Rogue Grooms (14 page)

“You drive yourself, Mrs. Beaumont?” Emily asked in wonder. “I have a pony cart, but that is not very dashing.”

“I do have a curricle,” Georgina answered. “But I fear I may not drive for a while, as I have had a mishap.”

“A mishap?” said Emily.

“Yes, and she is only just recovered,” Alex said sternly. “So see that she rests, Em.”

“Oh, I shall!” said Emily, drawing Georgina toward the door. “Just as soon as she tells me everything about it.”

Dorothy only had time to call out, “We shall see you at supper, then, Mrs. Beaumont,” before the door shut, and Emily had Georgina halfway up the stairs.

 

“Tell me, then, Mother,” Alex said, when Georgina and Emily were gone and things were once again settled in the morning room. “What do you think of Mrs. Beaumont?”

Dorothy took a slow sip of her fresh cup of tea. “She is certainly very beautiful.”

“Yes. She is.”

“We expected no less of her, after all we had read in the newspapers. No doubt she is also quite talented, as well, if people like Hary-O Granville have her paint their portraits.” Dorothy glanced up at the treasured Gainsborough, and went on musingly, while Alex sat silently and listened to her. “She has no title. But then, what did an exalted title ever gain us but trouble?”

She laughed humorlessly.

“Her father was the son of a baronet,” Alex said.

“Oh, there is no doubt that her connections are
respectable,
I’m sure, or you would have known better than to pursue her seriously. She is wealthy?”

Alex swallowed. “Yes.”

“Hm. We do need the blunt, of course. You see how I have been forced to become practical and cynical since your father died?”

“Mother,” Alex murmured. “I am so very sorry...”

Dorothy laid her hand over her son’s. “My dear, do not apologize again, I beg you! There was nothing at all you could have done. The army needed you. You were far away, and your brother, rest his naughty soul, was the duke. There was nothing anyone could have done. You have always been the best of sons to me, and the best of brothers to Emily.”

“I have always tried to be.”

“And so, I suspect, you will always go on being. You have brought an interesting lady to Fair Oak. She will make you a fine bride, I think.”

“Because she is rich?” Alex asked quietly, his jaw taut.

Dorothy shook her head. “Surely you know me better than that? Because you obviously care for her. As your father cared for me, the daughter of an impoverished, gambling wastrel of a viscount.”

“I do care for Georgina. Very much. The money only——complicates matters.”

“How so? I think that that is your pride talking, but I will not scruple to say that the money will be useful. Without it we could not give Em a proper London Season, which she so deserves. She has looked after me and this estate, has shouldered burdens no young girl should have to.” Dorothy paused thoughtfully. “I will admit I had hopes you would look kindly on one of the neighbors’ daughters. But it is obvious that you love this Mrs. Beaumont, and I have always wanted nothing but my childrens’ happiness. And I suspect she is just the woman to make you happy.”

Alex laughed, a profound relief sweeping through him. “I know that she is. And I pray that I can make her happy, as well.”

“Oh, I have no doubt that you can! A handsome man such as yourself. I must say I am quite relieved that you did not bring some giggling miss we do not know! We have always been such an eccentric family, I fear we would have shocked such a creature most terribly. The neighbors are used to us, but I am sure London girls would not be.”

“Mother! Surely you must know I would never have chosen such a girl for a wife? Why, all the little debutantes looked at me with abject fear that I might ask them to dance, I am so old and weather-beaten.”

“I would wager their mamas would have delighted to have you dance with their darlings, an eligible duke like you,” Dorothy said with satisfaction. “I would also wager that your Mrs. Beaumont never shrank in ‘abject fear’ from anything in her life.”

“No, she is quite fearless. She is much like you in that respect, Mother.”

Dorothy laughed. “Excellent! She will need much courage to take us on. Tell me, Alex, does she ride?”

“I am sure she does, though I have not seen her. She drives like a very demon.”

“I do like her more and more. Perhaps she would be interested in joining the local hunt, once you are married and settled.”

“Now, Mother,” Alex warned. “I have not yet made an offer, and when I do it is by no means certain that she will accept.”

