The Selfless Sister (4 page)

Chapter 4

“I’ve decided I shall go hunting for partridge tomorrow,” said Douglas, Lord Belington, to his younger brother, the Honorable Alexander Wyndham. “Since I’m here, I may as well take advantage of the hunting season and bag a few birds.”

Douglas had just returned from London, a journey he undertook as few times a year as possible. Whenever he returned to Ravensbrook Manor, it was his habit to keep to himself, tend to whatever urgent business had accumulated pertaining to the managing of the estate, then return to London post haste. Ordinarily, with Alex’s help, he could run the estate from London, but there were times when some sort of minor crisis compelled his return. Recently Alex, too, had spent some time in London, much to Douglas’s surprise. In the past, Alex had always proclaimed his disdain of the city—claimed he enjoyed a constant state of felicity in the quiet countryside. Recently, however, he had cut quite the figure of a London dandy, attending countless balls, concerts and soirees, attracting a great deal of attention from the ladies.

Now, realizing they’d been away too long from Ravensbrook Manor, both had returned home.

Presently, he and Alex were on horseback. They had been riding for hours over the vast acreage of the estate, checking on the corn, sheep and cattle that added pleasingly abundant amounts to their income.

Atop a small hill, Douglas reined his mount to a halt. He took a long, satisfying look at the golden fields of hay below that ended at thick woods of ash, alder, and birch. He smiled with satisfaction. Those woods were full of game. He said to Alex, “Come hunting with me tomorrow.”

“I’d rather not.”

No surprise there, thought Douglas. His younger brother had never fancied those manly outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing, that Douglas enjoyed so much. Instead, Alex tended toward the writing of love poems. With his slight build, long, fair hair, and pensive blue eyes, he even looked the part of the esthetic poet. But no matter. Douglas found that despite his brother’s penchant for poetry, plus a certain immaturity, he took his duties seriously and did an excellent job of running the estate.

Douglas turned his gaze to the huge, sprawling house that was Ravensbrook Manor. It was originally a castle. Over the centuries it had been renovated countless times, yet it still maintained its castle-like look with its roughly hewn limestone walls and multiple turrets that rose haphazardly above battlemented parapets. There were ornate chimneys as well as the massive round, pinnacled, north tower that had once withstood the attack of marauding Danes. Ravensbrook stood at the very edge of a small lake. All his life, Douglas had heard about the beauty of the castle’s reflection in the glassy-calm waters, but he was not the least impressed. Let them all think what a beautiful castle Ravensbrook was, but to him, it was a bleak, formidable place.

Douglas felt again the same dark feelings he had always held for the home where he was born. “I don’t know how you can stand to live here, Alex. Now that you’ve had a taste of London, how can you be satisfied with isolation in the country?”

“I must confess, I had a marvelous time in London,” Alex replied. “There’s no stigma attached to my name in London. I could walk into a crowded room and it wouldn’t fall silent.” His face went grim. “Not like here.”

“Then don’t live here. Come live in London with me. We can hire an overseer for this place.”

“Never,” burst Alex. “Besides...” He took a moment to put his thoughts in order. “Perhaps it’s not so bad as you might think. At any rate, I am about to test the waters. I plan to attend a ball in York tomorrow night. With any luck, I expect I might be treated quite decently.”

“Lady Perry’s?” When Alex nodded, Douglas frowned and declared, “You’re asking for trouble if you go.”

Alex shook his head. “Don’t forget, twenty-five years have passed since the tragedy. Old feelings fade.”

“Do they?” Douglas’s mouth twisted skeptically. “I know you’d like to think so.”

Alex touched his brother’s arm with brotherly affection. “Ah, Douglas, you have borne the brunt of all this.”

“You’re well aware how I grew up ostracized,” said Douglas, “as was all the family, you included, although you don’t remember the worst of it. If feelings around the countryside have changed, then I’m happy for you, Alex. But as for me...” Douglas’s gaze swept over his mansion ”...there lies the symbol of everything dark, sinister, and tragic in my life. I don’t give a groat if those stiff-rumps in the ton have forgotten. My feelings will never change.”

