The Unwanted Earl (25 page)

“
The cuckoo and I have an unfortunate history, I’m afraid. There’s something of a vendetta on his part.”
Although I had insulted him first.
 

Amelia raised her eyebrows.

Conrad glanced at Oliver. “Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome. I guess all of my former work here at the Sanctuary comes in handy at times.”

More grumbling came from Conrad’s mother. She frowned and pointed at Conrad’s head. “That disgusting bird is exactly why I don’t want the wedding reception here in this
horrid
place.”

Amelia gasped.

Conrad took Amelia’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before turning his attention back to his mother. “But
this
is where my bride wishes to have it. It’s her
favorite
place on earth.” He narrowed his eyes. “And
this
is where it shall be.”

“
Well!” His mother stomped her foot.

Perfect.
Wasn’t it bad enough she did that at home? But in front of others?

Lucy eyed Amelia and angled her head toward Conrad’s mother. “
Perhaps
we should continue to look for the best location?”

“
Yes.” Amelia smiled. “You’re right.” She leaned against Conrad. “Come along, dear.”

He winked at her. “Delighted.”

Conrad’s mother mumbled louder.

“
Do pipe down, Lady Lofton.” Mrs. Talbot’s voice came from behind them as well.

Amelia snickered but didn’t turn around. She and Conrad kept walking.

Uniting their two mothers into extended family would be interesting, to put it mildly. It would be a miracle if they didn’t come to blows before the wedding even occurred.

Up ahead, ducks quacked and splashed water as the group neared the pond. Amelia’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go see them.” Fighting very hard not to roll his eyes, Conrad allowed her to pull him in that direction.

“
What’s this? We have to walk through the grass?” Conrad’s mother screeched.

It couldn’t be helped. Conrad did indeed roll his eyes that time. Why she’d insisted on coming today was beyond imagination, since Amelia had told her that was to be their destination.

Perhaps she didn’t want Mrs. Talbot to have the upper hand in the planning of the reception. That would be just like his mother… nosy beyond reason. She should have been born a cat.

Then he remembered meeting
Amelia’s
cat. And, that said cat would very soon live under his roof. With him. He huffed out a breath.

“
Something the matter?” Amelia slowed her steps.

Don’t let anything ruin this for her, as much as you dislike it
. “Of course not, just… inhaling the fresh air.”

“
You
were
listening to me the other day and are taking my advice? Thank you.”

He forced a smile. “Certainly.”

The sound of boots clomped behind him as the group veered from the path to the grassy field, muddy since last night’s hard rain. A laugh from behind sounded like Lucy’s followed by a deeper one from Oliver. And the mothers argued about something… The words
abhorrent
and
repulsive
were bandied about.

Be quiet Mother!
He clenched his teeth. Must she be a constant whining, embarrassment?
But weren’t you the same, not too long ago?
Realization struck.
I’m just
like her. I’ve inherited all of her negative attitudes and offensive jibes at others. But I want to change. Desperately!
 

The Shipleys and the mothers paused beneath a tree. Oliver pointed up and was explaining something to them.

I bet my mother is just thrilled with that.

He turned back to Amelia. A ray of sunshine caught her red hair and it gleamed. How he longed to stop, turn her toward him, and remove the pins from her hair, letting the tresses blow about in the breeze… and then he would—

“…
the ducks?”

“
Pardon?”

The corners of Amelia’s lips rose. “And just what were you dreaming about?”

“
Dreaming? I wasn’t—”

She poked him in the chest. “I know a dreamy expression when I see it. Could I be so bold as to hope it was about me?”

Yes, you can, because yes, it was.
“Now, I don’t want to give away all of my secrets, do I?” Not this one, and especially not about Andrew and Cecilia.

She took a step closer. “Secrets? I love secrets.”

“
I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed, Miss Talbot. My secret will not leave my lips.”
At least not today. Not until I’m certain I can trust you with it. And with my heart.
 

