Colin turned his head and stared at Selina. “Why?”
“This is my fault. I should have warned her when I didn’t feel any movement.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know,” she cried. “I was so upset with you returning and then evicting me from my home. I know that’s no excuse . . . I guess I thought I’d have a few more days.”
His heart went out to her. They would both have to face their demons when they walked inside that house. “Perhaps doing this together will make it a little easier.”
“How so?”
“Hold my hand.” He held out his left hand for her. After a moment of hesitation, she joined her hand with his. “Together we are stronger than apart. I’ll give you strength . . . and you’ll give me strength,” he whispered the last part.
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Colin blew out a long breath and then knocked on the door. Mr. Wells opened the door and let them in.
“Welcome to my home, Your Grace,” Mr. Wells said in a quiet voice.
If the man noticed Colin holding Selina’s hand, he said nothing. Colin felt a tremble in her. “We came to give you and your wife our deepest sympathies, Mr. Wells. I know how hard it is to recover from the loss of a child.”
“I’m certain
you
do,” Mr. Wells said. “Unfortunately, my wife isn’t taking this well. The physician came from the village and gave her laudanum.”
“The physician?” Selina whispered so softly Colin almost didn’t hear.
“Yes, Miss White. My wife wanted another opinion on why the baby didn’t make it.” Mr. Wells turned away from her. “Had she listened to me, the physician would have been here for the birth.”
“And what did he say?” Selina asked.
“These things happen sometime. That it was God’s will. He also said he would have let my wife know if he hadn’t felt any movement so he could have prepared her for the worst possible outcome.”
God’s will
. How he hated that saying. He looked over at Selina’s pale face.
“I’m so sorry,” Selina whispered, blinking back tears. “May I at least speak with her for a moment?”
“No, we don’t want you here,” Mr. Wells replied. “From now on the physician will assist us when we need medical attention.”
Colin wanted to rail at the man for speaking to her in such a manner. But how could he when he felt the same way?
Selina wiped a tear from her cheek as she strode toward the reflecting pond. She’d needed to get away from the Wellses’ house as soon as she finished speaking with Susan. Even though she needed to be alone, she had no doubt that Colin would soon follow.
Colin?
Why was she suddenly thinking of him as Colin? One kiss in the rain and suddenly he was Colin? Or was it the fact that she now knew he was not betrothed and therefore she could welcome his advances if she chose? She fisted her hands in frustration. He was still the duke. He had evicted her from her home.
She did not want him.
She shook her head, determined to get the annoyingly handsome man out of her mind. She glanced behind her only to notice him gaining on her. The tails of his black coat were blowing back from the wind that whipped across the fields. He held the reins of his horse as the animal trotted behind him.
If only she could return to her cottage and be alone for a short while. Ever since she moved into Northrop Park, she’d barely had a moment of privacy. The servants seemed to think she needed constant companionship and normally stayed with her until she went off to bed. Now the duke had taken a sudden interest in her duties here, which should please her but did not. His presence was disruptive on so many levels.
“Selina, wait for me.”
She ignored him and continued walking to the pond. She finally stopped and put her hand in the cooling water.
“Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Selina brushed her wind-whipped hair out of her eyes. “I saw no need. We’d finished giving our condolences to the Wellses so I left.”
He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. His blue eyes searched her soul for answers. “It’s a hard thing for a man . . . or a couple to lose a child. He was angry, that’s all.”
“I know that. This is not the first child I’ve lost. I just haven’t lost a child in . . .” Her voice trailed off as she remembered the one delivery that still haunted her. For years, she’d attempted to put that one mother and child out of her mind, but it never seemed to work. She stared at the water wondering if the memories of that night would ever leave her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“I should take my leave now. I’m quite certain you must have other things to do with your time than talk with me.”
He released a long sigh. “I suppose I do.”
“Yes. With the wedding approaching, you should make certain your workmen are doing their jobs.” She started to walk toward the earl’s lands. “Good day, Your Grace.”
“Selina, wait.”
She turned at him with a frown. “Wait for what?” She really had no time for delays. Today was the solstice and she had many things to do.
“I’ll have a horse saddled for you to ride back to Hart’s lands. It’s a very long walk and you must be tired.” He paused for a moment as if in thought before adding, “You do ride?”
