“His grace is not here,” Hargood noted.
“True enough.”
The other man nodded and took his leave, as if his triumph was inevitable. Nicholas watched him go, wondering what would come of it all.
Perhaps Helena would suddenly develop a measure of good sense.
Nicholas chuckled to himself and turned back to his labor. It would be a cold day in the devil’s realm before that happened, but Hargood might prove to be more persuasive than Nicholas believed. He could not have completely forgotten his wild youth, and that might grant him an understanding of Helena that would serve him well.
Nicholas could only hope.
In matters marital,Joshua’s father had always insisted the mind saw more clearly than the heart. That man had valued reason over emotion and Joshua saw little reason to doubt such counsel. His own match with Miss Havilland had been a calculated alliance, negotiated between the two fathers to provide best for their children. It had been arranged, sensible and planned for the benefit of both parties.
And so would this match be.
Even though Joshua arranged it himself, his marriage to Miss Emerson would be such a logical prospect that no person of intelligence could dismiss or decline his suit.
He already had Captain Emerson’s agreement.
The aunt would undoubtedly also concur.
Miss Emerson herself was perhaps impulsive, but she was not a witless fool. She had to know that any childish fancy for the Duke of Haynesdale could not come to fulfillment.
She would see sense, Joshua was certain of it.
Surety of his victory made him impatient to see the matter resolved. Of course, he had already invited Lady Dalhousie and her niece to the house, but he would send a written invitation to formalize it. Miss Emerson could come to Addersley Manor on the morrow with her aunt, purportedly to choose a puppy. In truth, she would have an opportunity to see her new home, and he would propose to her. The aunt would undoubtedly wish to assure herself of his prospects and it would only be fitting for Miss Emerson to be chaperoned.
They might wed before the end of May.
By this time next year, he might have an heir.
Joshua was not truly concerned about Haynesdale as a competitor, but it might be better to see Miss Emerson’s agreement secured before the duke’s return. He would dispatch the invitation as soon as he completed his business with Mr. Newson.
By this hour on the morrow, his future would be resolved.
Aunt Fanny,predictably, was in a fluster about the viscount. She practically interrogated Lady Haynesdale about him and his prospects, much to Helena’s mortification—but then, Lady Haynesdale seemed almost as anxious to discuss him. Perhaps she, too, tired of the topic of roses.
At any rate, it seemed Lord Addersley was a paragon of virtues, a noble, honorable, honest, reliable man Lady Haynesdale had known from infancy, one who attended to his responsibilities in a timely manner and was unfailingly courteous. His father had been a wonderful man; his mother a delight who passed too soon.
Helena could not suppress her yawn. Clearly, her fleeting impressions had been her own fabrications. He was dull beyond belief. He paid his bills and his taxes. He took care of his tenants and his holdings.
They returned to Bramble Cottage to find an invitation from the man in question to visit Addersley Manor on the following day.
“How gracious of him to formalize his offer,” Aunt Fanny said.
“It arrived not half an hour ago, ma’am,” Becky, their maid provided. “’Twas his ostler, Hoskins, as brought it.”
Helena fairly saw her aunt’s realization that Becky had been raised locally.
“What do you know of the viscount, Becky?” Aunt Fanny asked, feigning polite indifference.
“Not much, ma’am, seeing as he has been in London these past ten years. I was but a girl when he left.”
London? He had been in London? Helena found her curiosity revived.
“He has a London house, then?” Aunt Fanny asked and Helena knew her aunt would next demand the address to determine its value.
“His father did, ma’am, and his father before him. I forget where it is, ma’am, but Jenny Percival went with the old viscount and his sons as upper housemaid and she says it is ever so fine.”