“
Oh pooh. Then I guess I’ll have to amuse myself with choosing the reception location.” She turned and motioned to the rest of the group to join them.

Lucy waved back, said something to the others, and they made their way through the mud and grass. She reached Amelia and touched her sleeve. “Have you found it?”

“
Not yet. Just wanted everyone to admire the ducks.”

“
We always love to do that, don’t we Oliver?”

Lucy’s husband smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. Conrad longed for the day when a simple touch to Amelia’s hand or shoulder wouldn’t be considered outlandish. Just a couple more weeks until they’d be husband and wife.

Two of the ducks swam in circles and then upended, heads below the pond’s surface. Their back ends pointed to the sky as they searched below the water for food.

Lucy laughed. “I remember a time when
someone
I know thought that behavior distasteful.”

Conrad nodded, acknowledging his guilt.

Oliver smacked Conrad lightly on the shoulder. “You do know our teasing is good natured?”

Lucy nodded.

Warmth, the type that comes from knowing he had true friends who cared about him, encircled his heart. “Of course.”

Mother joined them and stood next to Conrad. “Good heavens! What are those ducks doing? That’s disgusting!”

Amelia and Lucy both bit their lips, holding back laughter. Oliver turned away, but his shoulders were shaking.

Mrs. Talbot stepped forward on Mother’s left. “What’s all the fuss? Haven’t you seen a duck’s tail feathers before?”

Her face reddened. “But… I… if that’s what you’re calling—” She pointed. “—
that.”
 

Seeing oneself through others’ eyes was quite revealing. Even more, recognizing his own flaws when viewing his mother’s would have been disheartening, had he not determined to change.

The ducks quacked and made their peculiar
proop-proop
sound as he watched them swim about. Strange that he could stand at the water’s edge and no longer feel intense fear of being so close to them. He still didn’t love it as Amelia did, but it was definitely an improvement.

His mother had her handkerchief out, holding it over her nose.

The pond
was
quite smelly.

Conrad clapped his hands once. “Let’s carry on, shall we? We’re on a mission today, are we not?”

“
Yes.” Amelia grabbed his arm. “I want the reception to be at the Sanctuary, but still haven’t found that perfect place.”

Mother
grumbled
and followed them back across the muddy grass, although she and Mrs. Talbot were consistently several paces behind the younger set.

Next they came upon a larger pond. The
goose
pond. Conrad shivered as he remembered being submerged in the cold water in the not-so-distant past. His steps faltered, but once again Amelia yanked him forward, forcing him to face his winged nemesis.

“
Look.” Amelia pointed. “It’s that same goose. And…” She squinted. “It has my handkerchief. In its
bill
.”

“
Truly?” Conrad focused on the largest goose floating across the pond. It did indeed have a piece of pink cloth dangling from its bill. “It’s almost as if he’s taunting us with it.”

“
Too bad it’s ruined now, but I did love that handkerchief.” She gave Conrad’s hand a squeeze. “But don’t think I’ve forgotten your valiant efforts to make its recovery.”

“
I only wish I’d been successful.”

She lowered her gaze to his lips. “You might not have been successful in the handkerchief’s retrieval, but I wouldn’t say you were
unsuccessful
.” Her lips curved in a smile.

Was she remembering being flung atop him when she’d pulled him from the pond? Heat filled his core. “Ah… I see.”

Lucy stepped beside Amelia. “Oh my, look at that.”

Amelia peered at the water again. “You mean my handkerchief? Wait, is that goose wearing… a
hat?”
 

Lucy giggled. “Yes. That would be mine.”

Oliver took his wife’s hand. “I can vouch for that.”

“
It’s true. Oliver tried so very hard to save my hat from the thieving goose, but all he ended up getting for his efforts was a fall in the pond.”

He pressed his forehead against Lucy’s. “That’s not
all
I ended up with.” He smiled.

Amelia raised her eyebrows and looked at Conrad. He shrugged. Seemed the goose was adept at not only thievery, but in bringing together couples, as well.

