An Affair of Honor (16 page)

“Oh, we will! I promise you we will. Won’t we, Aunt Nell?”

“We must wait to discover Mama’s wishes, Rory dear,” Nell said quietly. “You would not wish her to become overly tired.”

“Oh, no, of course not,” the younger girl replied, her disappointment clear. Then her expression lightened. “However, I daresay when I tell her how very much I am longing to watch a grand review, she will agree to stay. She will not wish to spoil my pleasure, you know.”

Huntley, who had been assisting the others in replacing the picnic supplies, approached the group in time to overhear Rory’s last remarks. Nell noted with some misgiving that his brows had knitted together ominously. “I am sure,” he said now, his tone rather sharp, “we must all see to it that Lady Agnes does not place more importance upon your pleasure than upon her own continued good health.”

Rory looked up at him in quick protest, her gaze clashing with his. But it was she who looked away first, muttering that she was certain no one meant to endanger Grandmama’s health.

Talcott chuckled, bringing the golden gaze to bear accusingly upon himself. “You behave yourself, lass,” he ordered, unimpressed. “When you frown like that, it makes you look more like the witch of Endor than your Grandmama’s golden angel.”

Rory’s lips twitched. Then laughter bubbled up again. “You do say the most outrageous things, sir.” She turned back to Huntley. “I beg your pardon, my lord. I behaved childishly. Aunt Nell,” she went on, holding out her hand, “do say you will forgive my thoughtlessness once more.”

Nell had been thinking that the major’s manners were quite as deplorable as her niece’s, but at this turn of affairs she found herself regarding him with dawning respect. How easily he had banished the sulks. Here again was the endearing and disarming golden girl. Nell gave the hand that had been pressed into her own a firm squeeze and assured her niece that there was nothing to forgive. The two officers took their leave only a few moments later.

Rory looked at Nell. “I do want to see the sailing races, ma’am. Shall we accompany Kit and the others?”

“Oh, Rory, really,” Nell protested. “There will be such a crush along the cliffside. I am sure we shall see enough of it if we but drive home with Mama along the esplanade and the Marine Parade.”

Rory’s face fell immediately, and a diffident voice sounded behind Nell. “There will be no crush where we’ll be, ma’am.” Seton’s words banished the woebegone look as though by magic.

“Oh, Mr. Seton, do say we may come with you!”

“Don’t be daft, Harry,” Kit said. “There won’t be room for all of us.”

“Fact is, Miss Lindale,” Harry said politely, ignoring him, “that my sister and her husband have taken a sitting room on the top floor of the Belle Vue Hotel for the day. We shall be able to view the entire race from there and in deuced elegant comfort, at that.”

“But surely, Mr. Seton, your sister and her husband, obliging though I know them to be, cannot have expected you to bring such a large party as this. Why, you would be adding at least three persons, you know.”

“Three!” He glanced at Nell and at Huntley, then recollected himself. “To be sure, ma’am. Just go. All welcome.

M’ sister won’t mind a bit. Assure you!” He doffed his curly-brimmed hat to emphasize his point.

“Well, I am persuaded you mean it for the best …” Nell began doubtfully.

“Let her go.”

She looked up at Huntley, her eyes wide. “Sir?”

“I said, let her go.”

“But—”

“Don’t argue, Nell. See here, Lindale,” he went on, raising his voice to reach Kit’s ears, “you’ll look after Aurora, won’t you?”

“I …” Kit looked dubious. “I expect so, sir. Don’t you mean to come along, Nell?”

“Well, of course.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Huntley interrupted. “Your sister is suffering from the headache, as you could see for yourself if you would but take the trouble, so you may attend to your niece for a spell. We will meet you on the esplanade after the races, so that you will not need to see Aurora home again. I quite realize such a necessity might well interfere with your plans for the evening.”

“Well, that would make a difference, sir, but I’m not much of a dab—”

“Stubble it, Kit,” Harry Seton interrupted quickly. “Lady Aurora wants to see the races. We’ll help you look after her. M’ sister will help you. Her husband—you know Tom, a fine fellow—daresay he’ll help you, too.”

