Now she eagerly went to the other packages. There was one that had several yards of cloth, made of a stiff fabric that she could only surmise was to be used for riding habits. It was too thick for anything else. She fingered the cloth and lifted one piece after the other. She knew each color would fit her perfectly, but it was astonishing that he should have had such foresight. And they were of an exquisite texture. A box contained a fetching hat that matched one of the yards of fabric perfectly, and the other boxes revealed various hats fulfilling the same purpose. They were all meant for riding.
Kitty was confused. He had said necessities. True, she eventually would have had other habits made up because she did not have enough for the amount of riding she was doing. But there was a great deal of thought that went into these gifts, and they showed he approved of her riding. So why had he treated her coldly when he interrupted her lesson, which—if she had correctly interpreted his gifts—was a thing he approved of? It was the scene with the groom he didn’t like, but that was not her fault, and he should have known it. And Kitty did not know him well enough to broach the subject.
She sat on the upholstered armchair looking at the gifts strewn about her, touched beyond words that he had gone to all this trouble for her. Why had he called them nothing but necessities? Why had he not given them to her himself? He could have watched her open the gifts.
It was perhaps for the best. She would not have wanted him to witness her emotion upon seeing all these treasured items bestowed upon her. Erasmus had always given her free hand to purchase what she liked, but no one had ever purchased a gift for her, except occasionally on some birthdays. Not even all of them—some had been forgotten entirely.
Her gaze fell on a velvet box that had been partially hidden from the lid of one of the hat boxes. She seized it with eager hands and opened it, the hinges propping open with a sudden spring. Inside lay a breathtaking diamond necklace with yellow and green stones that she guessed might be sapphires—or maybe sapphires and emeralds. There were earrings to match, and the entire set was elegant and discreet—perhaps the loveliest piece of jewelry she had ever beheld.
Kitty stared at it for some minutes, then closed the lid and hugged the velvet box to her chest. Necessities. She shook her head.
13
Phineas paced back and forth in his study. It had been something akin to torture to walk calmly and sedately with Kitty on his arm after having seen her in the arms of that blasted groom, Craddock. What a fool Phineas had been. He had spent all of an afternoon in various shops collecting gifts for her that she would likely despise. He supposed he could have discarded them all, but he was not a wasteful man. It likely gave her a disgust of him to have worn his heart so blatantly on his sleeve. Who knew? Perhaps she would seek out Craddock, and they would laugh together at her hapless fool of a husband who all but admitted his feelings for his wife.
Initially, he had ordered the footman to bring the gifts into his study. His plan had been to invite her to join him there for some tea, because the room boasted comfortable chairs and a large fireplace. He’d requested the tea service brought and the fire stoked while he went to the stables to await his wife's return. His steps had quickened as he went out to greet her, his breath steaming the air, but he hardly felt the cold in his haste to see her again.
What he had not expected was to find his wife in the groom’s arms.
Phineas pressed his knuckles to his teeth. If he were more of a man he should've hauled off and punched the clodpole before swiftly sending him packing. But Phineas had been too stunned to react, and his wife, other than showing a flash of consciousness, had pulled away and asked for his assistance. There was enough of a seed of doubt over what he was witnessing, and he was not one to make a scene. Their walk to the house, however, had only served to harden his heart. Perhaps he was not ready to haul off and punch a man without being certain of what he saw, but he would not let Kitty be privy to his inner turmoil. It took Phineas a full hour before he could summon the footman to bring the gifts and have them delivered to her room. No, he would not throw them away, but he would not be so foolish as to hope she would run into his arms over the few trinkets he had brought home.
There was no word until dinner, not that he expected anything. He wondered how the dinner would go. Would it be just as awkward as that first day? Would she say something about the gifts? Would she laugh at him? She was not likely to do so outright, but she surely snickered in private.
Phineas clenched his fists, his brow as tight as a coiled spring. Perhaps he was not being fair to his wife. There had been nothing in her behavior to lead him to believe she would play him false. And yet …
There was nothing to it. He would simply have to wait until dinner to judge for himself.
As was their custom before he left for Bath, Phineas knocked on Kitty’s door precisely at six. She opened the door and raised her lovely eyes to his and smiled. The uncertainty to her smile sent a mix of pleasure and pain coursing through him. If nothing else, it showed she was not entirely conniving. She slipped her hand into Phineas’s arm, and his pulse quickened at her touch. She had said she did not wish to hold his arm indoors.
Her presence at his side was as light as a breath. “Allow me to thank you for your thoughtful gifts. It has given me much pleasure to contemplate them.”
Phineas’s spirits rose. She’d spent time appreciating his gifts? Perhaps not all was lost. It took only a moment to dismiss such a notion. He could not mistake what he’d seen. “They were not too much trouble to procure. Of course if they do not suit, you may disregard them. Or give them to one of the servants. I am not much informed about ladies’ fashions.”
Kitty pulled away slightly, so she could look at him. “Give them away?” she repeated in surprise. “Even if they did not suit my complexion, I should not give them away because they were a gift from my husband.”
