Always Come Home (Emerson 1) (24 page)

It was the perfect day for a walk. The sun was
shining brightly, making the snow sparkle, and the crisp, clean air was
refreshing. Colin had asked Ava to walk to the village with him. Ava had
accepted, then brought along Rose and Letty as chaperones. Colin had smiled
wryly at her, but it was obvious he liked spending time with his sisters. At
the moment, he and Letty were engaged in a snowball fight. His aim was quite
deplorable and he somehow had the misfortune to be hit by almost all of Letty’s
snowballs, which required a great deal of work to be in the right place at the
right time.

Ava and Rose looked on and laughed.

“This is beautiful country,” said Ava.

“I have always liked it,” said Rose. “There is a grandeur
to the land that appeals to me very much. I am glad you like it since you will
be staying here.”

Ava didn’t have the heart to tell her she would not
be staying long at all. She was lost in her thoughts and did not see the rut
in the road until she’d stepped in it. Fortunately, Colin was able to catch
her before she fell.

For a moment, time was reduced to the feeling of
being in his arms. Ava was so close to him, she could feel the warmth of his
breath. His steely arms had her locked to his chest. She had the irrational
thought he might kiss her, though of course he couldn’t with both of his sisters
there.

He finally released her. As she stepped away, she
saw Rose and Letty grinning.

“Colin,” said Letty. “You should marry Miss
Conway.”

Ava’s face flooded with color.

Colin cleared his throat. Twice. “Why do you say
that, poppet?”

“I like her very much. So does Rose. And I think
you do, too. And besides, if you marry her, I won’t have to do maths.”

Colin picked up his sister and held her over a
snowbank. She squealed with laughter when he feinted like he would drop her.
“Leticia, if I married Miss Conway, you would have to do even more maths.”

“Why?” Letty was giggling so much, even Ava and Rose
had to join in.

“Because I said so!”

He finally put her down and they resumed their
snowball fight.

“You really must marry him,” Rose said to Ava. “And
before you tell me you’re the governess and he’s the earl, I have studied the
two of you together. It is obvious that you care for each other very much. I
daresay you love each other. And if there’s one thing this family needs it’s a
marriage that is also a love match.”

Ava could not deny her feelings for Colin. Not to
Rose. “I care for your brother very much. But, sweet, practical Rose, you
know he must marry an heiress.”

“He must do no such thing. He must marry for love.
He deserves it. You both do. We will find a way to make do. We will…”

Rose stopped talking and her expression was so
arrested, Ava was worried she’d suddenly been taken ill. Rose was staring at
something in the distance. It was a rider coming their way.

“Who is that?” asked Ava.

A black stallion and his magnificent rider walked
through the lane. The horse was enormous and the man was dressed all in black,
which was a contrast to his fair hair and blue eyes. But a closer look
revealed that the man wasn’t quite steady in the saddle. He seemed to sway
just a bit, though he still seemed just as dignified. Perhaps it was the cut
of his greatcoat, which was obviously expensive. Or the horse itself which,
even to Ava’s untrained eye, was unmistakably valuable.

The man was staring at the horizon with a grim look,
as if on his way to a date with the executioner. Ava could not be sure, but it
looked like he was not much older than she, perhaps in his late twenties.

She was just about to ask Colin about the man, when
Rose called out.

“Grayson!” she called. She had her hands on her
hips and for all the world looked like she was a teacher scolding a pupil.

The man in the saddle turned to look at her. It
took a moment for his eyes to focus, but when they did, he showed a quick
succession of expressions from confusion, recognition, surprise and something
else. It was difficult to identify that last one since no sooner had Ava begun
to study him, than the man fell from his horse, face down into a snowbank.

