A Gentleman's Kiss (13 page)

“Excuse me, my lady,” she heard a man say to her in a brisk tone. She then noticed her grandfather scooting around her and hurrying into his own office.

She flinched at the sound of his door slamming behind him. He hadn’t looked at her either.

What was wrong with the men in her life? Why did they have to drive her to madness as these two seemed to do?

Enough was enough, she thought with renewed determination. She marched up to her grandfather’s door and opened it without knocking.

The older man looked up, his eyes wide, a frown creasing his brows. But Claudia didn’t care. With a thrust of her chin and a fortified breath, she walked over to his desk.

“Hello, Grandfather,” she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world to say. She watched his expression go from disbelief to surprise then to something indiscernible before he turned his head.

“I’m very busy now, so if you could please—”

“Leave?” she supplied for him, her heart aching with every word he spoke. “No. I will not leave until you look me in the eyes and tell me why you don’t want to know me.” She was thankful her voice didn’t break since tears were beginning to sting the backs of her lids.

She thought he was going to ignore her request, but then he turned and looked at her. She could scarcely believe it when she saw tears swimming in the older man’s eyes.

Claudia couldn’t help herself. She ran around the desk and threw her arms around him. “I knew you had to love me!” Tears of joy fell onto her cheeks and spilled over onto his coat.

“Of course I do, child. That was never the problem.” He hugged her to him.

She stepped back to look up into his eyes. “Whatever the problem is, Grandfather, we can deal with it. You are as much my family as Grandfather Moreland is.”

His eyes had a sadness about them. “But you will one day be the Marchioness of Moreland and—”

“And you’ll still be my grandfather!” she interrupted. “I don’t care what the ton thinks of it. I need you in my life, and I think you need me, too.”

She looked up at him with eyes full of hope and was thrilled when he reached out and patted her head affectionately. “You are as stubborn as your mother, do you know that?”

She grinned. “I’ve been told this on many occasions.”

He hesitated then asked, “How is my daughter? Is she well?”

Claudia gladly filled him in on how her mother and father were doing in Louisiana. She also told him about her little sister, Josie.

They spoke several more minutes about her mother, and then he changed the subject. “I suppose you and my employer will soon be making an announcement. But it might make things awkward with me as his butler.”

Hope rose like spring flowers when she heard his words. “Grandfather, he has made no promises to me. Has he said anything to you that would lead you to believe he means to make an offer for my hand?”

Her grandfather seemed taken aback. “I don’t understand, Claudia. I assumed by the time you have spent together that he had made known his intentions.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Has he said anything to you about Aurora?”

Claudia sighed, weary of hearing her name. “She was with him this morning when we arrived to pick him up. They seem very close,” she told him.

“Lord Kinclary has always spent a lot of time with her, but I was under the impression he thought of her as a sister. She appears to depend on him more than she should, and for some reason he feels he must help her.”

Claudia nodded, feeling a little better by his assurance. “I will confess, Grandfather George, I do love him and wish he would give me some sort of sign that he feels the same.” She wanted him to know the true nature of her feelings.

Her grandfather nodded. “By the way he looks at you, Claudia, I do not doubt you will hear that proposal sooner than later.”

Claudia smiled at him, then left him to finish her work.

But after she went back to the dining area, she noticed Cameron look her way, then stand. Her heart raced when she thought he was going to come over to her, but she was mistaken.

Cameron merely put away his plate and walked out the front door of the shelter.

Thirteen

The two weeks that followed her reunion with her grandfather George were the happiest Claudia had experienced since she’d arrived in England. Though it had been difficult at first to get him to speak easily with her, he grew more and more comfortable every day. He’d even insisted she call him Grandpapa because it was more casual than what she called the marquis.

The rift between her and Cameron had been mended also. It had lasted a couple of days until she swallowed her pride and apologized for snapping at him after seeing him with Aurora. He in turn asked for her forgiveness concerning his own behavior. He went on to explain about Aurora’s dilemma with her father and that he was helping her find a husband.

He’d seemed nonchalant about the whole ordeal, but Claudia had the feeling he wasn’t telling her everything. And in the days that followed the feeling remained.

It was only compounded by the fact that Cameron still had not stated his intentions toward her.

She had also noticed a reserve about him whenever they were alone together. There were no more kisses, no overt flirting, and even no tucking the strands of her hair back as he’d done before. He was the picture of a perfect gentleman.

What was wrong with him?
she wondered with exasperation.

It was almost as if he were biding his time, waiting for something.

But what?

She shouldn’t complain, she reminded herself nearly every day. Claudia was the one with whom he talked about his expansion plans for the shelter, and he always said “we” as if he were expecting her to be with him forever. They went to the theatre, walked through the park, and attended church with
one another. Every few days the paper would comment on
where they were seen and when they would set the wedding date.

