The Earl and His Lady: A Regency Romance (Branches of Love Book 4) Read online

  “A fine day for it, too, my lord. I’ll see to it myself.” Cutter bowed and disappeared further inside the stable while Lucas stepped outside of its doors.

  He’d set the household on its ear, returning without warning. He knew Gresham was displeased, despite his matter-of-fact behavior. It really wasn’t fair of him to arrive unannounced, but Lucas did have standing orders that the staff were to be permitted holidays when the family was not at home. It was lax of him, he supposed, but he’d never had a problem until today.

  “Zephyr, my lord.”

  He thanked Cutter before mounting his favorite gelding, a chestnut beast tall enough to make Lucas comfortable. At just over six feet, it wasn’t often that Lucas found either horses or furnishings sized to his comfort.

  Zephyr had obviously been well exercised in Lucas’s absence, as the animal did not become over-excited at the prospect of a ride. Lucas adjusted his hold on the reins, a little disappointed. A bruising ride would’ve done him good, but since he intended to visit Thomas Gilbert, he supposed it would be best to appear as presentable as possible. Especially if he hoped to be asked to tea.

  Travelling always left him hungry.

  Putting aside his other concerns and focusing on that alone, Lucas nearly succeeded in telling himself visiting a friend would improve his state of mind.

  The butler at the Gilbert home did not act surprised to see the Earl of Annesbury on their doorstep without any warning, but Lucas supposed that was more a sign of good training than any actual lack of the emotion. As the highest-ranking gentleman in the county, Lucas’s visits caused a stir in every house he entered.

  Hopefully, the Gilbert servants would grow more used to him. He liked Thomas Gilbert and his wife and intended to further the acquaintance when he was in residence at Annesbury.

  “The Earl of Annesbury,” the butler announced at the door to the parlor.

  Lucas fixed a pleasant smile on his face and stepped through the doorway, prepared to greet whichever members of the Gilbert family were about this afternoon.

  But the only person inside the room, standing in its center, was a tall and stately woman he could not ever recollect seeing before. She wore a gray dress, trimmed in black lace, but the lack of color did nothing to detract from her beauty. Golden curls framed her lovely face, and her cheeks pinked as he stood gaping at her. Green eyes stared steadily back, and he realized she must be as lost as he, given the disappearance of the butler and no one to introduce them.

  As the gentleman, and the interloper, Lucas decided it should fall to him to fix the situation.

  “I do apologize, I did not know the family had guests.” He dropped his most respectful bow, usually reserved for higher-ranking nobility, and offered his most contrite smile to the lovely woman before him. “If you like, I’ll take myself off again until they’ve returned?”

  Surprising people with his presence was obviously something he would have to avoid in future.

  “Oh, no. That isn’t necessary, sir. My lord. Lord Annesbury?” On his title her voice went up slightly and he couldn’t decide if she was uncertain of the title or asking him a question.

  “My friends call me Calvert,” he said, trying to do what he could to help her relax. “When I was a boy, I said I never wanted to be Annesbury. Sounded too much like a girl’s name.”

  The tiniest smile lifted her lips. “That would be a difficult title for a young man, I suppose.”

  “Very.” He wanted to step closer, to take the woman’s hand in his and bow over it properly, but he still didn’t know her name or relation to anyone in the house.

  She took a small step forward. “Do forgive me. With no one here to introduce us I will have to take that duty upon myself. I am Virginia Macon, Baroness of Heatherton.”

  The title, an obvious mark of her marital state, deflated him.

  Which was ridiculous. It shouldn’t matter to him what her marital state was.

  “Ah. It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady.”

  “Please, do sit down. I imagine Mr. or Mrs. Gilbert will be in shortly.” She gestured to a chair and after she sat he did the same, several feet away from her. “I have heard a great deal about you, my lord.”

  “Oh?” Really, what did one say when people began a conversation that way? Many years ago, he might have had a witty phrase at his disposal, but he’d discovered that letting other people fill in the gaps taught him more than trying to be clever.

