“How delightful,” Mrs. Clemens said. She leaned forward and smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet all of you.”
“Come,” Edith said, motioning for the children to join her. “Cook has prepared cream puff pastries and hot chocolate for you to enjoy.”
Wide-eyed and full of wonder, the children followed her up the front steps and into the house while Mr. Clemens paid the driver, who helped two footmen retrieve the luggage from on top of the carriage.
“Let us go in as well,” Mrs. Clemens said. She gestured for Emily and Cassandra to precede her and Mary.
“Where are Sarah and Lilly?” Mary asked her mother as they followed Emily and Cassandra into the foyer where Faulkner, the butler, stood waiting. He produced a rare smile as he welcomed Mary.
“Oh heavens,” her mother exclaimed, “your sister, Sarah, married four years ago, and Lilly made a match of her own a couple of years later. They’ve both got homes to run and children to look after.”
“Children?” Mary could scarcely believe it although she knew she ought to. After all, it had been five years, but Sarah and Lilly were both younger than she, so the idea just hadn’t occurred.
“They wanted to be here when you arrived,” Mary’s mother continued, “but I thought it might be a bit much after the long journey you’ve had, so I told them to let you get settled first and that we would see them soon.”
Mary took off her gloves and handed them to Faulkner so she could untie the ribbons of her bonnet. “Will tomorrow be possible?” she asked her mother. Her father, who’d entered the foyer behind them, closed the door, stepped around them, and gestured for Cassandra and Emily to follow him toward the back of the house.
“Yes. I believe so,” her mother said. She took Mary’s bonnet and set it on a nearby table. Linking her arm with Mary’s, she guided her in the direction everyone else had gone. “We will have them over for tea to start. I’ll send a note over straightaway, inviting them both.”
“Thank you, Mama,” Mary said. She placed her hand over her mother’s. “I’m sorry I never wrote to tell you where I was or how I was doing.”
Her mother’s lips quivered ever so slightly, and it took a bit longer than usual for her to respond. When she did, her voice was but a whisper. “We’re sorry too. Exceedingly so. Your father and I said some regrettable things and…to think we even considered sending you to Scotland weighs heavily on my conscience.”
“You did what you thought was best for the rest of the family,” Mary reminded her.
Her mother did not look convinced. “Camberly was furious with us when he came to explain everything. He could not fathom how we, your parents, had failed you when you needed us most. I’ve never felt smaller than I did while faced with his censure.”
“He chastised you and Papa?” Mary could scarcely believe it.
“Most effectively.” Mrs. Clemens turned to face her, revealing the deep ache of regret that dimmed her eyes. She squeezed Mary’s hand, and the lines of concern creasing her brow eased. “Thankfully, you are here now and that is what matters.” She found her vigor again and said, “There is so much for us to do, especially with the children. Do you think they’ll enjoy going ice skating on the Serpentine?”
Mary smiled with genuine feeling for the first time in weeks. “I know they would, Mama.”
“There is also the National Gallery and the Hunterian Museum,” her mother continued. “Oh, they will love the Irish Giant. He is quite a curiosity. And then of course there is…”
Mary failed to hear the rest of her mother’s ideas as they entered the sunroom. The children were busily devouring their creampuffs with unencumbered pleasure while grinning in response to her father’s account of some naughty deed he recalled from when he was their age. Heart swelling with joy, Mary went to join them. She selected a pastry for herself, and offered her cup to her mother, who filled it with steaming hot chocolate.
She was home again at long last, and it felt better than she would ever have imagined possible. If she did happen to come across Caleb during her visit to London, she would have to offer her thanks.
“I cannot believe you have married Baron Huntingham,” Mary told her sister Sarah the next afternoon. After taking tea together, Mr. Clemens had suggested that everyone go for a walk in the park. The children raced ahead while Cassandra and Emily called for them to slow down and walk. Leaning close to her sister, Mary whispered, “You always told me you found him too arrogant.”