“Yes, I ride.” She supposed he didn’t know Mr. Sellers gave her use of one of the mares whenever she needed it.
“Perfect.”
The idea that he wanted to ease her discomfort had a strange warming effect on her. Why would the man who supposedly hated her want to make life easier for her? It made no sense. Then again, ever since he kissed her last night, she felt completely turned around when he was near.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
He smiled down at her until a deep dimple lined his left cheek. “In order to get that ride, I insist you call me Colin.”
Right about now, she would call him a god if that’s what it took to ride instead of walk. “Very well, Colin. I shall take you up on your offer.”
They walked to the stables and found Mr. Sellers berating some of the lads for not brushing out a horse correctly. He glanced up at Colin and her with his mouth gaping.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” he said, quickly recovering from his shock.
“Good morning, Mr. Sellers,” Colin said. “I would like a gentle mare saddled for Miss White.” He glanced down at her. “I also would like her to have access to the same mare any time she needs it.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Mr. Sellers replied. “James, go get Daisy saddled for Miss White.”
The lad nodded and then ran off to the stables.
“Your Grace,” Selina started and then moved away from Mr. Sellers’s hearing distance. “I do believe you are being far too generous.”
He only smiled. “Consider it the apology you so desire and I refuse to give.”
“As you wish, Your Grace.” She pulled a piece of cloth from her skirt pocket and then tied back her hair.
“Very good. I will accompany you to Hart’s lands. I need to speak with him anyway.”
She walked back toward the stable and waited for James to bring out Daisy. Within a few minutes, James led the black mare out of the stable. He helped her up and she waited for Colin to mount his horse.
They started off at a slow pace as Selina enjoyed the ride. She leaned forward and patted the mare before looking over at Colin. “How did she get named Daisy?”
Colin laughed. The idea that a majestic black mare had been given such an innocuous name always made him chuckle. “My younger half sister named her.”
“I had completely forgotten to ask how she is,” Selina remarked. “I haven’t seen her since she was . . .” she shrugged, “maybe eight or nine.”
“I didn’t know you knew her.”
She laughed softly. “I think she wanted to be a wise woman. She would follow my mother and me around as we visited with the tenants.”
“I doubt you would even recognize her now. She will be here soon.”
“Of course, for the wedding.”
They rode along in silence for a while. He slid a glance toward her and knew he’d made the right decision. Her small breasts bounced in rhythm to the horse’s gallop. How could he be attracted to the one woman who made him completely insane?
He needed to get his thoughts off her before he did something rash like kiss her again or admit the truth.
“The weather has been pleasant lately,” he said, shaking his head at his inane comment.
She glanced over at him and nodded. “Yes.”
She apparently wasn’t about to make this easy on him. There had to be some topic of conversation they could have without getting into an argument. Before he could come up with another topic, he saw Hart’s estate. Thank God.
“I need to go this way toward the Featherstones’ cottage,” Selina said, inclining her head toward the right. She pulled up on the reins, coming to a halt. “Thank you for the use of your horse.”
As she started to jump down, he said, “No, you may keep the horse at Hart’s stables. I will speak to him about it.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
“Colin,” he said firmly.
“Thank you, Colin.”
He watched as she galloped toward the Featherstone cottage. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her as she rode. All the unwelcome thoughts about her returned with great speed. The idea of her riding him seemed paramount in his mind.
With a shake of his head to clear his unsolicited thoughts, he headed to Hartsfield Manor. Once there, he quickly found Hart examining his empty fountain.
“Is there a problem?” he asked as he walked toward his friend.
“Damn thing isn’t spouting water like it should.”
“Why don’t you have one of your men fix it?” Colin asked with a suppressed laugh.
“Why would I do that? It’s a beautiful day. There is no point staying inside staring at my books.”
Colin did laugh that time. He knew how much Hart despised working on the estate books. His friend would always prefer to be outside, preferably tinkering with things.
“What brings you here?” Hart asked as he examined the fountain.
“I accompanied Miss White.”
Hart frowned deeply. “Odd, I haven’t seen her around the estate much.”
“Apparently, she still spends much of her time tending to my tenants and servants.”
