Lucille's mouth dropped open and the old lady fixed him with a less than friendly glare. 'I can think of only one reason, my lord, for so sudden an arrangement to have been made. You must have compromised my niece and been obliged to offer for her.'
He straightened and returned her icy look. 'I suggest that you think more carefully about what you say, ma'am, if you wish to remain here even one night. You will not impugn the good name of my future bride. Do you understand me?'
Sofia slipped a hand in his and squeezed it gently. He understood her request. He was to say no more on the subject.
'Aunt Jemima, we have much to discuss and here is not the place to do it. Nobody was compromised. Lord Brotherton's offer was a genuine one and I accepted it in the same way. We might only have known each other a short while but sometimes you know instantly that you've met the person you wish to spend the rest of your life with.'
The old lady cackled, a most peculiar laugh, but it was heartfelt. 'That's all I wanted to hear, child, if your affections are already engaged then that's something to celebrate. If you say that his are also then that's nothing short of remarkable.'
The old lady looked at him her expression almost friendly. 'I apologise if I misspoke, my lord, but these girls are my life. They might think that I'm a curmudgeonly old besom, but I love them all as if they were my daughters.'
Who was the more astonished of the three young ladies by this revelation he couldn't be sure as they all looked quite overwhelmed.
As one they enveloped their aunt professing their love and affection for her in equal measures. James decided that he rather liked this outspoken old lady but sadly realised the chances of her becoming a bosom bow to his appalling grandmother were unlikely. His grandmother was also outspoken, but she didn't have a kind thought in her head, thought only of herself, and even his less than pleasant father had barely tolerated her.
Turnbull rustled up and curtsied to the group. 'Welcome to Avon Court, ma'am, I am Turnbull the housekeeper here. Allow me to conduct you to your apartment.'
'Thank you, Turnbull, I wish to remove the grime of the journey from my person and then I hope you'll send a footman to conduct me to this blue room where refreshments are to be served.'
'Yes, ma'am, I have that in hand. Two footmen are already taking your maid and your luggage to your chambers.'
Their voices faded as they disappeared down the passageway that led to the far end of the main section of the house. Satisfied this had gone better than he'd expected he turned to speak to his youngest ward.
She dipped in a curtsy. 'Thank you for inviting us here, my lord. You will be my brother-in-law as well as my guardian – I think that highly peculiar as we didn't even know you existed a few weeks ago.'
James grinned. All the Brotherton ladies were direct, and he liked that about them. He hadn't wanted a house full of simpering misses, and he certainly hadn't got them.
*
Sofia sent Annabel and Colette upstairs with the new arrival as she needed to speak to James urgently. 'Your study, or the blue room?'
He was still holding her hand and led her towards the room that was for her sole use now she was to be lady of the house. As soon as they were inside the door, he encircled her waist, she tilted her head inviting his kiss.
This time it was gentle, tender, she returned the pressure on her lips, loving every minute of it. He was the first to raise his head and stepped away to sit on an armchair making it abundantly clear she was to sit elsewhere.
'I think it would be safer for both of us to be somewhere we might be interrupted.'
'I agree absolutely. I don't trust either of us to behave as we should.'
His smile was wicked. 'I'll have to move to Bath or we must get married as soon as I can have the banns called. I've no wish to pre-empt our wedding vows but fear that will be the case. In fact, I would say it was inevitable.'
She glowed from head to foot under his gaze. 'Actually, that brings me nicely to what I want to say to you.' Immediately she made her suggestion. 'You said that you could move to Bath, does that mean you already own a property there?'
'It does, sweetheart, 23 Royal Crescent to be exact. The family bought it when it was first built and I use it occasionally during the winter season.'
'Then Lady Charlotte and her children could live there? I think she'd be a lot happier in the city.' She didn't add that having his sister and the children gone would certainly make life easier for them all – he understood.
He slapped his hands loudly on the wooden arms of the chair making her jump. 'There are things I must tell you that Eloise revealed to me.'
She listened, thinking the information quite extraordinary. 'Lord Upminster went mad? Are you sure it's not just the prattling of a child? Your niece's a little strange and might well have misinterpreted something that she heard.'
'I need to know before I speak to Charlotte. Which reminds me, my darling girl, you'll not refer to her by her title. She's Charlotte to you as she is to me. The other girls must continue to be formal, but not you.'
'I prefer to keep things as they are, I've no wish to antagonise her further.'
'I don't give a damn if my sister's upset by this, you're my future wife and she's the widow of a madman.'
She couldn't hold back her giggles. 'Really, James, you shouldn't refer to him like that. Charlotte's the daughter of an earl, a lady in her own right, it matters not that Lord Upminster could have been insane.'