Sarah laughed and turned to glance at her husband, who walked a few paces behind them. He was keeping company with Lilly and her husband, Mr. Gilford, while Esther kept pace with Mr. and Mrs. Clemens.
“That was my initial opinion,” Sarah confided, “until we discovered our shared interest in minerals. He promptly invited me to see his collection, and we have been inseparable ever since.”
“So you have finally found someone with whom to talk about rocks,” Mary said. The ache she’d felt after Caleb’s departure from Clearview returned. How she missed discussing all manner of things with him. How she missed his smile.
“I suppose so,” Sarah said. “And Lilly has married the gentleman farmer she always hoped for, so she can now spend her days with as many sheep as she can count.”
Mary grinned. Lilly’s fondness for sheep had always been something of a curiosity. “From what I gather, Mr. Gilford is no ordinary farmer.” He was handsome as sin for one thing and for another, Mary had seen him watching his wife as if he wanted her for dessert.
“He has vast amounts of land and at least fifty farmhands to help take care of it all.” Sarah lowered her voice to scandalously add, “And Lilly tells me he is exceedingly virile and eager to keep her in the bedchamber.” A snort of repressed laughter followed. “It is my understanding she is very happy indeed.”
Sighing, Mary watched Cassandra and Emily catch up to Peter and Eliot who were both in the lead. Words were exchanged, which made Mary smile. She didn’t have to hear what was being said to know Cassandra was sternly insisting they not run off again.
“Does motherhood agree with you?” Mary asked her sister while she continued to watch the children she’d grown to love. Daphne and Bridget had somehow managed to climb onto a large decorative rock, while Penelope appeared to by trying to climb a tree.
“Of course,” Sarah said. “It is the best thing in the world.”
“I look forward to meeting your daughters one day.” Because of their very young ages, Sarah’s and Lilly’s children had remained at home with their nurses.
“And so you shall, but first I would like to hear about you and what you have experienced these past five years,” Sarah said.
“Yes, you must tell us everything,” Lilly said, catching up just in time to hear what Sarah had told her. “There must have been some admirers along the way. A gentleman farmer perhaps?”
Sarah snorted. “They’re not all as fit as yours, Lilly.”
Mary thought of Mr. Townsend. “Or as pleasant,” she remarked.
“Oh?” Both sisters asked with interest.
“I will admit there was one who was very persistent in his pursuit of me,” Mary said, “but his character was lacking, so I turned him down.”
“I’m sure there will be others,” Sarah said. “Especially now that you are back in Town. Granted, many families have gone away to the country for the holidays, but some are still here, and with our yearly Christmas ball coming up, I know for a fact there will be at least three eligible bachelors present. Considering the Duchess of Camberly’s article in the Mayfair Chronicle this morning, your reputation will be restored and—”
“Thank you, Sarah, but I am really not eager to form an attachment,” Mary said. When her mother had pushed the paper under her nose and forced her to read it, she’d been stumped by the duchess’s admission of guilt on her late husband’s behalf. But as much as Mary appreciated the sentiment and the effort Caleb must have gone to in order to make it happen, she wasn’t as excited by the prospec
t of having her reputation restored as she knew she should be. “Unfortunately, I believe it is too late for me, regardless. At five and twenty I am well past my prime.”
“Oh, you mustn’t say that,” Lilly admonished. “Plenty of women bear children well into their thirties, so it is not as if you’ve lost your chance to start a family.”
“I don’t know,” Mary hedged. “It is not so simple.”
They caught up with Cassandra and Emily, who had managed to gather the children together in one energetic clump. “We weren’t sure whether to hire skates or continue walking,” Cassandra explained.
“That depends on what everyone wants,” Mr. Clemens said. “Those in favor of skating say, ‘aye!’”
A chorus of ‘ayes’ followed, and Mr. and Mrs. Clemens both laughed. “I think it is unanimous,” Mrs. Clemens said. She crossed to the stand where skates could be rented and proceeded to make the necessary arrangements.
