The Incorrigible Mr. Lumley (22 page)

“I believe that would be pink,” he
suggested.

“I look horrid in pink. I was thinking more
of mauve. I believe I could tolerate mauve.”

“The blessings of being a man. I may wear
black and navy and never look unfashionable or pretentious.”

Lady Joanna nodded. “Robert is much the same
in his wardrobe choices. Very safe, unadventurous.”

So she thought him safe. That was a
promising sign. Or did safe equal dull in her mind? “Safe and
unadventurous are not the qualities of a good horse breeder.
Perhaps I need a red waistcoat.”

She turned to contemplate him. “I cannot
imagine you being afraid to take a risk with your stable. You seem
to have the ability to know what risks are worth taking.”

He smiled and tipped his head. “I thank you
for the compliment.”

“I didn’t mean it as flattery. I’ve seen the
skill in you. A good quality to have in your type of work.”

Noticing she’d stopped eating, David rose.
“Shall we take a turn about the pond?” He held out his hand to
her.

“Thank you.” She brushed the wrinkles from
her skirt and took his arm.

David kept their pace slow, to keep the
distance between them and his siblings. How pleasant it was to
stroll beside her like this, an easy, relaxed moment where they had
no duty but to enjoy the time together. He inhaled deeply. “Even
the air is nicer here.”

“Nicer than the paddocks? Why yes, I must
agree.” She slanted him a playful look, her eyes crinkled in the
corner.

“I was comparing it to Town, but you are
correct, as always.”

“I like that, ‘correct as always,’” she
echoed. “How good of you to notice.”

“I fear with my upbringing, I would never
say anything to the contrary, no matter how erroneous a lady might
be.”

Her lower lip jutted out. “Is that so? And
here I thought you so intelligent for recognizing one of my better
qualities.”

He turned his head and caught her gaze, his
laughter fading as his body warmed. The sunlight fell on her face,
bathing her porcelain skin with golden light. He swallowed. “You
have many good qualities that haven’t escaped my notice, my
lady.”

Her lips parted. David stopped walking,
pulling his arm from hers and taking her hand. She hadn’t put her
gloves back on after eating. “Your fingers are so soft. Long and
slender.” He stroked her skin there, and her hand trembled. Raising
his head, he watched her tongue swipe across her lower lip.

He groaned under his breath and lowered his
mouth to hers. She met him partway, kissing him back. She clutched
his arms as if to steady herself, and he grabbed her shoulders to
pull her body against his.

She tasted of the apple slices she’d eaten,
sweet and intoxicating. When her lips parted, he almost let his
tongue explore, but feared frightening her. Instead, he kneaded his
mouth against hers, taking as much as she offered and treasuring
it.

He pulled away, suddenly remembering they
weren’t alone. “I should not have done that.”

“I’m glad you did.” Lady Joanna smiled, her
cheeks becoming pink, then she turned away and continued to walk
along the pond’s edge.

David followed, his heart still pounding in
his ears. She was so much more than he’d ever imagined her to be.
He was grateful he’d come to his senses in time about his foolish
obsession with her brother and father.

They caught up to his siblings on the far
side of the pond. Trey skipped stones across the surface while
Hannah appeared absorbed in studying something beneath the rocks on
the shore. Lady Joanna walked over to Hannah and they began to
talk.

Trey came over to stand by David. “Shall we
race the curricles?”

“No, not today.”

“Stephen wrote that he’d found a good mare
for his breeding program. Bought her off Northcotte.”

David was surprised. “I wonder if he
discussed it with Knightwick before purchasing.”

Lady Joanna perked up at the mention of her
brother’s name. “You don’t think your cousin should have added one
of our horses to his stable?”

David noted her use of “our horses.” He
considered his words carefully before speaking, not wishing to
upset her. “I’m simply surprised he didn’t use one from
Fernleigh.”

Trey explained. “He wanted to introduce new
blood, and said Northcotte’s Willow came from heavier stock. He’s
looking for harness horses, not runners.”

Lady Joanna nodded. “Willow has some plow
horses in her background. My brother wanted to add some strength to
our line. I think her foals would do well under harness.”

