The Regency Season: Passionate Promises. Ann Lethbridge

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СКАЧАТЬ If it had been because he’d been worried about Freddy, it might have mollified him, but it had only been out of concern for the succession. Mother, on the other hand, would have been very happy to send him off to war, never to return.

      Knowing that, if not for Gabe’s offer of employment he might have enlisted as a common soldier, he’d hated the ducal duties so much. The paperwork. The political manoeuvring. The criticism when he failed to live up to his brother’s memory.

      He shut the door on those useless thoughts. On the past. As time had progressed he’d come to understand that he would never be forgiven for being the one left alive. He’d learned to enclose his pain and guilt in a layer of ice.

      He was Falconwood. For as long as he lived. And awaiting him and his guests were tables and chairs set beneath a shady tree with attendant footmen. ‘You should have a good view from here,’ he said as he seated the ladies. ‘Champagne?’

      ‘Yes, please,’ Minette and Lady Priscilla said together.

      ‘Oh, dear,’ Miss Bernice said. ‘I really don’t think—’

      ‘How about tea for you?’ He gave her a gentle smile.

      Her frown turned into an expression of heartfelt gratitude. ‘Thank you.’

      He signalled to the footman, who smartly went about the business of catering to the ladies’ wishes.

      ‘I don’t see The Beau,’ Minette said, scanning the field.

      ‘No,’ Freddy said. ‘Hampshire is at bat.’

      She wrinkled her nose, staring at the two men at the crease in what he was becoming to think of as a kittenish expression. It made him want to kiss her every time she did it.

      ‘He is playing for Hampshire county cricket team and he is in the clubhouse,’ Lady Priscilla elaborated further. ‘Only two people are at bat at any one time.’

      Minette seemed satisfied with the explanation and sat back to watch, with the occasional explanation from either Lady Priscilla or himself when terms like ‘bowled’ and ‘stumped’ came up.

      The buzz of insects, the crack of the bat, the shouts of ‘Huzzah’ and polite applause of the ladies washed over him in a wave of nostalgia. It was such a familiar scene. He and Reggie had played on the local village team that last year. Happy memories he hadn’t recalled for years.

      And if it hadn’t been for his engagement, he might never have experienced them again, so focussed had he become on the darkness of what he did. He glanced at his betrothed, at her lively, beautiful face as she listened to something Lady Priscilla was explaining, and felt wonder at the feeling of the rightness of the day. Perhaps he could have this for the rest of his life.

      Deserved or not.

      Once he had served the ladies, the footman handed Freddy a glass of champagne. He lowered himself to the ground, his back to the tree, and settled in to enjoy watching his fiancée try to understand the rules of play.

      ‘Oh, well caught, sir,’ he called out, along with several others at a particularly good catch.

      Minette glanced over at him with a smile. ‘You like this game.’

      It wasn’t really a question, but he answered anyway. ‘I do.’

      ‘Do you also belong to a team?’

      It was an innocent enough question, but it meant more than she might have guessed because she didn’t see any reason why he might not belong to a team. The villagers hadn’t minded his lameness, either. He may not have been a fast runner but he could hit, and had a good eye when it came to catching. He grinned at her. Yes, he was actually grinning. ‘Dukes have their dignity to maintain, you know.’

      She laughed. ‘Lazybones.’

      Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the companion twitching anxiously. Looking as if she felt the need to set the record straight, to defend him from the accusation of laziness and attribute it to his lame leg. His grin died.

      ‘Oh, look!’ Minette said. ‘That is Monsieur Brummell. I really thought it was a tease to get me to come with you today.’

      Brummell strode out onto the pitch to a round of applause and a few catcalls. As usual he looked cool and elegant.

      ‘How on earth did they convince him to take part?’ Lady Priscilla asked. ‘I heard he hates any form of violent exercise.’

      They watched in silent awe as the arbiter of fashion made run after run, reaching a grand total of twenty-three before he was finally caught. The man was good. He bowed to the applause that broke out as he left.

      During the interval, the servants served delicacies designed to please the ladies—cucumber sandwiches and little cakes, along with more champagne and a fresh pot of tea.

      ‘It is all so very English,’ Minette said, glancing over at him with a challenging look.

      ‘Is that good or bad?’

      ‘Très bon,’ she said in a decided way that gave him a sense of great contentment he found unexpected. She frowned. ‘There is a man over there, he keeps looking this way.’

      He kept his voice low, for her ears only. ‘He’s probably wishing he was here instead of me, given my lovely companions.’

      She sat up a little straighter. ‘Are you flirting with me, Freddy?’

      ‘Is it not the duty of a fiancé to flirt with his intended?’

      The kittenish look reappeared. ‘Now you really are teasing.’ She smiled at him, and something inside him contracted.

      It wasn’t lust, though there was always an undercurrent of that whenever she was nearby, it was about liking. Not something he had ever expected. On a day like today, it was too easy to imagine living this sort of life of easy companionship, mutual respect perhaps even— No. That was too much to ask. This marriage was all about maintaining the proprieties and keeping Gabe’s friendship. It would only ever be one small facet of his life, of necessity.

      ‘He’s coming over,’ Minette said.

      Arthur. A cold fist settled in his gut. He rose to his feet. ‘Cousin,’ he said as the man reached them.

      ‘I hear congratulations are in order,’ Arthur said, his expression sour.

      ‘Thank you, cuz. I did not expect to see you here today.’

      ‘Liz’s idea,’ his cousin said, kicking at a tuft of grass.

      Ah, yes. Liz would have been shocked to her toes at the news. Freddy couldn’t help feeling a little twinge of satisfaction. Not that his impending marriage would alter the line of inheritance at all, but it might shake Liz out of her complacency.

      ‘May I introduce you to my betrothed, Mademoiselle Rideau, her friend, Lady Priscilla, and her companion, Miss Bernice? Authur Stone. My cousin.’

      Arthur bowed low over the two young ladies’ hands and gave Miss Bernice a brief nod. It was without question the appropriate СКАЧАТЬ