The Outrageous Debutante (39 page)

The baby snuffled in his sleep and yawned, but did not wake.

Henry grinned at the innocent gesture as he bent his head and kissed the palm of Eleanor’s hand. ‘Richard, then. Are we agreed?’ And, when she nodded her compliance, ‘We are indeed blessed,’ on a little sigh now that the pain and his fears for her safety through the dangers of childbirth were past.

‘I would wish the same for Nicholas. And perhaps even the unknown Miss Wooton-Devereux—if he truly loves her.’ Eleanor fretted a little at their enforced ignorance. ‘We know so little of what is between them now. Do you suppose that she was indeed in league with Edward Baxendale? I hope that she hasn’t quite broken Nicholas’s heart.’

‘I don’t know.’ Henry continued to hold his wife’s hands enclosed in his, as if he feared that she might still be snatched away from him. ‘But Sarah will write when she can. All you need is patience, my wife. And confidence in Nick’s good sense!’

‘Where a lovely woman is concerned?’ Eleanor’s tone spoke her scepticism of all men in such circumstances.

Henry lifted his hand, palm up in the formal gesture of a swordsman, in acknowledgement of the accurate hit.

‘
Touché
. I have never had any sense where you are concerned! But Nicholas has a strong will and a liking for going his own way. He always had. Perhaps he was a little overshadowed as a boy because he was the quietest of the three of us, but his calm acceptance of life disguised a determination to achieve his goals in the way that best suited him.’ Henry’s mouth curved, his eyes softened at the memories of a happy boyhood at Burford. ‘Before you knew what he was about, he had done it—whether it was to persuade our far-from-indulgent father that he could not survive without a new horse, or to charm the affections of one of the maids at the inn in Burford. Whatever the future, Nick will work out his own salvation, with or without the débutante.’

‘Well, I am sure that you read your brother correctly. I just hope that the lady is innocent of all subterfuge and that Nick loses his heart to her and has to kneel at her feet. I think it will do him good not to get his own way quite so much!’ And then, ‘I miss Sarah.’

‘I know. But she has her own life to live, and that of John to consider, and it was her decision to make. I do not think that she made it lightly.’

‘No.’ Eleanor remembered the final leave-taking when Sarah had wept. ‘But still she believed that to return to England was necessary to meet with her sister.’ Whether Sarah would remain in London—or return again to New York—only time would tell. Eleanor set her teeth. Again a matter for patience! Her somewhat melancholy mood was interrupted by a shout of laughter from below the window as Tom indulged in some childhood pastime. Then the sound of running feet, followed by a distant shriek of joy.

Her face lit, the sadness swept away. ‘Tom never told me, you know.’ Eleanor smiled into Henry’s eyes. ‘Your
secret
. Sometimes I thought he would burst with the overpowering desire to do so.’ As a smug smile was all the answer she received from her lord, her expression became suspicious and not a little stern. ‘How did you do it?’

‘I think it would not be honourable for me to divulge my methods to my wife,’ Henry replied in all seriousness. ‘Not in so vital a matter between a man and his son.’

‘So it involved money!’

‘You have no confidence in my powers of persuasion, Nell!’

‘Oh, Hal. Bribery!’

Henry laughed at her affronted, yet still amused expression. ‘What else? It was in an excellent cause.’

‘And it is a splendid cradle.’

‘As is the child. Both of them.’ The pride in Hal’s face made her catch her breath. ‘Thank you, Nell. Dear Nell. I shall be always in your debt.’ He slid his arm around her shoulders to pull her close as he leaned to touch the infant’s clenched fingers which flexed in response—tiny fists and perfect nails. ‘What a clever girl you are, my love.’

‘Shall I tell you a secret?’ For a moment she turned her face against his shoulder.

‘Is it very terrible?’

‘No. Just that I wanted a daughter.’ She felt him smile against her hair. ‘But I have decided that Richard is quite perfect and I find that it no longer matters.’ She lifted her face. ‘And he is so like you, Hal.’

