Always Come Home (Emerson 1) (21 page)

He knocked on his butler’s door. There was no
answer, which was to be expected at three of the clock. He gently knocked
again. He didn’t want to awaken Maude, whose rooms were just down the hall.

He was about to knock again, when the door opened
and a startled Stemple came out in the hall, pulling the door closed behind
him. “My lord, is something the matter?”

“I am so sorry to awaken you, Stemple. But I wanted
to ensure this packet makes it to the morning post. I would not have disturbed
you if it weren’t urgent.”

“Of course, my lord. I shall see to it first thing
in the morning.” He began to enter his rooms again.

“Stemple, as long as you are up, I was wondering if
we might talk for a bit.” Colin needed to confide in his friend and it would
be too hard to do when everyone else was up and about.

“Certainly, sir. Shall we go to the kitchen?”

“I rather thought we would talk in your sitting
room.” Colin stepped forward, yet Stemple remained in place. He also had a
strangled look about him. “Is everything all right?”

“Of course, my lord.”

“Then why are we not removing to your sitting room?”

Now the man looked truly panicked. Had Colin
offended him? He’d been so caught up in thoughts of Ava, he’d not paid much
attention to anyone else. “Victor, I realize you’ve taken on the enormous
responsibilities of running this house and for that I will be forever grateful.
I understand if you are angry or annoyed with me and hope you will tell me if
you are.”

Now Stemple looked bewildered.

“My lord, I am certainly not angry or annoyed. You
have saved my life by giving me this position and I cannot thank you enough for
it. The work I do here is meaningful and I hope you are satisfied with my efforts.”

“I am extremely pleased, as is Rose. In fact, if
you let me in there, I can tell you the great compliment she paid you….good
Lord, man, why are you so reluctant to let me in? Are you afraid I’ll steal
you blind? I can assure you I will only take any cash you might have lying
about.”

“I am not alone, my lord,” Stemple whispered.

“But who…” Colin was the veriest of fools. Could
he be more of a blunderer? “I am terribly sorry, Victor, for intruding this
evening. Do not worry about arising early for the post. I can take it there
myself. Tomorrow shall be a holiday for you. For both of you.”

“My lord, that is not necessary and I will gladly
deliver your package to the post.”

“No, you deserve the rest. It is good that at least
one of us has his romantical affairs in order.”

“My lord, how do you feel about servants marrying?”

“In this case, it is an excellent idea. Other than
that, I haven’t given it any thought whatsoever. I hope the two of you do not
leave us, though, of course, I will understand if you do. I’ll understand, but
make a spectacle of myself begging you to stay.”

Victor grinned. “I cannot imagine a place we’d
rather be. Although, I should probably get back to my bedchamber. She is
probably panicked by now.”

“Of course. Give her my best. Actually, do not do
that as I think it would probably embarrass her. Wait until an appropriate
time tomorrow then give her my best wishes for your marriage. Actually, I will
do that in person. I am blathering like a drunken lord when in fact I have had
a lamentable lack of spirits. Good night. And congratulations, Victor.” He
shook his friend’s hand.

“Thank you…Colin.” He smiled. “Now, my lord, may I
have that package to take to the post?”

“I shall do it.”

“Do you have any idea where to take it?”

“No.”

“Give it to me, sir.”

In the end, Colin gave him the package, then climbed
the stairs to his bedchamber. So Victor and Maude were getting married. He
was glad for both of them.

And oh so very envious.

Myra Babcock was bored. Bored with this horrid
village with nothing to recommend it. Bored with England if it meant
rusticating without any chance of even seeing a British soldier in his splendid
uniform. As an American, she knew she shouldn’t hold British soldiers in such
high esteem, but she simply loved a man in uniform.

It was really too bad that in this God-forsaken
county the only single man of any merit was the earl. There was nothing wrong
with Ridgeway, of course, and he had once been a soldier. Perhaps he still had
the uniform. Myra was sure he looked splendid in it. Perhaps he could be
convinced to wear it on a visit to the manor. She would pay him to do so.
From what their gossipy chaperone Miss Patton had said, he’d likely do anything
for enough blunt.

The only problem was that he seemed determined to
court Nora. What’s more, their parents were quite set on him making their
eldest daughter a countess. Well, not papa, since he usually judged a man by
his net worth and the earl was lamentably poor. But their mama definitely had
her heart set on the match.

But that didn’t mean Myra had to fall in with their
plans. And it’s not like Nora was some matrimonial prize, despite her great
beauty. For even Myra had to grudgingly admit her sister was beautiful. Nora
Babcock had two things going for her: beauty and the ability to hide her true
self. Of course, it’s not as if gentlemen looked all that hard for Nora’s
faults. But they were there. After all, hadn’t Nora laughed harder than
anyone at the stories Miss Patton had told of Leticia Emerson’s birth?

No wonder Nora was doing so well with Lord
Ridgeway. The man had absolutely no idea who she really was.