“I haven’t seen Willow,” David said. “I’m
sure she’s a sound horse. Northcotte knows his horseflesh.”

Her chin lifted. “He does. It’s apparent in
how well Patriot is performing.”

David couldn’t prevent his wry grin. “Yes,
he wins too often for my taste.”

Lady Joanna’s features softened, then a
flirtatious gleam appeared in her eyes. “Perhaps you should use
Patriot to cover one of your mares. The combination of our lines
might prove unbeatable.”

His heart raced at the thought of combining
their own lines, not their horses’. Something primal awoke in him.
He wanted to claim her as the mother of his children, parade their
offspring about and proudly display their talents as they grew. He
tugged at his cravat, which was suddenly too tight. He cleared his
throat after a false start at replying. “Yes, I must speak to
Northcotte.”

But he would not be discussing horses.

Hannah let the rock in her hands fall into
the water. “I can’t wait to see Stephen and Jane.” She turned to
Lady Joanna. “Our cousin is marrying our neighbor and my dearest
friend. I wish they could have waited until the Season was over,
but Mama and Jane’s mother wanted to avoid the heat of summer. We
leave first thing tomorrow and will be gone a fortnight. I hate to
think what I’ll miss while we’re away.”

Lady Joanna turned to David. “You are all
leaving, then?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m uncertain if I’ll stay
up north for the Chester Race Meeting or return as soon as Stephen
is married.”

“Oh yes, you mentioned going to some of the
northern meetings.”

He couldn’t decide if she was sad or
worried. Could he say something to reassure her? Was it too soon to
press his suit? He held out his hand. “Shall we walk back? I find
myself growing hungry again.”

She gave him her hand but said nothing. In
his thoughts, he began and tossed aside sentence after sentence.
Finally, he took an indirect route. “Would you have any objection
to me requesting an audience with your brother before I leave
Town?”

Lady Joanna peered at him around the brim of
her bonnet, then quickly looked down. “No objection
whatsoever.”

“I shall leave my card when I take you home.
I don’t know if I’m what he would prefer for a husband for you, but
perhaps I can persuade him.”

“You are what I would prefer, and that’s all
that matters to me.”

His heart swelled and he stood a bit taller
at her words. He covered her fingers with his own on his arm. Now
all he had to do was find a response for any objection Northcotte
might have.

Chapter Seventeen

When David and Lady Joanna pulled up in
front of her home, David hopped out and signaled to a boy on the
street to watch his horses. Handing Lady Joanna down, he led her up
the steps and inside. The butler appeared from deep in the house.
Lady Joanna asked, “Is Lord Northcotte at home? Mr. Lumley wishes
to speak with him.”

“I shall enquire, my lady.”

As the butler walked away carrying his card,
David’s hands shook. He’d assumed he could leave his card and work
up the nerve to return. His mouth was bone dry. There was no air in
the entryway, and his cravat had shrunk even more. He cleared his
throat.

“He’s my brother, not my father,” Lady
Joanna said softly. She waited beside him, looking up into his eyes
with a trust that hit him hard. She had faith in him, in his
ability to provide for her and make her happy for the rest of her
life.

David was not sure he could live up to her
dreams. “He is your guardian, and at the moment, he has the power
to destroy my future.” He combed his hair back with one hand. He
couldn’t recall any situation where another man held his life in
the balance. The feeling made him ill.

The butler returned. “His lordship is in his
study. This way.”

David squeezed Lady Joanna’s fingers before
following. Northcotte’s study was a dark, cool room, not at all
welcoming. The air smelled somewhat stale. The curtains were
closed, and the only light came from an oil lamp on the large
desk.

Northcotte rose. “Lumley. To what do I owe
this visit?”

David bowed and remained standing. He
decided not to belabor the painfully uncomfortable meeting. “I wish
to marry your sister.”

Northcotte showed no reaction. After an
unbearable pause, he motioned to a chair. “Pardon me. Please, sit.”
He lowered himself into the chair behind the desk.

David sat, his thighs tense, his hands
clenching his knees. The cheese he’d eaten at the park was curdling
in his gut.
Just say yes so we can get past this
.

