Page 22 of A Lady’s Rules for Seaside Romance (The Harp & Thistle #3)

A ll week, the children had begged to promenade on the pier.

And now that the ball was done being planned, the hostess of the summer house had finally relented to the begging of her daughter, niece, and nephews.

Thus, the entirety of the McNabs and Winthrops were in town for the first time that season.

Victor was walking with Vivian, and the pair trailed behind everyone else as they meandered along the pier that jutted out into the sea. He didn’t really understand what the point of a promenade on the pier was, but everyone else seemed eager for it, so he’d gone along.

As Vivian chatted with him about the ball tomorrow, most of Victor’s attention was on Anne up ahead, Freddy and Mary on either side of her. Ollie, Evelyn, and Dantes buzzed around erratically like busy bees, chasing after their inquisitive young children.

After the fiasco with the horse-riding lesson, Anne had been ill for a few days. But ever since her recovery, she seemed to be keeping a distance from him. At meals, she avoided his eye, and during games, she’d rushed to partner with others before he could say anything.

It was becoming a bit frustrating. He wanted to put to rest—quickly—what his true feelings were for her, but he couldn’t do that unless he interacted with her. It really shouldn’t have been this difficult to figure out.

But every effort he made, she seemed to run off. Not always literally, but there just so happened to be an excuse every time.

Whenever he managed to talk to Anne, she would humor him for a minute or two, but something always pulled her from the conversation.

Once, she’d stated Evelyn had been calling for her, but Victor hadn’t heard anything.

Another time, Freddy had passed by a window while they’d been outside and she’d claimed, “It seems as if he needs something.” Thus, she’d rushed inside.

Later, Victor had asked what the boy had needed and had received a quizzical look in response.

Then he thought about riding lessons. Anne couldn’t say no to those, as the ongoing lessons had been her suggestion.

She had agreed. However, upon his arrival, Freddy and Mary had been there, too.

Not that he’d minded their presence, of course, but he couldn’t very well accomplish his task with them there, either.

Anne’s rather odd behavior should have put him off. Instead, it flamed his determination.

He would get to the bottom of why she was avoiding him, if it was the last thing he did. Though it was quite obviously rooted in that first disastrous riding lesson.

Christ, what a morning that had been. Between her nearly scaring him to death, then riding astride right against him?

Victor wasn’t a man who thrived on touch or affection.

It wasn’t something he had had in his adult life, and he was just fine without it.

But having Anne tucked safely against him, his arm wrapped around her tightly, her bottom flush against his front as Pancake had run over rough ground…

He prided himself on control, but every pillar of it had faltered in that moment.

His idiotic brain had become hot mush during that twenty-minute ride, a sensation he had never experienced before.

Infuriatingly, Victor had to admit having a woman in his arms in such an intimate way was exceptionally pleasant. It had sent his heart racing while anticipation had gripped his stomach—a sense of excitement that something had been about to happen.

What he couldn’t figure out—needed to figure out—was if it was because it had been Anne, or simply because it had been the first time he’d held a woman that way.

One thing he knew well, though, was Anne could drive a man to madness.

“Tomorrow should be fun, don’t you think?” Vivian’s voice jerked him back to the present.

Victor shook off the sudden change in his mental focus and looked at Vivian with a lifted eyebrow.

“The ball tomorrow, Victor.” She tilted her head and mischief glinted in her eye. “I wonder, will you seek out a lady’s attention?”

“Likely not,” he said with a dark voice, hoping she wouldn’t continue this subject.

Up ahead, the family went to stop at the rail along the pier.

Victor watched Anne hold her hat as she tilted her head back to observe a pair of seagulls flying overhead.

Vivian led him over to the rail as well, but there was some distance between them and everyone else.

“I think you should, personally.” Vivian rested her arms atop the fencing.

Victor put his full attention on his brother’s wife. The slight rise in her voice caused him pause. “You think I should what?”

She looked out at the sea with a smile. “I think tomorrow would be a good way to get the rusty limbs moving. I bet Anne would be happy to dance with you a few times if you asked her to. Of course, there will be other ladies there you could ask, if you would like me to introduce you to them?” She looked up at him now.

Victor tried to hold her gaze as a normal person would, feeling oddly nervous under her scrutinization, as if she could see something he was trying to hide. “I don’t think so.”

“Then Anne would be happy to be your dancing partner. When you do take over the dukedom, you will have to partake in such activities. Best reacquaint yourself now before people watch too closely.”

Victor kept quiet. Vivian was, of course, right and it was partly why he was in Brighton.

Though he had learned how to dance some when he’d been younger, he hardly remembered how to anymore.

He supposed it wouldn’t be difficult to get back into it, however.

How different could a waltz be these days?

It would be more about remembering how to lead in an adult body, maybe observing anything new before daring to try it.

And Anne had promised to help him reacquaint himself with the aristocracy and all that pertained to it, if he so wished.

“Has Anne told you about her plan for the summer?” There was that funny lilt in Vivian’s voice again.

He frowned over to her. “What are you talking about?”

Vivian shrugged one shoulder. “She told me she would be looking for a male companion for the holiday. If you understand.” She allowed a pause and looked him over.

“You didn’t know about that, did you? Oh, dear.

I figure you would have—you two are so close.

It didn’t even occur to me that she would have kept that from you. ”

Victor froze, the stretched silence cut through by waves rolling ashore below. What exactly did that mean, Anne was looking for a male companion?

As Vivian lifted an eyebrow at his lack of response, he had to figure out how to properly respond, posthaste.

On one hand, he didn’t want to give away how much he disliked this bit of news.

On the other hand, he didn’t need Vivian to know the main reason he was here in Brighton was to figure out his true feelings for Anne. Not because of the looming dukedom.

