A Gentleman's Kiss (7 page)

“Claudia!” he called after her, but she walked even faster and left the room.

She could hear Helen’s footsteps behind her, and soon they were both climbing into the carriage. “Claudia! Will you please wait a moment?” Cameron called as he ran out of the house and toward the carriage.

Claudia ignored him and knocked on the ceiling, letting the driver know to start moving.

She tried not to, but she found herself peeking out the window at him. She started when she found herself looking right into his eyes. But before she could read his expression she let the curtain fall back into place and willed herself not to cry.

Seven

Cameron watched the carriage drive away, aware that Claudia had taken his reaction for censure. Of course he knew her mother had not been highborn, but it was shocking to find that George, a man he’d come to rely on as not only an employee but a good friend, was the grandfather of the woman he was growing fond of.

He was not a snobbish man, but having been born surrounded by servants it was hard to reconcile that they could someday be a part of his family.

George Canterbury had been in his father’s household for years and his own for the last six months. He had volunteered to help Cameron renovate the warehouse and then manage it because he’d said he had a desire to help others also. It had never occurred to him to ask his butler anything about his past, and George had never offered the information.

Before speaking to him, however, he wanted to know more about what had happened. The only other person Cameron knew who might tell him was his mother. She would be only too happy to pass along any information she may have.

The next day he took his carriage and rode up to Ravenhurst Castle where his parents had retired after the ball.

“Cameron!” his mother greeted him as if she hadn’t seen him in years. “Why have you come?” she asked then sucked in her breath. “You’ve become engaged, haven’t you? Tell me—is it Lady Claudia? The two of you seem very well suited—”

“Mother!” He held out his hand. “I’m not engaged to anyone. I’ve come on another matter, and we’ll speak of Lady Claudia after that.”

The smile faded slightly from his mother’s face. “Well, come into the parlor and tell me all. Your father is out in the back field shooting birds. Should I fetch him?” She walked over to the satin cord, used to ring for the servants, but he stopped her.

“No. I’ll talk to him later. It’s you I wanted to see.”

Lady Ravenhurst smiled again as she sat down and motioned for him to do the same.

“Mother, can you tell me how George Canterbury came to be in our family’s employ?” he asked once they were seated comfortably.

His mother frowned. “This is what you want to talk about? What does this have to do with Claudia?”

He shook his head and hoped his mother could focus on the conversation. “I’ll tell you about Claudia in a moment. Just tell me about George.”

His mother sighed. “It was the Marquis of Moreland,
Claudia’s grandfather, who recommended him to us. We needed a butler for our summer home in Bath.” She shrugged as if the whole topic of servants was beneath her. “That is where he was, as you know, when your father sent him to your house.”

Cameron nodded. “I see.” He thought about how George must have felt losing his job with Claudia’s grandfather. Knowing the marquis, he’d want to get rid of any remembrance of his son’s disappointing marriage. Why then, he wondered, did he allow Claudia to come live with him and become his heir?

“Cameron!” his mother snapped. When he glanced up at her, he realized she must have been trying to get his attention for a while. “Will you pay attention?”

“I’m sorry, Mother. You were saying?”

She let out a sharp breath. “I asked you why you are so interested in your butler. It’s not wise, son, to get too chummy with one’s servants, you know. They might take advantage.”

“Mother,” he said wearily, “I don’t need a lecture on proper employer protocol. I only wanted to know about him, nothing more. I would have asked him, but I didn’t want him to think I mistrusted or suspected him of something.”

His mother often chose not to see beyond the surface of things. It was too much of a bother, especially if it had nothing to do with her own life and well-being. But on this particular day, unfortunately, she chose to surprise him.

“What does George have to do with Claudia?”

Cameron did not want her to know George was Claudia’s grandfather. She knew about Claudia’s mother being a servant’s daughter, but she didn’t know the particulars. She might think it would cause a lot of talk and speculation if this information were to reach the ton’s ears.

