The Wedding Affair (9 page)

So Lady Reyne was in the mood for dalliance, eh? And what made her think all she had to do was snap her fingers to snag the Duke of Somervale? He wanted to laugh at the idea that she believed she could attract him. He’d seldom met a woman who was less to his natural taste.

His gaze followed her down the street, just as a gentle breeze flitted by and pasted the thin muslin to her figure. Perhaps she might have a few more charms than he’d suspected. Though she was hardly voluptuous, she also wasn’t the straight, hard-edged stick he’d imagined. And just as the glimpse of her ankle yesterday had made him want to look further and longer and higher, the curve of her leg and the gentle sway of her hips under the lightweight fabric, so fleetingly revealed by the helpful breeze, fed his curiosity. Her derriere appeared to be exactly the right size for a man’s hand
—his
hand—to cup. He wondered how she would feel under him…

He shook his head. Perhaps the heat, or the oppressive atmosphere produced by being pursued by so many nubile females, was turning his brain. His gaze had only lighted on Lady Reyne because she’d flung out a challenge, not because he was attracted to her.

Daphne was whimpering something about the long walk and how one of her bridesmaids had worn a blister on her toe. “You will drive us all home, Simon, won’t you? We can squeeze together in your curricle.”

The Duke of Somervale’s hackney service
, he thought absently. Did Daphne seriously believe he couldn’t see through the excuse? He wondered if they’d draw straws to see which ones would end up pressed most closely against him.

Like a rowboat drifting down a gently flowing stream, his attention slid away from his sister and back to Lady Reyne.
If you’re thinking of wooing another mistress…
Clever of her to turn the subject, to distract his attention from his accusation that she’d insulted him. It would serve her right if he took up her invitation and made her think he was seriously considering her offer. He would enjoy watching her stammer and stumble around.

Unless she’d really meant it. And in that case, maybe he’d just enjoy
her—
for if she was as saucy in bed as she was in the street…

“Philippa’s ankle hurts,” Daphne went on. “And it’s too warm to walk all the way.”

Yes, the afternoon was definitely warm. Simon sympathized with the stray dog that lay panting in the shade of the dry-goods shop, his tongue hanging almost to the dirt. He understood exactly how the animal felt. Odd, though, for Simon hadn’t felt hot until Lady Reyne had started talking about diamond bracelets…

For the last time, he tugged his attention away from the figure swaying seductively down the street—Lady Reyne was going out of sight anyway—and back to Daphne.

“There are seven of you,” he said calmly. “I would have to make several trips.”

Daphne nodded. “It wouldn’t take long. It’s only a mile.” A blush rose in her cheeks. “I mean…”

“It’s a little over a mile by road. The shortcut path is barely half that—just a short walk, after all. I think you’re caught in your own trap there, Daphne, since you could all walk home in less time than I could ferry you. Nevertheless, as a gentleman I shall provide transport for the ladies who wish to ride.”

She smiled. “You are the best of brothers, Simon!”

“The innkeeper owns a big, old carriage that should suffice to hold you all at once—if he can clear out the vermin in a timely fashion.”

And once I have the young ladies settled
, he thought,
I may have some additional business to transact for myself—with a slightly older lady.

***

When faced with the threat of sharing a carriage with mice, the bridesmaids decided to walk after all. Kate noted that Philippa’s problematic ankle seemed to miraculously heal, as did Emily’s blistered toe. And no one complained about the heat anymore. They did, however, walk so slowly and listlessly that Kate thought they would never get out of the village, much less all the way back to Halstead.

“Perhaps you don’t wish to sit down to dinner with the duke?” she asked finally. “Because at this rate, you’ll be lucky to arrive in time for breakfast tomorrow.”

“You’re very dull, Kate,” Lady Daphne complained. “I can’t think why Mama hired you. We do not need a chaperone, for we are perfectly able to look after each other. Perhaps she felt pity for your situation. With no home and not a suitor in sight…”

A suitor.
For a few minutes, Kate had forgotten about Mr. Blakely and his offer. All she had to do was say the word, and she would have a home, a husband, a place in the world. Even Lady Daphne couldn’t turn up her nose once Kate was betrothed. And she would no longer have to listen to the condescending chatter of a group of ill-mannered and arrogant girls.

They’re not entirely bad
, Kate told herself. Daphne was the worst, but then she always had been; the rest must be particularly daring because they were off the rein for the first time.

Kate strolled along, lost in reflection. If she accepted Mr. Blakely’s offer, she would be a person to be respected. Of course, as the vicar’s wife she would still have to treat people like the Duke of Somervale with the utmost tact and diplomacy. But she could have pointed out—with utmost tact and diplomacy, of course—that the duke was being completely irrational to accuse Olivia of insulting him. In fact, as a moral leader she would have been responsible for doing so.

And then there were purely practical matters. She would not have to rely on the duchess for a recommendation or scramble to obtain introductions to people who might hire her. She would not depend for her living on pleasing an employer day after day. She would not risk losing her place or her home by speaking up. She would no longer be a drain on Olivia; instead, she could help her friend in small but significant ways.

And she would be able to look ahead with confidence at the future—right here in this familiar village, among these familiar people, and in the same familiar house. There was something to be said for knowing exactly where one’s destiny lay. Steadham village might feel stifling at times, but it was comforting as well.