Claudia was sure Cameron read the newspaper, but he never remarked on what they wrote.

The only answer she could come up with was that Aurora must have something to do with his seeming reluctance. The rumor about the ton was that she was actively looking for a husband, but any who seemed interested were turned away.

Could she be hoping Cameron would marry her? Was Cameron waiting for Aurora to become engaged before he would make an offer for Claudia’s hand? If so, why would he do that—why would it matter?

What hold did Aurora Wyndham have over the man Claudia loved?

“Claudia! Are you going to stare at those flowers all day or give them to Ella to thread through my hair?” Helen asked, snapping Claudia out of her perplexing thoughts. Claudia looked down and realized she’d picked at least ten more flowers from the garden than they could possibly need.

Shading her eyes with her hand, she looked up at Helen, who was leaning out of her window. “Sorry. I got a bit melancholy out here surrounded by all these pink roses,” she admitted with a sheepish grin, then made her way to the door.

“Why is this not surprising?” Helen called after her. Claudia ran into the house then and up the stairs to Helen’s room.

In the last two weeks Claudia and Helen had worked tirelessly to prepare for the ball. There were flower arrangements to order, silverware and dishware to decide upon, and invitations to post. Then they had to decide on the orchestra and what desserts the prince regent expected to be available.

All very tedious indeed. Yet, as they dressed for the awaited event, Claudia felt a sense of accomplishment and hoped the night would go as anticipated.

The whole Northingshire household, of course, was aflutter with nervous activity. Christina, their friend and now the Countess of Kenswick, had come to help them, and all three were now putting on the last touches of their evening attire.

This was why she’d been down gathering roses for their hair.

“Claudia, you must put on your gown!” Christina scolded the moment she walked into the room. “What were you doing in the garden so long?”

Claudia sighed as she handed over the roses to the maid. “Well, I—”

“She was daydreaming about Cameron again—
this
you can be sure of,” Helen cut in teasingly while her maid began styling her hair.

“I want to know why the man is taking so long in declaring his feelings to you, Claudia,” Christina said, studying herself critically in the mirror.

Christina was the most vivacious and talkative noblewoman Claudia had come across since she’d been in England. She stood tall, with red, curly hair, and loved to recount her stories of how she met her husband while climbing a tree. She also told tales of the many animals she had doctored and kept as pets, much to her husband’s dismay.

Christina was one to come right out and speak whatever was on her mind—as she was at this moment.

“If I were you, I would step up to him and demand he tell me what his intentions are. There would be no more mystery, and you could finally go on with your life.”

Helen started to laugh, while Claudia looked at her with unbelief. “I couldn’t do that!” she gasped. And then she thought about it. “Could I?”

“No, you could not. Christina, tell her you are only teasing,” Helen admonished.

Christina grinned, glancing over her shoulder as her own maid adjusted the bows on her dark green gown. “All right, but it would certainly put him on the spot, wouldn’t it?”

Claudia groaned as she held up her arms and allowed her maid to pull her dress over her. “What of Aurora? Have you heard anything about her in connection with Cameron?”

Christina shook her head. “I’m afraid not. She hasn’t been seen at any of the balls I’ve attended, and some have speculated she may have retired to her father’s country home in Devon.”

There was a knock at the door, which prevented Claudia from speaking her next sentence. Since Christina was the only one fully dressed, she went to answer the door.

She spoke quietly to the servant, then turned back to the room with a note in her hand. With a smile of expectancy she waved the note toward Claudia. “It’s for you.”

Claudia crossed over to her, though her dress was still unfastened. “Who is it from?” she asked faintly.

Christina handed her the sealed paper. “He didn’t say. Open it, open it!” she urged.

Helen, with part of her hair hanging down, ran over to join them. Not a one of them breathed as Claudia opened the note and read it.

“It’s from Cameron,” she announced breathlessly.

“I knew it!” Christina said. “What does he say?”

Claudia clasped the letter to her chest. “He wants to meet me on the terrace at eight o’clock.”

Helen put her arm around her. “That’s an hour after the ball has begun. What do you suppose he wants?”

“He wants to ask her to marry him, of course!” Christina answered.

Claudia wanted to believe it, but she was too afraid to. “Let’s not get excited. I don’t want to be let down if it is about something else.”

Helen patted her back. “Then we’ll not speak of it again. Let’s finish dressing and pray the time goes quickly.”

Claudia hugged both girls and went back to do so. And though she tried she could not help but hope Christina’s words were true.

❧

Cameron could not believe it when George informed him that morning that Aurora was waiting for him in the salon. A dread fell over his heart, and he knew whatever she wanted could not be good.

For the last two weeks, ever since their meeting in front of his home, he had searched endlessly for a man who would make an offer for Aurora’s hand. He’d even secretly added a substantial dowry to the proposal if only they could see the deed done.