Alex sighed. “You do remember Lady Perry?”

“Of course I remember her. She was in love with Gregory. She was devastated when the tragedy occurred. I heard
that when word came Gregory had died, she was well-nigh inconsolable.”

Alex asked, “Did she also send you an invitation to her ball?”

“Yes, although I don’t know why, since I’ve always ignored her invitations. But she has been most kind to the Belingtons all these years—one of the rare few who has.”

“Then come with me, Douglas.” Alex’s eyes shone with excitement. “I was hoping you might go. You could see for yourself how attitudes have changed. You might even enjoy yourself. You might
—”

“Never,” Douglas interrupted. “It would be an act of the greatest disloyalty to my father and Gregory if I were to engage in social contact with the very people who caused their ruin.”

At a loss, Alex did not reply. They brought the horses to a walk again. Alex frowned as they rode along, casting his eyes downward as if a problem weighed heavily on his mind. Finally he spoke. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

Douglas returned a detached shrug. “Whatever you want to say, just say it.”

Alex turned his mount toward Douglas. They both reined in their horses again. “In London I met a young lady at Almack’s. Even before I met her, I was attracted, having seen her at a distance many times. When we were introduced, it was if I was powerless to resist.” A great smile lit his face. “When we danced and talked, I knew without question I had met the only woman on earth I shall ever love.”

Douglas was silent a moment, taken aback by his brother’s ebullient candor. Finally he asked, “Are you sure? As I recall, you’ve been struck by Cupid’s arrow before, only to find she was not the love of your life after all.”

Alex shook his head firmly. “She’s the one. The only one. I shall love her until the day I die. She’s at home now. She happens to live close by. In fact, very close. She—”

“No!” Douglas’s eyes widened with a mixture of dismay and disbelief as the realization struck him whom Alex must mean. “I don’t want to hear this.”

“But you will hear it,” said Alex, going against his essentially quiescent nature and not backing down. “She is Miss Alethea—”

“Don’t make me hear this.”

“Linley,” Alex said forcefully. “You will hear me this time. Yes, Alethea Linley. I know how appalled you must be, but there you have it. Shall I make it crystal clear? I, the son of the late William, Lord Belington, brother of the late, notorious Gregory, have fallen in love with—perish the thought!—a Linley. I am serious, Douglas. I want to marry the girl.”

Douglas was compelled to take a moment to get over his surprise. Never, since the tragedy that happened when he was but six years old, did he think his family would even speak to a Linley, let alone marry one. “Nothing surprises me,” he said finally. “But you do realize that such an attraction is perilous in the extreme, as well as hopeless.”

“Do you object?”

“Of course I object. What you’re proposing is sheer madness.”

Alex appeared not in the least dejected. “It’s like Romeo and Juliet, isn’t it?” he asked brightly, then grew reflective. “Doesn’t this remind you of the Montagues and Capulets, only now it’s the Belingtons and Linleys?”

“You have given some thought to how the play ends?” Douglas remarked dryly, “both the lovers dead, as I recall.”

“That’s not likely to happen,” Alex answered with all the bullish confidence of a twenty-six-year-old. “I love Alethea, and she’ll love me, once she gets to know me.”

“Good Lord.” Douglas flicked a glance upward in disbelief. “Does she even know you exist?”

“Probably not. After Almack’s I saw her only twice more, once at a concert, once at a soiree.” Eagerness shone in Alex’s eyes. “Why do you think I’m so anxious to go to Lady Perry’s ball? She’ll be there. I shall tell her who I am—declare my love—”

“And love conquers all?” Douglas asked, not bothering to conceal his skepticism.

“Don’t spoil it for me. Yes, love does conquer all...” in the face of Douglas’s incredulity, Alex faltered “...well, somehow.”