“Nonsense! She likes you every bit as much as you like her. And now, as we are speaking of the hunt, help me into my infernal chair. I must be changing my frock for supper.”

Alex slid his arms around his mother’s shoulders and beneath her frail legs, and lifted her easily from her armchair before the fire into her wheeled bath chair. Dorothy Kenton had lost the use of her legs ten years before, when she had been thrown from her horse during a wild hunt.

 

“I do hope you will like your room,” Emily said, leading the way up the stairs and down a dim corridor. “It is our very nicest guest chamber.”

“Then, I’m sure I
shall
like it,” Georgina answered. “Your whole house is quite lovely.”

“It was once,” said Emily, with a flash of bitterness. “And the Queen’s Room still is. See?”

She threw open a door, and they stepped into an enchanted room.

Georgina could have imagined herself in the Sleeping Beauty’s chamber of one hundred years’ sleep. The bed of elaborately carved dark wood was enormous, hung about with deep red velvet curtains embroidered in gold. More red draperies hung at the tall windows, making the room into a rich tent beneath the carved ceiling.

A fire danced in a marble grate, while Lady Kate napped before its warmth. Daisy was already unpacking and hanging gowns in the large wardrobe.

“Oh,” Georgina sighed. “It is grand, Lady Emily.”

“Please! Do call me just Emily.” Emily sat down beside Lady Kate, and rubbed the ecstatic dog’s tummy. “I hope,” she went on shyly, “that we shall be friends.”

“I know we shall.” Georgina tossed her muff, gloves, and hat onto the high bed, and sat next to Emily and Lady Kate. “And you must call me Georgina. Or Georgie, as all my friends do.”

“Georgie,” Emily repeated. “What a nice name! I cannot tell you how very, very happy I am that you have come here, Georgie. We have not had visitors in such a long time, not since I was a child really.”

“Truly? Did your parents or late brother never have company here?”

Emily snorted inelegantly. “Damian
never
came to the country, if he could possibly help it. My parents used to have parties here all the time, until Mother’s accident. Things became very quiet then.”

“Her accident?”

“Did you not know? She cannot walk. When I was eight years old, there was a riding accident, and she has been confined to her chair ever since. After Damian’s death, I became convinced our family is cursed when it comes to horses.”

Georgina was shocked. “I confess I had no idea! She seems so healthy.”

“Oh, she is! And her mind is sharper than ever. She simply cannot walk. She would be happy to know that you could not tell it; she so hates pity.”

“I certainly do not pity her. Rather, I admire her.”

“Excellent! For we certainly admire you, you know.”

Georgina laughed, causing Lady Kate to sit up and bark at her. “That is most flattering, but how can you admire me when we have only just met?”

“We have read all about you, as I said. The routs you attend, your paintings, your clothes...” Emily stood and went to examine the gowns Daisy had laid out on the bed. She carefully touched the skirt of a cream-and-gold striped satin gown. “Your clothes are truly wondrous. Even Lady Anders, our neighbor, has nothing so fine!”

Georgina rose, and came to hold up the gown, measuring it against Emily’s blonde curls and fair complexion. “You will have far finer, I am sure, when you make your bow.”

Emily shook her head, turning away to examine a violet silk. “Even if I did go to London, I would have nothing so grand. Mother says white is what a young lady wears.” She pulled a face. “I loathe white! I should much prefer a gown like this one.”

“I quite agree about white; it can be rather insipid, except on a very few fortunate women. I always looked ridiculous in it! But that gown is too old for you. The blue color you are wearing looks very well on you, and would be quite suitable for your age.”

Emily shrugged again, obviously uncomfortable with talk of her own attire and forthcoming debut.

Georgina thought it best to change the subject. “Tell me, why is this room called the Queen’s Room?”

Emily brightened a bit. “Because Queen Elizabeth slept here, hundreds of years ago! It was right after she gifted the first duke with his title. She stayed here for four days, and slept in this very bed.”

“Truly?” Georgina cried. She kicked off her shoes and clambered onto the bed, climbing over her gowns to lie down full length against the bolsters. “Queen Elizabeth lay right here, where I am now?”

