“Then why,” she whispered, “are we going fishing?” It was perhaps not the cleverest thing to say but she was in a daze and very happy there.
A few hours ago she had said no. But now the word was beyond her. She wanted him. She wanted to know his body as well as she knew his mouth. She wanted to feel him as close to her as a man and woman could be, in a way that made words unimportant, in a way that spoke of love without ever saying it.
David stepped back, one step, then two. Mia would not move from the door until her legs were more capable of supporting her.
“We are going fishing because if I had to watch Kyle fawning over you for another minute—” He stopped, turned around and adjusted his clothes, ran a hand through his hair and started over, still with his back to her. “If I leave you alone you will find more trouble than I can handle without hurting someone.” He looked over his shoulder, his face grim. “Show me what I will need to fish.”
His distress was so sincere that Mia went through the steps of gathering what she needed, even though it would be too dark to have a hope of catching anything. David made a show of following her directions and finally tossed it all to the floor.
“I will watch you. Or go for a swim in the coldest water I can find.”
“That will scare the fish away.”
His expression alone would scare the fish away. Without another word, Mia put the fishing rods back in their braces and opened the door that led outside. “If we hurry we can see what insects the fish are rising to. Then tomorrow I can show you how to choose a fly and the best way to cast.”
“Mia, I have no desire to learn to angle with a fly.”
“Then come and smoke one of your stupid cigarillos.” Could he not tell that she just wanted to spend some time with him, alone?
She began to not-quite-run down to the river. The stays and her narrow skirt made an actual run impossible. He followed her at what was, given his longer stride, merely a stroll. When they were far enough away from the house that Mia felt they were committed to a walk, she slowed.
“You are not the only one who observed at dinner, David. Ettie talked to you endlessly and Blanche could not keep her eyes off you.”
“Blanche? Franklin kept calling her Candy,” David said, and after a beat added, “She does look good enough to eat.”
Mia turned her head slowly to see his expression. When their eyes met they both began to laugh, and continued until Mia had tears in her eyes and David had to stop walking to catch his breath.
“Oh, that was so much fun!”
David was not sure if Mia meant the laughter or the dinner.
“I know you have seen it all before, my lord, but the way Blanche let the fish fall on her bosom. It was so obvious. And yet Franklin was all too willing to help her remove it.”
“Did you see that? I hoped that the least Kyle would do was distract you from their goings-on.” David resumed walking at a slower pace. Mia followed.
“Yes, and I heard her ask the footman to have some of the whipped cream delivered to her room.” Mia almost asked why she would want that later, and then realized that with a little whipped cream in the right place, dear Blanche would be good enough to eat. “And the footman did no more than nod,” Mia finished, rather proud of her sophistication.
“He’s seen worse here, I’m sure.”
For just a second Mia wondered how the duke found servants willing to tolerate his guests, then deliberately did not think about how often the Pennistan brothers had made up a party. “I always thought Lord Kyle was such a gentleman, and he proved it tonight. He might have been a little bold or perhaps risqué but he never went too far.”
When David’s brow furrowed she hurried on.
“He did not insult me in any way, David, but he was quite willing to play the game.”
“Kyle is less roué than he pretends.”
“But why?” Mia faced David and danced backward toward the river. “He has so much to recommend him.”
“He does it to upset his father, who persists in treating him like a schoolboy. So Kyle acts like one. He will inherit an earldom with virtually no idea how to handle it.”
“The complete opposite of Meryon. How odd they are such good friends.”
“Not at all. Have you not observed how often opposites attract?”
“Are you talking about us?” She stumbled a little but did not fall.
David laughed.
Exactly how much had he drunk? Nothing, she thought, but he never laughed this much.
“You are not all that I think about, Mia.”
“Then who did you mean?”
He thought for a moment, proving that she was who he had been thinking of. “You and Bendasbrook prove it. You are too much alike. Elena and Meryon are a good example of opposites. She loves the crowds at a party and Meryon would as soon find a quiet room. And he cannot sing at all.”
“Nonsense. Elena might not seek privacy, but she will talk to the same person for an hour. They both are exactly the same. Except for the music.” She turned to face him, her hands on her hips. “Admit it, you were talking about us.”
Perhaps he had been. But he would never say it aloud.
“David,” she said, taking his hand and swinging it between them. “When was the last time you had fun?”
“Fun is for children.”
“Well, there is one way in which we are opposites, because I have fun every time I play an instrument. I have fun when I angle. I have fun when I shop for new clothes. I have fun when we laugh together. So, when do you have fun?”
He shook his head but she could see he was thinking about it. He had fun when he was in a boxing ring. He had had a grand time intimidating Mr. Cole, and he had enjoyed provoking that man who had insulted her. And he and she both definitely had fun when they kissed.
“David, admit it. If we can laugh together, surely we could have fun together?” It was as close as she would allow herself to come to asking him for more attention.
As she waited for possibly the most important answer of her life, Mia heard Janina calling to her. When she turned Nina was running across the grass.
