The Seventh Suitor (4 page)

“Then perhaps your guardian did not hear me say that I do not wish to hear another word on the subject, apologies included,” Kate flashed.

“I doubt that he cares what you want,” Charles replied, “but I for one agree with you. Nevertheless, I am sorry if I caused you any embarrassment, Kate,” he said contritely. “I have promised Winterton I will not speak of it, and of course Wayne will not. There now, that is over. Is Susan all right?”

“Mama is with her, but she seems well enough. I shall tell her you called, Charles.” When the young man appeared reluctant to leave, Kate patted the seat beside her and suggested, “Sit down and tell me what is bothering you. Not the tongue-lashing from Winterton, surely?”

Charles could not seem to decide what tack to follow—indignation at his guardian for berating him or mortification at his own showing in the near-accident. Kate smiled encouragingly at him, and his self-doubts won out.

“I feel such a fool, Kate!” he exclaimed, agitatedly twisting the signet ring on his finger. “What must Susan think of me, standing there like an idiot while she was nearly trampled to death! And to have
him
be the one to save her. Even
you
were able to react faster than I, for I saw him fling you out of the way when you went after her. I shall die of shame!” He could not keep the dramatic note from his voice, even though his feelings were real enough.

“Charles, you must not reproach yourself too severely, nor give in to self-pity. You are prone, I think, to do both. No one has any reason to doubt your courage. I can myself remember some rather daring episodes from your youth,” she admitted with a laugh. “I think the shock overpowered your natural instinct. I feel sure Susan will understand, if you do not exaggerate the incident. But Susan is young and needs someone mature to lean on. I don’t think yesterday’s childish prank set you very high in her esteem, Charles.”

“No, I suppose not,” he admitted grudgingly. “You don’t think she needs someone really
old,
do you?”

“Not old, Charles. Mature. Someone she can depend on. Someone stable.” Kate sighed. “I should hate to think of her marrying some loose-screw; she deserves better.”

Charles eyed her suspiciously but decided that she could not possibly be referring to himself. He thanked her for her kindness and departed, leaving Kate to mull over the morning’s adventures.

Chapter 4

Susan was able to join the family for a luncheon set back an hour by Kate, as Mrs. Montgomery had been too occupied to remember. Ralph looked better than Kate had expected, but he was given to morose thoughts. It touched him on the raw to hear that the Earl of Winterton had saved his youngest sister’s life while he lay abed nursing a splitting head.

Mrs. Montgomery urged her husband to carry a letter to Winter Manor and express their thanks to Winterton. He suggested that Ralph accompany him but was informed that his son had other plans for the afternoon.

“And you, Kate? Should you like to ride with me?” he asked.

“I would like to, Papa, but Mama is expecting callers and I shall sit with Susan,” Kate begged off.

Thus Mr. Montgomery set off alone carrying his wife’s letter to the Earl. His reception was no better than he had expected; the Earl was not pleased to see him, but he was ushered into
the library and offered a glass of wine after his ride.

“My daughters have apprised me of the great service you have done my family, Lord Winterton. I wished to thank you personally,” Mr. Montgomery began.

“There is no need. I could not help but involve myself,” Winterton responded. “Your younger daughter was a fool, and your elder daughter has an unruly tongue, sir. You should keep them on leads.”

Mr. Montgomery could have taken offense at this unkind comment, but surprisingly he broke into a laugh. “You are too severe,” he chuckled at last. “Tell me your opinion of my son.”

“I stopped him only yesterday from buying a short-backed nag,” Winterton retorted, but he smiled at Mr. Montgomery. “It cannot be pleasant to be the parent of such a bunch of chuckleheads.”

“They are well enough,” Mr. Montgomery replied. “Not precisely what I had expected, to be sure, but not so bad, either. Your own father might not be over-impressed with such a stiff-rumped, arrogant son as yourself.”

Winterton eyed him closely before saying, “I would not allow anyone else to say so to me, sir. My father was inordinately fond of you.”

“And I of him. You’re making a name for yourself in the neighborhood, Winterton, and it is not altogether flattering. Tell me, have you kept up his farming methods? Do you keep abreast of the Hookham Meetings?”

