“I’ve begun work on my house. It should be ready for occupation within a couple of months.”
“Well, fancy.” Damian grinned. “That is excellent news. Does this mean you’re contemplating marrying the lady?”
Luke nodded. “I hope to. Haven’t asked her yet. I trust this won’t make things difficult for you.”
“Actually, it fits in nicely with my plans.”
Luke looked intrigued. “Which are?”
“To return here and run the estate. No more adventures. At least not those on the high seas.”
With a sigh, his brother raked his hands through his hair. “That eases my mind.” He raised a dark eyebrow. “I imagine a lady has something to do with this decision?”
Damian frowned. “Maybe. I hope so. It’s complicated.”
“Best not dally, then, brother.” Luke suddenly stood. “I forgot! A letter came for you from a Lady Diana Stafford.”
Damian was on his feet. “What? Where is it?”
Luke, already at the desk, sifted through papers. He located it and handed it to him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I thought it best to open it. And I replied to Lady Diana to say you were away.”
Damian studied it, reading between the lines of Diana’s polite words with growing concern. She would not have writtenafter the words exchanged at their parting unless she had been desperate. Lord Montgomery had asked for her hand and her father had accepted him. She hoped to learn something about the viscount that would cause her father to refuse him.
He was already at the door when he turned and spoke to his surprised brother. “I must go to London. I need to see Scovell.”
“What, tonight?” Luke asked, following him out. “At least have a bite of supper first.”
Chapter Twenty
Diana sat inthe morning room, gazing at the announcement of their engagement inThe Morning Post, which also appeared inThe Morning Herald,The Times, andThe Morning Chronical. She pushed the newspaper away despondently as her grandmother came in holding a letter.
Diana sat up. “Is it from Lady Slade?”
“Yes.” With a rustle of perfumed violet taffeta, which suited her silver hair, the dowager duchess joined Diana on the sofa. “Lady Slade writes that Lord Montgomery proposed to her daughter, Felicity, some time ago. She and Slade were pleased at first, as he was very presentable, with excellent manners and an income of six thousand a year. But when Felicity told them he’d expressed strong views about Bonaparte, whom he confessed to greatly admire, they decided it was best to refuse him.” Grandmama folded the letter. “Slade is a staunch royalist.”
Diana sighed. “That’s not enough, is it? Papa might already know of this. Other friends of his express similar views.”
“Yes, the Hollands make no secret of it,” Grandmama said with a grimace. “I’m sorry, my dear.”
Diana picked up a sofa cushion and twirled the fringe through her fingers while she tested the idea she’d formed during the previous sleepless night. “Grandmama, perhaps you could invite Lord Montgomery to dine here with Papa? I can invite Lord Montgomery to stroll with me in the garden and prod him to speak his mind about his opinion of me, and what a wifeshould be, while you maneuver Papa onto the balcony, where he can overhear us.”
Grandmama looked skeptical. “I could nevermaneuveryour father anywhere, even when he was a little boy. But I’ll endeavor to try.”
“Good,” Diana said, with a lift of her spirits. “But it must be soon.”
“I must consult your father’s secretary. We’ll arrange dinner here for an evening when he isn’t otherwise engaged. I’ll tell him I wish to talk to Lord Montgomery before the wedding.”
“Perfect!” Diana jumped up. “Tims must launder my prettiest gown.”
“I never thought to see you employ feminine wiles, Diana,” Grandmama said with a chuckle.
“I’m willing to do almost anything,” Diana murmured as she exited the room. It would shock her grandmother to learn just how far she would go.
Papa and Lord Montgomery attended Grandmama’s dinner the following evening. Delicious food and the best wines were served, and the meal seemed a pleasant affair, with Lord Montgomery at his most charming, which Diana always distrusted.
When the men joined them in the drawing room after their port, Diana invited Montgomery to stroll in the garden.
“A delightful idea,” he said after a quick study of her face.
