“Christmas, Easter and the shooting season, when the house was full of tipsy uncles and aunts not noticing how much they were losing at the card tables.”
“She must be so happy to be rid of the old buzzard at last,” Juliet said.
“Everyone is. Sister, I told Mrs Granville I hoped never to see her again, and I meant it. Shall we go back to Staineybank? There is nothing to keep us here now.”
“Do you not want to talk to Andrew? You will inherit all this one day, so you should know how it operates.”
Simon shook his head. “It could be many years, for he is only forty-five, and I do not want to get under his feet. He must find his own way for a while, without thinking too far ahead. I have something more important to deal with first.”
“The orangery?”
He laughed. “Miss Sophia Merrington.”
“You are determined to have her, then?”
“Indeed I am. Shall we leave tomorrow?”
“If we must. I hate this place so much. Staineybank is much more friendly. It will feel almost like going home.”
“It is what home ought to be,” he said, smiling at her. “I will order the carriage for directly after breakfast.”
In the event, Simon spent the morning with Andrew, soothing his anxieties and assuring him that he would return often. In truth, he could not find the heart to worry too much about Andrew. He was not robust, it was true, but he had plenty of years left to him, the physicians assured him, and he would grow accustomed to his high estate. All Simon’s thoughts now were focused on a certain young lady, and the glorious prospect of converting their secret betrothal into a real and very public one. Now that he was a future earl, and with money enough to support a wife, even without his profession as an architect, therecould be no possible objection from her brother or from the duke.
There was one obstacle, however, that he had not considered. When he and Juliet arrived at Staineybank, weary from two days on the road, there was another carriage drawn up at the front door, one with arms painted on the door which he vaguely recognised. Sudden fear drove him to abandon Juliet and leap from the carriage, and race up the steps two at a time, the skirts of his greatcoat flying.
Inside the Marble Hall, much of the household was gathered, including all the Merrington ladies — except one.
“Oh, Mr Payne!” Mrs Merrington cried, rushing forward to grab his arm, her face aglow. “How lovely to see you again, and at such an auspicious moment. He is back… Lord Daniel is back, and instantly requested a private interview with Sophia. Is it not exciting? She is with him now. The son of a marquess… how delightful… howsuitable, do you not agree?”
She finished on a slightly questioning note, as perhaps she recalled belatedly that Simon was not likely to be quite so delighted.
He barely heard her, and certainly could not have formulated a coherent response. The pain that tore through him rendered him immobile and mute. She would marry Torbuck, and how could he bear it? How could he possibly bear it? All the good of the last few days meant nothing if she could not share it with him.
He might as well be dead.
***
There had been no inkling of Lord Daniel’s return in advance. The first Sophia knew of it was when Froggett sidled intothe morning room where the ladies were gathered, and coughed discreetly.
“Yes, Froggett, what is it?” the duchess said.
“Lord Daniel Torbuck is here, your grace, requesting a private interview with Miss Sophia Merrington. I took the liberty of showing him into the Blue Parlour and lighting the fire.”
There was a twitter of excitement amongst the ladies. Lord Daniel! A private interview! How very surprising.
“Make sure there is wine in there,” the duchess said.
“Robert is attending to his lordship,” the butler said, then withdrew with a bow.
“Well!” Mrs Merrington said. “So he has returned, has he? This is excellent news, Sophia.”
“A private interview?” she said, puzzled.
“He means to propose, of course,” he mother said. “Perfectly unexceptionable.”
“Is it not rather precipitate?” Sophia said. “Should he not more correctly make his greetings to you and Richard… and the duke and duchess, of course? Be sociable for a while before jumping into private interviews.”
“One does not quibble over details with a man in love,” her mother said firmly.