“I’m surprised, I must say. Lady Joanna
mentioned you were chaperoning your sister, but she didn’t imply
there was any stronger attachment between you.”

Wishing for a drink to wet his throat, David
nodded. “That is how it began. We find we both enjoy the horses
quite well.” He closed his eyes. There was the weakest excuse for
marriage he’d ever heard.

“Yes, of course. That’s important to her.”
The crease between Northcotte’s brows softened. Something hidden
beneath his rigid posture told David he really cared about his
sister.

“She is an enjoyable companion, and she gets
on well with my family. My mother, especially, likes her. I haven’t
spoken to my father yet. I understand there is a concern about Lady
Joanna marrying soon, so I came to you straight away.”

Northcotte broke eye contact. He reached for
the whiskey decanter and poured two glasses. When he replaced the
crystal stopper, it rattled against the bottle. He handed a glass
to David. “Yes. I’ve been putting pressure on her.”

“Do you approve then? I leave tomorrow for
home and will speak to my father. He can have his solicitor meet
with yours at your convenience.”

Frowning, Northcotte took another drink.
“You haven’t said anything about your feelings toward her. Do you
love her, or is this some scheme your father has cooked up?”

“Bridgethorpe has come to terms with
whatever happened between our fathers years ago. He doesn’t even
know I’m close to your sister, but he wouldn’t object to our
marriage.”

“Are you certain? When Zephyr died
Bridgethorpe accused my father of the crime.”

Bollocks
. David couldn’t deny it.
“Your father’s name did come up in the investigation. They inquired
about anyone who might wish Bridgethorpe ill.”

The earl’s voice rose. “And my name came up
last year when more of your horses took ill at a race meeting.”

“We were merely trying to help solve the
crime. Many names came up. Well, a few. My father doesn’t have many
enemies.”

“Neither did my father. Yet your family
continues to defame him two years after he was buried.”

“We answered the questions the constable
asked, that is all.” David tried to keep his voice down, to keep
the conversation calm, but it was not working. He was torn between
wishing he’d never brought up the Northcotte name in the
investigation, and defending their natural inclination for doing
so.

“And what of the accusation you and
Knightwick made to the investigators of my groom’s death? Did you
honestly assume I was behind that, too? You don’t need to answer.
The constable grilled me about that incident, too.”

“At the time, I believed you could have
killed the boy, I won’t deny it.”

A loud crash came from the hallway. David
looked toward the door, but it remained closed. He used the
distraction to gather his wits. “I couldn’t understand why you
would have done so, but in my stubborn way, I needed someone to
blame. You were a convenient target. I only know that horses from
both Fernleigh and Northcotte were entered in the race meetings
where anything untoward has happened. I feel confident that no one
from our stables would have killed Zephyr nor made the others unfit
to compete. My family has discussed the evidence, and lack thereof,
repeatedly, and pushed the constables to find the culprit. And it
was all for naught.”

David rose, unable to sit with the emotions
battling inside, but he kept his voice down. “This battle between
our fathers has stolen every ounce of joy from Bridgethorpe. He
can’t find pleasure in the horses, in his family. He sits and
stares out the window, searching for I know not what. I don’t know
what disagreement they had. Whatever it was, your father is no
longer here to resolve the matter.” He quickly held up his hand. “I
am not saying he was at fault, only that they cannot mend their
differences when only one remains living.”

He stopped, pushing his hair off his
forehead, and eyed the whiskey on his side of the desk. Giving in,
he downed it in three swallows. It burned its way down, but the
wetness allowed him to swallow again. Setting down the glass, he
sat once more.

Northcotte cleared his throat. “I’ve a
suspicion why they fought, although Father never spoke of it.
Bridgethorpe’s name was never mentioned in our house. The goal of
our trainers was to give Father a horse that would beat anything
Fernleigh raced.”

David wondered again if that drive had
caused the elder Northcotte to do something foolish, something
dangerous, to Zephyr. His hands knotted into fists. He hated
himself for not being able to let it go. And he began to realize
his obsession was no more justified than the elder earl’s had
been.