She walked on, musing about the things she’d like to do when she was truly the mistress of the vicarage. She’d always disliked the pictures in the dining room; now she could change them. For her bedroom, she could choose new bed hangings and draperies…

Then she realized the sunny room at the back of the vicarage, overlooking the garden, wouldn’t be her bedroom anymore. As the wife of the vicar, she would move into the principal bedroom—and share it with her husband. She would sleep with Mr. Blakely in the same bed where she herself had been born, and someday she would give birth there to her own children…

Her thoughts skittered away from the idea. She told herself it was because that room still seemed to belong to her parents.

Just as they were about to leave the road outside the village for the shortcut path across the fields, Kate heard hoofbeats and carriage wheels behind them. The young ladies suddenly perked up and looked around.

The curricle that approached would have been glossy black except for the dust of the road. Perched high on the seat was not the duke, as the bridesmaids had obviously expected, but two people—a handsome man wearing a curly-brimmed hat and a lady wrapped, despite the heat, in a lightweight blue cloak that billowed in the gently stirring air. As the carriage slowed, something about the lady’s profile drew Kate’s attention.

In utter astonishment, Kate said, “
Penny?
”

The lady’s face glowed. “Kate! I had no idea you would be in the neighborhood! Is your home near Halstead? Oh, my dear—I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were in mourning. What a pity we’ve lost touch. Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to catch up now.”

Kate couldn’t remember exactly how much time had passed since she’d heard from Penny Weiss, but Penny’s life must have changed considerably since their last exchange of letters. A lady might ride in an open carriage for a short distance with any gentleman. But this was obviously no casual drive, and since Penny had no brothers or cousins whom she could accompany without risking her reputation, the man driving the curricle had to be her husband.

Big changes indeed
, Kate thought. She hoped that whoever Penny had married deserved her.

She had barely registered the fact that a horseman rode to one side of the curricle until he spoke. “Miss Blakely, we meet again.”

Kate’s heart began to thud. That voice—low and rich and beautiful… Years had passed since she had heard Andrew Carlisle speak, but it took only five words to carry her back to the summer when she’d been seventeen. “Mr. Carlisle,” she said crisply.

Lady Daphne was aglow. “Andrew, you sly fox! I thought you weren’t coming to my wedding!”

Andrew Carlisle bowed and swept off his hat. “Lady Daphne. I did not immediately see you among the lovely flowers that surround you.”

But he saw me instantly
, Kate thought.
Because I stand out so obtrusively in my black… and because I am
not
a lovely flower!

Daphne stretched up her hand to him. “You wrote that you were obligated to Lord Winchester and couldn’t leave.”

Obligated to Lord Winchester?
Kate wondered what that meant. Was he a private secretary of some sort? What a comedown that must seem for the young man who had wanted to seek adventure, to see the world…

“I expected to be there for some weeks yet, instructing his two sons,” Andrew said easily. “But the young men progressed more quickly than expected, and Lord Winchester rewarded them with a period of liberty before they go to Oxford in the autumn.”

Leaving Andrew at loose ends, Kate deduced—unemployed before he had planned.

One of the bridesmaids wrinkled her nose. “Instructing? Do you mean you’re a
tutor
? Were you teaching them Latin and such?”

Kate thought if Andrew had said he was a hangman, the bridesmaid would have used much the same tone.

“Mostly
and such
,” Andrew said, “because I never was good enough at Latin myself to teach it.”

How richly ironic it would be for Andrew to make his living as a tutor now, Kate thought. They had only met because he had required extra tutoring himself from Kate’s father to get through Oxford…

“Come down from there,” Daphne demanded, “and be presented to my bridesmaids. Then we won’t hold up his lordship’s horses any longer.” She made a little curtsey to the gentleman in the curricle.

Kate almost let out a whistle before she regained control of herself. Penny’s husband was
his lordship
?

The gentleman threaded his horses between the bridesmaids, and as the curricle passed, Penny leaned down toward Kate. “Shall I see you at Halstead?”

Kate nodded. “We have much to talk of, it seems.”

The earl flicked his whip, and the curricle rattled away.

“So that’s Penny Wise,” Daphne said. “How perfectly common of her to hang out of the curricle.”

The nickname grated on Kate, though she’d heard it many times. Some of the girls at school had thought it a clever play on words.

Andrew Carlisle dismounted, draped the reins of his gelding over his arm, and made his bow to each of the bridesmaids as Daphne presented them. “I am honored, ladies.” He offered his arm to Daphne. “
Penny Wise
? Is that what you called her?”

Kate said, a bit sharply, “To be accurate, she’s Penelope Weiss.”

Andrew’s green eyes gleamed in the sunlight as he surveyed Kate. “And now she’s Lady Townsend.”

Daphne sniffed. “What a sad comedown
that
is for Charles. An earl having to marry a brewer’s daughter just because she has pots of money and he has none. You know, I always fancied him myself, but a match simply wasn’t possible.”

Kate said, “But surely, Lady Daphne, with your lineage as the daughter of a duke, you are every bit as great an heiress as Penny Weiss.”

A shocked silence descended over the group. Daphne’s look was so sharply venomous that Kate thought herself lucky not to drop on the spot. She suspected Andrew had to bite back a grin—not that she cared what he thought, of course.

Perhaps I should reconsider the idea of being a governess
, Kate thought. And if the other jobs open to a lady of quality required the same standard of deference to the employer’s opinions that she had so miserably failed to demonstrate just now, she might have to cross those off her list as well.

Kate told herself,
There’s always Mr. Blakely.

***

The gates of Halstead had come into view before the earl spoke. “A friend from your days at school, I perceive?” he asked politely.

Penelope stopped looking back over her shoulder. She would see Kate again soon; how gauche to crane her neck. What a blessing, though, to know she would have a friend at Halstead to help her through this difficult week.