“Signorina, what are you thinking? You cannot wear that dress to catch fish! You must change first.”
Mia let out a sharp breath. There were times when Nina was too scrupulous.
“Nina, we are not fishing. We are only going for a walk.”
“Think of all the times during the war when we had to make do with old styles, even patching our favorite gowns! Come into the house this instant and change.”
“We are not going fishing.” Go away, Nina, Mia thought in as loud a voice as her imagination could summon. We are talking about something important. Do not destroy the mood.
“That is quite enough.” David stepped in front of Mia and spoke directly to Janina.
Why could he not mind his own business?
“Miss Castellano is the one in charge here. She can do as she wishes.”
“Do not criticize Nina. She is not at fault. She is sweet and fragile and your ill will is appalling.” Mia grabbed Janina’s hand. “He is not angry with you.” Janina nodded doubtfully and Mia turned back to David. “If you are angry, yell at me.” It does not upset me. He took her suggestion to heart.
“You seem to delight in associating with all the wrong kind of people, Mia. Those women tonight were courtesans and you actually seemed to enjoy yourself.”
“What you need is a boxing ring to go a round or two with Lord Kyle. Please do not lose your temper.”
“I am not losing my temper.” He parsed the words out, proving the opposite.
Oh dear, Mia thought. Then she saw Romero coming across the lawn, striding in a purposeful way. Oh hell, she thought, using the word quite deliberately.
He confronted David with his fists raised. “You are insulting the woman I am going to marry.” He stood slightly shorter than Lord David but that did not stop him from stepping closer. “Prepare to defend yourself, y
ou arrogant aristocrat.”
Dio mio, they were going to replay the French Revolution here on the lawn at Sandleton. Thank God there were no knives around. Then Mia remembered the one that David had on him during the confrontation with Dilber. She ran around the two, who were preparing to fight by taking off their coats. Nina was wailing quietly, almost to herself.
“Nina, we must stop them.” Mia grabbed Nina’s arm and began to pull her toward the combatants, who were now loosening their cravats.
“Yes, yes, or Romero will kill him.” Nina grabbed Mia’s other hand and stopped their advance.
“No, he won’t,” Mia said with some exasperation, pulling her hands out of Nina’s. “David will kill Romero.”
They might have argued about it themselves but there was no time.
While Mia took a moment to consider the best approach, Nina wrapped her hands around Romero’s waist. “You will stop this nonsense now.”
Romero growled and dropped his hands to try to pry Nina’s off him.
Mia did her one better and jumped up onto David’s back, wrapping her legs around his middle. She heard something rip and hoped it was David’s coat and not her dress.
David grabbed her hands but did not try to push her off; rather he held her as though afraid she would fall.
“David,” she whispered into his ear and refused to be distracted when he shivered. “Listen. Janina is my sister.”
“Drop off my back, Mia. Do it now.”
“David, why must I say everything twice? Nina is more than a maid. Did you hear me?”
“Yes.” He paused as if patience would come to him if he waited a moment. “This is no position in which to have a discussion.”
“I don’t know. I do have your complete attention.”
“Off me, Mia, or I promise you are the one I will punish.”
“I’d like to see you try,” she murmured as she slid off his back.
Nina and Romero waited, arm in arm, though Mia thought it was more to keep Romero under control than a gesture of solidarity.
David straightened his clothes and ran a hand through his hair. “Did you say that Janina is your sister?”
“Oh, Mia.” Janina’s two words were laced with disappointment.
“Explain your relationship with Janina.”
“Lord David!” Janina almost shouted. Her raised voice made even David pause. Having gained his attention, she gathered her composure around her like armor. “If we are going to talk about my relationship to the Castellanos, I must swear you to secrecy.” Janina spoke in a firm voice.
“I promise discretion, miss, but I will not promise silence until I know the story.”
A tense silence settled between them, but finally Nina gave a little nod.
“Shall I begin?” Mia asked Nina.
Nina nodded again, this time with more certainty.
Mia turned to David. “My father had a years-long affair of the heart with the seamstress who came to our home. It began shortly after my mother died and lasted until the signora’s own death from an inflammation of the lungs.” Mia heard Nina sniff and saw Romero take her into his arms, resting her against his shoulder.
“I was six, and one day my father brought the prettiest little girl to the schoolroom and announced that she would be my companion.” Mia smiled at Nina. “I was delighted. It was like having a live doll with which to play. She was three and so tiny and her eyes were so big and she cried so easily. I loved cosseting her and making her feel better with treats.”
Mia watched David look from one to the other of them and shake his head. “How could I miss the resemblance?”
“No one sees it. She has her mother’s temperament, which is the exact opposite of mine. She detests adventures.” A thought occurred to Mia. “You said before that opposites attract. Janina and I are proof that is true. There are times that I think she is the only reason I am not the most thoughtless, selfish woman in the world.”
“You are kindness itself, Mia,” Nina said fervently.