The two men spent an agreeable afternoon going over Lord Winterton’s estate and discussing the various improvements accomplished and contemplated. If the neighbors found Winterton disagreeable, his tenants did not. Mr. Montgomery explained his own improvised method of drainage, and Winterton admitted he would like to see it. The two men parted amicably.

It was a week before Winterton availed himself of Mr. Montgomery’s invitation to inspect the farming methods used at the Hall. Unfortunately he arrived on a day when Mr. Montgomery had gone to Bristol. Mrs. Montgomery sought out Kate in the music room and begged her to take Lord Winterton about the estate in her father’s stead.

“For you know almost as much about it as your father, Kate, and Ralph doesn’t know a seed drill from a . . . a . . .”

“Winnowing fan. Yes, Mama, I know. But I am sure Lord Winterton would do better to come back another day when Papa is here to escort him himself.”

“You are forgetting the obligation we are under to his lordship, Kate. He saved your sister’s life, and I would not wish to show him any discourtesy.”

“But he would probably be insulted if I took him around the estate,” Kate protested. “Women are not supposed to know of such things.”

“He seemed intrigued by the idea,” her mother admitted.

“Ah, yes, I can imagine that sardonic look,” Kate laughed. “All right, I’ll do it. Tell him I shall be with him in ten minutes. I must change.”

Kate was determined to wipe the sneer off Winterton’s face, and she succeeded within the hour. She discussed the farming methods in such a businesslike, knowledgeable way that Winterton was unable to hide his fascination.

“It has taken me a few weeks to catch up,” she confessed. “My Aunt Eleanor lives in town and I have been out of touch with the farming except through my father’s letters. I saved all of those, though, and studied them so that I would not disappoint him on my return.”

“Your father wrote you of such things?”

“Oh, yes, he writes more of crop rotation and drainage than of the family’s activities. It is no surprise to me to hear how much hazel is sold for sheep hurdles and chestnut for hop poles.” She offered him a mischievous grin. “The only thing that surprises me is that he does not have his writing paper stamped with the Coke motto: No fodder, no beasts; no beasts, no mature; no manure, no crop.”

Winterton grudgingly returned her smile. “I could tell he was an enthusiast when I spoke to him. Surely he does not expect you to understand the farm implements and new sowing and harvesting methods.”

“Not only does he expect it, he insists on it. You must not think I am adverse to learning, Lord Winterton. Why,
The Farmer’s Magazine
is well-nigh my favorite reading.” Her eyes danced, but her expression remained politely blank.

“You are mocking, Miss Montgomery. No doubt your interest does not extend to the financial side of the estate management, which would be too complicated for a woman.” He was well aware that he was purposely pinching at her, but he could not resist the impulse to set her down, since his opinion had long been that she was capricious and unprincipled. Had she not refused to marry his brother Carl and then accepted a large legacy from him?

Kate did not allow his disparaging comments to irritate her. “The other knowledge would serve little purpose if I were not also trained in keeping the books. I have in the past taken over when my father was ill or away from home. He does not believe in teaching the practice without the theory, my lord, or having me aware of the income without knowing the expenses. I am rather fond of doing the accounts.”

“Are you? You astonish me, Miss Montgomery. I have prided myself no less than your father on keeping abreast of agricultural matters, and I am impressed by the extent of your knowledge. Does your brother take a like interest?”

“Unfortunately, no, but I have an eye to that,” Kate remarked with a casual wave of her hand. “Has Lord Norris shown any interest in his estate?”

“Strange you should ask that. The young gudgeon came to me but a few days ago—I’ll be bound it’s the first time he has ever sought me out—and asked how he should go about learning something of estate management. I thought he was roasting me for a moment, but he was dead serious.’’

“Then there is hope for Ralph yet, I feel sure.”

Winterton eyed her suspiciously and asked, “Did you have something to do with Charles’s sudden interest in his estate?”

“Now, how should I, Lord Winterton? I imagine it was the peal you rang over him.”

“He told you of that? Young jackanapes. Forever acting tragedies.”

“You are too hard on him. He is young yet,” Kate replied coolly.

“At his age I came into my inheritance,” Winterton retorted.

