“What?”
“Father has been dead for two years,” he said. “It’s past time you find another husband.”
Hannah regarded her son with a combination of shock and awe. “Where is my son, and what have you done with him?”
Only the year before, Edward had put voice to a complaint that she might become a Merry Widow, flirting with younger men and possibly entertaining them in her bed. The mere idea of spending time in another man’s company had sickened her. How dare you? I loved your father, she had said in response, her voice filled with enough rebuke to silence her son.
“I’ve grown up, Mother,” Edward stated. “I feel awful about what I said. I only did so because one of my classmates claimed he would bed you should he ever have the chance.”
Hannah had never fainted in her entire life, but at that moment, she understood how it could happen. “Edward!” she admonished him.
“He was sixteen, and I think he had bedded every serving wench at The George Inn,” he said as they entered the parlor. “Well, this is different,” he whispered.
“Your grandmother had it redone just after Christmas,” Hannah said. “It would have been done months before, but the Chippendale furnishings took months to be crafted.”
“I like it,” he murmured. “Where is Grandmother, by the way?”
“At the office of The Tattler,” she replied with an arched brow, referring to London’s premiere gossip newspaper.
Edward frowned. “She still edits that rag?” he replied in surprise.
“She will until the day she dies, which won’t be for decades,” Hannah claimed. “And be warned. Familial ties do not exempt you from a mention if you’ve done something scandalous .”
“Noted.”
A maid delivered the tea tray, and, as promised, it was loaded with slices of cake as well as several flavors of biscuits.
“Don’t fill up on sweets, darling,” Hannah warned as she poured him a cup of tea and watched as he helped himself to a slice of cake and two biscuits. “I’ve ordered a cold collation for us.”
“Eat dessert first, Mother,” Edward countered. “You’re always too full from luncheon to enjoy the best part of a meal.”
Hannah giggled and then placed a hand on her chest. “I think that might be the first time I’ve done that since...” She allowed the sentence to trail off as she suddenly sobered, her eyes brightening with tears.
“Oh, Mother,” Edward sighed.
“I cannot help it. I loved him.”
Edward grimaced. Although he had lived at Harrington House long enough to know his parents felt affection for one another, he had always had the impression his mother felt trapped, as if she didn’t truly wish to be there. As if she had accepted his father’s suit when she would have preferred to accept someone else's.
“But there must be another you could love just as much,” he countered, his brows arched. “It’s past time you allow suitors.”
Hannah sucked in a breath, wondering how her son could know there had been another. A man she had known her entire life. A man she would have gladly married if he had ever proposed. “He had his chance,” she whispered.
Edward’s eyes widened. “So... I guessed right?”
Immediately regretting her words, Hannah shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that, Ed. Honestly, I—”
“Who? Who had your heart?”
She recoiled from the query and then turned her attention to pouring herself a cup of tea. Two lumps of sugar plopped into the steaming liquid before tears dripped from her eyes.
“Oh, damn, but I’m a dunderhead,” Edward said as he pulled a handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket and passed it to her. “I’m so sorry, Mother. Please, forget I asked.”
Hannah sniffled as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m crying because I miss your father,” she claimed between soft sobs. “Every morning and every night.”
Edward dipped his head. “You have my blessing if you wish to remarry, Mother,” he whispered.
Her dark brows furrowing, Hannah regarded her son and allowed a sigh. “I appreciate your words, I do. But I rather doubt there will be another husband for me.”
“Well, I can see I am the last to know when my heir is in residence,” a gruff voice sounded from the threshold.
Hannah and Edward turned to see Stanley Harrington, Earl of Mayfield, regarding them with a quirk.
Edward quickly stood and gave his grandfather a deep bow. “My lord, it’s so good to see you again.”
“Must be almost Easter,” Mayfield said as he moved to embrace his grandson.
“It’s Good Friday, in fact,” Edward replied. “I just arrived a few moments ago. Can you afford time for tea?”
Mayfield glanced at Hannah. “A few minutes, and you’ve already reduced your mother to tears?” he chided.
“Guilty as charged,” Edward replied with a shrug.