Phineas was more cheerful upon hearing those words, even if the good humor was tempered with the weight of his distrust. He could not wipe the image of Craddock's arms around his wife. It made him want to wrap his hands around Craddock's throat. Even Phineas had not had the pleasure of putting his arms around his wife. The thought seared his mind. He wondered what Kitty would do if he hauled her off to the side just now and pulled her into an embrace. He quickened his steps to avoid falling into that particular blunder.
Kitty quickened her steps as well to keep up with him, though she darted a glance at his face. “I particularly appreciated the painting of Bristol. I do not know if you are aware of this but the wharf is very close to where my brother lived, and I often walked that way with my little brother.”
They had reached the dining room now, and Phineas gestured her in. “No, but I had some idea that even if it was not a particular scene you are familiar with, an image of Bristol would have pleased you.”
Kitty graced him with a smile. “It did please me very much,” she said. “I must have one of the footmen hang it in my room. I have already decided where it should go.”
Phineas was somewhat mollified, and the beast of jealousy began to subside. He found he was able to envision the idea of sitting down to dinner with her and even prying open his lips to make conversation.
The footman brought their dinner and they carried on their usual discussion of everything and nothing, including the state of the roads from Bath, and all the non-private information such as the new steward that would be joining them. When the footman brought the dessert, he retired from the room at last.
“Will you not join me as you did before, Phineas?” His wife gestured with her eyes at the empty chair near her, and Phineas hesitated before picking up his plate and moving to sit near her.
He tried to think of what he could say that would not address the issue that was at the foremost of his mind. “Did you have visitors in the two days I was gone?”
Kitty breathed in with a controlled expression, and a peculiar look flashed across her face. “Yes, I had Mrs. Dutton and her d
aughter come to visit.”
“At last,” he replied. “I hope they will provide you with companionship. Did they stay long or speak of any invitations?”
Kitty looked down at the blancmange on her plate. “They did not even stay the customary thirty minutes but left as soon as they could. The daughter seems to have a more conciliatory nature than her mother. They did not speak of any invitations, although perhaps we will receive something.” If her expression could be believed, she was doubtful of that.
There was enough reserve in her voice to make him nearly certain the visit had not gone well. He wondered what one did about fostering good relationships in a village of which both he and his wife were newcomers to a degree.
“We shall see, I suppose,” she added.
Silence reigned, with only the tiny clink of spoons as they dipped into the blancmange. His wife was less talkative than she had been before, and his doubts came galloping back. Did she find him boring? He was sure most of the women with whom he had danced at balls had thought so, even if they managed to muster enthusiasm for his title.
At last Kitty lifted her eyes and said rather diffidently, “I received a letter from my sister-in-law. There was not much news, but at the end of the letter, she’d left a bit of space for my younger brother to write. He asked if he might come here for a spell.” She pressed her lips together as if she wished to say more but did not dare.
Phineas sipped his port as he attempted to formulate an answer. He had no objection to having her little brother here in theory. He understood that Kitty would miss her family. But would this visit put an end to any potential honeymoon atmosphere between them? It might establish them as a couple that had a marriage in name only, and no affection. There would be no romantic interlude before settling down to raise a family of their own. The thought made Phineas sick at heart. After all, he wasn't sure now the relationship had ever had much hope in the first place. He’d left so soon after they were married, there had been no real union, he came back to find her in an intimate hold with one of the servants, and now she was asking for him to host her family.
It was only what he deserved for having arranged a marriage without seeking to find someone whose heart struck a common chord with his. “I had promised my parents we would visit before Christmas, but I can write to cry off,” he said. “If you wish, you may make arrangements with the butler and housekeeper.”
Kitty looked at him doubtfully, and Phineas knew his voice had a hard edge to it.
“We must certainly visit your parents as you have planned,” she said, her eyes still on him. “When have you arranged for us to go?”
“In just under a month,” Phineas said, darting a glance at her. His heart warred within, but he would grant her request. “If you wish, you may arrange to have Samuel for a short stay, and we will accompany him to Bath where we might restore him to your brother and his wife.”
“If you are sure it will not bother you.” There was a crease in Kitty’s brow, and there was a part of him that wanted to smooth it away. He clamped down on that part.
“No, why should it?” he replied in a flat tone. “You have every right to expect your family to visit. You may make arrangements as soon as you wish.”
When their dessert was finished, he walked her to her room as had been his custom. And when they stood at the door and faced each other, Phineas simply bowed and walked away. He did not even entertain the hope of an embrace.
Kitty's brother arrived in a week’s time. In that interlude, she had continued her riding lessons, and although Phineas refused to humiliate himself by going to the stables and keeping an eye on them, he discreetly looked for clues when she returned. Did her eyes shine with excitement? Love? Did Craddock swagger and act with even more insolence? He had written to Carter for more details about Craddock, but he would not receive a quick reply with Carter on leave for another week. And Phineas would put himself in difficulty if he turned the groom off without having a replacement at the ready.