“Lord, Harry, don’t run on like a fiddlestick!” Kit snapped. “We’ll take the chit if you’re so dashed set on it.”

“Does that mean I may go with them, Aunt Nell?” Rory demanded.

Nell looked doubtfully at Huntley. He nodded, a little smile playing upon his lips. “I suppose you may, dear. Kit,” she added quietly, “I must place my dependence upon you.”

“I didn’t ask for the charge,” he grumbled.

“Nevertheless, Kit. …”

He gazed at her. “Oh, very well. Come along, then, my girl, and mind you don’t land us all in the basket.”

Filled with misgivings, Nell watched them go, then turned to Huntley. “I hope we may not both be sorry for this, my lord. I must tell you—though, of course, I could say nothing before—that Mr. Seton’s sister Mary is as young and flighty as Rory herself and not at all to be trusted. I have met her husband only once, and he is much like Harry, I fear. Can we truly place any dependence upon them to make sure Rory does nothing foolish?”

“We shall rely upon Lindale,” his lordship said, smiling at her. “You said last night that you desired an opportunity for private speech with me. The crowds have thinned out now, and a quiet walk will no doubt do much to ease your headache. Shall we leave your mother and Sir Henry to enjoy a bit of solitude?”

Sir Henry snored just then, and a gurgle of laughter escaped Nell’s lips. “I only hope he does not wake Mama,” she said, still chuckling.

“H
OW DID YOU GUESS
I had the headache, sir?” Nell asked him after they had been walking for some moments in silence.

“You get tiny lines between your eyebrows and at the corners of your eyes,” he replied. “I remembered the signs, that’s all.”

She digested his words slowly, then looked up at him with a teasing smile. “’Tis not very chivalrous of you, sir, to call attention to the lines in a lady’s face.”

“Are you offended, Nell?” He looked down, his gaze seeming to catch and even to search her own for a brief moment before she looked away. “I thought not. It was an excellent picnic,” he added.

“Yes,” she agreed, grateful for the change of subject. “Cook prides herself on such cold collations as that. I particularly like her fried chicken. There is some spice or other that she uses that—”

“All right, Nell, take a damper.”

“You brought up the subject,” she pointed out. “I was merely doing my possible to pursue it.”

“The devil you were. You are not usually so diffident, my dear. In general, I have found you to be refreshingly direct. What did you wish to say to me?”

He was right about her lack of diffidence. Nell had not previously thought she had retained a diffident bone in her body. In the old days, to be sure, she had been shy upon meeting new people, and had found it to be extraordinarily difficult to indulge in the general sort of small talk that was so common at social affairs. But even then, within the ranks of her own family and friends, she had not been averse to speaking her mind. In fact, she had often thought that perhaps it had been her more assertive habits rather than her shyness that had kept her from finding a suitable husband during her first and only Season.

She realized that Huntley was patiently awaiting her response, and tried to think how to answer him. Though she believed they were in a way to regaining their old footing, she did not wish him to think she was daring to criticize his behavior, nor—remembering his comments about his sister—did she want him to think she had grown overly assertive. For although she had not before believed him to be a man easily intimidated by others, he had said he was, and she had seen for herself his reaction to Lady Agnes’s gentle vinaigrette.

“I believe,” she said at last, slowly, “that I have made my opinions clear, my lord.”

“Cut the formality, Nell. It is unnecessary. Do you refer to your wish that I should lend my escort whenever you and Aurora accept an invitation for an evening’s pleasure?”

She nodded. “Oh, not every invitation, my lor—Sorry,” she interjected quickly when he shot her a pained look from under his heavy brows. “I do realize that you have obligations of your own, and neither Rory nor I would expect you to be continually dancing attendance upon us. Even a husband would not do so much as that. But I do think you ought to make your claims more evident than you have been making them, lest her behavior and your lack of interest serve to inform others that she is free to accept their advances.”

“You think I should be with her now, do you not?” Her silence answered him, and he sighed. “I confess that after an hour or so I begin to find the company of Rory and her young friends a trifle tedious. ’Tis no doubt due to my advancing years.”

Laughing, Nell shook her head at him. “Really, sir, there is nothing at all advanced about your age. One look at Sir Henry ought to reassure you on that score.” But then she turned serious again. “Do you not fear that perhaps you will find Rory tiresome as a bride?”

