Riding over the estate, he relished the misty, damp woodlands. The smell of mildew and wet leaves, birds twittering above. Onyx behaved like a lamb and was eager to join the goat, Peaches, when they arrived back at the stables.
Back in the library, he turned his mind to estate matters. Mid-morning, Jack entered with coffee and the post. And Dominic sat back to read the crammed crossed pages in his sister’s hand.
How surprised I was to find you still at Redcliffe Hall. And learn of your intention to stay awhile and improve the estate. Mama and Papa would be so proud of you, Dominic, as I am. I know a little about the history behind the family feud concerning Uncle Alberic. I was at an age when a young girl stuck in the schoolroom pounces on any intrigue. I listened at doors! And later, I read correspondence not meant for my eyes! Will I still go to heaven, do you think? Elizabeth came between Papa and Alberic. I heard Mama discussing Elizabeth with a friend. Mama accused Elizabeth of being immoral, but she might have been a little envious of Elizabeth, who was wild and beautiful. Mama was neither of those things, but oh so very good! She firmly believed something scandalous occurred between Papa and Elizabeth, after which Elizabeth promised to marry him. But Alberic stepped in to claim her. And as he was the heir, she accepted his proposal. Papa never forgave his brother, although he admitted to Mama when he lay dying, that he had made the correct choice of bride and had never been sorry for a moment. Alberic might have regretted marrying Elizabeth when she ran away with the Frenchman, but he took her back. And I don’t believe it was because of what people thought. He must have loved her desperately. I suppose she was a woman who slayed men’s hearts!
It is possible that Alberic could have sent a letter addressed to you to read in the event of his death, especially as you hadn’t sold out of the army and were difficult to contact. Although why he wouldn’t give it to the solicitor, I can’t imagine. I’m afraid I know nothing about it. But I will go through the correspondence which came for Papa after he died. At least those his secretary didn’t take, which pertained to matters of business. Mama’s death followed so quickly after Papa’s, and I was barely seventeen and shepherded off to stay with Aunt Abigail for my first Season. When I returned, I could never face reading them. But I have them here, somewhere, and shall let you know when I find them.
I have no more room to add to this missive, Dominic, and Trelawny will be cross at the cost of the postage. I wish you well with your improvements and pray you will come to us at Christmas. Our neighbor’s daughter, Marianne, is still not spoken for! All our love, Evelyn.
He sipped his coffee, hot and strong the way he liked it, smiling at Evelyn’s suggestion her husband would be cross with her. The besotted man was incapable of it. While her letter touched him, and he was pleased Evelyn and Justin enjoyed such a successful marriage, he was not in the market for a wife. He considered love to be the only reason for marriage, and he had not yet succumbed. A bachelor’s life would suit him for a few years.
He pushed back his chair and wandered to the window. In the garden, a shapely figure stooped over the beds, a basket filled with flowers over her arm.
He left the library, strode to the front door, and flung it open. As he walked toward her, she turned to greet him with a smile.
“Good morning.”
He pointed to a perfect blue flower. “That one.”
“The delphinium?”
“Yes, the blue.”
Olivia clipped off a stem. But before she could add it to the rest, he took it from her and held it close to her face. “I thought so.”
She raised her eyebrows. “My lord?”
“It’s the perfect match for your eyes.”
The blush on her cheeks pleased him. He handed her the flower and motioned to the basket. “Why don’t you send a housemaid to do this?”
Her slender wrist pushed back wisps of hair from her forehead. “I find it pleasant. A task I’ve enjoyed since a young girl.” She touched her plush bottom lip with her tongue as if to end the thought.
His intake of breath took in the sweet scents of the garden. He raised his gaze from her mouth. “Picking flowers is a charming activity, which renders a man weak at the knees.”
“Surely not.”
He grinned. “Ah yes. We men still have one foot out of the cave, but women, they are God’s supreme creation.”
She smiled and shook her head at him. “You are in a poetical frame of mind today.”
“I often am when inspired by such perfection.”
She raised her eyebrows disapprovingly. As he knew she would. “I refer to the delphinium, of course.”
“Then I’ll make sure there’s a vase of them placed in the library every day,” she said crisply. “While they are in flower.”
“Thank you.” He smiled. He shouldn’t tease her, but he loved how she bit back at him.
“Did you have a pleasant ride?” She turned back to the flower bed with a change of subject.
“I did. Now that Onyx behaves himself.”
She moved along the garden and selected another flower with pink petals. “He has been troublesome?”
He explained about his and Fellows’s concern for the horse and the success with Peaches.
“How delightful!” She laughed.