But then, people tended to underestimate Myra, as
well.

She became aware of a disturbance downstairs. A
delivery boy from the village had probably gone to the front entrance, earning
himself a scold from their insufferable butler.

There was a knock on her door, then Richard
entered. “What are you doing up here when there’s a lord downstairs?”

“Mama has probably already shoved Ridgeway and Nora
into a closet somewhere hoping for an indiscretion. I’m sure she won’t let me
near him.”

“But it’s not Ridgeway. It’s some other pompous
lord. You don’t want Nora to take all the men, do you?”

It was a rhetorical question since Richard knew quite
well how Myra felt about their sister’s success with men. So, she straightened
her gown, pinched her cheeks and went downstairs to meet the new arrival.

He was passably handsome, with blonde hair and a
charming smile.

As could be expected, their mother was in alt. She
turned to Marvins. “Go find Miss Babcock immediately.”

Myra noted their mother had not sent for her. She
made her presence known anyway, but wished she’d worn a gown that showed her
bosom to better advantage. “Do we have a guest, Mama?”

“Ah, Myra, there you are. Have you seen your
sister?”

“I cannot say that I have.” Nor would she admit it
if she had.

Mrs. Babcock curtsied to their guest for what was likely
the fifth or sixth time. “Viscount Clayton, might I present my youngest child,
Miss Myra?”

Viscount Clayton bowed elegantly. “The pleasure is
all mine, Miss Myra.” And the way he darted his eyes across her bosom made
Myra realize her gown wasn’t so bad after all.

“Myra, be a good girl and ring for tea,” said Mrs.
Babcock. “Come with us to the sitting room, my lord. Now, Viscount Clayton, where
is ‘viscount’ on the hierarchy of titles?”

Myra rolled her eyes and was glad to see this
Clayton fellow showed his own distaste for the question. “It is an honorary
title I will hold until I become the earl.”

“And when will that be?” asked Mrs. Babcock.

“That is difficult to predict,” said Clayton,
carefully. “It would mean the death of my own father.”

“Oh, dear! Such a horrible fate to contemplate. Is
he in good health, your father?”

“Yes, Mrs. Babcock, dreadfully so. But tell me, I
am most interested to know where Ridgeway is. I thought this was his home.”

“It was. Technically, I suppose, it still is. But
Mr. Babcock has taken it for our winter stay here in England. Lord Ridgeway
and those sisters of his live in the dower house. Our daughter Nora is quite a
beauty and we thought to rusticate before going to London.”

“Your daughter Miss Myra is also quite well-favored,”
said Clayton with a smile Myra did not trust, but appreciated just the same.
“So, Ridgeway’s finances must truly be dire if he’s lost his home.”

“I do not know anything about finances, being a lady
and all,” replied Mrs. Babcock. “But I hear tell he doesn’t have two farthings
to rub together. Are you of sound financial health, my lord?”

The man smirked and Myra had a feeling he was
laughing at her mother, as well he might. “My blunt is the picture of health,
if I might speak plainly.”

“Always, my lord. We value plain speaking above all
else. We are Americans after all. Now, you simply must stay with us.”

“I couldn’t possibly intrude.”

“But it would not be an intrusion. I will not think
of you staying anywhere else.”

“I could always stay with Ridgeway.”

“No!” said Mrs. Babcock so vehemently that the hovering
footman jumped. “I will not hear of such a thing. We have plenty of room
here. Ridgeway calls on Miss Babcock with a flattering frequency. Anything
you have to say to him can be accomplished when he visits, I am certain. Is
that not right, Myra?”

Myra studied the man in front of her. It would be
just the thing to steal a wealthy viscount from under Nora’s pert nose. And,
after all, this man would one day be an earl, too. “Yes, Mama, it is a capital
idea for Viscount Clayton to stay here.”

“You must be an especial friend of Lord Ridgeway’s
to come all this way to see him,” said Mrs. Babcock.

“Not so great of a friend,” he said. “I have come
to deliver wages to two servants who formerly worked for me. Tell me, does
Miss Conway reside at the dower house, as well?”

“I am sure I wouldn’t know about other people’s
servants,” said Mrs. Babcock. “Though I am sure she has her work cut out for
her with that sister of his. Now, I shall ring for Marvins to show you to your
room.”

“I can do that, Mama,” said Myra. “We should put
him in the blue room.” It was conveniently located on her end of the family
wing.

“I do not believe that would suit Lord Clayton,”
said her mother. “Put him in the room with the ships.”

That was on Nora’s end. Myra smiled sweetly at her
mother. “As you wish, Mama.”

Her mother eyed her suspiciously, before running
off. No doubt to alert Nora to Lord Clayton’s arrival. Well, Myra had her own
plan. “If you will follow me, my lord.”

Once they’d started climbing the stairs and were out
of earshot of the nosy servants, she turned to him. “Now, Lord Clayton, why
did you inquire about Miss Conway?”

“As I said, I owe her wages.”