“Nothing. I did want to tell you, however, that I’m about to begin calling on her.”

“Splendid! I had hoped that—” His mother stopped and narrowed her gaze at Cameron. “Wait a moment. You’re asking about George because you believe he has a connection to Claudia.”

Cameron looked away and mentally measured the distance between him and the door. “I’m not asking anything, Mother. I never said one had to do with the other.”

She wagged her finger at him. “George came into our employ about the time Moreland disinherited his son.” Suddenly she clutched her hand to her chest. “Oh, no! Please tell me Claudia is not your butler’s granddaughter?”

“I think I’ll go speak to Father before I leave.” He ignored his mother’s request, quickly crossing the room to the door.

“Cameron! You must reconsider this match. We will be the laughingstock of all London if this gets out,” she called after him, but he was closing the door behind him.

That he thought his mother wouldn’t put two and two together was evidence his encounters with Claudia were making him a bit muddleheaded.

He kept walking until he reached the back of the estate where his father was shooting at birds but not hitting one of them.

The duke, with rifle pointed to the sky, glanced at his son and nodded to his left. “Grab a rifle, Son. Perhaps you can hit something. My eyes don’t seem to focus anymore.”

Cameron shook his head and smiled as his father took another shot. “If you would wear your spectacles, you might be eating pheasant tonight.”

Lord Ravenhurst frowned and squinted at the sky. “Bah! It bothers me to have something sit on my nose. I can get along just capital without them.”

His father’s rifle rang out again. Cameron looked up at the sky and saw the birds circling overhead as if they knew they were not in danger.

Finally his father put aside his gun and sat down with a heavy sigh. Once he’d taken a drink of lemonade, which was waiting for him on the table, his mood seemed to improve. “So what brings you to Ravenhurst?”

Cameron sat down and leaned back in the chair. “I wanted to find out more about my butler, George.”

“Ah,” he nodded, taking another drink. “You must have found out that Lady Claudia is his granddaughter.”

“You knew?” Cameron asked, surprised.

“Moreland came to me when he heard I was searching about trying to find a butler for our home in Bath. He told me what had happened and then made me pledge to keep the matter quiet. As a matter of fact, George wasn’t thrilled about the match either,” he added. “If you’re thinking about approaching him about this, he might not be cooperative.”

Cameron frowned; he hadn’t considered this possibility. “But I promised Claudia I would arrange a meeting between them.”

“So this is the way the wind blows, does it?” His father eyed him keenly.

“Yes, and I have to try with George because this is something that is very important to Claudia.”

“If you marry the girl, it will present a problem having her own grandfather as her butler. You could, of course, have him run that shelter of yours and act as its president.”

Cameron jerked his gaze back to his father. “You know about the shelter?”

“When I was alerted to how much money you were spending, I had to find out if you were gambling away your legacy or spending it in some other unsavory pursuit,” his father said. “You could have told me, you know.”

Cameron winced at the censure and hurt in his father’s voice. He had spent so much time away from home that he didn’t know his father well at all and couldn’t say how he might have reacted. He should have known the duke would be keeping an eye on his son’s portion. “I see that now,” he admitted. “I find great reward in working there.”

“You’re a good boy, Cameron. You always were. I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with you. It was just the way of things, you know.”

Cameron looked into his father’s eyes and saw the remorse there. The firstborn sons were usually sent off to school at a young age so they could prepare for their titles. He would come home at holidays, but even then his father was usually busy with his estates or serving in the House of Lords. “I understood,” he told him truthfully. It was, indeed, the way every one of his friends had been brought up.

But it was not how his children would be reared. He vowed to make sure of it.

“Raven?” Cameron heard his mother call, and the two men exchanged a look. It was the look most men wore when they knew their masculine solitude was about to be invaded by a female. “Is Cameron with you? I need to speak with him immediately.”

His father’s brow furrowed. “Tell me you did not say anything to your mother about George and Claudia being related.”

