More silence. Then, “If you and Lord St. Aubyn become friends again, does that mean we would be a family?”
Diana was shocked by the naked longing in his voice. “I hope so, darling,” she said unsteadily. “I surely hope so!”
Geoffrey’s brows knit together in calculation. “If you are visiting my father, why can’t I go?” He was no longer jealous. Now he also had a stake in Lord St. Aubyn, and a need for him that was as great as Diana’s own.
For a moment she wished she had said nothing. “Lord St. Aubyn is very,veryangry at me. There will probably be a lot of unpleasantness.”
His jaw set. “He’s my father, and I want to see him.”
“This isn’t the best time, Geoffrey. It would be better to wait until he finds his temper again.”
Geoffrey simply sat looking stubborn. Then, craftily, “Maybe he won’t be as angry if I’m there.”
Diana sighed and thought about it. Perhaps she was being overprotective again. Geoffrey was intelligent and level-headed, and he did have a right to see and know his father. And though it seemed calculating to consider it, having their son with her might soften Gervase’s anger.
“Very well, you can come. But you must promise to be polite to Lord St. Aubyn, not get angry with him on my behalf. Matters between us are very complicated. We’ve both made mistakes.” Since her son looked unconvinced, she repeated, “You must promise me, Geoffrey!”
“Very well, Mama. I’ll do my best to behave.” The wording was equivocal, but before she could object, he said, “If he’s Lord St. Aubyn, you must be Lady St. Aubyn.”
When she agreed, he asked, “Do I have a title?”
“Not while your father is alive, but you are the Honorable Geoffrey Lindsay Brandelin,” she offered.
Disappointed but philosophical, he said, “No one else in my school is even an Honorable. Jamie Woodlow’s father is a knight, but that isn’t as good as a viscount.”
“Geoffrey, you must not take this title business seriously,” Diana said emphatically. “Are you any different today than you were yesterday, when you didn’t know who your father was?”
After a moment’s thought, her son’s face split into a grin. “Yesterday I was just an epileptic. Today I’m anhonorableepileptic.” The idea tickled his sense of humor and he went off into whoops of laughter.
Diana leaned over to give Geoffrey a hug. With every fiber of her being, she prayed that the breach with her husband would be healed, not just for her and Geoffrey’s sake, but because for too many years Gervase had been deprived of the joy of his son.
* * *
Since Edith was visiting her sister in Scotland, Madeline volunteered to accompany Diana as nurse and maid. Diana had been reluctant to treat her best friend as a servant, but Maddy pointed out that they were always helping each other with their hair and clothes anyway, and didn’t Diana want someone at Aubynwood who was on her side?
Since Nicholas was out of London and Madeline was bored, Diana finally agreed. It would be good to have her friend’s support. Maddy happily pulled her hair into a knot and dug out her most conservative clothes. She couldn’t be unattractive, but at least she would draw few second looks.
Rather than make the trip in one day, they spent the night at an inn two hours south of Aubynwood. Diana calculated that if she arrived at the estate about noon, the chances were good that there would be guests around, making it harder for Gervase to refuse her entrance.
The idea of forcing herself on him was terrifying, both because he could hurt her so badly and because she must confront again how much she had hurt him. She spoke little on the journey.
The next morning Diana dressed carefully in an elegantly simple muslin gown with blue trim that matched her eyes. Maddy styled her hair in a soft, thick twist with delicate tendrils curling around her neck and face to soften the effect. She looked every inch a lady and a viscountess.
Too soon they had passed the Aubynwood gatehouse and pulled to a stop in the horseshoe drive in front of the main entrance. Madeline and Geoffrey would wait in the carriage until it was clear whether Diana had gained entrance for them.
Wiping her damp palms on her skirt before donning gloves, she said with nervous resolution, “Wish me luck.”
Maddy nodded gravely. Less aware of what was at stake, Geoffrey was cheerful and excited.
Diana stepped from the carriage and climbed the steps to her husband’s house.
* * *
Since Gervase was too grimly unhappy to be a good host, it was fortunate that events on the Peninsula kept his guests in a ferment of excitement. Mere days after landing in Portugal, General Sir Arthur Wellesley had won a major battle against the French at Vimeiro, completely unaided by the two hidebound senior officers who were technically his superiors.
Britain reacted to the victory with joy, then with shock when details of the ensuing treaty were received. The Convention of Cintra removed the French from Portugal, but also repatriated the captured French army in British ships and allowed the enemy to take all of their loot with them.
Wellesley’s brilliant accomplishment was overwhelmed by public furor at the treaty terms, and all three British commanders were being recalled for a military inquiry. Gervase cursed with exasperation as events developed. As the most junior of the commanders, Wellesley had not done the actual negotiating even though he had signed the Convention. It was bitterly ironic that the general’s career might be lost in a political melee not of his making.