He shrugged. “It is a possibility, I daresay, but it is a condition that must, in the nature of things, be leavened by time. At all events, since the halls of Huntley Green are not likely to be found teeming with other members of the younger set, I shall have only Aurora to contend with. No doubt she will soon learn to conform peaceably to my wishes.”

She stared at him, thinking in amazement that he seemed perfectly sincere. For the first time, Nell entertained some doubts about the possibility of Huntley’s making a suitable husband for her niece. It was clear at any rate that if his future was not to be made entirely miserable, he must be brought to a better understanding of Rory’s nature. And since no one else was likely to take the trouble to explain matters to him, Nell came to the uncomfortable conclusion that she must take that task upon herself. She straightened her shoulders and, laying a gentle hand upon his arm, drew him to a halt.

“Let us sit quietly beneath that tree yonder, my friend,” she said quietly. “I think we must discuss this business more thoroughly.”

Obediently, he followed her, and once they were seated on the grass beneath the tree, Nell searched her mind for a tactful way to begin. There were other people strolling about on the green, but none who gave them more than a passing glance. Huntley smiled at her.

“Well?”

“You must know that my niece has been greatly indulged all her life, sir,” she began, still feeling her way.

“Indeed, and what is that to say to anything? Do you fear I shall deprive her of the little luxuries she is accustomed to? I assure you, I have no such intention. I do think her a trifle spoiled, however, and I have no intention of allowing her to rule the roast. Surely, you do not expect that of me.”

“It is not merely that Rory is accustomed to luxuries, sir. She is also accustomed to getting her own way. I cannot believe you actually thought it a good notion to let her go off with those young rattles this afternoon. Yet you agreed to the scheme. It was not, believe me, a good precedent to set.”

“I encouraged her to go because I wished to speak with you.”

“You might have contrived to speak privately with me,” she pointed out, “and still have kept her safely here with us.”

“You contradict yourself, my girl.”

“I am not your girl, and I wish you will stop taking such familiarities with me, sir. ’Tis most improper. And do not quibble,” she added more tartly yet when he only smiled at her. “Rory might just as easily have remained with Mama and Sir Henry while we had our talk. You sent her off with Kit and the others because you did not wish to be subjected to a fit of the sullens, or worse. And if that is plain speaking, well I’m sorry for it, but I believe it to be the case.”

“Do you truly think me incapable of dealing with a childish fit of the sullens?” His voice was gentle, but there was also a note in it that she could not identify.

“Yes, I do,” she answered roundly. “Not when the fit is one of Rory’s. You would scold her, sir, which merely serves to stir her resentment. She must be coaxed and jollied along and treated with gentleness. I had thought you would understand that, for you appeared always to be a patient man. But now you seem quick to exasperation, which can only serve you ill, sir.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. “I am sorry if you think I am too quick to scold her, but to put the matter bluntly, ma’am, your niece displays a lamentable resistance to having her actions curtailed in any way, which is one of her less endearing characteristics and one that will have to change as she grows older. She cannot expect to continue to do as she pleases without regard for anyone else. Such behavior may have done well enough in her father’s home. It will not be tolerated in mine.”

“Oh dear,” Nell said. “I do not envy you the months ahead.”

“I daresay you fear tears and tantrums, do you not? I cannot deny the possibility, of course, but I am not an ogre. I do realize that Rory is very young. But you must have realized that her youth is an advantage. She has not yet become so set in her ways that she cannot change. One of the main reasons, in fact, that I have chosen to allow her a loose rein here in Brighton is that I wish her to see for herself that I mean her no harm. However, if my indulgence is going to be interpreted by others as a lack of interest, I quite agree that I must make a greater show of my presence. Now, what do you say to a stroll toward the esplanade? We shall excuse ourselves to your mama and Sir Henry, or to your coachman if they are not yet receiving visitors, and then I shall inform Laxton that I desire him to meet us later with my carriage.”

Nell nodded and let him help her to her feet, even chuckling when he threatened to murder her if he had gotten grass stains on his cream-colored breeches. But her thoughts were moving in other directions.