Mr. Malcolm's List (10 page)

She saw a
beautifully landscaped park and man-made lake, flanked by a Palladian style
mansion in yellow brick.
 
The enormity of
the place astounded her, and when she was let down from the carriage she could
only look around in awe.
 
Mrs.
Thistlewaite had finally woken up and she stumbled out of the carriage,
followed by Julia.
 

“Is it
not impressive?” Julia asked Selina.

“Indeed
it is,” Selina said.
 
“I feel like I’ve
been transported to
Rome
.”

It was an
unusually hot day, even for July, and the weather contributed further to the
impression that Selina had of having been magically conveyed to another time
and place.
 
Before anything more could be
said, Malcolm came out of the hall and met them at the bottom of the steps.

“I am
pleased to welcome you to my home,” he told the three ladies, but it was
obvious it was Selina he was delighted to see.

“It is
very beautiful,” Selina told him.

“Thank
you.
 
I hope you will find the interior
just as beautiful.
 
May I escort you
inside?” he asked, offering his arm to Selina, with Julia and Mrs. Thistlewaite
following.

He
escorted them into the entrance hall, a fifty foot high room with a coved and
coffered ceiling supported by alabaster columns. There were busts of Greek and
Roman gods in niches around the room.

“The
ceiling is from a design by Inigo Jones,” Malcolm told them, and Selina managed
a nod in response.

The
housekeeper had met them at the door, and Malcolm asked her to show the ladies
to their rooms.
 
“My mother is waiting in
the saloon to meet you, but I thought you would like to refresh yourselves
before joining her for tea.”

“That
would be lovely,” Selina said, and Julia and Mrs. Thistlewaite agreed.

The
ladies started to walk away, when Malcolm called, “Miss Dalton.”

The group
paused, and Selina turned back to speak to Malcolm.
 
“Yes?”

“Your
parents will be arriving tomorrow,” he told her.
 
He smiled tenderly at her, lowered his voice
a little, and said, “I am very happy that you are here.”
 
His smile was not in the least bit
arrogant.
 
In fact, he looked quite a bit
more relaxed and contented than he’d ever appeared in town.

“I am
very happy to be here as well,” Selina told him, before returning to the group.

Selina
found herself in a very pretty room with a view of the lake.
 
It was called the Blue room, and was papered
in a blue and white toile with matching bed linens.
 
There was a little window seat that Selina
sank into once she had supervised the unpacking of her things and was alone.

Never in
her wildest imaginings could she have invented such a place.
 
She had known Malcolm was wealthy, and even
that he was the possessor of a fine estate, but the reality of those words had
not made an impression on her until today.
 
She suddenly realized what it meant to be the recipient of attentions
from such a man.
 

Selina
had had a modest upbringing, but it was not a sheltered one.
 
Her family was not wealthy, but neither had
they lacked for anything, and they had enjoyed the patronage of Lord Musgrove,
the owner of the living where her father served and a distant relation.
 
She had felt as at home in his manor house as
she had at the vicarage.
 
Then, when she
left the small village to serve as Mrs. Ossory’s companion, she had lived in an
elegant town house, and was acquainted through Mrs. Ossory with gentlemen and
ladies of wealth and prestige.
 

But
Hadley Hall was more luxurious than anything she had ever seen.
 
So much wealth was intimidating to
Selina.
 
And the thought that Malcolm
believed her to be a fit mistress for such a place was a humbling one.
 

She heard
a knock at the door.
 
“Come in,” she
said.

The door
opened.
 
“Selina, it is time to go down
for tea,” Julia told her.
 

“Already?”
Selina protested, but rose from her seat.
 
“I was hoping I could stay in that window seat forever.”

Julia did
not reply for a moment, as she was busy looking around her.
 
“I do believe your room is larger than mine,”
she finally said.

“Perhaps
he wanted to put you next to your mother,” Selina suggested.

“Perhaps,”
Julia replied, but Selina knew that Julia counted it as another mark against
Malcolm.

Selina
wished once again that her friend had not taken such a dislike to Mr. Malcolm,
but realized it was useless to argue with her on the subject.
 
Mrs. Thistlewaite was waiting for them
outside the door and the three ladies were met by a footman at the base of the
stairs who directed them to the saloon.

The walls
of the saloon were covered in a rich crimson velvet, on which numerous
paintings were hung.
 
The effect was
quite opulent, but Selina did not find it to her taste.
 
She preferred the classicism of the entrance
hall and the elegant rusticity of her bed chamber.
 
Before she could make any further
impressions, she was distracted from her perusal of the room by Mr. Malcolm
rising to meet them.

Selina
found her heart was beating uncomfortably fast as Mr. Malcolm introduced her
and the Thistlewaites to his mother, Lady Kilbourne.
 

Lady
Kilbourne was a handsome, elegant woman of middle years.
 
Her hair was now gray, but Selina thought at
one time it had probably been as dark as her son’s.
 
She had the same coloring as him, including
his dark blue eyes.
 
Lady Kilbourne
smiled kindly at Selina, but Selina felt irrationally intimidated by her.
 
She was
too
elegant, making Selina
instantly aware of all the defects of her toilette.
 
Malcolm’s mother sat straight-backed on the
sofa, her expression hidden by half closed eyelids.
 
The ladies were invited to sit, and were
offered some tea.
 
All of this was done in
a languid manner, as if the whole process fatigued Lady Kilbourne greatly.
 