Soon after, they were all gliding along the length of the Serpentine while Mr. and Mrs. Clemens watched from the lakeside. Grasping hold of Daphne’s hand, Mary helped the girl keep her balance as they followed the rest of the group.
“Can I try to skate on my own now?” Daphne asked after a while. “I would like to try and do what Peter is doing.”
Mary sought out the boy and saw he was spinning around while staying in place. “You might fall,” Mary warned, knowing that this was why Daphne had always been hesitant on the ice, because she’d once hurt herself badly after losing her balance.
“I know,” the girl said, “but I am not going to get any better unless I take that risk.”
Impressed by her wisdom, Mary released her hand, and the girl skated over to Peter. She waited for him to stop spinning, then asked him to show her how it was done, which he proceeded to do with a surprising amount of patience for a boy his age.
“Miss Clemens,” a deep voice called, and Mary’s heart promptly lurched in response while her pulse began to flutter with jittery discomfort.
Turning, she saw the man to whom the voice belonged. Caleb was skating slowly toward her with a warm, welcoming smile, while his deep blue eyes reflected the late afternoon sunlight. God, he was handsome, his hair slightly mussed with careless abandon in a way that took her back to the days he’d spent fixing the roof of Clearview House, to a time when he’d been just a man. A very charming, endearing, and thoroughly intoxicating man.
Mary tipped her chin up as he slid to a halt beside her. She’d known she might meet him if she came to London; she just hadn’t though it would be quite this soon.
“Mr. Crawford,” she said, deliberately greeting him as she had grown accustomed to doing before she’d learned of his title. “You are looking very well.”
“As are you.” Dropping his gaze, he raised it slowly, sliding it up the length of her body until she pulsed with awareness. Pausing on her lips, he reminded her of the kiss they had shared, provoking a spark that charged straight through her. His eyes met hers. “Have you been in Town long, Miss Clemens?”
Mary started. The question was posed with unexpected casualness. Was he not aware of the effect he had on her? Had he not felt the same? “We arrived yesterday.”
“And how long will you be staying?”
He caught her hand as if it was normal for him to do so – as if his touch did not set her soul on fire. Oh God, she was losing her mind. Or perhaps she already had? “Three weeks, I should think,” she managed to say.
Skating slowly in a wide circle, Caleb pulled her along with him. “Are you visiting your parents?” He drew her toward him, turning her slightly until they were hip to hip. Skating forward in tandem, he slid his arm around her waist, holding her closer than most would deem proper.
“We’ve made amends,” she said. “Thanks to you, in part, from what I understand.”
“I merely offered some necessary clarification,” he murmured, close to her ear.
“Did you also ask your mother to writer the article printed in the Mayfair Chronicle this morning?”
“I confess, I may have suggested she do her part in compensating for the way our family has treated you.” He quietly added, “We are all very sorry indeed.”
She ought to be angry, furious even, for the lies he’d told. But how could she be when he was doing all in his power to right a wrong that wasn’t even his own? It just proved him to be a better man than she wished to give him credit for.
Swallowing her pride, she said what needed to be said. “Thank you, Mr. Crawford.” She angled her head and caught his gaze while the world drifted by around them.
“It was the least I could do.” He straightened himself and stretched out his arm, breaking the intimacy by adding an appropriate measure of distance between them.
Mary tightened her hold on his hand and held on tight. She did not want to lose him again, but at the same time, how could she trust him? Because he tried to tell you the truth, she told herself as they skated further away from her family. But if he’d really cared about her, would he not have made sure she knew, no matter what? No.
He was scared.
Just as scared as you are right now.
The thoughts in her head were crowding her brain, but when she and Caleb finally slid to a halt and he turned her to face him, there was one that stood out more than the rest.
“You hurt me more than your brother ever did,” she said. “Perhaps that puts things in perspective.”