Once the temptation was too great, and Phineas went to the stables at an unexpected time when he knew his wife would be there. He found her rubbing the horse's nose while Craddock stood at her side and watched her. Every one of Phineas's suspicions seemed justified when he saw Craddock's eyes on his wife, even if they were doing nothing suspicious. When Kitty turned and saw Phineas, her eyes and face lit into a smile that allayed some of his fears. No one could look at him that way if they were entirely uninterested. He did not trust, but he also could not abandon his marriage as entirely hopeless.
However, when Phineas turned from the stables and strode back to the house, he clenched his teeth. No matter what, he would not allow himself to be cuckolded.
The day her brother was supposed to arrive, Kitty was more joyful at breakfast than she had been since he returned from Bath. In fact, he had not seen her so natural and at her ease in all the time they were married. There was something about her brother coming that appeared to crack her defenses and give Phineas a glimpse of who she was.
“I think I might be skilled enough to ride with you before long,” she said as she sipped coffee. “We shall have to see if Sam is able to ride as well as I hope. I don’t believe Erasmus has seen to his training, except for an odd pony lesson at a neighboring stable. I suppose Craddock can test him and see how he is. In any case, he says he has seen my brother ride and that he shows promise, even if he needs lessons.”
Phineas shot his head up. “Craddock has seen your brother?” he said with sharp suspicion.
Kitty lifted her head, her eyes squinting in confusion at his tone. Then her brow cleared. “You know, I had quite forgotten to tell you because we have not spoken of it since you were in Bath, but Craddock knows my family. His cousin is one of our neighbors, and although he and I had never met, he has visited and knows my brother and his wife.”
Phineas had difficulty controlling his breathing, and her words reached him through a fog. “Did you know of him before you came here?”
He was waiting on tenterhooks to see what she would respond, what web of lies she might concoct. But her response was very natural. “No, not once. But you can imagine how surprised I was to find that somebody from my street in Bristol was working here.”
Phineas's mind was spinning. Was it possible that Craddock had eyes for his wife, and that he sought a position in Phineas's household so he could be near her? Could she be such a good actor as to make it seem as though they had never met? He wasn't sure about that, but he was determined to find out how Craddock had won a place in Phineas’s stables and how honorable a man he was. It did not matter if Phineas ended up breaking his wife's heart by tossing the fellow out; he refused to have a snake in his house.
“I have work to do.” He stood abruptly. “You may come and find me when your brother arrives.” Phineas made for the door and did not turn again to see her expression.
“I will do so.” The hesitation in her voice lingered and followed him out of the room, dogging his steps. He had hurt her by his abrupt tone. If only he could be certain of her faithfulness.
What if Craddock was a longtime lover of hers? Dark ideas began to take root in his mind. Maybe that was why she wanted nothing to do with Phineas. What if Samuel were not just her brother? What if she were his…
No. She would’ve had to have been twelve years old when Samuel was born. How had Phineas become so insane as to entertain such thoughts? That's what love did to a man. Not that he was in love, but perhaps more accurately—one could say that was what desire did to a man. He would have to rid himself of that base feeling. He would focus on the marriage, and make sure that at least the union was kept honorable, even if there were no finer feelings.
He heard the sound of footsteps and the door opening. There was the bustle of an arrival and excited shouts—and Kitty's warmer tones as she welcomed her brother. He was tempted to go and see, but he had told her to let him know when Samuel arrived. Shortly afterward, there was a light tap on the door, and t
he footman came to inform him. “Lady Hayworth's young brother is here. She requested that I inform you, my lord.”
“Tell her I will come.” Phineas waited a few more minutes, pacing back and forth in the study as he determined the appropriate manner to have. He wondered how the influence of her brother would affect his already fragile relationship with his wife. With a solid division into two camps? Her, Samuel, Craddock…?
No! Aargh. Phineas rebuked himself again. He was driving himself mad. He paced twice more as Samuel’s chatter filled the entryway and resonated off the walls. At last, prey to a mix of trepidation and curiosity, Phineas stepped into the entryway and stopped short at the sight of Kitty’s face as her gaze lifted to meet his. She did not look away, and he was struck by the fact that it was the first time she looked happy.
Samuel had his back to Phineas as he examined two swords attached to the wall as decoration. “What are these called?” he asked his sister.
“Those are Cavalier rapier swords,” Phineas answered, stepping forward. He was rewarded by a smile as Kitty came to stand at Samuel’s side.
“Greet Lord Hayworth,” she prompted him.
Samuel bowed. “Good day, my lord.” He resembled Kitty much more closely than Erasmus did. His wavy hair was blond with red tints, and his eyes were the same brown, although his eyelashes were fair while hers were dark.
Phineas returned a nod. “Welcome to Giddenhall.” He glanced at Kitty, wanting to keep his heart shielded, so he would not be caught by her own rapier thrust should she be playing him false. But he could not—not when there was such a light to her eyes, which she kept trained so steadily on him. He needed to leave before he exposed himself further. “I am sure you will wish to visit everything. I will arrange for your supper to be prepared for six o’clock. I regret that I cannot join you this evening.”
He risked a glance at Kitty’s face, but she averted her gaze. There were a few seconds of silence before she pasted on a smile and held out her hand to Samuel. “Come. There are many things to see.”
His Disinclined Bride (Seasons of Change Book 7) Page 12