Selina took some bread and butter, and then
wished she had not, as she was too nervous to eat anything.

“Miss
Dalton, my son tells me you were raised in
Sussex
,”
Lady Kilbourne said.

“Yes, my
lady.”

“What
part of
Sussex
?”

“A small
village near Chailey,” Selina said.
 
She
wished Julia or Mrs. Thistlewaite would add something to the conversation.

“And your
father is still serving as vicar there, I believe.”

“Yes, my
lady.”

“And your
mother?
 
Are her people from
Sussex
as well?”

“Yes, my
lady,” Selina said a third time, feeling like the complete fool.
 
“Her family’s name is Kingswater,” she
offered, glad she was finally able to make a comment that was not in direct
response to a question.

“Kingswater,”
Lady Kilbourne repeated, looking thoughtful.
 
“I am afraid I do not know any Kingswaters,” she finally said, and took
a sip of tea.

Selina
did not know how to respond.
 
She felt
somehow to blame for Lady Kilbourne’s lack of knowledge of her mother’s
family.
 
Thankfully, Lady Kilbourne
turned to the Thistlewaites and began to speak to them.
 
Selina was grateful for the reprieve and made
an effort to eat some bread and butter.

She made
little contribution to the rest of the tea time conversation, which she thought
was probably fortunate considering her poor demonstration of wit so far.
  
After tea, Malcolm asked if any of the
ladies would like a tour of the house.

Mrs.
Thistlewaite and Julia declined, mentioning they would like to rest before
dinner.
 

“And you,
Miss
Dalton
?”
Malcolm asked, looking at Selina.

Selina
looked over at Lady Kilbourne, who was smiling pleasantly at her, but still
with her eyes half closed.
 
“Yes, I would
enjoy a tour of the house,” Selina said, rather hesitantly.
 
She did not want to appear forward.
 
“I have never seen a house like Hadley Hall,”
she explained to Lady Kilbourne.

“There is
not another house like it,” Lady Kilbourne said.

“Well,
then,” Malcolm said, rising.
 
“Shall we
begin the tour?”

Selina
rose and excused herself to the others.
 
Lady Kilbourne reminded them not to take too long, as dinner would be
served promptly at seven.

They
began their tour in the Statue Gallery, a long, narrow room lined with windows
that were filled with marble statues.
 

“This is
my favorite room in the house,” Malcolm told her.
 
“When we have a large entertainment, such as
a ball, we usually serve supper in here.”

“It is
quite beautiful,” Selina said, admiring the bright room, which was lit by the
afternoon sun.
 
It was a good deal less
fussy than the Saloon, and Selina felt herself relaxing a little.

They
walked slowly the length of the room, pausing to examine a statue every so
often.
 
They stopped before one
objet
d’art
for a few minutes, and Selina eventually realized Malcolm was
observing her rather than it.

“Are you
sure you’re quite comfortable?” Malcolm asked Selina, when she turned to meet
his stare.
 
“You have not reinjured your
foot, I hope?”

“No, not
at all, I am fine.
 
Why do you ask?”

“You did
not seem yourself at tea.
 
The only other
time I have known you to act so curiously you were suffering from an injury.”

Selina
smiled.
 
“I wish I could complain of an
injury to my tongue, which might explain why I was unable to speak in anything
other than monosyllables, but I do not have such an excuse, I am afraid.
 
I was suffering from nothing more than a fit
of shyness.”

“That is
odd.
 
You have never struck me as the shy
sort before.”

“Well,
you must admit all of this magnificence is rather intimidating,” Selina said,
with a wide gesture that took in the room.

“I can
see how it might be,” Malcolm said, but when Selina looked up at him she found
he was staring at her.

“I do not
believe that anything intimidates you,” Selina said.

“Do I
seem so fearsome a presence, then?”

“Yes.”

Malcolm
laughed.
 
“Oh, come now, surely you
exaggerate.
 
I cannot be that
intimidating, my niece and nephew adore me, and they are only five and
six.
 
If I do not scare little children,
there can be nothing in my appearance to frighten a young lady of—what,
twenty-five?”

“Twenty-two!”
Selina said, a little upset that he thought her older than she was.

“Have I
offended you with my guess?” Malcolm asked, smiling at her dismay.
 
“It is a little stratagem I’ve developed to
discover a lady’s true age.
 
If you guess
too high, they will always blurt out the truth, whereas if you ask them
directly, they are usually reluctant to tell you.”

“You are
very crafty.
 
I can see I will have to be
on my guard with you at all times.”

“Not at
all.
 
I am unwise enough to give away my
little secrets.
 
You have nothing to fear
from me.
 
A true manipulator would not
have told you that you had been manipulated,” Malcolm said, smiling in a manner
that Selina felt was very manipulative indeed.
 
She was certain Malcolm could get nearly anything he wanted with a flash
of that smile.

“I see you
have worked this all out in your mind so that you have an excuse for any
behavior,” Selina said.

“Precisely.
 
For example, if I tell you that I manipulated
you into taking this tour so that I might steal a kiss, then I have not been
truly devious, for I have admitted my design to you.”

Selina
felt her heart beating a little quicker, even though Malcolm had made no effort
to touch her.
 
Still, she managed a light
response.
 
“But then your plan is doomed
to failure, because now I have been forewarned and I can protect myself from
your advances.”