The traveling chaise had barely left Collin near the front steps of Huntingdon, his brother’s country estate, when two footmen rushed out to gather his trunk. Derek came striding out of the house behind them. He stopped next to Collin and clapped him on the back. “I thought you wouldn’t be here until tomorrow, Coll.”
“Yes, my apologies for the early arrival. I’d intended to spend one more day in London, finishing some paperwork, but Treadway found me in my office and took the bloody paperwork away. I had to sneak around like a bloody spy.”
Derek threw back his head and laughed. “You are a spy, and apparently not a very good one any longer if you couldn’t elude Treadway.”
“I’d no idea he would hunt me down like a criminal,” Collin grumbled.
Derek laughed again. “That sounds like Treadway. Not to worry about coming early, though. We’ve only just arrived this morning ourselves. Come into the study and have a drink.”
The footmen scurried off with Collin’s trunk, and Derek led the way into the house. They walked through the fine foyer and down a marble corridor to the dark wooden doors of the study. The grand house smelled of lemon and turpentine. Obviously the servants had been hard at work preparing it for their master’s arrival.
As soon as they entered the study, Derek immediately went to the sideboard and poured two glasses of brandy. He handed one to Collin before he took a seat behind the large mahogany desk that graced the center of the room. Collin accepted the glass and wandered to the window. He braced a shoulder against the wall, crossed his booted feet at the ankles, and stared off across the meadow toward the lake at the back of the property. God, it felt good to be in the country. Some of his resentment toward Treadway eased a little, try as Collin might to cling to it.
“Come for some relaxation, did you?” Derek asked, settling back into his large, leather chair.
Collin sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “I had no choice.” He took a sip of brandy.
“What precisely did Treadway say to you?”
A grim smile played across Collin’s face as he glanced at his brother. “He told me I could do anything I wanted for the next fortnight, as long as it’s not work.”
“Then he caught you working?” Derek asked with a grin.
Collin lowered his brows. “It’s bloody ridiculous to force someone to take a holiday.”
Derek tilted his head to the side and regarded his brother. “It might do you some good, you know.”
Collin rolled his eyes. “Don’t you start, too.”
Derek contemplated the brown liquid in his glass. “I’m merely saying relaxation isn’t terrible.”
“It’s also not what it’s cracked up to be.” Collin took another drink, and this time it burned down his throat and settled hotly in his gut.
“I’m pleased you decided to pay us a visit at least. We’ll enjoy ourselves. Go shooting, riding, have a few dinners with the local gentry. Drink.” Derek lifted his glass with a smile.
Collin leaned his head against the window frame and sighed. “Yes, well, I decided if I must spend time away from work, I might as well pay my niece and nephew a visit.” He glanced toward the door. “Where’s Lucy, by the by?”
“Seeing to the children,” Derek replied. “She just hired a new governess, and she’s been busy showing the woman how she likes the nursery to be managed.”
Collin turned his head to look at his brother. “What happened to the other governess? Miss Langley, was it?”
Derek cracked a smile. “She married.”
“Thank heavens,” Collin replied. “She was a lovely young woman, but I got the distinct impression that Lucy was trying to match me with her. It made me deuced uncomfortable.”
Derek laughed. “You weren’t wrong. Lucy adores matchmaking, as I’m certain you’ve gathered. She tried to match poor Miss Langley with half the male guests who entered the house before Mr. Benton came along.”
Collin stared out the window again. “I wish them well.”
“I do too. I just hope Lucy doesn’t try to matchmake the new governess.”
Collin moved from the window and dropped into one of the two large leather chairs that faced Derek’s desk. He arranged his jacket. He’d discarded his uniform for regular clothing, garments he rarely wore. He felt odd in them. “Is she comely?”
Derek took another sip of brandy. “Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t met her yet. Lucy hired her just before we left London and provided her with fare to take the mail coach here. The woman arrived this morning, not an hour after we did, and Lucy hurried her off to the children’s rooms before I had a chance to greet her.”
“Well, the poor woman should be careful. If she doesn’t want to marry, Lucy may not be the best choice of employer for her,” Collin said with a laugh.
“I’ve tried to explain to Lucy a half-dozen times that it’s not particularly conducive to keeping a governess for the children if she continues to marry them off one by one.” Derek sighed. “But Lucy cannot seem to help herself. She’s says she’s a matchmaker at heart.”