Emily laughed. “Yes! Well, perhaps not
exactly
there, but very near.”

“How very exciting! I have never slept in a queen’s bed before.”

Emily sat next to her, and Lady Kate leaped up to join in the excitement. “It is said that she haunts Fair Oak. That every year, on the anniversary of her stay here, she walks the corridors again.”

“Have you ever seen her?”

Emily shook her head. “Never. Though when I was a child, I used to sneak in here every year on the day, to hide under the bed and wait for her. Alas, she never appeared. My brother Damian tried to scare me with tales that
he
had seen her, as well as her headless mother Queen Anne, but I never believed him. He was usually in his cups, you see, and therefore all his visions were suspect.”

“And Alex? Did he ever see her?”

Emily laughed. “Dear, military, proud, rational Alex? He, of course, says it is all a Banbury tale.”

“Hm. Well, I think it is all quite bone-chilling, like something in a novel. My own house in Italy dates back to medieval times, but I have never heard a report of a ghost there.”

Emily looked down at her lap, suddenly shy. “Will you—will you tell me about Italy sometime, Georgie?”

“I will gladly tell you more than you ever wanted to know!” Georgina answered. “I am always eager to talk about my home. But should we not be dressing for supper?”

Emily glanced over at the small clock on the mantle. “I had not realized it had grown so very late! Yes, I must be going. But...” Impulsively, the girl kissed Georgina’s cheek. “Oh, Georgie, I
am
happy you have come here with my brother.”

“So am I, Emily,” Georgina answered quietly. “Very happy indeed.”

“What do you think of Fair Oak now, Georgina?” Alex asked as he and Georgina strolled about the overgrown garden after supper.

Georgina turned to look back at the house, serene in the pale moonlight. The doors to the terrace were open, spilling out firelight, and Dorothy and Emily were seated there with their embroidery. It all looked so comfortable and cozy, and in the darkness there was no sign of overgrown ivy or peeling paint.

“I think it is lovely,” she answered truthfully. “I do believe it is the first English country house I have ever visited that feels like a true home. Not just a showcase for country weekends, or a place to come shooting.”

“It is a home,” Alex agreed. “My parents came here soon after they were wed, and seldom lived anyplace else. They only went to their London house for a few weeks every Season, then hurried back. My mother adored the country, where she could be near her horses and her dogs. And her children, of course, though we were a distant third!”

Georgina laughed. “Oh, yes!” They had come to a small summerhouse, and she went inside to sit down on one of the benches. Some of the roof slats were missing, and moonlight fell in silvery bars across the leaf-strewn floor. “Emily told me there were often parties here when she was a child.”

Alex sat down beside her, stretching out his long legs before him. “Yes. Just because my parents preferred the country, that does not mean they were in any way unsociable. They belonged to the local hunt—my mother was the only female member for quite a long time. They would give the hunt breakfasts, and the hunt ball. And there was a grand ball every Christmas, which Damian and I, and later Emily, were expected to attend for an hour.”

“Only an hour?”

“Quite long enough to gorge ourselves on sweetmeats and make ourselves very ill! Damian especially was rather greedy.”

Georgina laughed merrily. “Oh, Alex! It sounds like you had quite a delightful childhood.”

“It was delightful. I fear I did not fully appreciate it until much later. During the most difficult times in Spain, it was memories of my family, of life at Fair Oak, that kept me sane.”

“Then, I am very glad you have brought me here, and have chosen to share it with me.”

Alex smiled down at her, and reached for her hand. “There is no one I would rather share it with than you. You seem such a part of it all, after only one evening.”

Georgina curled her fingers around his, wishing that she had not worn gloves, that she could feel his skin against hers. “I wish that were so. I do so admire your home, Alex, and your mother and sister, as well. They are not at all what I expected!”

“What did you expect?”

“Oh, very grand ladies. A dowager duchess and duke’s sister, who were high in the instep, and who insisted on all the proprieties. Exactly how the few other duchesses I have met behaved. I was rather anxious.”

“You, Georgina? Anxious about a mere duchess? Now that I cannot believe.”