*

Rose was terrified. She ran to Nathaniel Gage,
Marquess of Grayson, afraid he’d broken his neck in the fall. And it would be
her fault for startling him. Well, he might have had something to do with it
since it was obvious he was foxed and in no condition to be riding. It wasn’t
the first time, of course. Nor would it be the last. Fortunately his horse
was so well trained that it was used to his master’s drinking habits. When
Nate fell, the animal bent his great head to snuffle him. Then, satisfied his
master was not in mortal danger, he slowly backed away from the crazed woman
who was running toward them.

Rose carefully rolled Nate over, though it was quite
a task considering he was a good six inches taller than she and hewn of solid
muscle. Only Grayson could spend so much time debauched and not have a spare
ounce of fat upon him.

She held her breath as he lay motionless, then
finally he opened his eyes. “Thorn? That you?”

Thank God the man was alive, though his breath
reeked of spirits. She knew she shouldn’t have startled him, but she’d been
shocked to see him in the lane. He hadn’t come home for Christmas so she’d
assumed the earliest he would make an appearance would be at Easter. The last
person she’d expected to see today was, unfortunately, the one who made her
heart beat faster and heated her dreams at night. For she’d been in love with Nate
since she was a little girl. And he called her “Thorn.” As in a Rose’s thorn.

“Grayson, is that you?” Colin was standing beside
them and looking down at his old friend.

“Ridgeway?” asked Nate, as he struggled to sit up.
“Heard you were in London looking for a bride.”

Colin pulled him to a standing position, then did
the same for Rose. “Seems like I might be losing my touch. None of the ladies
in London seemed to recognize my appeal.”

“You wouldn’t want to get leg-shackled anyway,” said
Nate, looking aggravatingly handsome. “Not a state I ever want to be in.”

“Does his grace know that?” asked Colin with a grin.

“’Fraid so. One of the reasons I’m here. Though
dreading the visit.”

“Well, leave it to Rose here to divert you from your
purpose,” said Colin, who tugged one of her curls fondly.

Just like she was ten years old again. It was
mortifying.

“Thorn didn’t mean me any harm.” Nate turned the
full force of his grin on her. He was having trouble focusing again and this
time his eyes seemed to drift over her form, then back up again, like he
couldn’t quite comprehend what he’d seen.

Rose’s eyes locked with his. She could barely
breathe. She could not look away.

Colin was oblivious to it. “Remember that day when
Rose wouldn’t stop pestering us and fell into that bog? James and I could not
stop laughing and she was sputtering mad about it. Then you waded in and
pulled her out. The sight of you two makes me laugh even now.”

Rose could not believe her brother had chosen that
moment to do his best imitation of a braying ass.

“Lord Ridgeway,” said Ava, before Colin could dredge
up another embarrassing story. “Perhaps you should ascertain if your friend needs
medical attention.”

“Where are my manners?” said Colin. “Miss Conway,
may I present Nathanial Gage, Marquess of Grayson? His ancestral home is that
castle on the hill. Grayson, this is Miss Ava Conway.”

Grayson made an elegant bow, despite his lack of
balance. “My apologies, Miss Conway for my condition. I had not thought I
would meet anyone today.”

“I believe you did not think,” said Rose, hating how
very much like a fishwife she sounded. But, really, when was he going to grow
up?

“Guilty as charged,” he said. “And Lady Leticia,
please promise me you will pelt your brother with snowballs. I am sure he
deserves it.”

Letty laughed.

“If you come over to the house, perhaps you and I
can have an all out snowball war,” said Colin. “I’m sure you’ll hear, but
we’re at the dower house now.”

“You are?” Grayson looked at Rose. “Is everything
all right?”

“Quite,” she said.

“Come for dinner,” said Colin. “As long as you
don’t mind eating in the kitchen.”

“Trust me, I’d rather eat in your kitchen than the
ducal dining room, but I’m leaving tomorrow.”

Leaving tomorrow
.
Rose wanted to groan aloud. She hadn’t seen Nate in months and then when she did,
she was dressed in an old cloak and made him fall off his horse.

She certainly had a way with men.

“I should be off,” said Nate, with another look at
Rose.