“Thank you, but all that I learned about kindness I learned from you.” She blew her sister a kiss. “Well, Lord David, my aunt—my mother’s sister, who was raising us—did not like that Papa had brought Nina to me. When she left us on her marriage, the governess that came to the house felt the same.”
Mia remembered Signorina Devoto’s sense of propriety as suffocating. “She did not think Nina an appropriate companion for a wellborn child and did her best to do what my aunt did—that is, to convince both Nina and me that Nina had no place in our house other than as a servant.
“In the end she so convinced us that a maid is all that Janina wanted to be. I think differently now, but Nina does not want anything else. I will accept that as long as she will allow me to treat her like the sister she is.”
She waited for David’s response. If he laughed or told her she was stupid, or implied any failing in Janina, she would be the one to take the first swing at him.
David did not react to her story for the longest time, but stared at the ground, or maybe his boots. The three of them waited in silence.
Finally, finally, David looked at her, bowed, and then turned and gave an even more gracious bow to Janina. “First, I apologize for my rudeness before. It was inexcusable. And thank you, for entrusting me with this story. I promise I will never speak of it unless you ask me to.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Janina curtsied to him and gave Mia a hug that stole her breath. Mia could feel her sister’s tears on her neck and wished she had a handkerchief.
David pressed one into her hand, and she gave him a smile out of all proportion to the gesture and whispered, “I will give you handkerchiefs at Christmas.”
He really could be the most thoughtful man. As she handed Nina the bit of linen she realized how carefully he hid his kindness. Why?
She noticed that the anger was gone from his face, softened now with understanding and even compassion. What would he and Romero fight over now that everyone was curtsying and bowing?
“Romero, when you arrive at Pennford I invite you to join me in the boxing ring. It would be a pleasure to go several rounds with someone as well built for boxing as you are.”
“It will be a pleasure, my lord.” Romero bowed as though David had promised him an unequaled treat. With that he took Nina’s arm and they walked slowly back toward the house.
“David, please, let’s sit on the bench where we can hear the river. I think we both need some time away from the house.”
Chapter Twenty-six
WHAT THEY NEEDED, David thought, was time away from each other. But with the barest of good nights to her sister and Romero, David set out across the lawn toward the benches under the trees where they had first kissed. Not a wise spot to visit again, but wisdom did not seem to be in his makeup these days.
The air had cooled considerably but it was still comfortable enough to stay a while. Mia sat, playing with her skirts, humming a little.
He leaned against the sundial and looked back toward the house. It was brightly lit and he could even see the shadow of people in the library. Why were they not in the salon and out of their sight? David turned and found Mia with her eyes closed, her head thrown back as if she were absorbing every bit of the night magic that surrounded them.
Her dress was cut low, not scandalously so, but low enough that he did not need much of an imagination to see her as she would look naked.
“David, I am serious about becoming an independent woman.”
What nonsense. He kept the comment to himself and waited, knowing how poorly she tolerated quiet.
“I will come into my own money when I am twenty-one, which is only a year or so away. First I will find a house, and then I will invite all those who are interested in music and hold a musicale. We will see who comes. That will tell me, more than anything else, where I fit in society now.”
There was bitterness in her voice as she said that last. He had never heard her sound so hostile to the w
orld in general.
“Why are you not optimistic?”
“Look at Lady Belfort. I thought her a friend, and she shunned me as though I had committed a crime by breaking my engagement.”
“She is only one person.” He sat on the bench next to her and handed her his coat. “Olivia likes you.”
“She has to,” Mia said, accepting the coat but only using it to cover her lap. “We are practically family.”
Her cynicism should have been unbecoming, but underneath he heard her upset.
“Before I left London, after I ended the engagement, there were whole days when no one called on me at Penn Square.”
She took a moment to actually put his coat on, her arms in the sleeves, rather than just draping it over her shoulders. She raised her arms and buried her face in the fabric, drawing a deep breath, and then sighed. “It smells like tobacco.”
The way she said it made tobacco sound like an aphrodisiac.
“Then I was invited to Bath, and I thought it was because Mrs. Giddings and her daughters liked me. But then I found out it was because their grandfather wanted to have a pretty girl around to look at.” She laughed. “I tell you, David, I could have had a proposal from him if I had wanted. But I did not want to marry him. Or anyone else.”
“Why did you not say something to Elena? Write and tell her how unhappy you were?”
“I was not about to share my heartache when she is so happy. Especially when there was nothing she could do about it.”
He paused, impressed with this selflessness, and not wanting to be. “Then you are creating your own misery and cannot complain.”
“I am explaining my decision to you. I am not complaining.”
She stared at her fingers and he looked at them, too. It was almost dark and he could see nothing but their outline. He had never noticed how long they were. The better to play instruments, he thought, and let his imagination go no further.
When she raised her head, he read her expression as a dare. “Well, you do the same thing. You never tell anyone about Mexico because there is nothing anyone can do about it. So perhaps we are more alike than we think.”
Mary Blayney - [Pennistan 04] Page 20