“Maybe it’s a farmer? Mr. Trench mentioned that he had spoken to a few men in the village regarding the work being done on the tenant buildings. Perhaps he inspired one or two of the men to come look for themselves?”
“It’s possible,” he said as he sat to pull on his boots. “I’ll go down and greet whoever’s here.” He stood up and went to her. “Go get dressed. I’ll have breakfast waiting for you.”
The gentle reminder that he was still focused on feeding her made Louisa’s heart thump. She nodded as he kissed her deeply, leaving her a little breathless before breaking from her and disappearing into the hallway.
Louisa was quick to change into a pleasant violet gown with a green satin sash across the waist. With her hair brushed, parted, and twisted up in a humble fashion, she was quick to put on her most impractical slippers and hurried towards the staircase. Slowing herself as she reached the middle of the steps, she rolled her shoulders back and tried to appear as regal as she could, despite several obvious construction spots along the foyer. Taking a deep breath, as she was worried one of Rhys’s army companions had come to call, Louisa set her eyes on—
Her sister?
“Kitty?” she said coming fully into the drawing room. A tall man with blond hair and an air of superiority caused Louisa to stall. “Oh, hello.”
“Louisa,” her sister said, coming towards her. She hugged her sister before turning. “May I introduce Lord Dawson.”
Louisa curtsied.
“How do you do, my lord.”
“Come, none of that ‘my lord’ talk. Unless we’re in proper company,” he said with a laugh, though what was amusing about his statement, Louisa did not know. “After all, we are to be kin.”
“Kin?” Louisa repeated, her gaze falling on Rhys who appeared perfectly blank.
“Yes. Lord Dawson has just informed me that he and Miss Kitty are on their way to Gretna Green.”
Louisa’s eyes widened.
“An elopement?” she asked. “But Uncle—”
“He’s perfectly pleased with the arrangement, I assure you,” Kitty said quickly as she gathered her sister’s hands in hers and all but dragged her to the settee. “In fact, it was nearly his doing.”
“He’s supporting an elopement?”
“Well, he introduced us,” she said, gazing adoringly at the blond man. “You see, when your wedding to the lieutenant was announced in the papers, there was a great to do about it at Uncle Malcom’s club. He said he was questioned relentlessly that evening. Everyone wanted to know how he had managed to marry one of his nieces off to the war hero, Lieutenant Carlyle.”
Rhys shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Oh,” Louisa said, herself somewhat nervous to ask her next question. “And what did he tell them?”
“Uncle Malcom told them all exactly what you said. That the two of you have been corresponding via letter for severalmonths before deciding to wed. But several gentlemen couldn’t comprehend it.”
Louisa frowned.
“What couldn’t they comprehend?”
“Why a war hero would marry an impoverished person,” Rhys stated plainly. “Is that correct, Lord Dawson?”
“Well, yes, to be perfectly honest. Quite a few gentlemen continued to hound your poor uncle,” he said with a self-deprecating smile, though Louisa didn’t quite believe it. “But upon listening to your uncle’s story, he revealed that his other niece, Miss Kitty Babcock, wouldn’t have any trouble marrying, considering the dowry the lieutenant set up for her.”
Ah. So, there it was.
“Naturally, a number of impoverished peers began to pester the old man, which is why I offered him my carriage to escape.”
“Escape?”
“Yes. He returned it the next day, thanking me and had brought along Miss Kitty. I was at once smitten with her,” he said looking lovingly at Louisa’s sister. “I invited them in for tea and well, one thing led to another, and we found ourselves quite taken with one another.”
“Yes, quite.”
An uneasy feeling crept up Louisa’s spine as she watched her sister and Lord Dawson, though she could hardly complain. She had married Rhys with little more than a promise from a stranger. In truth, she didn’t have a leg to stand on.