“I don’t think you should be riding,” said Rose.

Colin laughed. “Rose, when are you going to stop
treating Grayson as a brother you can boss around?”

“I don’t think of him as a brother,” she said
quietly.

She wasn’t sure, but there seemed to be a different
quality to the look Nate gave her. Maybe he was beginning to see her as
someone other than his friends’ sister. Or, given his state of inebriation,
maybe he was about to be sick.

Whatever had been there was gone, as he swung back
in the saddle effortlessly.

“Miss Conway, it was a pleasure to meet you. Lady
Leticia, please remember to pummel your brother. Ridgeway, I shall see you on
my return. And Thorn?”

Rose looked up.

“Take care of yourself.” Then he smiled at her
before continuing his journey home.

Rose wanted to cry with the absurdity of it. Nate would
be in the county for only one day and she’d made him fall off his horse. She
looked up to see Ava looking at her curiously.

She hoped the too perceptive Ava did not figure out
why Rose was so disconcerted. It would not do for Colin to discover that the
only man Rose had ever loved was also his drunk, scapegrace friend.

“Maude, you have such a lovely figure,” said Rose,
as she pinned the gown she was altering. “Are you certain you do not wish the
bodice to be a bit lower?”

“But we’ll be in church, Lady Rosemary. I cannot
possibly show too much when God is watching.” Maude was standing very still in
Rose’s bedchamber as Rose and Ava worked on the gown and Letty looked on.

“Yet, I do not think it would hurt to show a bit
more of what the good Lord gave you,” said Ava, from where she was pinning the
hem.

Maude laughed. “Perhaps we can lower it a little.
Victor might like it.”

“He will love it, I’m sure,” said Rose, as she
pinned the bodice.

It had been two days since their walk into the
village. Ava had been trying to keep her distance from Colin, while at the
same time trying to get Rose to speak to her of Lord Grayson. The marquess was
an incredibly handsome man, but he’d been so inebriated that day it was
shocking he’d been able to remain seated on his horse as long as he had. If he
was a man prone to drinking, Ava could not wish for Rose to become his wife.

Some problems were not so easily solved as others.

Rose had deftly evaded her questions by claiming she
was only concerned about Grayson as a friend. Yet, Ava could not help but
believe there was rather more to it than that.

There was a knock on the door.

“Ladies,” called Stemple from the hall. “I have
taken the liberty of bringing you tea.”

“You can’t come in!” said Letty. “It’s bad luck to
see your bride in her gown.”

“Yes, dear,” said Rose. “But tea would be nice.”

“I didn’t know he could make tea,” said Maude.

Ava went to the door and opened it just a crack.
“Thank you, Stemple. But I am afraid you cannot enter and see your bride-to-be
in her wedding gown.”

“But the wedding is still two weeks away,” he said,
trying to peer into the room.

Ava moved into the hall, shutting the door behind
her. “You may see your betrothed later – after she has removed the gown.
Which looks beautiful on her, by the way.”

“I am sure it does. How shall I serve the tea if I
cannot enter?”

“I can take the tray.”

Stemple looked disappointed. “If you’re sure you
don’t need my assistance.”

“I am quite positive.”

“You might wish to know that Lord Ridgeway received
several letters from London today, Miss Conway. He seemed quite pleased to get
them.”

Several letters from London? Perhaps he had good
news from a company other than Clayton’s. “Thank you for informing me. I shall
place the tea inside then find his lordship.”

He opened the door for her.

“That will be all, Stemple,” said Ava laughing.

“If you insist.”

“We all do!” said Rose from inside the bedchamber.

Ava placed the tray on a table. “If you will excuse
me, I must attend to something.”

She left quickly, then all but ran to the library in
search of Colin. She found him at his desk, but not with the smile she hoped
he would have.

“Ava,” he said, rising from his chair. “What a
lovely surprise. I thought all of you were helping Maude with her gown.”

“We were, but Stemple said the post had arrived.”