  “Yes, my cousin and her husband have told me of your investment in them.” She raised her eyebrows and the smallest glimmer of amusement lit her eyes.

  Lucas leaned forward, hands on his knees. “Ah, their stables. Yes. I have been very impressed with how expertly they’ve put their plans into action.”

  She gave a brief nod. “The stables, yes, but also your investment in their marriage. They believe they owe a great deal of their happiness to you.”

  He sat back, less interested in this topic of conversation. He supposed someone like her might think it a romantic gesture, but he had no wish to discuss his motives on that score.

  “Nonsense. They are responsible for their own happiness. Where might they be at this time of day?”

  “Where else?” she asked, folding her hands together in her lap. “They are at the stables.”

  He nodded and stood, causing her to rise as well. “Then I will search them out, since it is the stables I have come to talk to them about. But thank you for your hospitality.”

  The smile faded from her lovely face, making it less warm and more polite. “Of course. It was an honor to meet you, my lord.”

  “My pleasure.” He bowed, then swiftly made his escape.

  Admiring an attractive woman, while a fine enough pastime for some, was not something he wished to do for himself. Especially if she was married.

  Lucas shook his head as he went down the hall, ignoring the startled expression of a passing maid, and out a side door to the stables.

  It is not because she is married, he told himself. Not just because she’s married, he amended. I have no need to look at an attractive woman of any sort.

  When was the last time he had even applied that adjective to a member of the opposite sex? He could not recall. His scattered thoughts only disconcerted him and he picked up his pace in an attempt to leave them behind.

  Chapter Two

  “Calvert.” Thomas Gilbert’s voice rang across the paddock nearest the stables, greeting Lucas as he approached. Lucas made his way to the fenced area and noted horses being exercised inside its confines.

  The stable yard was full of activity. The stable itself was at a distance from the house, with a stretch of grass between the two. The stables were in a fine, imposing structure, a paddock attached at the side furthest from the house, and beyond that were more fenced in areas for the horses to exercise.

  Gilbert slipped through the railings of the paddock and came forward at a jog, raising his hand to clasp Lucas’s. “I didn’t know you were in the neighborhood,” the gentleman said, a broad smile in place. “I would’ve invited you for dinner.”

  “I just arrived, so please don’t dismiss all thought of such an invitation,” Lucas said, returning the warm handshake. “How goes it, Gilbert?”

  “Very well. We have mares in foal, stallions on loan, and new investments.” Gilbert put a hand on Lucas’s arm and gestured with the other to the paddock. “And we’re now giving riding lessons to young gentlemen,” he said, tone not at all serious.

  “Are you?” Lucas asked, puzzled as he turned to look more carefully at the people mounted behind the fence. He saw Mrs. Christine Gilbert sitting atop a handsome gelding with a small boy in the saddle before her. On a Dartmoor, a creature only slightly bigger than a pony, another boy rode in a slow circle around the pen.

  “Your home must be positively overrun with guests,” Lucas said, crossing his arms and studying the children with interest. They both had dark hair.

  Gilbert chuckled and moved to rest h
is forearms against the rail. “Not at all. It’s just the three, and I don’t think any of us want them to leave. Christine dotes on those boys.”

  “Ah.” Lucas’s mind went back to the woman in the parlor. “Are they any relation to the baroness?”

  “The baroness?” Gilbert met his eyes and then straightened. “You’ve heard of her?”

  “Met her, in fact. A moment ago.” Lucas shook his head and chuckled. “It was quite the predicament, with no one to make introductions.” He raised his eyebrows and affected a shocked expression.

  “We can rectify that shortly,” the other man promised him. “The boys are nearly done with their riding lesson.”

  Mrs. Gilbert approached them, a bright welcome on her face. The boy sitting before her on the horse looked as if he was having the time of his life. It made Lucas smile. He well remembered his father putting him on a horse for the first time. The lad was still small enough that a pony might be too much for him.

  “Lord Calvert,” Mrs. Gilbert said, her voice full of cheer and energy as always. “Please, allow me to introduce my little cousins to you, Master Edward Macon. Edward, this is Lord Calvert, Earl of Annesbury.”

