The Reluctant Suitor (15 page)

The manly brows flicked upward in amazement. “I should’ve known something was afoot the night I went to pay my debt to him and he told me that he had just bought a small estate near Bradford on Avon so he’d be able to visit his sister whenever he wished. The very thought of their proximity left me wondering how he was going to cope with Father’s presence since our parents were together so much.”

“After Uncle Alistair moved into his estate, he seemed to enjoy testing Papa’s knowledge about this and that during his many visits here. I thought for a time he was merely trying to tweak Papa’s temper, but at the funeral he confessed that whenever he wanted to know how some mechanism worked or some such thing, he’d just ask the one most likely to have that knowledge . . . our father.” Having started weeping, she tried to laugh it off as she drew a dainty handkerchief from her cuff and hurriedly dabbed at the tears trickling from her eyes. “Foolish me, getting so emotional.”

“I must give Uncle Alistair credit for his cunning. He certainly had me fooled,” Colton admitted, a pensive grin slanting across his face.

Seeking another subject that would stem the emotional watery flow, Samantha turned her attention to her surroundings. Not since she had moved from her bedchamber just off the bathing room across the hall had she been in this area of the manse. Upon maturing, she had taken larger chambers in the north section, near the suite of rooms their parents had resided in for the whole of their married life and where her mother had chosen to remain after Sedgwick’s passing. Samantha suffered no doubt that the happiest years she had ever spent in the manse were those wherein she had been ensconsed across the hall within close proximity to her brother.

“Nothing at Randwulf Manor has really changed since you left, Colton, especially in this part of the house. Of course, your new chambers are far more impressive, but I have always thought these bedrooms cozier.”

Samantha ran slender fingers fondly over the top of the desk where her brother had once studied

languages, arithmetic, and science, among a host of other subjects that his private tutor had considered needful for a maturing young man, if only to help one face without shirking the difficult challenges of the world. According to the gentlemanly scholar, Colton had demonstrated himself of superior intellect in his studies in spite of the fact that he had also evidenced a tenaciously stubborn streak, which Malcolm Grimm had declared had often tested his patience. According to the man, that tendency had provoked lengthy debates between them, which had proven beneficial to them both. The scholar had also considered Colton unique among his peers in that he had carefully researched his facts before settling his mind firmly upon a matter. In a vast majority of the cases, which the two had passionately discussed, Mr.

Grimm had been quick to acknowledge that the youth had established himself correct in his hypotheses.

Samantha smiled at her brother over her shoulder. “When I saw you standing in the hall outside the gallery this afternoon, I first thought you were a stranger. Then it finally dawned on me that you had the looks of someone I had known very well. Of course, your features aren’t the only things you’ve inherited from Papa.”

Perhaps it was his own intuitive instinct that led Colton to think she was referring to his willful independence. “I can imagine I’ve been just as stubborn about the betrothal as Father was. It certainly didn’t help that we were at opposite ends of the spectrum.”

Samantha chewed a lip worriedly as she strolled across the darkly hued oriental rug cushioning the floor.

Upon reaching the fireplace mantel, she traced a finger reflectively over the elaborate scroll that finished its marble edge as she broached the main reason for her visit. “I tried to ignore your conversation with Mama this afternoon, but it was impossible. You must be aware that it’s a subject that deeply concerns me.”

“The agreement that Father arranged between Adriana and me, you mean.” Colton rubbed his neck where tension had formed a kink soon after he had been told of the contract to which his father had committed him. It was not that he was against seeing Adriana again, or even courting her. In truth, he yearned for feminine companionship, the sort that lent no shame to a man, and she
was
, after all, far more exquisite than even the rare few he had deemed exceptionally beautiful during his lifetime. Still, he was a man who had considered his independence of great import; he wasn’t necessarily anxious to give up that autonomy immediately upon his return home. He had no wish to hurt Adriana
or
his parent, but it would probably come to that should he decide not to marry the girl, for he wasn’t at all sure a demure young lady with Adriana’s strict upbringing wouldn’t bore him nigh to his grave.

