Miles stared out into the gardens cloaked in twilight. Daniel couldn’t possibly understand. His brother did exactly as he pleased with his life. Such was the luck of being the second son, even if it was only by eight minutes. Not to say Daniel didn’t have responsibilities, he had a wife and two sweet little girls, but he had the freedom to structure his life as he wanted. As the Marquess of Hawksridge, Miles had to live his life to the expectations of his title. A long list of expectations. Their father had cast a large shadow. One which Miles wished to live up to.
His brother leaned against the balustrade, his arms crossed. He lifted one eyebrow.
Miles sighed. Daniel was the one person with whom he couldn’t prevaricate, he knew him too well. “Yes, I’m tired of all the politics, and not just in Parliament, in the ballrooms as well.” He waved a hand at the house behind them where the Ponsonby ball was in full swing. “It’s exhausting.”
“Well, at the end of the season why don’t you spend some time in Marbury with us this summer? There you will be among friends.”
It was tempting. Otherwise, what would he do this summer? The first couple of years after he inherited had been overwhelming. It had been time consuming learning to juggle all the properties and investments in addition to figuring out his opinions on various bills and arguments in the Lords. But it turned out that he had quite the knack for investing and once he established proper procedures for the estates, things ran smoothly with minimal oversight directly by him. Perhaps that was why he was feeling at such loose ends lately. He needed a challenge, thrived on it, in fact.
“Yes, thank you. I will come for a bit this summer. Is there anything you need help with at Brooksdale?”
“Well, I am thinking of building Charlotte a proper greenhouse. Care to—” Daniel looked to his left. “Good evening, Lady Dearborn.”
Miles turned around. Indeed, Lady Dearborn stood behind him.
“Pardon me for interrupting, Lord Weston. But I must speak with Lord Hawksridge.” Her eyes slid to Miles. “She’s missing again.”
He stiffened. “For how long?”
“I haven’t seen her for a couple of hours at least.” She laid a hand on his arm. “You always know where to find her.”
“I can tell you exactly—”
“No, I don’t want to know.” Lady Dearborn held up a gloved hand. “It allows me to plausibly deny that I was aware she was gone. I will keep her father busy at the tables. Could you fetch her please?”
Miles nodded stiffly. “Of course.”
“Thank you, dear. Good evening gentlemen.” She hurried back down the veranda toward the lights spilling from the ballroom.
“Who is missing? Susanna?”
“Yes, she has made quite a habit of it this spring.” Miles blew out a frustrated breath. Susanna Dearborn was a troublesome thorn in his side. She had no sense of propriety. Young ladies of the ton could not just go gallivanting around London by themselves. As much as he had gotten an earful on several occasions from her about what a terrible double standard it was, the truth of the matter was Susanna was playing fast and loose with her reputation and if she didn’t settle down already, she would be labeled ruined by polite society.
He ran a hand down over his face. “If you will excuse me, I have a friend to fetch home, and possibly to strangle.”
Daniel’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t worry, I know where she is.” He turned on his heel and walked back inside the overwarm card room. He didn’t stop to talk to anyone but strode quickly through the tables and out to the main hall. Once his carriage had been pulled around to the front, he climbed in.
“Where to, my lord?” his coachman asked.
“Astley’s.”
*
Susanna leaned forwardto give her friend a hug. “You are lucky that Jared was there to catch you.”
“I know. My center of gravity is off-kilter with this belly growing.” Clara laid a hand on her stomach where a modest bump was visible. “It is only going to get worse from here on. Jared is insisting I stop doing tricks. He fears if I fall, I could harm the child.”
“He is absolutely right,” Susanna replied. “What does that mean for your role in the show?”
Clara picked up her costume from the chair and carefully hung it on a wooden hanger. She moved to the costume wardrobe to put it away. Susanna couldn’t see her face but she heard the tears thick in friend’s voice. “I’m out. Mr. Maddox will have to replace me.” Clara turned back to face Susanna. She wiped at a tear that had escaped to roll down her cheek. “Jared assures me we will be fine on his salary and the money from the lessons he teaches.”
Susanna’s heart went out to her friend. She knew that the loss of her pay would be felt by the couple. But even more so that Clara would miss performing. “I will make sure to tell all my acquaintances what a superb riding instructor he is. Perhaps he can gain a few more clients.”
“Thank you.” Clara came over and slid her arm through Susanna’s and the two of them walked out of the changing room into a brightly lit corridor. They turned left to head down to the dining room where Mr. Maddox always provided a late supper for his employees after the night’s show. “I think what I am most disappointed about is that in three weeks the troupe goes on tour for the summer. I do so love getting out of London. The fresh air and the fun of the county fairs is something that I look forward to each year.”
“Won’t you still have to go with Jared?”
