Lady Bradford’s voice rose. “And what does she give in return? Does she bring her country ways? I hear she visits the kitchen in Munro Houseto chat! Will she allow herself to be taught? Or will she turn our ancient and noble home into an oversized farmhouse?”
“We can always live elsewhere,” he warned. “In fact, there is a lovely house I have had my eye on…”
“Lewis Bradford! You will draw the line at how you shame this family!”
Lewis bit his tongue. His mother had reached her limit. “Perhaps, then, as a compromise, we will stay in the summer cottage by the lake,” he suggested. “Until such time as you feel my wife is worthy of the great house. It will be an easiertransition for Jillian and you both. We will join you for Sunday family dinners and she can come to the house and see how you manage it as often as you are both comfortable doing so. We will still be on the grounds, with room enough for everyone to breathe.”
Lady Bradford was quiet for some time. Then she rose, the rustling of her black skirt the only sound in the hard silence between them.
“You have shown me where your loyalty lies. I must now bury the son who did right by me. And then I will remain in mourning. You clearly do not feel the loss of your brother, so you must do as you wish. Marry Miss Kinsey. Take her to Ermenbrough, or the moon, for all I care. We will not be attending your nuptials. I shall not be staying in some village inn to watch you degrade yourself. When you return, the summer cottage will be ready for you with a complement of servants. Now, you will excuse me. You have made this day harder in every possible way, and I need a minute to gather myself. Some of us still wish to maintain a dignified air.”
Her gown swept about her feet as she departed the room. Then the air was still once more. Lewis took a step toward the door and halted. His mother was wrong. She was wrong about so many things. Hedidmourn the loss of his brother. But he had been mourning it for years. He would have loved a closer bond with Philip, but his brother had been placed on such a high pedestal that Lewis could never reach him. Now the chance was lost forever.
As for the privileges of the firstborn, Lewis had taught himself not to think about them. It would have been unhealthy to crave things he believed he would never have. Now that they were his to claim, he might have done so with great gusto. There was much about the running of the estate he had wanted to suggest to his father but had never felt he could. Now theycould work side by side to further the interests of the Bradford family. He would not need to spend long hours poring over thick volumes of law. It had been a worthwhile occupation when he had had to make his own way, and he would miss elements of it. But, Lewis admitted to himself, he was grateful that he could now allow himself the luxury of more private pursuits.
Instead, his parents had ostracized Jillian and turned the rights of the heir into a series of demands, some patently ridiculous. Marry Miss Sangford, indeed!
Lewis resumed his steps, quickening his pace at the thought of seeing Jilly.
With her borrowed lady’s maid in attendance.
She was being courted by the heir to a barony, after all. Not long now and a chaperone would no longer be needed…
Lewis felt the first layer of frustration fall away. He pictured Jilly’s full mouth. Her green eyes so often filled with mirth. More of his agitation melted and was gone.
He could feel the tickle of her hair, its thick cascades resting against his cheek as he reached in to kiss her, his hands growing warm upon her bodice.
Lewis was almost running now. How well he understood Jillian’s frequent need to break free and do the same. When the heart was full, the body likewise was roused with energy. They were too old now for cartwheels and skipping, but the desire to run and jump and dance surfaced whenever he thought of her. That, and the more intimate exertion that would follow when she wore his ring…
Jilly would be his, all his. And all he had to do was love her. She had no list of rigid rules for him to follow. She did not ask that which he was unwilling to give. He would not delay the wedding for the sake of his family who had not done the same. If anything, he wanted to marry Jillian sooner.
Today, he was saying farewell to Philip and closing the door to his past. A few weeks hence, when the banns had been called thrice, he and Jilly would be married. And he would not look back. Nothing would come between them. Never, never, ever. And the certainty of it grounded him, while his hopes soared ever up to the heavens.