  The little boy nodded, his face contorting into what he must think to be a polite expression, his eyebrows pulling down low and his mouth pursing into a serious frown. Lucas nearly laughed aloud but instead offered a short bow. “A pleasure, Master Edward. Are you enjoying your riding lesson?”

  The boy nodded, his face still serious. “It’s a lot of fun. Cousin Christine says I’m nearly ready for a pony.”

  “I am not surprised,” Lucas said, just as serious. “I cannot imagine a finer instructor than your cousin.”

  The other boy came forward, his face screwed up in concentration, his little horse moving sedately.

  “And this is Lord Phillip Macon, Baron of Heatherton," Christine said, a touch more solemnity in her voice.

  The boy glanced up, still frowning, and nodded once. “Hello.”

  Lucas’s mind whirled. The boy was the baron? Then the woman inside, his mother—? His mind attempted to catch up while he bowed to the child. She had been wearing mourning colors. Was she a widow?

  “If you will give us a few minutes, my lord, we are nearly finished and then we may all go inside for tea and biscuits.”

  “I’d ruther have milk,” little Edward protested with a child’s hasty pronunciation. “Please.”

  Christine shot a grin over his head at Lucas and her husband. “I think we can accommodate that, Edward. But let us finish one more turn about the paddock so we can tell your mother how well you did today.” Lucas saw her wink at her husband before beginning the round once more, Phillip following on his horse.

  “They’ve never been on horses before,” Gilbert explained, offering Lucas an apologetic smile.

  “They’ve not been here long, surely?”

  “Three months, actually. But riding was not deemed an appropriate activity until recently.” Gilbert sighed and shook his head. “It was no small thing, the two of them waiting patiently for this day.”

  Lucas took in the somber coloring of the boys’ clothes. They were both in gray suits and wore black armbands. “They are in mourning? And they’ve been here three months?”

  “It’s a long story,” Gilbert said, his voice softer and less likely to carry. “They lost their father three months ago. Virginia, Lady Heatherton, came here to be with family during this difficult time.”

  That gave Lucas still greater incentive to banish all thought of the attractive woman from his mind. A woman recently bereaved should not be thought about. At all. Except when offering condolences. She had nine months of mourning ahead of her, after all, and would necessarily live a half-life during that time period. Spending part of it with family doubtless helped.

  “It’s kind of you to open your home to them,” Lucas said at last.

  Gilbert nodded, but a troubled look remained in his eyes. “Truthfully, I would let them stay forever, but I fear Lady Heatherton will take her leave of us soon.”

  “Why is that a concern?” Lucas asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

  “It really isn’t my place to say more,” Gilbert said, glancing at Lucas from the corner of his eye. “The last time I confided a matter in you, I wound up engaged to be married.”

  Lucas couldn’t help the bark of laughter that escaped him, though he quickly muffled the sound and looked to ensure he hadn’t startled the horses. The smaller animal flicked its ears at him but remained walking at its plodding pace.

  “I cannot see that it ended badly for you,” Lucas said. “But is this issue as serious as the other?”

  Gilbert clapped him on the shoulder before slipping through the rails again. “Perhaps worse.” Then he went to the horses where he helped first Edward, then his wife, slide from the saddle. Phillip bravely tried to dismount on his own, and only stumbled a little after sliding to the ground. Lucas watched as the party made their way back to the fence, while a groom appeared in order to take the horses in hand.

  “Tomorrow, we will brush them down ourselves,” Mrs. Gilbert was saying as they grew nearer. “It’s important you know how to care for a horse if you’re going to ride one.” She flashed another wide grin at Lucas as she walked past him, an arm around each boy.

  “Your wife is positively smitten with those two,” Lucas said when Thomas rejoined him. They followed the woman and boys, a few paces back.

  “Christine will love anyone who loves horses.” Gilbert shook his head and gestured to the two dark-haired boys. “It helps that she feels protective of them, too.”