“Could you not have had your man of business take
care of the debt?”

“I could have, I suppose. Perhaps I just wanted to
see my schoolmate.”

“Lord Clayton, perhaps I should tell you that I can
always tell when someone is not being truthful.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you accusing me of
lying, Miss Myra?”

“Yes.”

That elicited a laugh from Clayton. “I believe the
usual response would be ‘of course not.’”

“You’ll find I am not all usual. Now, what is your
real reason for wanting to see Miss Conway?”

She opened the door to his room. The blue room.
Not the one with the ships.

“This does not look like the bedchamber your mother
wanted you to place me in.”

“You didn’t like that bedchamber and who am I to
argue with a viscount? Now, tell me about Miss Conway.”

“With pleasure, my dear,” he said, as he motioned
for her to join him in his room.

*

“Maude, I’m so excited for you!” said Ava, as she
hugged her friend. Stemple had just announced the news of their betrothal at
breakfast.

“This is wonderful!” said Rose, who also hugged
Maude. “We must make the perfect wedding dress for you. We can alter one of
the gowns in the attic.”

“Oh milady, I couldn’t have you do that. Those are
your family’s gowns.”

“And you are part of the family now,” said Rose.
“I’m sure we can find something that will work. You must come up to the attic
with me to look through them.”

“Can I come?” asked Letty.

“Of course. We shall need your help to design it,
as well as Miss Conway’s.”

Ava congratulated Stemple. “I wish you very happy.
You’re gaining a wonderful wife,” she said as she kissed his cheek.

Colin shook his butler’s hand. “All I know is that
the overnight stay at Clayton’s, while unpleasant in the extreme, has certainly
benefitted us all. Unless you whisk your bride off to a better place, then I
will have something else to blame Clayton for.”

“We are very happy to stay, my lord,” said Stemple.

“Thank heavens.” The earl then kissed Maude, who
blushed. “Maude, this is excellent news. He is the best man I know.”

“He is, your lordship. I am very blessed, indeed.”

“This calls for a celebration,” said Colin. “I
would suggest a celebratory dinner, but that would rather defeat the purpose.
I imagine the two of you would like to go to the church to arrange for the
banns to be read.”

“Thank you, my lord,” said Stemple. “We were hoping
to be wed as soon as possible.”

“I thought you might.”

So, in short order Stemple and Maude left for the
church, while Rose and Letty went to the attic in search of a suitable gown.
Ava was about to join them when Colin asked for a word.

“Miss Conway, would you care to join me in the
library?” But it was clear they both had the same recollection of what had
transpired between them in that room. “Or perhaps the sitting room?”

“I believe the sitting room would be better, my
lord.”

“Not for all things,” he muttered, as he motioned
for her to precede him. Once they arrived, he was disappointed to see her take
a seat in a chair and not on the settee, where he could sit beside her.

“I am pleased to report, my lord, that Lady Leticia
is an excellent student. And since your library…”

“Ahh, the library again. Perhaps we should go there
now.”

“I can give you my report just as easily here. With
the excellent books in the well-stocked library, I am certain Lady Leticia will
continue to excel at her studies since she has a natural curiosity about
everything. I just hope her next governess takes the time to nurture her love
of learning.”

“You are doing such a great job with her lessons, I
can only hope you will stay on as her teacher.”

“That is impossible, my lord. As soon as I secure
other employment I shall be going.”

“But who will take your place, Ava?”

“It is Miss Conway, my lord.”

“If you insist, Miss Conway, and from your look I
see that you do. But who in their right mind would come here to teach my
sister for free? When you leave, she will have no governess and may never have
one again. Must she suffer because you wish to leave?”

For a moment, Ava was struck with horrible guilt.
She had not thought about the fact that Colin would not be able to afford to
replace her. She’d only thought about how much she would miss Letty and Rose.
Drat the man. She certainly didn’t want Letty’s studies to suffer. But then
she remembered something.

“My lord, Lady Leticia had no governess when I
arrived. What were you going to do to fill the position then?”

“Pray to the Lord above that He would have mercy on
us and deliver a governess who was always quick with an impertinent remark.
Then you walked in the door. It was truly a miracle.”

Ava narrowed her eyes. “My lord, you’re being
blasphemous.”

“Only because I cannot countenance you leaving.” He
rubbed his hand through his hair. “Do you really want to leave so much, Ava?”

“I must, Colin. I cannot remain.”

He rose to pace the room, which was odd, for she’d
never seen him so restless. He sat back down. He rose again. He truly seemed
to be shaken. “What if I do not marry Miss Babcock? Or any heiress? What if
I married you, dear sweet Ava?”

Ava was aware of the world stopping. There was
nothing there but Colin. Who’d just proposed.

Or had he?

“Are you asking me to marry you?”

He paused for a moment too long and the world took
off with a jolt again, making her slightly ill. “Not yet. Nor do I know if I
will be able to. I was just checking to see if you might be amenable to the
possibility.”