During his absence from home, he had deemed it prudent to shun lengthy entanglements and had avoided innocents with doting, ambitious fathers, many of whom had been his superior officers. He had had no lofty reputation to uphold and, for the most part, had casually sought the company of vivacious, exciting women. Then there had been the widows of close friends, who had come to him in the dark of night, at odds with themselves as they sought to assuage their sorrow and loneliness with one who had shared in the loss of their loved one and yet could be trusted to understand and hold his tongue.

Apart from his temporary light-o’-loves, he had become involved with an actress in London, which, taking into account his infrequent and limited visits to the city, had been a fairly casual affair in spite of the fact that it had been going on for perhaps five years now. Still, he had never considered his involvement with the beauteous Pandora Mayes of any consequence. He had merely deemed it safe to be with her in view of her inability to have children and the fact that he had never heard her name bandied about among the officers and bachelors. Yet, even while pampering her with lavish gifts, he had been fairly forthright and warned her that one day their affair would have to end. The less Pandora had known about his aristocracy, he had decided, the fewer inquiries she’d be inclined to make and the less likelihood she’d be able to embarrass him later on. It hadn’t been until an article extolling his valor had appeared in the

London Gazette
that the actress had learned of his father’s marquessate, but, even then, he had casually brushed off her questions by explaining that he had left home much at odds with his family. He had never declared that as an aristocrat he was bound by the requirements of his birth to marry a lady from among his peers, but in that area, he had made a private commitment to himself that when the time came to marry, he’d do the honorable thing and faithfully adhere to the union lest he embarrass his heirs by begetting nameless contenders for the marquessate.

Though the Wyndhams and the Suttons had been close friends and neighbors for what seemed an eternity, Adriana was almost a complete stranger to him. Still, he had to admit that he was as intrigued as any man could possibly be. Beyond being incredibly beautiful, she had a body that seemed far more tempting than any he had ever held. Softly rounded in all the right places, yet slender and long of limb, she had whet his imagination to such a degree that he found himself wondering if he’d find her just as enticing waking up naked beside him in the mornings.

Samantha turned to face her brother, beset by her own deepening apprehension. “The contract concerning you and Adriana is exactly what I mean.”

Colton made no further effort to curb a mounting desire to jeer. “Apparently I’m the last one to know how well Father planned my life.”

“He did nothing more for you than he did for me.”

Fairly amazed by her statement, Colton could only stare at his sibling. The couple seemed so taken with each other that he found it hard to believe that a betrothal had been arranged for them. “You mean that your marriage was someone else’s idea?”

Samantha inclined her head with a well-defined nod. “Aye, ‘twas, and though you may have difficulty believing that it’s possible, we love each other deeply.”

“When did this come about? On your wedding night?”

Samantha’s eyes flared with indignation at the mocking derision in her brother’s tone. He had made it clear from his youth that he didn’t believe in arranged marriages or betrothals and was highly cynical of their outcome. Now he was letting his skepticism spew over like a boiling cauldron. “Our love for each other began to sprout during our courtship. Since then, it has firmly taken root. Truly, we find it difficult to imagine how our love could have come about if Papa hadn’t planted the idea and initiated our betrothal.”

“Am I supposed to believe that kind of devotion could happen between Adriana and me?”

Samantha was frustrated by his obvious scorn. “You must know by now that Adriana and I are as close as sisters.”

“I’m aware of that, Samantha, but as much as you may cherish her, I tell you now that that fact will in no wise influence my decision. By the terms Father laid out for me, I find myself committed to three months of courtship with Adriana. I will honor that agreement, but as far as the rest, I shall offer no empty platitudes or promises.” He shrugged his shoulders with a casual air of indifference. “Simply put, Samantha, what will be will be.”