“It’s not you,” Mayfield whispered, patting Edward on the back. “Yes, I’ll take some tea,” he said loudly. “But only because it looks as if every cake in the house is on that tray.”
Despite her disposition, Hannah grinned. “I think cook must have known Edward was home,” she said as she poured a cup for the earl. “I do hope we didn’t wake you from your nap?”
Mayfield scoffed. “Haven’t been back to bed yet. Not that I plan to until after dinner. Not when Ed is home. We’ll have to play a round of billiards so I can learn what new shenanigans are happening at Eton.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “I don’t know that I wish to know what my son might be doing to get himself expelled,” she murmured.
“Mother, I’m not like that,” Edward assured her. “Not since...” He stopped and swallowed. “Well, ever since I became the heir-apparent. Wouldn’t be seemly to be caught dressing the statues in ladies gowns or acquiring white tickets.”
Hannah took a breath and let it out all at once. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “I know it must be terribly tempting.”
Edward screwed up his face in a grimace. “Mayhap when I was fourteen,” he replied. “Not now.”
“I recall painting the statue of Henry the Sixth in white wash,” Mayfield commented. “Wasn’t caught doing it, but I was still expelled for a month.”
Boggling at this bit of news, Edward didn’t know if he should laugh or look shocked. He managed a bit of both.
“Mayfield!” Hannah scolded, although a grin lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Now there’s the Lady Harrington I know,” Mayfield said.
Hannah was glad he hadn’t referred to her as the Dowager Baroness Harrington. She didn’t wish to be known as such until her son married. And even then, she knew she would wince every time she heard the word ‘dowager.’
“Will you join us for luncheon?” Hannah asked of her father-in-law. The earl and his countess had always been so welcoming. Even though she was merely the daughter of a duke’s sister, Hannah couldn’t help but think the Mayfields had wanted their Charles to marry a woman with closer ties to an aristocrat. An earl’s daughter. Or a marquess’ daughter. Even a duke’s daughter. Their son deserved the very best.
Instead, Charles had courted her in earnest, claiming he had fallen in love with her at first sight. That even if she’d been a pauper’s daughter, he would have been honored to make her his baroness. His future countess.
Although she hadn’t believed him at first, she soon learned he meant it.
“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” Mayfield replied, responding to the invitation to luncheon. “Which reminds me. There are six new horses you’ll have to meet while you’re here. Comber has managed quite an interesting mix of lineages with this year’s colts.”
“Six?” Edward repeated. “You have room for that many new racers?”
“Had Comber expand the stables at the country estate. The pasture is good there, and he’s got a crack groom seeing to their training,” the earl responded, referring to his son-in-law, Alistair Co
mber. Lady Julia, his only daughter and Edward’s aunt, had married the second son of the Earl of Aimsley over two decades ago.
“Speaking of Comber, I hear I missed a wedding,” Edward said, his manner suggesting he didn’t appreciate being left out of a cousin’s nuptials.
“Juliet went and got herself an earl,” Mayfield said with a guffaw. “Married Christopher, Earl of Haddon. He’s Morganfield’s whelp, which means she’ll be a marchioness before too long.”
Edward couldn’t help but chuckle at hearing his grandfather’s words. From the letter he had received from Juliet, he thought the marriage was more Haddon’s idea than his cousin’s. Apparently they suited one another, though. Her missive implied she was quite happy ensconced in a large townhouse at the corner of South Audley Street and Curzon Street. With any luck, he would see her at Lord Weatherstone’s ball—the first ball of the Season—this week.
“And what of Cousin Tom?”
A brilliant smile appeared on his mother’s face. “He managed to convince a duke’s daughter to marry him.”
“One of my classmates claims she’s a Somerset daughter,” he replied. “Can that be true?”
“Lady Victoria,” Mayfield put in, one brow arched with admiration. “The duke’s youngest daughter. She trains race horses and is best friends with Juliet, so I’ll have competition at the races this year,” he added as he rolled his eyes. “I’ve always claimed I would never beat a woman, but...” he shook his head. “Comber has some of mine matching race course records,” he claimed.
