The Incorrigible Mr. Lumley (19 page)

What had he been thinking? He was not
thinking, that was the entire problem.
You stole my heart.
It was true, he couldn’t deny it, but apparently she’d stolen his
sensibility, too.

“I haven’t seen you in here lately,” Pierce
motioned toward the billiard room. “Come. Let’s see if there’s a
table free.”

David followed him and took a cue stick from
the rack. His distraction would make him an easy mark for Pierce,
but at least the game would distract him from himself.

“Have Lady Jersey and her ilk finally seen
through you and ousted you for the cad you are?”

“Quite humorous. That explains why I never
see you in an assembly room, much less a stately home.” David lined
up his shot for the opening break.

“You’d be surprised to hear some of the
stately homes I’ve been in recently. I just avoid the larger, more
public gatherings.”

“And that is why the papers are filled with
innuendo about
a certain Mr. P- and his current
inamorata.
”

Pierce’s chest puffed out a bit. “Do they
write about me? I’ve heard Lady Willowbrook is quite popular with
the gossips, but hadn’t realized I’d been recognized.”

David laughed. “You make it sound as though
you move about
incognito
. Quite full of yourself, aren’t
you?”

“Well, we can’t speak about me all night.
What really brings you here?”

Unsure how much to let on, David drew in a
breath, but let it out again instead of speaking. Pierce was his
closest friend and never one to judge, but David’s feelings were so
new, he wanted to keep them to himself just a few more moments.

Pierce noticed the hesitation. “Now I’m
intrigued. Lady Bridgethorpe would not have commanded you to choose
a wife just yet. And had Lady Hannah requested you stay away, you
would have become her second shadow.”

David nodded, walking around the table
contemplating his next shot.

“Which leaves…a lady you are avoiding?”

David said nothing.

“Aha. Some sweet young kitten is trying to
hook her claws in your cloak, or her mama has looked at your income
and decided it will do.”

A scowl narrowed David’s vision and the cue
ball missed its mark. He barked at Pierce. “Nothing of the kind.
She is kindness and all that is good.”

“I was right. The kitten has got her claws
in you.”

“I didn’t even see it coming.” As he said
it, he knew it was a lie. “Well, I sensed something creeping up on
me, but I was certain I was stronger than my traitorous emotions.
I’ve no wish to marry, yet.”

Pierce set both feet on the floor and leaned
his elbows on his knees. “Is it serious, then?”

“How do you determine serious from fickle?
Other than through the passage of time. The lady doesn’t have the
option of time.”

“Northcotte’s sister.”

“The very one.”

“You believe you could make a happy life
together after the conflict between your fathers?”

“She seems unaware of any trouble, or she’s
given me no indication of any ill will toward my family.” David
leaned on his cue stick. “I doubt her father would have discussed
his horses and any decision-making about them with her, or in her
hearing.”

“Isn’t she the one who spends much of her
time in the stables?”

“Yes. But there’s a difference between
humoring the hobbies of one’s daughters and taking them into the
family business.”

“All right. I’ll grant you that. But does
she know you wanted to have her brother charged with the death of
Zephyr?”

Bending to determine the best angle for the
next move, he considered Pierce’s question. “I don’t know that I
would have gone that far with the investigation. It was more likely
their father who conceived of the poisoning, and he can’t be
charged since he’s dead.”

“He was dead when your horses took ill last
year.”

A sickly warmth crept over David’s skin, and
his stomach knotted. “I know. I’m looking for reasons to believe I
am wrong about the entire series of events. That someone else was
responsible.”

“Have you heard anything more about the
groom who died?”

“Knightwick said they thought he might have
eaten something rotten. There will be no more investigation unless
a witness comes forward.”

“I don’t care what ill blood there was
between your fathers, I don’t see Northcotte killing his own
man.”

David tapped a finger on the edge of the
table. “I agree. There is really no reason to pursue this any
further.”

Pierce’s brows dropped and his gaze pinned
David in place. “I think you have better reasons than that to quit
this obsession.”

“I know. I can’t have both. I can’t have
Northcotte the villain and Lady Joanna as my bride.”

Pierce said nothing. David resolved to close
the book on this. He needed to discuss it with Knightwick, but his
heart told him what was the wiser choice. However, letting go of
six years of anger and frustration would not happen overnight.

He’d have to convince his father and
Knightwick to let it go, also. Knightwick might do so easily, but
he had no idea what Father would say. Would he be willing to accept
the daughter of his rival into the family? Bridgethorpe was a very
loving man, and had always taken good care of the people on his
estates. He was a generous landlord, well thought of by all. When
David and Knightwick paid calls on their father’s behalf, the older
tenants always sent a good word home.

Now that he thought on it, his father had
never spoken a harsh word about the former Earl of Northcotte.
David and Knightwick came to understand the dispute between the two
men by the way they glared at one another at a race meeting. By the
tightness in Bridgethorpe’s voice when he spoke the other man’s
name.

He hated to admit it, but there was always a
gleam in his father’s eye when his horse bested Northcotte’s. The
rivalry ran deep.

Stephen and Jane’s wedding was coming up.
When David returned home, he’d speak to his father and brother.
Until he did, he couldn’t let anyone else know of his feelings
toward Lady Joanna. On the chance Father would not allow the match,
David didn’t want anyone thinking he’d rejected her.

Late Saturday afternoon, Joanna sat on a
bench near Round Pond in Kensington Park with Amelia. Aunt Ophelia
and Mrs. Clawson sat across the narrow path, chatting quietly.

Joanna retied the ribbon on her bonnet. “I
hope you don’t mind coming here today and not Hyde Park. I’ve no
desire to be seen. Especially by any men.”

“You’ve had enough of Town, then, I take
it?” Amelia asked.