Cameron grimaced. “I’m afraid she guessed.”

His father shook his head. “Well, you’d better hurry on then. I’ll stall her as best I can.”

Cameron shared a grin with his father before making a run for his carriage. His escape was halted, however, when he found his sixteen-year-old sister, Lucy, waiting for him by the vehicle.

“Lucy!” He stumbled backward from the impact of her overeager hug. “I thought you were with Katherine at Rosehaven.”

She backed away a bit and gave him a dramatic, forlorn expression. “I was, but Tyler keeps getting into all my things and hiding them, and Katherine is so busy with the baby that she doesn’t have time to spend with me.”

“Well, Tyler is only four, and I’m sure Katherine appreciated your playing with him while she is so busy.”

She grabbed his hand and looked up into his face. “Can’t I come and stay with you? I don’t want to wait to have my coming out next year. I want to go to balls and meet handsome young men. If I wait too long, they might all be taken.”

Cameron hid a grin while he observed his little sister for the first time since he’d been home. She had become quite a beauty, with her golden red hair and her fair complexion. His parents were going to be put on a merry ride when this one stepped out into the world. “I promise there will be young men to spare next year, and you shouldn’t be so anxious to grow up. You have plenty of time for that.”

Lucy sighed and dropped his hand. “No one truly understands me. I feel like the princess locked in the glass tower. The only places I ever get to go are church and Rosehaven,” she declared, throwing her arms wide.

Cameron couldn’t hold back his chuckle as he patted her on the head. “Your time will come and—”

“Cameron!” his mother’s voice called to him from a distance.

“Sorry, but I have to go,” he told Lucy then jumped into his carriage. “I’ll talk to you soon,” he promised before shutting the door.

“If only I could leave as easily as you!” he heard her cry as his carriage began to roll away.

It was afternoon before he could return to the shelter and speak with his butler. After what his father told him, he wasn’t so confident the meeting would go as he’d hoped it would.

And he was right.

“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s best for all if my granddaughter and I do
not
meet. She’ll never be accepted by the ton if she openly acknowledges me as a relative. And if Moreland finds out, I’m afraid he’ll cut her off as he did the girl’s father,” George told Cameron.

“Claudia has gone to great lengths to find you—believe me! She’s willing to risk the ton
and
Moreland to know you.”

George turned away from him and went to stand by the window. “I’m sorry, my lord, but I prefer not to meet with her.”

Frustrated by his butler’s stubbornness, Cameron told him the truth. “You’ve already met her, George. But neither of you knew who the other one was.”

George whirled to face him. “When would I have. . .” His voice drifted off, and his eyes widened. “She isn’t the young woman you brought home the other night, is she?”

Cameron nodded. “Yes, she is.”

“And she’s the same one who was dressed in those tattered clothes you were yelling at in your office?” he said carefully.

Cameron smiled sheepishly. “I wasn’t exactly yelling, but, yes, she’s the one.”

Cameron took a step back when he saw George’s face redden with anger. “I thought she might be a trollop, the way you spent so much time alone with her! Where was her chaperone, and why were you kissing her?”

Cameron opened and closed his mouth. What plausible explanation could he give? “Your granddaughter has a penchant for getting herself into messes, which I’ve had to save her from twice.” He knew he should say no more, but he couldn’t keep from asking, “And how did you know I kissed her?”

“How else would you have gotten dirt on your face?”

Cameron winced and lowered his gaze. “I know I might have been out of line—”

“Have you compromised her?” George charged.

“No!” Cameron exclaimed. “I have only the best intentions toward Claudia. I hope to win her hand.”

George grew quieter then. “Even more reason for us not to acknowledge our family connections.” With that he walked out of the room, leaving Cameron to wonder what he was going to do.

❧

He was late. For the fourth time in only five minutes Claudia paused before the clock on the parlor mantle and sighed as she resumed pacing.