“A race course is a fair fight, Grandfather,” Edward replied.
Potter appeared on the parlor’s threshold. “Luncheon is served in the breakfast parlor,” he announced in a voice that wheezed.
Edward was quick to stand and offer an arm to his mother. “Seems I’ve missed much this past few months,” he said.
“Such is the way of the life sometimes,” Hannah murmured, taking his arm and allowing him to escort her to the breakfast parlor. When she was alongside the earl, he offered his arm and she gladly accepted.
Ensconced between the two men, Hannah had the impression the coming week would be full of surprises. This day had already brought one.
Author Notes
Illegitimacy in the Aristocracy
During the time in which this book takes place, a child born before his parents were married was considered illegitimate even if his parents married after his birth. For purposes of inheritance, the father could recognize the child as his own and provide a settlement for him, but the child could not inherit any aristocratic titles.
Do horses mimic human behavior?
They certainly can!
Horses are social creatures. They learn from other horses, even when they’re being trained by humans (and more easily if they’ve had human interaction since birth). When they are consistently fed and trained by the same handlers, they will recognize them on approach and usually move toward them.
The study, Effects of size and personality on social learning and human-directed behavior in horses (Equus caballus) by Josefine Henriksson, Mathilde Sauveroche & Lina S. V. Roth, showed that full-sized horses, but not ponies, showed more human-related behaviors when presented with an unsolvable problem, and they found several correlations between these behaviors and personality traits. Also, size and personality had an impact on the human-related behavior in the two experiments they performed.
Arthur’s
Established in 1811, Arthur’s was a London gentlemen’s club that lasted until 1940. Between 1827 and 1940 it was based in a custom-built clubhouse designed by Thomas Hopper located at 69 St. James Street—the location of the current Carlton Club. The club was first formed at a meeting at a bank at 16 St. James Street on May 8, 1811, with the resolution ‘That a New Club be forthwith established, to consist of 300 Members.’ The club is notable for being the first to be a members’ club wholly owned by the members, as opposed to the proprietary clubs which previously existed, like White’s, Boodle’s, and Brooks’, and it was avowedly non-political.
Betrothal Rings
During the Regency and Victorian eras, sapphire rings were highly valued, more so than diamond rings since sapphires were considered a much more valuable gemstone. DeBeer’s, the firm credited with having created the market for diamond rings, wasn’t founded until 1888.
Also by Linda Rae Sande
The Daughters of the Aristocracy
The Kiss of a Viscount
The Grace of a Duke
The Seduction of an Earl
The Sons of the Aristocracy
Tuesday Nights
The Widowed Countess
My Fair Groom
The Sisters of the Aristocracy
The Tale of Two Barons
The Passion of a Marquess
The Desire of a Lady
The Brothers of the Aristocracy
The Love of a Rake
The Caress of a Commander
The Epiphany of an Explorer
The Widows of the Aristocracy
The Gossip of an Earl
The Enigma of a Widow
The Secrets of a Viscount
The Widowers of the Aristocracy
The Dream of a Duchess
The Vision of a Viscountess
The Conundrum of a Clerk
The Charity of a Viscount
The Cousins of the Aristocracy
The Promise of a Gentleman
The Pride of a Gentleman
The Holidays of the Aristocracy
The Christmas of a Countess
The Heirs of the Aristocracy
The Angel of an Astronomer
The Puzzle of a Bastard
The Choice of a Cavalier
Stella of Akrotiri
Deminon
Origins
Diana
About the Author
A self-described nerd and student of history, Linda Rae spent many years as a published technical writer specializing in 3D graphics workstations, software and 3D animation (her movie credits include SHREK and SHREK 2). Getting lost in the rabbit holes of research has resulted in historical romances set in the Regency-era as well as Ancient Greece.
A fan of action-adventure movies, she can frequently be found at the local cinema. Although she no longer has any tropical fish, she follows the San Jose Sharks and makes her home in Cody, Wyoming.
For more information:
www.lindaraesande.com
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The Choice of a Cavalier (The Heirs of the Aristocracy Book 3) Page 30