His voice was mild. His manner had improved of late, perhaps because of the young woman he courted, whom Laura had yet to meet.
When Robert reappeared, Laura joined him in the dining room for luncheon.
Slicing a piece of mutton off the joint, he cut pieces of it to put on their plates. He put a piece in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Tough.” He shook his head without further comment.
“Robert.” Laura tried to gauge his mood while she shifted a parsnip to the side of her plate. “Something has occurred.”
He looked up at her. “So you mentioned. What is it?”
She quickly told him what Wagstaff had said, and how she’d dealt with it.
Robert frowned, his knife and fork poised over his food. “You wrote to Lord Debnam?”
“Yes. It was the right thing to do.” She took a sip of the tart wine, her throat suddenly dry. “He needs to hear about it.”
“You might have discussed it with me first.” He sighed. “Very well. It is done but no longer concerns you, Laura. I don’t want you getting involved in anything unsavory. Not while I’m working hard to make us appear an attractive proposition to the Lavertys.”
“Why should this concern them?”
“I don’t know, but I’m worried because it might. You have a history of disrupting the household with your heartfelt schemes.” He looked up at her with a smile. “But I shan’t go over old ground.”
She put down her knife and fork and glared at him. “That is unfair, Robert, and you know it.”
He shrugged, unapologetic. “And then there’s Edward. Where does he fit into all of this?”
“It was only a letter. The matter has nothing to do with him.”
Robert paused from buttering a roll. “I am not blind, Laura. I know how you feel about Debnam. You must banish him from your mind. He had his chance to marry you and chose not to. To be perfectly honest, I’m relieved he didn’t ask you. I found him a troubled man, and after that letter from Lord Gaylord, well… I believe Edward would ask you, if you play your cards right.”
Laura fell silent. Robert, for all his blustering, spoke the truth about Edward, even though she didn’t want to hear it.
“Oh, and there’s a more important matter I want to discuss. I intend to hold a party,” Robert said. “I’ve alerted Mrs. Smythe. Bedchambers need to be readied. Those traveling from some distance will require accommodation for the night, and Mrs. Smythe and you must discuss the menus with Cook.”
This explained the sudden need for a housekeeper. “When? And how many do you plan to invite?”
“Fifty guests, should they all accept. I will hold it in three weeks’ time.” He smiled, further warming to the idea. “We’ll hire musicians. Guests can dance in the great hall. Perhaps archery on the lawn if the weather is fine. Think, Laura, it will be like old times when Papa and Mama were alive. Do you remember when we were children and Nanny let us stay up late to watch the dancers from the gallery?”
“I do.” Laura couldn’t help smiling at his boyish enthusiasm. But only three weeks to prepare for such a large undertaking? Laura was relieved to have Mrs. Smythe.
*
Mrs. Annabell Gould’sdinner party ended, and the guests, full of good cheer and too much champagne, departed into the night.
Brendan stood at the front door waiting for his curricle to be brought around from the stables. He turned as Annabel entered, carrying his hat and gloves. While he put them on, they stood together alone in the black-and-white marble hall, the footmen still in attendance on the drive as several carriages rattled away.
Annabell came closer, smiling slightly. She gazed up at him and smoothed his lapel with her hand. “Will you stay awhile and keep me company?”
She invited him into her bed, and she was most appealing in a deep, wine-colored lace dress which displayed her figure to great advantage. Once, he would have accepted her offer in the blink of an eye. But oddly, becoming Annabel’s lover didn’t sit well with him. He recognized it as some misplaced sense of loyalty to Laura and grew annoyed with himself.
Annabel stepped back, wrongly interpreting his expression. He reached for her hands and held them in his. “Forgive me, Annabell. I wrestle with a problem which seems to have no solution.”
Her brown eyes softened, and she reached up to touch his face. The briefest stroke, but it carried a depth of meaning. “There is nothing to forgive.” She tucked her hand in his arm, and they went out through the front door to where his curricle waited with Keagan.
“If you ever feel the need to talk, I am here. I have been through troublesome times myself, milord. I make a good sounding board.”
“Thank you for that.” Brendan, grateful for her exquisite manners, kissed her cheek and left her. He climbed into his curricle and took the reins from his groom, who jumped up beside him.
“How was your evening, Keagan?”