“Ah, Alex, such folly.” Trying to arrange his thoughts, Douglas nudged his mount and continued toward home.

“What do you mean, folly?” Alex asked, riding up alongside.

“When you love as much as that, you lose control. That’s why I shall never fall so completely in love I lose my power to reason.”

“You seem very fond of Rose.”

“Granted, there’s Rose, and the ladybirds who came before her, but that’s different. I take love as a more practical matter
—a necessity, of course, but I’ve never met a woman from whom I couldn’t walk away. Naturally I’m fond of Rose. Right now I should hate to lose her. But I’m not besotted with her, as you seem to be over Miss Alethea Linley.”

“You should see her,” Alex exclaimed, energized by the mere sound of her name. “The fairest of skin
—the bluest of eyes—fragile as a Dresden doll. And the blush upon her cheeks—”

“Spare me,” groaned Douglas. “I cannot believe you would commit such folly.”

To his surprise, Alex laughed and replied, “Some day you’ll know exactly how I feel, my hard-hearted brother. You, too, will fall in love, and when you do, you will toss and turn all night thinking of her. She will be on your mind every waking moment. You won’t be able to eat—”

“Please, you make love sound like some disease.” Douglas raised his palm in protest. “Such nonsense. I could never be such a fool.”

Alex fell silent. “There may be some difficulties,” he finally said, “but I truly believe we can resolve them all. God’s blood! the whole tragic affair happened twenty-five years ago. Ancient history. Who cares anymore? Times change.”

Douglas answered, “I care. I care very much. What might seem like ancient history to you is to me like yesterday.”

“You are letting it ruin your life.”

“Nonsense
. I lead a perfect life in London.”

“No you don’t. You’ve built a wall around yourself. Half the belles in London would throw themselves at your feet if they thought you would give them a chance, but you won’t. Instead, you’re content with women like Rose who give you what you want
—or what you think you want, for a price and no strings attached. That’s no perfect life. You’re fooling yourself if you think it is.”

Surprised at his brother’s unusual outburst, Douglas started to answer, but before he could get a word out, Alex nudged his horse and galloped away. Soon they reached a knoll from which they had a sweeping view of rolling green lawns and the mansion beyond. Douglas regarded it now with great distaste. “Alex, there is nothing you nor anyone could ever do to remove the stigma from Ravensbrook Manor. As for my marrying, how could I bring a bride to this cursed place? And besides, there’s another good reason I chose not to take a wife.”

“You’ve never told me.”

“And I won’t. Suffice to say, it would be the height of foolishness for me to fall in love.”

“But you’re wrong. Sooner or later all men fell in love, unless there’s something the matter with them. You simply haven’t met the love of your life yet. When you do, I hope I can manage to keep my mouth shut and not say I told you so.”

* * *

The coach had just passed York and would soon arrive at Southfield. Lucinda had been looking out the window for hours, trying to interest herself in the passing view, and not think of the painful scene yesterday when she defied her parents.

“
Mama and Papa, I have thought it over, and under no circumstances shall I ever marry Lucius Whittlesby.” She added, “And you can’t make me,” knowing she sounded like a child, yet her point was surely made.

As expected, Mama did not appear to be too upset, although she certainly wasn’t happy, either. It was her father who regarded her with pain and disbelief in his eyes. “So my second daughter defies me?” he asked softly.

She shriveled a little at his words but replied, “That is correct and I absolutely mean it.”

“Then I suppose you want to go to Southfield.”

“That is my wish.” She made sure she sounded clear and uncompromising. “I have determined that however awful Southfield might be, it could not be worse than being Whittlesby’s wife.”

She waited, her heart pounding, while her parents exchanged questioning glances, after which Papa briefly nodded his head. “Very well, my defiant daughter, you shall not marry Whittlesby.”

Joy filled her heart. “Thank you! I am so grateful.”

Papa smiled. “Well, I could hardly drag you kicking and screaming to the altar, now could I?”

“And Henrietta can have the entire dowry?”