The newly arrived trio turned in unison to spy Miss Goldsworthy standing beside a potted palm.High color stained her cheeks, and he wondered whether she was nervous to meet his family or if she’d merely felt forgotten amid this rumpus.
“I am glad you’ve made it safely,” he told his siblings.Selwyn extended his hand to his guest, beckoning her to join them, explaining, “I’ve someone important for you all to meet—Miss Aurelia Goldsworthy.She will be joining us here at Brantingham House for Christmas, and I trust you’ll make her welcome.”
To Miss Goldsworthy, he introduced, “My sisters, the Ladies Margery and Fanetta Charlton, and my brother, Lord Peregrine Charlton.”
She dipped another one of her famous curtseys, all sweeping hems and bended knees.It really was a glorious thing to behold.“My lord, my ladies… How do you do?”
They murmured greetings in return, though he saw confusion and even amusement flash in their eyes.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Selwyn warned them.“Miss Goldsworthy was kind enough to warn me of a terrible prank intended to be played upon our family, which I will explain as soon as you’re settled.Believe me, we owe her our gratitude.”He looked to his guest and grinned.“Let’s endeavor to make her one of us for the week, and we might even persuade her to stay on through the New Year.”
They stood, dumbstruck, as if they had cotton wool stuffed between their ears.Were his siblings suddenly such good little soldiers that they needed to be dismissed?He hoped they weren’t putting on airs for Miss Goldsworthy.
“Alright, go on!Get changed and join me in the drawing room.I’ve laid a spread that will have you forgetting all about Fannie’s bonbons.You can eat whilst we explain everything that’s happened thus far.”
His sisters strode down the corridor, stripping off their bonnets and gloves as they went, leaving a trail for their maids to follow.He and Miss Goldsworthy walked together with Perry dragging his feet behind them.
Doubtless, the youngest Charlton longed to be out with his friends or flirting with girls—a recent discovery for an Eton schoolboy.Soon, Perry would be sweet on half the county and set on making a fool of himself for even the chastest kiss.
They followed Miss Goldsworthy up the marble staircase, careful not to tread upon her trailing hems.It was a great endeavor not to watch her swaying, bustled backside advance before them.
Perry edged toward his elder brother to whisper, “Damn my eyes, but she is awfully pretty.I’ve a weak spot for red-heads, you know.”
“This one’s off limits, I’m afraid.”Selwyn laughed, and then he wondered with some alarm why he felt that was so.
CHAPTER SIX
“We didn’t keep Christmas at all last year,” Lady Margery explained.“The wounds were too fresh and our loss was too great.”
This was the Charltons’ first celebration since coming out mourning for the late Duchess of Brantingham.Aurelia might’ve feared that she’d intruded upon what should have been an intimate family gathering, yet they made her feel so welcome among them that she couldn’t help but join in on the fun.
She perched on the sofa, stringing glass beads onto a long rope of twine, while Lady Margery Charlton searched the Christmas tree for the perfect branch upon which to loop it.Lady Fanetta and Lord Peregrine sorted through boxes of ornaments which had been placed beneath the boughs.The Duke held a tray of gilded walnuts and candy canes, which were to be tucked into any bare spaces.
Lady Margery took the finished end from Aurelia’s hand and knotted it around a branch.She began to circle the tree, draping the string of beads with an artful eye.“If I’ve grown skilled at tree-trimming, it’s because Selly always leaves the job to the last minute.”
“You’d never be satisfied if anyone else were to do it,” His Grace argued magnanimously.
The elder Charlton sister smiled from behind the branches.She was a sweet lady—only two years older than Aurelia, and she sensed that they would’ve been dear friends, if never relations.At any rate, Lady Margery would make an exemplary hostess until His Grace married.
Aurelia liked her immensely.“What do you hope to do whilst you’re in town, my lady?”
The two women passed the beaded rope between them.“I should like to see the new production ofHamletbeing put on by Henry Irving and Ellen Terry,” said Lady Margery.“It doesn’t open until the end of the month, but everybody clever is talking about it.”
“That sounds lovely,” said Aurelia.“We had some small productions come to Cheltenham, and we put on a few ourselves when I was at school.I’ve always believed that Shakespeare’s works must be seen to be truly appreciated.”She turned her attention to Lord Peregrine, who fiddled with a nutcracker bauble.“What about you, my lord?Any grand plans for the festive season?”
“Dance, flirt, duel—I’m not choosy.”He looked up and grinned.The lad resembled his brother were the duke a decade younger and thinner.He was a lanky youth, bright-eyed and handsome.“I wouldn’t say no to seeing Ellen Terry in the flesh, as I keep her photograph by my bedside at Eton.”
“Miss Terry is twice your age,” argued Lady Margery.“Why not find a nice, young debutante to moon at?Whatever happened to Katherine Goodwin?She had you wrapped ‘round her finger practically from the nursery!”
He chucked the nutcracker at his sister.“Lady Kitty is too young to be taken seriously.She only plays at love.”
Lady Margery caught the little painted ornament with ease.“Which means she has broken your heart.”
Aurelia hated to see the young man teased, especially about such sensitive matters.She’d suffered her own set-down in romance and understood how it felt to be hurt.She hoped to buoy the lad’s spirits—and possibly even her own.“You’re young, Lord Peregrine.There is still plenty of time for love.”
“Not if he wants Miss Terry,” Lady Margery laughed.“She’s thirty years old!”
The three younger Charltons erupted into peals of laughter, yet the Duke frowned.“Mind your tongue with that ‘old’ talk.”