‘Perhaps next time.’ Henry folded his arms around her, touched his lips to hers in the tenderest of caresses. ‘We will make a good life here, Nell. Whatever the future holds for us.’

‘I have no doubt of it.’ Eleanor leaned her head against him and smiled her perfect contentment.

Some months later, far from New York in Herefordshire, Nicholas was indeed working out his own salvation in his own way. Now Nicholas took the steps at a run and strode into the entrance hall at Aymestry Manor, a man at ease in his surroundings and with the life that he had chosen for himself. It was clear that his involvement in that life was complete. His hair was ruffled from physical exertion, his shirt sleeves rolled up, cravat loosened, boots and breeches covered with straw.

Thea?’ No reply. No sound. She could be anywhere at this time in the morning. ‘Thea!’ His voice echoed. He would have shouted again but then heard her feet, in riding boots, hurrying along the oak boards of the corridor to the head of the staircase. He would recognise the sound of her quick, light footsteps anywhere now. He stood hands on hips, head thrown back, until she came to look down over the balustraded landing above him. As full of vibrant life and as beautiful as the first day that she had struck him with her riding whip and in so doing had turned his life upside down.

‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘Are you hurt?—no of course you are not! You look far too healthy.’ Smiling down at him, she was aware of the tingle in every nerve ending as his smile banished the austere lines from his face, the warmth in her blood when his eyes swept over her, even after six months of marriage. He still had the power to make her want him, to need him. To feel herself at one with him, body and soul. And, it appeared—she flushed with delight at the realisation of the miracle—he needed and wanted her just as much.

‘Come down!’

She did.

‘You are very dirty, my lord.’

‘And you are very smart, my lady. I like the riding rig.’

‘I like the boots and breeches better.’ Her smile was openly teasing. ‘But this is more appropriate! I am going to see Mrs Calke at Burford and I must not shock the tenants!’ The velvet of the long skirt and closely fitted jacket was in her favourite deep blue. Her eyes reflected its depth of colour and her hair, worn a little longer these days, was a rich gold. Nicholas could not resist sliding his arms round her slim waist, pulling her close, regardless of the dusty state of his clothes. And since she did not object over much—indeed, she wound her arms around his neck and tilted up her face in blatant invitation—he kissed her, hard and fierce.

‘I will accompany you.’ Nicholas still had moments of sheer horror when he recalled in vivid detail the dangers that she had
faced, moments when his blood froze at the certain knowledge that she might have met her death here in his own home. He knew that those fears would never leave him, but chose to say nothing, carrying the weight of care close within him. It must not be a burden on her. His lady must be free to fly if that was her wish. Yet he often found excuses to be with his wife, to accompany her when she rode off estate land.

As if she did not know! Thea hid her smile because she understood and valued his care. Knowing his fears, she would never refuse his subtle planning.

‘But before we go—I have something to show you, my lady. Close your eyes.’ He pulled her arm securely through his to aid her steps. ‘No looking, now!’

The stables!
She surmised from their direction when they left the house. Newly constructed, Nicholas’s prized horseflesh were once more in residence. They had been brought over from Burford only the previous week and appeared to be well settled into their fine accommodation. Her smile bloomed. ‘Can I guess?’

‘Of course not! No guessing. No peeping.’ He tightened his hold on her arms. ‘Take care here—the pavings are still somewhat uneven.’

But she knew why he had come to find her. What he had brought her to see. Her feet clattered on the cobbles of the courtyard. Then soft darkness, intermittent rays of sunshine, with the sweet scents of hay and horses closed around her—but she remained obedient with her eyes closed. Nicholas led her forward.

‘Now look.’

Of course. The Zephyr stood in the centre of the large stall. At her feet, a foal, newborn, its coat still damp, but determined to manage its long legs and gain its feet. By their side stood Furness with handfuls of straw with which he had been wiping down the little grey’s hot sides. He looked up at Thea with pride and the suspicion of a grin on his lined face.

