The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding (Millworth Manor) (10 page)

One of the American guests greeted them in the doorway, then continued on his way. Another man stood with his back to the door, filling his plate at the sideboard still brimming with breakfast offerings. Obviously the cook wanted to make certain the departing guests had no reason to complain as to the manor’s hospitality.

“Mrs. Dooley has outdone herself yet again.” Dee’s gaze shifted between the sideboard and her new fiancé as if she couldn’t decide which to head for first. “I must say, I’m starving,” she murmured but adopted a pleasant smile and moved to greet Sam.

Dee usually was hungry when she was happy. Teddy stifled a laugh and stepped to the sideboard.

The gentleman filling his plate glanced at her and his gaze met hers.

Her breath caught. “You!”

“Good day,” he said with a smile. “I was hoping to see you again.”

Teddy stared and at once realized the truth. She was shocked she hadn’t noticed last night but then last night she never would have suspected the truth. The man looked vaguely familiar because he looked very much like the colonel—
his father.
He had the same boyish good looks and infectious grin and his eyes were very nearly the same shade of blue as Dee’s and her sisters. He’d said he had come with his father and said as well his story was a convoluted one. That was certainly an understatement. Nothing the man said had been a lie, as far as she knew, yet the most unreasonable sense of having been deceived swept through her.

“Good morning, Jack,” Dee said, returning to the sideboard and perusing the offerings, much like a general planning a campaign. “Have the two of you met?”

“No,” Teddy snapped.

“Yes,” he said at the same time.

Dee’s eyes narrowed and her gaze shifted between Teddy and the American.

“Not really.” Teddy shrugged.

“In a manner of speaking,” he said, again at the same time.

“I see,” Dee said slowly. Teddy refused to hazard a guess as to what exactly the other woman was thinking but whatever it was, Dee was wrong. “Well then, just to make certain as neither of you seem entirely sure, Teddy, may I present my cousin, Mr. Jackson Channing. Jack, this is my dearest friend in the world, Lady Theodosia Winslow.”

Without thinking Teddy held out her hand. Mr. Channing looked for a place on the sideboard to put his plate. Good Lord, what was she doing? The man had her, well, flustered. She pulled back her hand but he passed his plate to Dee, then took Teddy’s hand.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Theodosia.” He frowned. “Or is it Lady Winslow?”

“Oh, you can call her Teddy. She’s practically a member of the family,” Dee said absently, her gaze fixed on Mr. Channing’s plate. “This looks wonderful.”

“You’d best reclaim your breakfast from Dee before she claims it for herself.” Teddy pulled her hand free from his.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I would never . . .” Dee handed him back his plate and grinned. “But I am famished.” She stepped around Mr. Channing and took a plate of her own.

Mr. Channing leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Do you mind? My calling you by your first name, that is? Is it acceptable?” Doubt shown in his blue eyes. At once she recalled his comments about being a fish out of water.

“It’s quite all right.” Teddy smiled up at him. It probably wasn’t fair for her to feel any indignation about their conversation last night. He hadn’t misled her, indeed, he hadn’t really said much of significance at all. Still, the feeling lingered. “Dee and I have been close since our school days together so I’ve known her family for a long time. And you are a member of the family after all.”

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t mind telling you it’s going to take some time to understand the rules of your titles. When it’s Lady Firstname and when it’s Lady Lastname.”

Teddy nodded. “I imagine it is most confusing for someone new to it all.”

“Maybe . . . “A casual note sounded in his voice. “You could give me some pointers, if you’re willing, that is,” he added quickly.

“Oh, I’m certain anyone in the family would be happy to help you with that.”

“Of course.” Disappointment flashed in his eyes.

She regretted her words the moment they were out of her mouth. He was a visitor to her country, even if it was now his country as well. “But please, Mr. Channing, do feel free to ask anything that might come to mind.”

“Jack,” he said firmly and smiled. Admittedly, it was a most charming smile. But then, so was his father’s. “And I suspect I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“Probably.” She cast him a dismissive smile and took a plate of her own.

