Though he neither spoke nor gestured, hope flickered in her eyes, as if she understood. He placed his fingertips beneath her chin and tilted it up, relishing the sight of those sweet, plump lips. Swallowing his embarrassment, aware that several pairs of eyes watched, he brushed his lips against hers.
Her eyes flared with joy, and, for a heartbeat, she gave him a glimpse of what it might be like to live in harmony and happiness, toexorcise the ghosts of his mother and father. But when he glanced back at the dark, forbidding building that cast a shadow across the land, his hope diminished.
He released his wife’s hand, then climbed into the carriage, motioning for John to follow. The sharp odor of fresh paint thickened the air, reminding him of the expense of the carriage and the necessity of his visit to London.
Then they set off, and he leaned out of the window. The servants were beginning to disperse, but Olivia remained still, watching as the carriage rolled along the drive. Before the carriage turned a corner, she raised her hand. He mirrored the gesture, placing his hand on the window, fixing his gaze on her until she disappeared out of sight.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Olivia waited untilthe carriage had gone before she lifted her fingers to her lips.
“Do you need anything, Lady Devereaux?”
Jacob stood before her, hands in pockets.
“Perhaps you might call me sister, given that we’re related.” She smiled. “If I recall, I asked you to do so when you showed me around the gardens.”
“Of course I will…sister.”
She cast her gaze about the building.
“It’s a large house,” Jacob said, “especially when you’re alone.”
And I am alone.
Olivia glanced at the drive in the direction of the carriage.
“I can ask Nicola to accompany you today,” Jacob said. “I’m over at Mill Farm with Mr. Carlton to oversee the repairs to the roof. I’ll send her over to the great house once she’s finished her chores at home.”
Olivia nodded. “She can stay for tea if she wishes. Is the farm in disrepair?”
“It’s only the roof that needs mending. Mr. Faulkes has been taking good care of the house otherwise. Well, I’d best be off if I want to impress Mr. Carlton.”
He nodded and walked off, whistling, disappearing around the side of the building. Olivia glanced at the servants who were dispersing,then approached the cook.
“Mrs. Groves, might I ask a favor?”
“Are you wanting to discuss the menu for supper, Lady Devereaux?”
“No, but I wondered…might I be permitted to join you in the kitchen? I have a fancy for shortbread, and I’d like to bake some today—then, perhaps, for my husband when he returns home.”
“Bless you, your ladyship, you’ve no need to ask permission, certainly not from me. And, begging your pardon, I expect you’ll need a bit of company now his lordship’s away, and we can’t have you rattling around in that big house all on your own.”
“Nicola is visiting later.”
The cook wrinkled her nose. “There’s better company to be had hereabouts, I’m sure.”
“Jacob thinks highly of her,” Olivia said.
“Not for the right reasons. A bit too free with her favors, that one. She’s the sort who’ll do anything to snare a man if she thinks it worth her while. She took little notice of Jacob when he were growing up, until she realized he was heir to this place.”
“Didn’t she know he was my husband’s brother?”
“She knew, all right. Taunted him for being”—Mrs. Groves lowered her voice and glanced over her shoulder—“born on the wrong side of the blanket.” She shook her head. “Poor lad. The old earl separated him from his mother and refused to let him live upstairs. Treated him worse than a servant, he did. Jacob could have turned out very wild, but Mr. Carlton took him under his wing. He’s a fine enough lad, for all that he’s a natural child, but then…”
The cook hesitated, blushing. “Forgive me, Lady Devereaux, I didn’t mean—”
“You didn’t mean me?” Olivia said.