  The prick of intrigue returned. What need did Christine Gilbert have to be protective of the children, given their mother’s presence in the home? Though it wasn’t of any consequence to him, he nearly asked about the situation again.

  Ahead of them, the boys took off running while Mrs. Gilbert called after them, “Please remember to wash!” She shook her head and turned to cast her husband a crooked smile. “They couldn’t wait for their biscuits. I suggested they go ahead and leave the old people behind.”

  “Old people?” her husband protested, as though affronted. “I am not old.”

  “If you are, then I must be ancient,” Lucas returned. He was older than Thomas by seven years. “I suppose, in the eyes of a child, anyone old enough to be their parents would be wizened creatures.”

  Christine Gilbert, on her husband’s arm, abruptly turned her head to fix him with a severe look. He stopped walking, meeting her eyes with some confusion.

  “I was not implying that you are at all old, madam,” he said, wondering if he had given offense in his jesting. Lucas couldn’t think so, given the woman’s playful nature.

  “I realize that.” She looked up at her husband then back to Lucas. “But you are certainly old enough to be a parent.”

  The comment didn’t hurt as it would have only a few years before, though it struck him as odd. “Indeed. That happy blessing has yet to come my way.” Lucas tried to speak with lightness, her continued stare made him uncomfortable. He could practically see the woman’s thoughts whirling about behind her eyes.

  “Christine,” Thomas said, drawing her name out slowly, as if in warning. “You shouldn’t meddle in your cousin’s affairs.”

  Lucas looked between them, not understanding the relationship between Christine’s intense stare and the baroness. He did recognize Gilbert’s exasperated expression, having seen it before in their business dealings. But the man’s ire was no match for whatever wild thoughts his wife now had.

  “Thomas,” she said, without looking at him. “Virginia needs whatever help we can give her, and since our influence is limited we ought to apply to friends who may be able to do more for her.”

  “Please,” her husband said, a note of real pleading in his voice. “It isn’t our story to share.”

  Christine sighed and finally turned to her husband, her expression changing from determination
to soft persuasion. “Tom,” she said, her voice gentle. “Lord Calvert could help. He knows people, he has influence, and after that letter Virginia received….” She let the phrase fade away into the quiet of the morning.

  Lucas took a single step away from them, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “I have no wish to intrude, Gilbert. If you two need to discuss something, I can go ahead and wait for you in your study.” Though he had not been married long before becoming a widower, Lucas could easily recognize a battle of wills between husband and wife, as well as the obvious affection they held for each other. A private moment might be all they needed to come to an accord. And though he was curious, he could live without knowing what troubled the beautiful guest in their home.

  “No.” Thomas shook his head and reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. “She’s right. I trust you will be discreet with whatever information we give you, Calvert?”

  “Of course. If I can assist your family in any way, it would be my pleasure.” Lucas half-bowed to seal the promise, looking between them with mounting interest. “But what could my influence, as you called it, do for your cousin?”

  Christine Gilbert kept her husband’s arm but came forward to loop the other through Lucas’s. Together, they continued the walk to the house, though much more slowly than before.

  “Virginia lost her husband three months ago. She sought safety by living here, at the suggestion of a barrister in Bath. You see, in his will, her late husband left the guardianship of his sons in her hands.”

  Lucas nodded. “That makes perfect sense. But she is worried for her safety?”

  “For theirs,” Thomas Gilbert answered. “The boys. The late baron has a younger brother, Mr. Macon. He’s appealed to the Court of Chancery to remove the children from their mother’s care.”

  Lucas’s eyebrows shot up, as well as his indignation. “On what grounds?” he asked, his voice flat. Though why he immediately believed the baroness a perfect model of motherhood he couldn’t say. He didn’t even know the woman.

  “On the grounds that a woman is incapable of raising a baron or seeing to the proper education and rearing of her noble sons,” Christine said, each word dripping with disdain as she spoke. “But it is only an excuse. Virginia is perfectly capable. She believes her brother-in-law wants control of the estate and can achieve it through control of the boys.”