She knew he was still looking at her but she ignored him and pretended to be completely engrossed in selecting a sausage. Absurd of course, no one spent that much time choosing a sausage. After a moment he joined the other gentlemen at the table. Good, she had no desire for aimless chat with an . . . an interloper. A man who was less than forthright even if he didn’t, by definition, lie. Subtle deceit was far worse than outright dishonesty. She would not be led down that road again.

Dee stepped up beside her and sliced a piece of pheasant pie. “What was that all about?”

“What was what all about?”

Dee slid the pie onto her plate. “That nonsense with you saying you hadn’t met him and him saying you had.”

“Simply a bit of confusion, that’s all.” Teddy selected a coddled egg and added it to her plate. “We shared a dance together but we were not introduced.”

“I see. Still, you were a bit curt with him.”

“Was I?” Teddy shrugged. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“I did. It’s not at all like you.”

“Perhaps I simply don’t like being played for a fool by men who appear to be one thing when they are something else entirely.”

Dee stared in confusion. “What?”

“Oh, certainly he was charming enough with his mysterious manner and his unfinished story and his shocking secrets. But does he seem the least bit out of place to you?”

“Not if he doesn’t open his mouth,” Dee said slowly.

“No, he certainly does not. And his
you are an adventure
nonsense. Entirely too polished and well rehearsed. It takes a great deal of practice to sound that sincere.” Teddy slapped a piece of bacon onto her plate. “Lord save me from men who claim they wish to be perfectly honest.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about . . .” Teddy stared at her friend. Dear Lord, what was wrong with her? The man really hadn’t done anything to earn her annoyance except not confide his identity to her. What he had or hadn’t said was of no consequence really even if last night there had been something, a spark, a recognition, just for a moment . . . a moment easily explained away now by his resemblance to his father. Of course she would be attracted to the man. The first crush she’d ever had was on his father. Regardless, that was no reason—indeed—there was no reason at all why she should be so irate with him.

And yet she was.

She drew a deep breath. “Forgive me, Dee. I must be more tired than I suspected. You’re absolutely right. I was a bit curt.” She glanced at the table where Jack had joined his father and Sam. “I should probably apologize.”

“Although I suppose it makes sense if you don’t like him.”

Teddy started. “I never said I didn’t like him.”

“It would certainly be understandable.”

Teddy drew her brows together. “Why?”

“On my behalf, that is.”

“Again why?”

“Well, just like your cousin Simon, Jack has swept in here, where he has never belonged, and, through nothing more than a twist of hereditary fate, will be handed Millworth Manor and all that goes with it. My home and my heritage. As much as I might say that I have accepted it, it’s still difficult. Don’t you agree?”

Teddy nodded.

“That’s it, isn’t it? Why you were so sharp with him.” Dee cast her friend an innocent smile.

Teddy stared. She knew this woman as well as she knew herself. And knew from the look in her eyes, Dee didn’t believe what she was saying for one moment. But her dear friend was giving her a means of escape, a rational explanation for irrational behavior even Teddy herself couldn’t explain. She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “Yes, of course, you’re right.”

“I knew it.” Dee smiled. “You’re a very good friend, Theodosia Winslow, and I am most grateful to have you. However . . .” Dee plopped an egg onto her plate. “You shall have to put aside your dislike. The man is now a part of this family. And I must confess, the more I think about it, the more I like it. And I cannot have my dearest friend at odds with my father’s heir. It would be most distressing.”

“And we wouldn’t want to distress you.”

“No, we would not,” Dee said firmly.

“Then I shall just have to carry on.” It shouldn’t be at all difficult to be pleasant to the man. Once Teddy left Millworth, it might be months before she ran into him again. Surely by then this irrational annoyance he elicited would have eased.

“As do we all.” Dee glanced at the men at the table. “You do have to admit, he is rather handsome.”

Teddy shrugged. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“He looks very much like Uncle Basil and Father do in that portrait of them in the upstairs gallery. They were handsome devils.”

“Your uncle still is.”

“You’ve always thought so.”

