No, he couldn’t control the weather, so it was imperative he managed all the factors hecouldto try and mitigate the effects of those he couldn’t. But Ethan didn’t want to admit to his sister that he was struggling to adjust to the new realities he must become comfortable with, as he had sacrificed working with his father in order to be here.
“How is Father doing?” Ethan asked quietly. His sense of guilt, earned or not, overcoming him again. “Is the practice running well?”
Nathalie shot him another pointed look. “Yes, Brother. They are able to continue operations—even in your absence.”
He scowled at her. “I’m well aware. I don’t ask out of an inflated sense of importance— rather, out of guilt for turning my back on Father.” He couldn’t fully articulate the feeling that had been bothering him ever since leaving his profession when West offered him the job of Estate Manager, but if he were to try and explain and anyone could understand, it would be Nathalie. His most sensitive sibling, she was the one he felt easiest being vulnerable around. “It’s like I’m saying the life he created for us isn’t worthy.”
“Oh, Ethan.” True compassion glowed on Nathalie’s face, and she reached across the desk, taking his hand. “I don’t believe Father feels that way. He knows how much you love and respect him, and he gave you his blessing in coming here.”
“I know. But how can my actions appear as anything other than a repudiation of values we were all raised within, even if I’m not fully rejecting him or his occupation?” The weight of choosing a new path felt like he was losing part of what linked him to the rest of his family. Though his work was still directly linked to the larger Beaumont clan and would benefit the marquisate, he was approaching it with a different set of principles and hoping the outcomes would influence longer, more lasting change.
“Father never bought into all of the fuss around status, you know that. Or else he never would have married Mother and I would not be here. He may serve the peerage, but you know he’s trying to make changes in his own quieter way. And he taught us to think for ourselves.”
Nathalie was right, of course. Ethan needed to let go of his concerns and focus on what was before him. But succeeding was important—he so badly needed for all the changes he’d set in motion to work. It’s why he couldn’t afford to be distracted, and he needed to keep as much distance from Miss Pembroke as possible while being forced to work together. Mentally he cursed Priscilla for putting him in such a position.
Ethan hated that Alice was a constant reminder of everything he was seeking to escape and that he couldn’t keep his eyes from trailing her whenever they were in proximity to one another. Maybe he did need to allow her more freedom as she’d requested, even if simply to create space between them. And now that Nathalie had arrived, hopefully she would help keep the young woman occupied.
Ethan shook himself from the cobwebs of his thoughts and let out a sigh. Standing swiftly, he held out his hand to Nathalie. “Enough of all that. Come, Sister. I’ll show you around since you’re here for the fortnight.”
CHAPTER 9
Alice came down for breakfast early the next morning and was surprised to see Miss Beaumont already at the table, perusing West’s newspapers while sipping a cup of steaming tea.
“Good morning,” Nathalie said, a beautiful smile lighting up her face as she greeted Alice. Smiling in return, she took a moment to observe the new houseguest.
There hadn’t been much time for them to converse yesterday, as Miss Beaumont was busy catching up with her brother, but Alice liked what she had seen. Of an age with herself, Nathalie had a sweet disposition and appeared more reserved with everyone but her brothers.
And she was quite lovely. Alice took in her appearance this morning, noting that even though Nathalie was dressed simply, she was the picture of elegance. A simple extra pleat along her hemlines served as the only adornment to her morning gown, but instead of looking plain, it provided a border, framing and highlighting her own natural, youthful beauty. With porcelain skin any English woman would covet, Miss Beaumont also had reams of rich dark brown hair. Once again, Alice felt rather overdressed and gaudy in comparison, wearing a dress withseveral rows of trim on the puffed sleeves which were coming into fashion.
Sitting down with her breakfast plate, Alice offered another small smile and shook her head when Nathalie silently offered a section of the paper.
“You’re more than welcome to take any section you’re interested in. I know I can’t commandeer the entire paper, and I’ll most likely need to surrender it when West comes down. I’m not sure which parts he usually reads,” Miss Beaumont said with a frown. “But then again, we are still becoming acquainted with one another.”
Ah, yes. Priscilla had mentioned the long-term estrangement of the Beaumont family which West had only recently brought to an end. “When did you first meet your cousin? Surely you are too young to have met him previously.”
“Yes, it was only lately that we met. I was not yet born when the schism divided the family. It was my parents’ marriage which created it after all.”
Alice hadn’t known that, but in some ways, it made sense. This confession certainly illuminated Lord Cumberland’s relationship to the Beaumonts, which had eluded her during Mr. Beaumont’s introduction of his stepbrother yesterday. She hadn’t comprehended the connection in the moment, being too distracted by the earl’s golden features and charm.
“And is this your first time at Hampton House?” Alice was curious to know more about the family her own was now intertwined with.
“No, West brought us all here about a year ago once official mourning for the former Lord Hampton concluded. Since then, we’ve all spent time together in London, and of course there was the wedding. But I’m still getting to know my cousins.”
Alice assumed she’d crossed paths with Nathalie at Priscilla’s wedding but she’d been too caught up in all the finery of theevent to notice. Her mind had been focused on the status of the event and the impression it was making on society—it was the way she had been trained to read such occasions. Troubled by this realization, she wondered what else she’d overlooked at the event and other similar settings throughout the years. Now having met both Nathalie and Mr. Beaumont, she knew they were exceptional people from a good family that was not so different from her own. So why had she never been properly introduced to them? Were they deemed below her regard?
“Is something the matter?” Nathalie inquired. “You’re frowning and have hardly touched your breakfast.”
Alice came back to the moment and looked at how her hands were gripping the teacup, ragged cuticles visible. Hastily setting it down and placing her hands in her lap, she offered an apology.
“Forgive me, my mind was wandering and I fear I’ve not been good company to you this morning. I was wondering why I never encountered you last season. I do hope I would remember you.”
Alice was not at all prepared for what Miss Beaumont said next.
“Oh, I didn’t participate in the season.” Natalie reached across the table for a pat of butter and nonchalantly scrapped it across her toast, as if her statement was not at all astounding. “I haven’t made my debut and don’t plan to for another few years, if at all.”
Alice knew she was sitting and staring but needed a moment to process and compose herself. Trying to decipher Miss Beaumont, she slowly closed her gaping mouth.
“Clearly, I’ve shocked you,” she said with a laugh. “I know most young ladies raised in a genteel fashion dream of their first season. I suppose I am a curiosity . . . but I don’t yet feel ready for marriage.”