Sadness stared back at her, so bleak it threatened the pleasure she’d found in seeing him again. “I know and I am sorry. If I could go back with what I know now, I would do everything differently.”
“How?”
“I would be honest with you from the start and hope you would love me anyway.” Her throat closed and words failed her. “But perhaps we can start again.” Hope brimmed in his dazzling eyes. It lifted Mary’s spirits and filled her with a renewed sense of longing. “I know I have a lot of unacceptable qualities, like being a duke, for example. But if you will permit me, I would like to show you that I can still be the man you knew at Clearview, no matter what title I hold.”
“I don’t know.” She had to think clearly about this, and being so near him was muddling her head. “My appetite for dukes has been sated, I’m afraid.”
He smiled in spite of the anguish in his face. “Allow me to call on you tomorrow, Miss Clemens. We’ll spend the day together, and I will show you my favorite places in London.”
To tell him no would be unbelievably difficult. And besides, she really did not want to. What she desired most of all right now was to tell him yes. So she nodded. “Very well, Mr. Crawford. Tomorrow it is. But I cannot promise you’ll get the result you seek. My heart still hurts, and my mind is urging me to be cautious.”
Without commenting, he skated backward while executing a perfect bow. Mary laughed into the palms of her hands when he added a wink. Turning about, he called over his shoulder, “Be ready by ten!” He bent his knees and pushed himself forward to increase his speed as he skated toward the far bank.
“Who was that?” Sarah asked from directly behind Mary’s left shoulder.
Startled, Mary spun around, attempting to face her. She almost lost her balance in the process and had to be steadied by Lilly and Edith, who were there as well, looking just as curious as Sarah.
“Mr. Crawford,” Mary said. Her sisters raised their eyebrows in a silent plea for more information. “Very well. He’s more correctly known as the Duke of Camberly.”
All three pairs of eyes widened.
“You are acquainted with His Grace?” Sarah asked in dismay. “The brother of the man who caused you to leave for only God knows where five years ago?”
“I would have thought you’d be angrier with him than you appear,” Edith said.
“It’s complicated,” Cassandra said, somehow materializing at Mary’s right elbow. She’d brought Emily with her. “Mary mistook His Grace for a common laborer when they initially met.”
&nb
sp; “So did you,” Mary said. Feeling crowded, she skated away from her sisters and friends, but of course they chose to follow.
“Ah, I begin to grasp the bigger picture,” Sarah said at Mary’s back. “You fell for him without knowing who he really was, and now you want the laborer rather than the duke, which poses a bit of a problem since you cannot have one without the other.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” Mary muttered. “I have managed to figure that much out on my own.”
“I don’t see the issue,” Penelope said. Somehow she was now there as well, skating alongside Mary. Looking down at her, Mary saw that the other children were not far behind. “Mr. Crawford is handsome and kind. He knows how to fix things too, which I imagine would be rather useful,” Penelope said.
“He rescued Raphael from that awful storm,” Daphne added.
“And he makes a brilliant fishing rod, Miss Clemens,” Peter shouted across the heads of the other children.
“I like how he smells,” Bridget yelled.
Mary had to agree. His spicy scent was a wonderful mixture of cedar, bergamot, and sandalwood. Her heart thumped wildly when she thought of the way it infused her senses whenever she was near him.
“I have agreed to meet him tomorrow,” she said in order to placate Caleb’s supporters. “Depending on how that goes, I may or may not choose to see him again.”
It was the best she could do for now. Because although he’d been charming as always, and she’d wanted to forget all the rest, she had to consider the state of her heart. It was still recovering from his deceit, so if she decided to trust him now and he betrayed her again, she feared she would never survive it.
15
Caleb rose the next morning at seven. By eight he was freshly shaved and dressed. He descended the stairs and entered the dining room where breakfast awaited. His mother was, as he’d expected, already seated at the table. What he did not expect was to find Griffin there too.
“You are up early,” he told his brother as he pulled out a chair and took his seat.
No Ordinary Duke Page 17