Clasping a fist to her breast, she looked at him beseechingly. “Colton, I beg you . . .
please, please
don’t hurt Adriana. As much as you may resent the arrangements Papa made for you, none of it has ever been her fault.”

A pensive sigh escaped his lips. “I know that, Samantha, and I
will
make
every
effort to consider the

merits of our future together. I shall also try to conduct myself in a manner Father would’ve deemed appropriate, but until I’m completely convinced that Adriana and I can come to love each other, I won’t make any promises that I may later come to regret. Neither will I exchange nuptials with her to please family members. You must accept the fact that though I’ve agreed to court her, there still remains a very strong possibility that nothing will come of it. In view of the fact that the contract was drawn up without my knowledge by our parents, warning Adriana to be on her guard seems the only way to forestall the likelihood of her being seriously wounded by my rejection.”

Samantha realized her pleas had profited nothing. Having gained no commitments from her brother, she and her friend were no better off now than they had been earlier. The arduous task of waiting would now begin, and only time would reveal whether Sedgwick Wyndham had been right all along when he had offered the comment that Adriana and his son were so well matched they could’ve been joined at the hip.

Thoughtfully, Samantha tilted her head aslant as she considered her handsome kin. “There is one thing I would have you explain, Colton, if you’d care to enlighten me. My question has nothing to do with Adriana, so you needn’t be on your guard. I’ve just been curious about something, that’s all.”

His lips traced upward. “I’ll try my best.”

“Earlier this year, Mama and I were told by several acquaintances that they had met you in London. We were certain after being away for so many years you’d come home during that brief span of peace since we were there in London ourselves, but, of course, you never did. It has been our deepest regret that you didn’t get to see Papa while he was still alive and in good health. Couldn’t you have seen fit to visit us while we were all there?”

Colton was reluctant to upset his sister any more than she had been. Had it not been for the fact that on the day of his departure, his sire had forbidden him to darken the door of the family homes until he could yield himself to the idea of discussing plans for his betrothal to Adriana or, as it had come to be, the elder had been laid to rest in a grave, he would have visited much sooner. “I’m sorry, Samantha, I went to London on official business for Lord Wellington and, while there, I had to stay within an area wherein I could be located easily by couriers. I wasn’t there long before other commanders and I were sent to join Wellington in Vienna to discuss Napoleon’s return to France. I had my orders; I had to obey them.”

“Papa kept asking for you on his deathbed,” she said in a small voice, futilely struggling to suppress the tears that still seemed inclined to come whenever she remembered their father’s muted pleas to see his only son.

The unrelenting remorse Colton had suffered over his father’s death had lain like an arduous weight upon his chest since news of that event had reached him. As much as he wished he had the ability to reverse time and events and substitute those sorrowful moments with happier, affectionate moments, he could not. He was merely a man, after all.

Noticing the wetness glistening in the eyes that were so very much like his own and their father’s before them, he limped toward his sister and, slipping his arms about her, breathed a humble supplication against her hair. “Dearest Samantha, please forgive me. We were confronting the enemy when your first missive of Father’s illness came, and I was bound by duty to remain with my regiment. Then, later, after his death, I was prevented by my wound from making a departure. It was some time before I could even leave my cot.”

Realizing her own dialogue had turned morbid, Samantha became immediately repentant. “I must ask your forgiveness in return, Colton. You can’t imagine how truly relieved and grateful we all are to have you finally home and to know for a certainty that you’re alive and well.” Amid a profusion of tears, she

slipped her arms about him. “Mama and I have been so dreadfully worried about you. Though Papa dared not speak of his fears while the fighting was so intense, he, too, was deeply concerned for your welfare.” Striving diligently to pull herself together, she took a deep breath, seeking to subdue the emotions that even now threatened to undermine her efforts to speak. Forcing a smile, she stood back with eyes still brimming with moisture. “In spite of your differences, he loved you very, very much.