It was the first thing Monty said when he followed her into the room and, with a bow of greeting for the twins, sat in the chair beside the sofa. And Vanessa wasn’t surprised he’d given Kathleen that nickname after her mother had gotten so sharp with Emily at dinner the other night. But both twins giggled, knowing exactly who he meant.
Vanessa joined them on the sofa before saying, “If she does, we give you leave to run from the fire.”
Both girls kept up a running stream of conversation, Layla’s quite proper, Emily’s bordering on intrusive, but Monty evaded with aplomb. “In the east,” was his answer to Emily’s question about where he was from. “Youngest son,” he replied when she asked how many siblings he had. If Emily tried to pin him down on particulars, and she did once when she asked if Montague was really his first name, he just gazed at her with a smile, making her blush.
Vanessa decided to stay out of it. She wasn’t about to assume her mother’s role and censure Emily, not when Monty didn’t seem to mind the questions. And she even knew why Emily was persisting after she’d been warned not to. It wasn’t to piece together information so she could figure out his real identity. She simply liked Monty as Layla had said and thus, wanted to know everything about him. Vanessa knew the feeling.
The tea tray arrived precisely at four o’clock as it did every day regardless whether anyone was in the parlor, which was one thing that hadn’t changed at Dawton Manor. Kathleen didn’t join them, but Charley did, arriving in a flourish of bouncing golden hair and a long satin coat that defied fashion, flaring at the hips, dark green on the outside, bright red on the inside. And the lace! It extended from both wrists and overflowed from his cravat. Wherever he was from, they were quite behind in fashion—or he was just so extravagant that he preferred to create his own.
He gave the ladies a very courtly bow, smiling at each twin, but when his dark blue eyes moved to Vanessa and he paused, she had the alarming thought that he was going to call her Nestor and ask what she was doing in female attire. But he didn’t.
If he did recognize her, he didn’t let on that he did, saying, “You must be Lady Vanessa, home from your travels? I am Charles, Max—”
“That’s—” Monty started to cut in.
“And I’ve been told to call you Charley,” Vanessa interrupted Monty, wanting to spare Charley from being scolded.
“Have you?” Charley glanced at Monty, but when his eyes came back to her, they were alight with, she wasn’t sure what, until he said, “You are exquisite. Youmustmarry me.”
Layla giggled. “He’s asked us to marry him, too.”
Vanessa didn’t laugh, but she did ask, “How many wives are you allowed where you come from, Charley?”
“One, though I’m sure an exception can be made for twins,” he said, and winked at Layla.
With the boy so full of himself as usual, it was an amusing moment, until Emily said, “Vanessa must decline. She’s already engaged.”
Was Emily being catty?Vanessa wondered. Her tone didn’t suggest it, but that was information that certainly didn’t need to be dropped on the table.
“I am devastated,” Charley said, but then flicked his hand dismissively. “A minor inconvenience that can easily be broken when you know that I can make you a—”
“Bloody hell, Charley! D’you need a foot in your mouth? Mine will fit.”
Vanessa wasn’t sure why Monty was suddenly so angry, but she was sorry to see Charley blush and stood up to hook her arm through his, teasing, “D’you always state your wishes as if they were facts? You do know that you have to do some wooing before proposing?”
“Actually, I do not have to,” he mumbled low.
“Well, I came home and found out I was engaged, but I’m not sure what I think about it yet.”
“She needs to meet the fellow first,” Layla put in.
“So wishes for your future happiness aren’t in order yet?” Monty suddenly asked.
They would never be in order when she was prepared to commit herself to a loveless marriage, but she wasn’t about to mention that and merely said, “A bit premature, when I’ve only found out about it today.”
“Who is the lucky chap?”
She laughed a bit wryly. “I actually don’t know his full name. It’s Albert Rathban’s boy. Do you know the Rathbans?”
“Lord Rathban has only one son. Daniel isn’t a boy by any definition—and condolences might be more in order.”
Chapter Twenty-four
CONDOLENCES? AND MONTY DIDN’Tstick around to explain such an incredible remark. He’d very rudely left the parlor directly after saying it.
Layla was alarmed and asked Vanessa, “Do you know what he meant?”
Vanessa made light of it, replying, “Mother told me the Rathban son is rather quiet and shy. I suppose Monty might think he’s a boring fellow.”