Yet one by one those he could persuade to go through with the plan came back and told him Aurora had denied them.

Finally he went to her cousin’s home, where she was living for the season, and met with her. He then asked her why she found none of these suitable, and her answers were all vague, petty reasons. What confounded him was she didn’t even seem upset that her time was running out. She just reminded him several times about his promise to marry her.

He had truly begun to fear the outcome of his dealings with Aurora. He lamented to himself over and over about how foolish he’d been to promise something so important.

Especially when the only woman he wanted to be with was Claudia.

As he stood at the door of the salon, he groaned inwardly with regret as he thought of how he’d had to prolong his friendship with Claudia without ever letting her know his true feelings. It was ridiculous really, and yet she seemed to bear it better than any other woman would. Most women, seeking a match, would probably have given up on him and moved on to someone more ready to admit his intentions.

But he sensed a special connection existed between Claudia and him. One that was strong enough, apparently, that she was unwilling to give up on him.

So he’d spent his days with her, trying to act only as a friend, but knowing his actions meant something else.

And then there was George. Cameron glanced about to see if he was still around and was relieved he had gone. George had grown so close to Claudia, and because of Cameron’s hesitation the older man was beginning to question his intentions toward his granddaughter.

He could only imagine what his butler was thinking about Aurora’s visit this afternoon.

North and every one of his acquaintances had questioned him about Claudia, and even his mother had demanded he not string this out any longer since the ton was starting to speculate on the matter.

It was just that honor and keeping one’s word had always been important to him. He’d hoped and prayed for a way out of the promise without having to break his word.

Yet apparently it wasn’t to be.

So now there was only one thing to be done.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door and was startled to see Aurora standing there in front of him with tears streaming down her face. Before he could react she ran and threw herself into his arms, crying hysterically.

“Aurora! Will you please get hold of yourself?” he said loudly, pulling her away from him. “Why are you here?”

“Father is here in town,” she sobbed, dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. “He’s here to tell Lord Carmichael I will marry him.”

Cameron shut the door so her crying would not bring the whole staff down upon them then walked into the room. “I told you you should not have been so particular with the gentlemen who offered for you. You knew time was running out,” he chided her, his voice harsh.

She stopped him from sitting down, taking hold of his hand and turning him to look at her. “We still have time,” she assured him, her eyes suddenly clear. “All we have to do is go and tell him.”

“Tell him what?” he asked faintly, letting go of her hand and taking a few steps away from her.

“That we’re betrothed.”

She stated those words as if it were the most perfect solution in the world.

“Aurora, I have placated you through this whole situation, but enough is—”

“Let me remind you, my lord, of your promise,” she
interrupted.

“I know I made that promise, Aurora, but it was only to calm you down. I had every confidence you’d find a husband. And in fact there were several good candidates.”

“But none of them would do!” she wailed, stepping closer to him.

Cameron backed up but found his legs had hit against a small table. “Why would you dismiss them but agree to marry me—a man who feels only affection for you, like a sister? I don’t love you, Aurora,” he told her forcibly and bluntly. “I don’t want to marry you—you know this.”

Her eyes lowered, but not before he saw the hurt his words had caused. He hated to be so ill-mannered, but he was desperate for her to see the truth.

“We have friendship, Cameron,” she said softly, caressing the top of his hand. “In time it will grow into more.”

Cameron stared down at her in dismay. “Or we would grow apart, Aurora. Why would you want to marry a man who does not
want
to marry you?”

She lifted her head back up, and he saw that the tears were back. “But you want to marry Lady Claudia, do you not? Everyone says so.” She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes again.

“Actually it is none of your business
who
I want to marry, Aurora,” he said wearily, rubbing his finger across his brow. He hated to bring this whole issue about the promise to such an abrupt end since he knew she would be hurt, but he had let this interfere with his life long enough. “Let me be honest with you, Aurora. I cannot marry you. I hate to put it so bluntly, but there it is.”

“But what about Lord Carmichael?” she cried, staring at him with a shocked expression.

“I know your father is a hard man, Aurora, but if you protest enough I seriously doubt he shall hold you to such a promise,” he told her, fully believing this was true. He’d thought many nights about Lord Wyndham, and though he was quite a humorless man and strict with his only daughter on some things, she was still allowed to do and go anywhere she pleased.

“No, no, he means it, Cameron!” she wailed, grabbing hold of his arm. “Surely you are not so dishonorable that you would go back on your word. You must marry me.”

Cameron hated to see women cry, but he did not have the time to console her. Gently he took her hand and pulled it away from his arm. “I’m sorry, Aurora. But you had every chance to save yourself from the fate of Lord Carmichael. I did all a friend could.” New tears welled up in her eyes, and she opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment this evening. George will show you out.” He bowed his head then turned to let himself out of the door.