A grove of trees shaded a large area to their right. Late season wildflowers of pink and yellow swayed in the gentle breeze a few yards away. The purring sound of turtledoves could be heard somewhere nearby. Conrad stopped and angled his head near Amelia’s. “What do you think?”

She tapped her finger to her chin, spinning in a slow circle as she gazed up and down, right and left. “Yes. This might just do. It’s quiet and peaceful, with shelter from the sun or rain under the trees. I can hear the birds and see the flowers.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”

Gasps arose from their mothers, who had finally caught up with them. Chubby fingers that Conrad recognized as his mother’s, wrapped around Amelia’s wrist to tug her away.

“
I’ll thank you, Miss Talbot, to kindly unhand my son. The
earl
.”

Mrs. Talbot, not to be outdone, wagged her finger very near Conrad’s nose. “I’m sure you have something to do with this, Lord Lofton. You’ve obviously used your wiles on my daughter for her to react in such a way in public.”

Mother number one and Mother number two then faced each other. They assumed identical poses. Feet set apart, Shoulders squared. Glares that could maim.

Oh heavens! They look to be ready for a duel!

Conrad and Oliver each took hold of one of Lady Lofton’s hands and pulled her away. Amelia and Lucy did the same with Mrs. Talbot. Conrad looked over his shoulder just as Amelia did the same. Their gazes met.

What have we gotten ourselves into, Amelia?

“
Lord Lofton, someone
is here to see you.” Giles had a look of distaste on his face.

“
Who is it, Giles?” Conrad looked up from buttoning his jacket.

“
She said her name was Miss Fletcher. She’s dressed as a commoner, so I cannot
imagine
her reason for simply appearing on your doorstep with a request to see you. Shall I send her away?” He turned partway back to the hall not even waiting for an answer of which he assumed would be assent.

“
No.”

Giles stopped, angled back and raised his eyebrows. Would he think Conrad had reverted to his previous, grouchy self with the servants? That his recent kindness had been but a momentary lapse?

“
Pardon me, Giles, for my tone. But I wish to speak with her. Please show Miss Fletcher to the parlor. She is someone of great importance to me and may very well be a frequent visitor in the future. I would expect of you to be courteous to her.”

With his eyebrows rising even higher, Giles blinked. “As you… wish, my lord.”

Oh no… What I said might sound like she is my… That she and I…
He held up his hand. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“
It’s not my place to think
anything
about…
anything,
my lord.” He coughed and slid a gaze to his right. Was he longing to escape the uncomfortable conversation? To flee to safer ground?

“
Nevertheless, it’s
not
what you’re thinking. Please just show her to the parlor, see that she is comfortable and I’ll be there momentarily.”

“
Certainly, my lord.” He turned and hurried from the doorway.

In Conrad’s estimation, a nasty rumor would spread through the servants in the next few minutes. It never took long, once one of them latched onto a juicy bit of gossip that they thought would appeal to their contemporaries.

I hope word of it doesn’t reach Amelia through her own servants
. It seemed to happen all too frequently. That they
delighted
in sharing tales about their employers.

If he told Amelia the truth, however, he ran the risk of her telling someone else about his true parentage. What would happen if the wrong person found out?

I know what could happen… loss of respect in the community at the very least. Even possible loss of title and home if the situation became severe.

With a deep longing, Conrad wished he could simply tell her. But that would involve absolute trust. And unfortunately in light of her blackmail scheme, trusting her to that degree was not in him.

Since I had once been the culprit in another blackmail scheme, I know all too well
the mindset that desperation can bring. I don’t blame her motives for wanting to not be
saddled with ancient Lord Griffith, but… that doesn’t give me comfort that she can be trusted. Unfortunately.
 

As delighted as he would be to see Cecilia, he was also troubled. What could entice her to visit him uninvited? He and Amelia had no plans today that would necessitate having Cecilia as a chaperone.