“And I am sure your handling of it was above reproach,” she replied sweetly.

“I didn’t know a thing about it,” he admitted, “but there were people who depended on me.”

“Charles does not have the same motivation, perhaps.”

“No, for I am convinced his brother Wayne shows all the earmarks of a scholar.”

“Does that bother you?” Kate asked, directing her mare back toward the stables.

“No, the life will suit him. He’s not a bad fellow, Wayne. I’m surprised he took part in that prank last week.”

“He didn’t wish to, you know. He came to me first thing the next morning to apologize. You should not have sent Charles. He was in pelter enough, and you could not but have heard me say I did not wish to speak of it again,” she said tartly, remembering her annoyance. “It had nothing to do with you.”

“My wards do as I tell them, Miss Montgomery,” he replied stiffly. “I am responsible for their behavior as gentlemen.”

Kate burst out laughing at this. “When you set them such a fine example, I am surprised you need speak to them at all.”

“I told your father you had an unruly tongue. It is most unbecoming.”

“No, do you think so? Tsk. I must mend my ways for such an authority!” she exclaimed and set her mare to the gallop. Despite his later start, Winterton managed to arrive at the stables before she did and glared as he handed her down. “I have enjoyed the opportunity to show you about the estate, Lord Winterton.”

“Thank you for your time, Miss Montgomery,” he replied formally before he remounted his horse, lifted his hat to her. His rugged countenance was accentuated by the penetrating blue eyes and black hair, and his athletic build suggested a forceful masculinity. If his eyebrows were not so fierce and his nose not so determinedly patrician, he might be considered handsome, she supposed, but not with such an unbending, unconciliating manner. She watched him out of sight, his tall frame erectly at ease in the saddle.

Kate joined her sister, who was reading the latest novel from the circulating library in the parlor. Susan looked up and grinned at her sister. “Mama said you had taken Lord Winterton about the estate. Was it fun?”

“Well, for a while he was pleasant, but I managed to annoy him in the end. He told me that I have an unruly tongue and that it is most unbecoming,” Kate confessed with mock contrition. “Are we expecting Benjamin Karst this afternoon? He seems a frequent caller these days. I fear you have bewitched another eligible man.”

“Nonsense. He pays no more attention to me than to you, as you well know, and I think he would just as soon find Ralph as either of us, for they have some lark planned, I think.”

“The word is about in the stables they are planning some crackbrained race to Bath at night. Hmm. I think, Susan, it’s time we gave their thoughts a different direction.”

Susan groaned. “What now, my dear?”

“They share a common interest in horses, and I know just the farm where they could breed them.”

“What do they know about breeding horses? They’d make wretched work of it. Besides, Papa would not be willing to advance the funds for such a scheme.”

“You may be right, love, but shan’t we at least give it a try?” Kate begged. “We would all be more comfortable if we could find something to interest Ralph besides gaming and hunting.”

“Oh, very well. Tell me what I am to do.”

When Benjamin put in an appearance that afternoon, it was not difficult to arrange that Ralph join the three of them for a ride. With a grin to Kate, Susan declared, “Benjamin, you must have a fine eye for a horse. I have never seen such a marvelous animal.”

Cutting short Benjamin’s gracious acceptance of this compliment, Kate said with enthusiasm, “You should have seen the horse Lord Winterton was riding today, Susan. It is no wonder he has such a reputation for breeding them. I’ve seldom seen such a magnificent animal.”

“Oh, he’s good enough, I suppose,” Ralph interjected, still smarting under his lordship’s recent criticism. “But I have no doubt Benjamin or I could do as well if we had the opportunity.”

“Come now. You and Benjamin both have a good eye, I feel sure, but there is more to breeding excellent horses than that. What do you know of their care and the proper combinations to produce a prime goer?” Kate teased.

“As much as the next one,” Benjamin retorted.

“Not as much as Lord Winterton,” Susan chimed in.

“Well, he has been doing it for some years. Probably reads the journals, too. And he has good land for them,” Benjamin added.

“Then you couldn’t do it,” Kate mused, “for you haven’t been at it for years, and I am sure you would not touch a journal, though of course there is good land to be had.”

“Where?” the two young men asked in chorus.