‘Oh Nick.’ Thea leaned against the half-door to see the new arrival. It was a roan, the dark bay taken from its sire, Nicholas’s recently acquired stallion, but with the arched neck
and small head of the Arab mare. Liquid eyes with absurdly long lashes blinked at them as sunshine came through the high windows.

‘A colt, my lady,’ Furness explained. ‘Give him two or three years on his back—he’ll be an asset to our breeding programme here at Aymestry. What do we call him, my lord?’

‘I think Faringdon Pride. He will be the bedrock of our future.’ Nicholas looked at Thea. ‘Do you agree, Thea? You have part-ownership, after all.’

‘Yes. I approve.’

Thea stroked The Zephyr. Admired her baby. Then Lord Nicholas and his wife walked back into the sunlight to sit on the stone balustrade that delineated the formal garden and look out over the home pastures.

‘I feel so happy.’ Thea laughed aloud, eyes sparkling.

‘Even after all of six months?’ Nicholas knew what she meant. Their love was still as new and bright for him too. He stripped a late rose bud from the bush beside them, handing it to her with solemn formality. ‘Even though I only married you to stop your taking The Zephyr away from me?’

Thea raised the unfurling flower to her lips as she slanted an arch glance at her companion. ‘There now! And I thought it was for my own sake.’ Then on a thought, ‘Will they ever return, Henry and Eleanor?’ Thea asked as she leaned back within the shelter of her lord’s arm.

‘No. This was never the life that Hal wanted. And although the title is rightfully his, he would never claim it. It would ruin Eleanor’s reputation, you see. It is better that the world here continue to see Tom as Thomas’s child, rather than Hal’s, born without the sanction of marriage.’

‘The strait-laced Faringdons!’ Her smile was a little sad for all the anguish and scandal of the past.

‘True. But Tom might return. One day. When he is grown and can decide for himself. Burford is his, after all.’ He glanced down at her. ‘Are you content, Thea? Managing acres that are not ours? Perhaps it is no more secure for you than residing in a foreign
embassy. You once told me that you had no settled home, had never had one—and that is what you wished for above all else.’

How delightful that he should remember. And was concerned that she should not be dissatisfied with any one part of their life here together. Nicholas’s sensitivity to her emotions was something which still took her by surprise. Thea shook her head, eyes clear, meeting his without shadow.

‘Aymestry is your own. I am here because it is yours, and thus it is mine too. I feel that it has been waiting for me all my life, and I have come home at last. Just as I felt that you and your love had been waiting for me to discover the glory of it. Fate has determined that we be together.’

He could not look away from the love that shone from her face. ‘You can still travel, you know, if you become restless. It was never my intention to chain you to life in rural seclusion. We are not buried here.’

‘I know.’ And was grateful for his promise, although she no longer needed it. ‘But we have a beautiful home here. I predict that Faringdon horses will be famous.’

Lord Nicholas would have risen to his feet, pulling her with him. But Thea detained him with a hand on his arm and a thoughtful expression.

‘What is it, my heart?’

Her fingers tightened on his, to the detriment of the neglected rose bud. ‘It is just that I have been thinking … Perhaps we should consider securing our own inheritance for the future—for Aymestry Manor.’

‘I think it an excellent idea,’ he replied promptly, as solemn as she.

‘Ha! Why do I think that you always manage to get your own way?’

‘How can you say that? Certainly, in my younger days I usually managed to do so.’ His fleeting grin, devastating as ever, melted her bones. ‘Until, that is, I met a certain wayward débutante who challenged all my preconceptions.’

‘I cannot imagine what you might mean, my lord!’ Thea could
not repress an answering smile as she tucked her hand cosily into her husband’s arm with satisfaction at her achievement. ‘So we have decided that we need an heir for Aymestry.’

‘I believe, my dear love, that we have.’

Which was exactly what Lord Nicholas Faringdon wanted after all.