“It has. Unfortunately, nothing has come for you.”

“Was there anything else of note?”

“Even more unfortunately, there was. I received
three responses to my queries. All were polite, but each said the same. They
are not interested in my writing at this time.”

Ava’s heart sank. How could anyone reject this
man? “Perhaps not at this time. But that could very well change. How many
more queries did you send?”

“Another dozen or so, but I am not optimistic that
their responses will be any different.”

“I am. Surely not every publisher in London is so
mutton-headed as to say no to you. I am certain there must be someone with the
good sense to sign you to a contract.”

“Or perhaps this is just a pipe dream.”

“I will not let you give up on yourself.” She
closed the distance between them and placed her hand on his cheek.

He turned his head to kiss her palm. “No one has
ever believed in me the way you do.”

“It is easy to do, Colin. And I will never lose
faith in you.”

*

Mrs. Babcock paced the length of the sitting room
once again, eyeing the threadbare rug with disgust. “Really, I cannot think
how an earl’s family could live in such a place. When you become the countess
Nora, you must purchase all new furnishings. You can start by taking this rug
out and burning it.”

“I shall start with a wedding trip around the
world,” said Nora, from where she sat on the settee.

“Your father might have a thing or two to say about
that. A trip around the world is too expensive by half.”

“But Papa has loads of blunt.”

“Of course he does. But that doesn’t mean he’ll
spend it all on you. He says the marriage portion will be significant given
all the debt Ridgeway has. Your papa will be ruthless in the negotiations, of
course, and he’ll not be the soft touch you think him to be once you’re
married. After all, we still have Myra to marry off and she won’t go cheaply.”

“Mama,” said Myra from the window seat, “you do
realize I am sitting right here, do you not?”

“I’m not saying anything you do not know. These
Brits are too haughty by half when most of them have not a pot to piss in.”

“Yes, I cannot imagine why they would not want Americans
for in-laws,” said Myra dryly.

The criticism sailed over Mrs. Babcock’s head.
“Nora, your father hates this place and would like to decamp for London. He
believes you must bring Ridgeway up to snuff sooner rather than later.”

“Trust me, Mama, I have it all in hand.”

“Do you? You already let a viscount slip away.”

Nora narrowed her eyes. “I am sure I had nothing to
do with that. I’m certain Myra said something to scare him away. Besides, he
was only a viscount who will one day in the future be an earl. Ridgeway is an
earl right now.”

“And poor as a church mouse. If you married Lord
Clayton, your father wouldn’t have to spend nearly as much money.”

“Yet you’re willing to waste money on Myra.”

“I am still here,” said Myra.

Their mother continued. “Nora, do all of us a favor
and bring this courtship to its conclusion quickly. You always wanted to be a
spring bride, did you not?”

“That is true. I’ll get him to propose now, then
Papa can take the family to London. If I meet anyone better there like a
marquess or duke, I can cry off with Ridgeway.”

“That’s my girl,” said Mrs. Babcock. “Now I must
have a conversation with Cook to see if we can put an end to all these English
dishes. They’re making your father terribly dyspeptic.”

As Mrs. Babcock sailed out of the room, Myra studied
her sister.

“I take it your heart is not engaged with Ridgeway?”

Nora laughed. “Of course not. I’m sure I would
never be so gauche as to fall in love with someone that poor. But he is
handsome and I imagine he could be fun in the bedchamber, though I hope he will
not want too many children. And I am looking forward to being a countess.”

“Unless you can be a marchioness or duchess.”

“I would dearly love to be a princess above all
else. But I understand all those positions are taken in England and you know Papa
would hate to travel to a place they don’t speak English. This will be good
for you, too. When I am a countess, you will be thrown together with a better
class of gentlemen. One of them just might offer for you. Although you should
give serious thought to changing the way you wear your hair.”

Myra wondered how her sister the countess-to-be
would look with a blackened eye. But it was not worth the trouble. Yet still
wonderful to imagine.