“I see,” was the best reply he could come up with.

Vivian let out a long sigh, but before she could respond, there was a commotion farther down the pier, where the family was.

Freddy was roughhousing with another young lad.

The two young men pulled apart and were, quite obviously, glad to see each other, as their hair was messy, but both had enormous grins on their faces.

The other lad had a mass of blond hair. Beyond him was a group of blonds walking toward him. The young man’s family, Victor assumed.

“That must be Freddy’s new friend,” Vivian said.

“New friend?”

The pair began to approach the group. “Yes, Anne said Freddy made a new friend at school and they’ve been inseparable. They summer in Brighton, too, and he begged me to invite them to the ball tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes. I did know about that. Did they accept the invite?”

“They did. Are you familiar with the Ashbys, by any chance? That’s Freddy’s friend’s name, Ralph Ashby. I don’t know much about them. I think the father was a third or fourth son of an earl.”

Victor frowned to himself as they reached the family. Ashby. That name sounded quite familiar. But where had he heard it?

Vivian immediately went over to Anne right as the singular woman amongst the Ashby family approached, obviously the mother of the group.

The two groups immediately became enmeshed.

Freddy began to introduce his sister to the Ashby boys, and the young men all bowed to her.

If Victor had to guess, Freddy’s friend Ralph was the youngest of the family.

Victor eyed each lad, aware that they all seemed enamored by whatever it was Mary was saying to them.

Just an hour previous, the Winthrops and McNabs had left the aquarium and Mary seemed to be talking to the young men about fish tanks.

Then, as Victor continued studying the row of lads, his eyes landed on the eldest son right as he introduced himself to Mary. He wore a top hat over his blond head, and round spectacles perched atop his nose.

“Felton Ashby.” The man gave the young lady a lower bow than those of his brothers.

He took Mary’s hand when she offered it and kissed the air above it.

Mary of course was quite flattered to receive such attention from an adult.

As the eldest Ashby rose back up to his full height, his gaze met Victor’s and flashed with surprise.

For a moment, they held each other’s stare. But then Ashby privately tipped his hat at Victor. Victor was definitely sure this was the same annoyingly chatty fellow he’d met at Bron’s gaming hell.

Fantastic. Victor would be prisoner to the cad’s incessant chatter for the entire season.

Ashby smartly didn’t approach Victor in the moment.

Men generally didn’t discuss their socialization at gaming hells around women.

Instead, Ashby went to his mother’s side and was promptly introduced to Anne.

Ashby took Anne’s hand when she offered it, the same way he’d taken Mary’s.

Except this time, he actually kissed the top of her hand. Not the space above it.

Victor clenched his teeth.

And went to stand near Anne.

“Oh! Victor.” Anne smiled up at him. “You remember Freddy has been talking about his new friend, Mr. Ralph Ashby? This is young Mr. Ashby’s mother, and his oldest brother… Forgive me,” she said to Ashby, her chin dipping down. “I’m learning so many names at once, I’ve already forgotten yours!”

Ashby grinned. “It’s no bother, Lady Litchfield.

” Victor didn’t like the way Ashby seemed to purr her title.

“Mr. Felton Ashby. Charmed.” Ashby then turned to reach out to Victor.

Privately, Victor noted his was the first male hand Ashby had reached out to shake.

Suspicion snaked through Victor. He held Ashby’s gaze and squeezed the man’s hand. Hard.

Ashby’s smile briefly tensed from pain before he pulled his hand out of Victor’s grasp and shook it at his side. “I’m sorry, and you are…?” Ashby darted his eyes between Victor and Anne in a questioning way.

Victor opened his mouth, but Anne spoke first. “This is my friend Mr. Victor McNab. His brother is married to Lady Vivian here…” Anne then introduced everyone in the family.

When she mentioned she was a widow, Victor made sure to capture the minute movements of Ashby’s reaction.

Though there was no overt reaction upon the news that Anne was eligible, Victor could clearly see in the way Ashby’s eyes briefly widened that tidbit of information had caught his attention.

The younger, bespectacled man had not been anything but friendly and pleasant to Victor in the now two times he had met him.

And yet, something about him sent off warning bells.

After raising his brothers in Whitechapel, plus decades of running a pub, Victor had learned to listen to those internal warnings. They were never wrong.

However, this was regarding Anne and, admittedly, Victor was biased in that regard.

Those warning bells could simply have been the result of jealousy.

He wasn’t so foolish as to ignore that possibility, though he would never admit it aloud to anyone.

Ashby had youth on his side. And, Victor supposed, women would likely find Ashby’s countenance appealing.

He wasn’t glaringly ugly and seemed to have a pleasant look upon his face.

As Victor studied him, Ashby and his mother were trying their best to keep up with Anne’s explanation of how the Winthrops and McNabs were woven together.

And then, when Anne got to Ollie and his wife, then went to explain who Evelyn’s baron father was, Ashby and his mother both started to look vacant in their gazes, as if overwhelmed by all this information at once, though the Ashby family was a full crew of young brothers on its own.

“I expect we will be spending a lot of time together,” Anne said with a laugh, glancing over to her son and his friend, who were leaning over the railing to see who could spit the farthest. She frowned deeply at this behavior.

Ashby went over to his youngest brother and said something in a low voice.

Being the oldest brother himself, Victor didn’t need to hear the man to know he was threatening the young lads to quit it. Or else.

Of course, it worked. Oldest brothers knew how to be quietly terrifying.

Ashby hovered nearby for a moment to ensure their rude behavior remained rectified, then said something to Mary, eliciting a laugh.

With nothing to say, Victor crossed his arms and spent the rest of the outing observing. And he didn’t like how often Ashby seemed to appear at Anne’s side.