. Then she’d been ordered to her old classroom and treated as if she were twelve instead of twenty!

  The worst part of this whole debacle was that she’d not been able to go back to the shelter since the first day. The only thing her grandfather would allow her to do was send a note to Helen and read her reply.

  Helen had assured her she would let Cameron know why she wasn’t coming to the shelter and that she and North would continue to work without her.

  The irony of this lesson her grandfather thought he was teaching her was that she already knew how to address the nobility. In fact she could practically name all those who served in the House of Lords, their lesser titles, and what son would inherit them. She’d misspoken the baron’s title but only because someone had introduced him as a baronet, who did use the title of “sir.”

  Instead of going to the dining room where she usually had lunch wi
th her aunt, she went to her room to ask that her food be brought up. She was pleasantly surprised when she found Helen waiting for her there.

  “Helen!” She walked to the settee where her friend sat reading one of her books. “What are you doing here?”

  Helen tossed the book on the seat and jumped up to meet Claudia. “I’ve come to rescue you!”

  Claudia shook her head. “How will you accomplish this? Grandfather has been adamant that I spend at least a week being tutored.”

  “I told him I need you to help me plan a ball.”

  Claudia looked at Helen for a moment. “A ball? I didn’t know you were planning a ball.”

  Helen giggled. “Well, I wasn’t until today.”

  Claudia shook her head. “But I can’t believe this alone would convince him.”

  “Well,” Helen drew out as if she were teasing her with a great secret, “it didn’t at first. But when I told him the prince regent would be there and I needed your opinion on choosing invitations and such, he readily agreed.”

  Claudia giggled along with her friend. “You are quite a planner, aren’t you? But how did you manage to get the prince to agree?”

  “North is a distant cousin, as you know, but even that didn’t sway him until we mentioned you were helping us put on the ball.”

  Claudia groaned. “It is only because he wants to hear more of my stories about Louisiana,” she grumbled. “But I have told him all I know.”

  Helen smiled confidently and patted her arm. “Then retell them. I’m sure he won’t mind hearing them again.”

  Claudia sighed. “I must confess I know nothing of planning a ball other than what my tutors have taught me.”

  Helen shrugged. “Neither do I. North does, though, so we’ll follow his lead.”

  Claudia was about to change the subject and ask how Cameron was doing when Helen stepped around her and opened up her wardrobe.

  “What are you doing?” Claudia asked curiously. She walked over to watch Helen sifting through her dresses.

  “Trying to find the perfect gown.” Helen paused and studied a silk dress in a particular shade of deep blue. “No, this doesn’t set the right tone,” she murmured and kept sorting through the others.