Duncan quirked a stern frown his way, which Hugh chose to ignore.
“You should come,” Lucy insisted, and clapped her hands. “There’s nothing like Montcliffe Abbey during the holidays. It’s a wonder there’s any holly or evergreen trim left in the entire valley after the Tyndalls’ footmen and Mr. Halsey get done.”
When Lucy stopped for a breath, Grace added, “I think Lord Rumsford has invited everyone he knows to join the party so that he won’t miss Mina so much.”
Hugh gave her a distracted look. “I know how he feels.”
Lucy turned away and pretended interest in one of the horses in Lord Rumsford’s team of grays.
Duncan sat squashedagainst Hugh in Lord Rumsford’s carriage after Grace and her niece had forbade them from even thinking about their planned side trip to the tavern in Rumsford.
Since the bridge they’d been hell-bent on destroying was at the edge of Hugh’s estate, the two women had insisted on seeing them safely home. The horses they’d ridden out upon earlier that morning were tethered to the back of the carriage.
Duncan’s lids were heavy with fatigue but he still managed to stay awake for the duration of the trip, if nothing more than to assess the competent, bossy woman across from him. Grace Phippen’s skin was still glowing and petal-soft, much like that of her younger niece. The only details that gave away her age were the silver-shot black curls escaping from the sides of her bonnet. Her gloved hands were rarely still. She constantly gestured as she talked to her niece and pointed out sights along the way to Hugh’s manor house. Her simple woolen, deep wine-colored carriage dress hugged her curves in all the right places. Duncan jerked to full wakefulness. What the hell was he thinking? He shook his head hard, waking Hugh who’d been napping next to him. His employer gave him a sharp look and then furtively strayed his attention to Mrs. Phippen. The look he slanted back toward Duncan was full of meaning.
He gave a low growl, which caused Mrs. Phippen to give him a questioning look. “Did you say something, Major MacKenzie?”
“Yes,” Hugh answered for him. “He was wondering if the two of you would join us for supper.” Duncan’s discreet jab at his ribs didn’t stop him. “It’s too late for a carriage ride back to the Abbey at this hour. Lord Rumsford will understand. I’ll send one of the stable boys with a message so he doesn’t worry.”
“But…” Grace started to protest.
Hugh held up a lordly finger. “I insist.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. “You mean for us to stay the night?”
Hugh’s cheeks reddened, but he forged ahead anyway, hoping no one would notice in the shadowed carriage. “Of course. Can’t have Rummy’s driver running off the road in the dark.”
Grace leanedback into the squabs of the comfortable carriage and tried to study the major without anyone noticing. Lord, but the man took up all the oxygen in the carriage with his height and broad shoulders. She tried to guess at his age but finally gave up.
His hair was entirely silver streaked with slashes of stark black, but he had the physique of a man in the prime of youth. She supposed serving with the army as an engineer was a strenuous job, though, which would have kept him from aging in the manner of most English gentlemen. When she turned suddenly to point out something to Lucy in the last slanting rays of sunlight, the expression on her niece’s face spoke volumes. Lucy knew she’d been taking in the physical splendor that was Major MacKenzie.
Lucy turned toward Hugh. “What plans do you have for your estate now that you’ve returned home? Are you going to continue to participate in the management of your, um, club now that your partner will be spending more time back here in the countryside?”
Grace nearly swallowed her tongue in embarrassment. “Lucy—. Lord Westfalia’s business is no concern of yours.”
Hugh extended his hand to quell her apologies. “Lucy’s honesty is refreshing. I miss that now that Mina’s not around.”
“You’ve been close to Her Grace ever since she was child, haven’t you?” Grace tilted her head toward him.
“Yes. I tagged along with the duke and her brothers on most of their adventures. With her brothers away at school, and Rummy serving in Parliament, Mina spent a lot of time alone.” He paused for long moments before continuing. “Julian and I made it our business to check in on her whenever we were at home.”
Grace leaned back again and took in what the earl hadn’t said. He’d been in love with the current Duchess of Montfort before she chose and married the duke. Unrequited love. That explained a lot.
Grace was sure Lucy harbored feelings for the man. But her niece was no starry-eyed dreamer. She knew Hugh Elliot, the Earl of Westfalia, was not for her.
“Where do you and your niece keep your boarding school in London?” The major interrupted her thoughts about the earl.
“Kensington,” she answered absently, her mind still on the puzzle of saving her niece from a terrible mistake.
“Kensington? Are there that many families there who can afford to send their daughters to school?” Major MacKenzie seemed genuinely surprised at the idea of educating women.
Her attention snapped back to the great Scottish looby of a man seated across the carriage from her. “You’d be surprised at what wealthy merchants are willing to do to make their daughters presentable in society so that they can secure a decent marriage.”
He finally seemed to have the presence of mind to quit staring so intently and divert his gaze out a side window. Thank the gods she didn’t have to keep being drawn into the piercing blue of his eyes. She gave out a deep sigh and gazed out theopposite side. She supposed he’d do as a match for Lucy. He was certainly a better man than that ferret, her landlord Silas Miller. The officers of His Majesty’s army certainly wouldn’t elevate a man of poor character to the level of major. Would they?
2
WESTMONT MANOR