“Of Town, of flirting, of being on my best
behavior. Of smiling when my toes are trod upon. Really, this seems
such a horrid way to find a husband. I wish it were more like
choosing a sound horse.”

“Lady Joanna!” Amelia laughed. “What would
you do, run your hand over his limbs? Pry open his lips to inspect
his teeth?”

She tilted her head and looked into the
distance. “I’m as likely to discern what kind of husband he’d make
as he would by hearing me sing. This is all extremely one-sided.
Our mothers spend hours investigating who plans to start a nursery
soon, and what his income is, then they throw us in the paths of
those men and hope we pass muster.”

“You do make it sound like a horse auction.
Don’t you believe in love?”

Joanna sighed. “Of course I do. I’ve dreamed
of it for many years. Dreamed of having a London Season. This is my
second one. Neither has equaled what I’d imagined.”

“I disagree. I think this will be the best
time of our lives. Once we marry, will we be invited to many
parties? Will our husbands agree to come to Town so we might see an
opera or a play?”

Joanna leaned close and whispered, “Maybe
we’ll be so in love with our husbands, we’ll have no desire to go
anywhere. Can you imagine a life like that?” She laughed
softly.

Amelia chuckled and glanced across the path
at her mother. She whispered back, “My mother says they were that
way, didn’t want to visit with family or have guests over. They
were quite happy with each other’s company.”

“I hope both of us end up that happy.”

“I think I could be with Sir Richard. What
about you and Mr. Lumley?”

Joanna watched a pair of swans gliding on
the pond beyond their chaperones and tried to mimic their calmness,
hoping to quell the quavering in her heart. “I’m afraid to think
about him. I wish he’d speak to Northcotte already, or give me a
sign he intends to. I fear he won’t act in time and I would rather
die than marry Sir Frederick.”

“Don’t speak that way! Never tempt fate with
statements such as that. My cousin always said she’d rather die
than do whatever was her current peeve. She died at twenty, a week
before her wedding day.”

Joanna searched Amelia’s expression for sign
she was joking, but her friend looked quite serious. “You don’t
truly believe the two are connected, do you? That she brought about
her early death?”

“I don’t know what to believe. But I refuse
to tempt fate.”

“I don’t believe in fate. In some cases,
perhaps, when one’s parents have planned one’s life since birth, it
might be called fate. But you and I would not be here, in Town,
searching for husbands if that were true for us.” If such a perfect
man existed for her, he would have appeared by now, since her time
was running out. She’d hoped Mr. Lumley was that man, but his
failure to make his intentions known left her to think he was
not.

“But what if our fate is to meet a certain
gentleman? Perhaps it was fate that brought Sir Richard to Town
this Season and not the next one, or the previous one.” Amelia’s
creased brow showed how much she wanted to believe this.

“And fate led Lady Elizabeth’s father to
turn down Sir Richard’s offer, so he might be free to pursue
you?”

Amelia’s mouth twisted. “When you put it
that way is seems rather cruel. But when he speaks to me, I feel as
if he was created just for me.”

“I know what you mean. Mr. Lumley does
appear to be the best man for me. Of course, any man who is as
passionate as I am about horses might do just as well.” She thought
about some of the men whom she’d met at races in recent years. In
not one case had her stomach quaked with the sight of the man, nor
had they brought a flush to her skin with a flattering remark. As
much as she might insist it were true, there was not another man
who made her feel quite as alive as Mr. Lumley.

Sometime later, Aunt Ophelia rose and called
to the girls. As they returned to Bayswater Road to look for their
carriage, a curricle pulled up. Sir Frederick took off his hat and
called out, “Lady Joanna, what a surprise.”

“I doubt that,” she muttered to Amelia.

He motioned to the seat beside him. “Would
you care to take a ride with me?”

“As you can see, sir, I am with friends. It
would be rude to leave them.”

“That is a disappointment. I just acquired
this pair of horses and knew you’d appreciate how well they move
together.”

Her aunt and Mrs. Clawson walked up beside
them. Aunt Ophelia said, “Perhaps another time. We are expected
somewhere shortly and have no time for delays.”

His brows drew together and his smile
wavered. “Perhaps I’ll see you this evening. Which assembly will
you attend? I could reserve my dances now.”

“Lady Joanna has a private engagement this
evening, sir. If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way. Come,
girls, we don’t wish to be late.” Aunt Ophelia nudged the two girls
to move along, and she and Mrs. Clawson followed directly behind
them.

Sir Frederick drove away without further
fuss, much to Joanna’s relief. “That man,” she said as soon as he
was gone.

“You cannot marry him,” Amelia said.

“No, you cannot.” Aunt Ophelia spoke as
though she’d never allow it. “There’s no concern of that happening,
is there?”

“As I told you, Aunt, he and Northcotte have
some sort of agreement.”

“Sir Jasper has heard some talk about him.
Something to do with money lending,” Aunt Ophelia added.

Joanna considered that. “Northcotte can’t
have borrowed money from him. We are not in difficult finances.
Although, he did say we couldn’t afford for me to spend the summer
in Bath. I first saw Sir Frederick in Newmarket, so I assumed they
were buying or selling horses.”

“How are you coming with encouraging Mr.
Lumley? You two were quite cozy at my card party.”

Speaking over her shoulder, Joanna replied,
“I believe he cares for me, but how do I draw him into an
understanding?”

Mrs. Clawson’s soft voice barely reached
Joanna with all the noise of the street. “With some men, you must
make your affections quite plain.”

Aunt Ophelia patted Joanna’s shoulder. “I
agree. We won’t go so far as to be bold or brazen, but obviously we
haven’t been plain enough.” She took Joanna’s arm. “And in the
meantime, I shall speak to Northcotte. That young man needs
reminding exactly what his duties as a guardian entail.”