“I know.” Teddy sighed. She’d been smitten with the dashing Colonel Channing since the first time she’d met him more than a decade ago. That he never saw her as anything other than a friend of his youngest niece was a source of great dismay in her youth. Fortunately, she had grown out of both the disappointment and the infatuation.

“His son seems pleasant enough.” Dee studied her cousin for a moment. “If a tiny bit lost. He strikes me as rather quiet as well.”

“It’s never easy to get a word in with your family,” Teddy murmured.

“Of course, it must be quite a shock to discover an entirely new family you never knew you had.”

“One would think so.”

“We should be as nice to him as possible.” Dee slanted her friend a sharp look. “All of us.”

“Why?” Teddy shrugged. “He’s not my cousin. I have a cousin of my own who has already laid claim to my family’s heritage. You should be grateful you have your own finances and your future is not dependent upon what happens to Millworth.”

“Oh I am, most grateful.” Dee had very nearly lost everything she had when a false claim was made against her late husband’s estate. “I thank God every day for that. Every day that I remember to do so, that is.” She nodded and crossed the room to the table.

Teddy wished she had waited a bit longer to come down for breakfast but there was nothing to be done about it now. Surely she could be nice to the man for the remainder of her stay. She adopted a pleasant smile and joined the others.

The gentlemen rose to their feet at once upon the ladies’ arrival.

“Teddy, my dear.” The colonel took her hand and raised it to his lips, in a manner romantically old-fashioned and completely enchanting. Just as he had the first time she’d met him when she’d been barely thirteen. The first man to ever do so. “You look lovely today.”

“And you, Colonel, are as charming as ever.” Teddy cast him a brilliant smile. “Fatherhood obviously agrees with you.”

“And no one is more surprised by that than I.” He chuckled and glanced at his son. “Jack, have you met Teddy?”

“I have had that pleasure.” Jack smiled.

“She is as brilliant and efficient as she is beautiful.” The colonel glanced at his son. “Beauty and brains is a rare combination, my boy.”

“Dare I ask what the three of you were so immersed in discussing?” Dee said and took her place at the table.

“I was just telling your uncle about my motorwagon.” Sam sat down as did the other gentlemen.

“That is a surprise.” Dee nodded knowingly at Teddy. “So what are your thoughts about it, Uncle Basil?”

“I think it’s most intriguing.” the colonel said. “Sam has been explaining this German fellow’s—”

“Mr. Karl Benz,” Sam said.

“Yes, yes, Benz has made some remarkable advances regarding the—”

“No, no, Uncle Basil.” Dee thrust her hand out to quiet him. “I don’t want to know your assessment of the inner workings of the beast. I just want to know what you think about it.” She leaned forward and met her uncle’s gaze. “Sam thinks it’s the way of the future and I must say I agree with him.”

Teddy choked back a laugh. It wasn’t so long ago that Dee had called Sam’s horseless carriage a waste of time, money, effort, and energy. She certainly was embracing compromise wholeheartedly. Perhaps astonishing was the best word after all.

“I would take you for a ride in it, Colonel.” Sam shrugged apologetically. “But we’ve already moved it to London.”

“A ride shall have to wait then,” the older man said. “At least for a few days. I was thinking we should go to London. What do you think, Jack?”

“I’ve never been to London aside from our arrival,” Jack said slowly. “Besides, I’d like to see this horseless carriage myself.”

“Well, that’s that.” Lady Briston swept into the room trailed by her husband. “Everyone is finally on their way.”

“At last,” Lord Briston said under his breath.

“Do stay seated, gentlemen.” Lady Briston waved at the men at the table. “It’s only family left now. No need to stand on formalities. Teddy, my dear.” She cast the younger woman a brilliant smile and took a seat at the table. “You did a superb job, simply superb. Everyone said so.”

“I’m so glad you’re pleased.” Teddy smiled at the older woman. She wanted each and every event she planned to be as perfect as possible, of course, but this one was a little more special. Lady Briston had always made Teddy feel like one of the family.

“And I do hope you’ll agree to take on another event, even if it is on short notice.”