Jack spent most of the day in a closed carriage with two small and very inquisitive boys. He quickly came to the conclusion the government would only need to put these two to work interrogating foreign agents in order to crack all the enemy’s secrets.
He had briefly met the two boys when he first arrived a couple of weeks ago, but had seen neither hide nor hair of them since. So this morning, when his brother came out of the house with two sleepy boys in tow, Jack put on his most charming grin.
“Everyone ready to get on our way to Stoneleigh?”
Grayson, the older of the two, had looked up at him suspiciously. “Are you really our uncle?”
“Yes, of course I am.”
“Then why haven’t we ever seen you before?”
“I have been traveling for many years.”
“He is a real sea captain,” Andrew interjected. Both boys perked up. “He has a very fine ship called theLady Louise.”
Grayson slid his hand out from his father’s and walked over to take hold of Jack’s hand.
“How large is your ship?” he asked.
And the questions had not stopped the whole journey. Even quiet little Tyler had questions galore about the workings of a ship at sea. Andrew closed his eyes with a smile on his face and settled back to sleep most of the trip, happy to let Jack entertain his sons’ endless curiosity.
Their caravan of carriages pulled up to the grand stone entrance at Stoneleigh around suppertime. Jack helped free the boys from the carriage, and they immediately went racing across the lawns.
Their governess hurried down from the second carriage, in which she had been riding with Andrew’s valet and the two ladies’ maids. She gave a quick stretch to her back and hustled to catch up to the boys. “Grayson, Tyler, where are you headed?” she yelled. “Come back here this instant.”
Andrew shook his head. “She should let them run around. Two small boys cooped up all day need to burn off some energy.” He laid a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Welcome back to Stoneleigh. How does it feel to be home again?”
Jack looked up at the sprawling stone mansion. The massive house sported a columned portico two stories high. Two staircases curved up from the front drive to meet at the intricately carved front door. East and west wings connected to the house by way of two octagonal towers, on top of which flags bearing the ducal crest waved in the breeze. Dozens of windows gleamed in the sun. Jack raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare. The grand manor, fit for the ducal residence, no longer felt like home. It made him long for his airy open house on the island.
“It’s nice to be at Stoneleigh. I have many happy memories of our childhood here,” he said diplomatically.
“Tomorrow we shall ride out. I will show you what improvements I have been able to implement with the money you keep sending home.” Andrew headed over to the carriage from which his mother and Caroline were emerging. Winging his elbow out, Andrew escorted their mother to the front doors. Jack, in turn, accompanied his sister.
“Good evening, Jones. This is my brother, Captain Aston, back from sea to visit for a while with us. Jack, this is Jones, our new butler. He has been with us since just after father passed away.”
“Welcome home, Lord Gilchrest, Lady Gilchrest. Your rooms are ready. When shall you like to have dinner?”
“I think everyone is tired from traveling. Let’s just have trays sent up to our rooms.” His mother decided for everyone. She and her lady’s maid, Harriet, headed upstairs to her suite.
“I best see if I can help poor Miss Fischer round up my unruly sons.” Andrew disappeared back out the front door.
Jack and Caroline looked at each other. “Well, it’s far too early in the evening for me to retire,” Caroline said. “Will you take a stroll outside in the gardens with me, Jack? I need to stretch my legs.”
“Yes, I could use a walk as well after being cooped up all day.”
“Jones, have our trays sent up in an hour.”
“Yes, milady.” Jones bowed and hurried off to give instructions to the kitchen.
Jack and Caroline walked in companionable silence for a while. They wound through the gardens, which were as beautiful as ever, no doubt due to his mother’s green thumb. The immediate formal gardens opened up to a vast expanse of green grass rolling gently down the hill to the lake.
“So, Caro, why did you not pick out a husband last year? I can’t imagine you didn’t have gentlemen panting around you.”
“I don’t know, really.” She reached down to pick a small yellow flower. “I guess I was not ready to settle down and have babies yet.”
“I thought all women wanted to settle down and have babies,” he said, genuinely puzzled.
“Ha, typical male outlook. Frankly, everyone I met was dead boring. Oh, all them very respectable and some even very nice. But none of them were interesting in the least. It was all talk of horses and crop rotations and which cravat knot would be all the rage next season. Blah, blah, blah.” She glanced over at him as they walked along. “Luckily, I met Vivian, and she and I made a pact not to accept anyone our first season. Just to flirt and have fun.”