“Ah, so all you did was make it harder for her to perform her duties.” Hart examined the mouth of the cupid where water normally spouted.
Hart’s remark added another spoonful of guilt onto the mountain Colin already felt. “I suppose I did. Anyway, I left Daisy with her for her use. You do have room in your stables, don’t you?”
“Of course, first your wise woman and now your horse. I shall take good care of both.”
Hart’s quip sent a streak of resentment through him. He didn’t want Hart taking care of Selina. Nonetheless, the remark was nothing to feel jealousy over. Colin knew Hart had feelings for Miss Featherstone, but still the sensation of jealousy continued to grow. It made no sense. She was the wise woman. A peculiar one at that.
“Hand me that wrench,” Hart said.
Colin handed him the tool and watched as he twisted the wrench around a nut. “I take it you found the problem?”
“Just a loose nut. That should take care of it.” Hart climbed out of the fountain and gave the order to start the water again. They waited for a few minutes as the water flowed smoothly out of the cupid’s mouth.
“Join me for luncheon,” Hart said.
Colin agreed and before he knew it, luncheon turned to dinner and a little too much brandy.
“Tia is joining us tonight, isn’t she?” Selina asked Mia as they gathered wood for the fire.
“Of course she will be here. She hasn’t missed a solstice yet.”
After arriving at Mia’s house, Selina discovered Mrs. Featherstone had taken ill with a fever. Tonight would be the first solstice ritual the women had ever performed on their own. “Are you nervous?” she asked Mia.
Mia flashed a smile. “Yes. What if we do something wrong? My mother will have my head.”
“We have been doing this since we were children. I’m certain we shall get everything correct.” Selina picked up a piece of wood and dropped it in the cart. “At least with your mother absent, I don’t have to call you two by your given names.”
“Oh, but what English girl doesn’t want to be named after a Greek goddess?” Mia asked with a touch of sarcasm. “I’ll never understand what she was thinking.”
“True, but Damia is rather a pretty name.”
Mia shook her head. “It’s far better than my poor sister’s name.”
Selina had to agree with that. Hestia was not the prettiest of names but the shortened version of Tia suited the woman just fine.
Mia looked down at the cart and said, “That should be enough. Did you bring a sacrifice?”
Selina felt the heat of embarrassment cross her cheeks. “I pilfered one of his books when I was in the house for the cleansing.”
“It is supposed to be something of meaning to him. It should be given by him.”
“Well, that is not about to happen. He is barely civil with me. It is a book of sonnets that I found on a table in the library. I’m sure he’s read it, but I doubt he’ll miss them. What did you bring?”
“The earl sent me a lock of his hair for the fire.”
Selina smiled, wondering if her friend would ever see that the earl was smitten with her. “That should work. That leaves Tia.”
“That girl will probably show up empty-handed just like last year.”
“As a matter of fact, I happen to have a handkerchief that belongs to Middleton,” Tia said from behind them.
They both turned and hugged the third wise woman. While Tia never seemed to recognize the importance of her position, at least she put in an appearance when needed. The wild redhead looked nothing like her brown-haired twin, except for the soulful brown eyes they both received from their father.
“Let’s get the fire ready for tonight,” Mia said as they pushed the cart up the small hill.
Every year on the summer solstice, they performed the same ritual their mother and grandmothers had for centuries. Standing at the intersection of all three properties, they marked off twenty paces and drew a circle around them. During the ceremony, each wise woman would stand in the circle on the land where she belonged.
They tossed the kindling down and then stacked the wood around it. The fire had to be large enough to cover all three properties. They lit their lanterns and waited for midnight.
As the air cooled and darkened, they finally lit the bonfire. Each woman chanted a blessing for the land, the rain, and the crops just as their mothers had before them. Circling the fire, they sprinkled grains for a healthy harvest into the fire and watched as they sparked upward into the night sky.
Selina smiled as the embers shimmered in the air. It would be a good growing year. And hopefully, the tenants—and the duke—would be healthy.
“Ready the sacrifices,” Mia said over the crackle of the fire.
Selina picked up the book of sonnets but as she did a sense of foreboding swept over her. She opened the cover of the book and leaned closer to the fire in order to read the inscription.