Page 23 of Ambition (The Chaplain’s Legacy #6)

O livia found herself unusually ruffled by the thought that her father might be forming an attachment to Miss Bucknell.

Now that Lady Esther had put the idea into her head, she watched the two closely and saw at once how comfortably they got along.

She was only astonished that she had not seen it earlier.

Before dinner each evening, Miss Bucknell played her part as hostess, greeting guests and moving from one group to another, to help the conversation along.

But she contrived to have the earl beside her for the meal, and he was the first of the gentlemen to return to the drawing room afterwards and he immediately sought her out.

Then they would be together for the rest of the evening.

If there was music, they listened to it side by side.

If the card tables came out, they played as partners.

And if there were no other entertainment on offer, they sat in quiet conversation.

One wet morning, finding him mooning about the library, Olivia ventured to say, “Is Miss Bucknell not with you today?”

His face broke into a smile — how much she had missed his smile! Poor Papa, he had had such a torrid time of it lately, far worse than the rest of the family.

“Charlie is busy below stairs just now. She has promised that we will have a game of backgammon later.”

Charlie? They were on such terms already, then?

“You like her, I think, Papa.”

The smile broadened. “I do! She is not the equal of your mother… well, how could she be? No one will ever replace my dearest Caroline, but Charlie… Miss Bucknell, I should say, is a most agreeable companion. She is sensible, thoughtful, a good manager… she plays an excellent game of whist or piquet. She does not fuss over me, or preach at me, she rides well —”

“But not too fast, I hope! We do not want you dislocating your shoulder again.”

He laughed. “No, she is more of a gentle rider, but excellent company to be with. We have taken some longer rides together, so that she can show me the countryside, and— Olivia, I know you do not want a stepmother, and nor do I want that for you, to tell the truth. If I could have my heart’s desire, I would have your mother back by my side, where she belongs.

But she is not coming back, and… well, in plain terms, I am lonely.

Two of my lovely daughters have gone away and left me already, and you will not be long a spinster. ”

Olivia blushed and made an inarticulate noise in her throat.

“No, no, I see how they all look at you, these men. As soon as you show your face in town, you will be besieged, I know it, and then you will be gone. And as for the boys… Walter has left, Eustace seldom shows his face at Corland and Kent is looking to his own future. And then I shall be all alone, just me and Alice rattling around in that great big place, and I shall go mad, I know it. Not that Alice is poor company… my own sister, after all, but she is very self-contained. I shall be in bad case, daughter. A man needs a wife, there is no doubt about it, and not just for sons. Of course, that would be most agreeable, and Charlie is the right age to give me a son or two. There is no certainty, of course, with a woman who has never been married, but there is no reason why not. But there are more important requirements than sons — I need someone to be a friend to me, a true friend, someone I can trust and respect, who is always at my side.”

“And Miss Bucknell is that friend?”

“She might be. It is not impossible.”

“Papa! You are falling in love with her!”

“No, no,” he said, but he looked sheepish.

“I do like her, it is true, but there is no need to talk about love . I loved… still love your mama with all my heart and soul, and no one will ever replace her in that way, but a companion to see me through the rest of my life… that would make me happy, little one.”

“Then it would make me happy, too,” she said.

***

R obert was cautiously optimistic that his plan was working.

Between them, he and Grayling contrived to spend every evening under the same roof, and when there was no sport offered, they met during the day, too.

Grayling had thrown himself with enthusiasm into the task of entertaining Olivia, and if he seemed a little too keen to play his part even when Embleton was not present, Robert could hardly quibble at that.

It was all part of the game, for Olivia was too quick of mind to be fooled by a man who was attentive only when another, very specific, man was also there.

She hovered around the marquess whenever the opportunity arose, but Grayling was swift to distract her.

If Robert had not known better, he would have been very jealous of Grayling’s ability to charm her.

He was annoyingly handsome, in the manner of a Greek god, with fine features, a head of golden hair and the well-honed form of the habitual sportsman.

Charming, too, for he seemed to have Olivia in a constant ripple of amusement, when she was not blushing at his outrageous compliments or protesting at his foolishness.

Fortunately for Robert’s peace of mind, he knew very well that Grayling was not in the market for a wife.

For his part, he dutifully hovered around Miss Grayling. She seemed complacent at Robert’s attentions, and although she too could not resist throwing a little charm in the marquess’s direction, she was easily drawn away from him.

The only fly in the ointment was Effie Howland, the marquess’s sister, who was determined to flirt with every gentleman who came within her orbit, which included both Grayling and Robert.

This disruption to Robert’s careful plans was a nuisance, to put it mildly, for she was neither subtle nor easily deterred, and more than once Robert found himself drawn away to a secluded spot before he saw what she was about and was able to scotch it.

One evening, Grayling drew Robert aside over the port.

“Sarah is nagging me to arrange a visit to Grayling Hall one day,” he said.

“We are between cooks at the moment, so we cannot invite anyone for dinner, but we could manage a cold collation, and the ladies might find the house interesting. Most of it is closed up just now, but it has a long and distinguished history, and there are some fine walks in the garden. It would be a change of scene for them. What do you say?”

“That sounds very agreeable. My mother and sisters would certainly welcome such an outing.”

“And you, I hope,” Grayling said meaningfully. “It will give you an opportunity to spend a longer period of time with Sarah… get to know her better, and so on. She is very keen to show you her home.”

“That sounds most pleasant,” Robert said cautiously, unwilling to allow Grayling to suspect that his interest in Miss Grayling was no more than mere courtesy.

But the very next day, these modest plans went awry. Robert spent some time over breakfast carefully explaining the delights in store to his mother and sisters.

“That is all very well, Kiltarlity, but the builders are playing havoc with Strathinver, and we must be there to supervise.”

“Builders? I thought it was nothing but a little light redecoration — to freshen the place up, you said, Mama.”

“Oh, one or two small improvements,” she said with an airy wave of one hand, the ornate rings looking too heavy for her frail fingers. “One might as well get everything done at once. It would be false economy to call the men back later. You did give me a free hand, Kiltarlity.”

“Well, yes, but… never mind. You must do as you wish, of course. But we cannot leave now. It would be unconscionably rude.”

“How so? We have been here for two weeks already, and there is nothing here to amuse us.”

Robert had found a great deal to amuse him, and he had thought his sisters well entertained, too, and said so.

“Pft. That is because you are as besotted as the rest with the Grayling girl. Your sisters do not show to advantage beside such youthful beauty.”

“Any woman of sense would appear to advantage beside a girl with more hair than wit,” he said acidly. “She has no conversation or ideas of her own.”

“Then why do you hang about her, if she is so devoid of ideas?”

A hard question to answer honestly, so he made no attempt to do so.

“There you are, you see?” his mother said triumphantly. “We shall leave tomorrow.”

“You must go if it pleases you, Mama, but I have commitments to keep me here, and Lizzie and Lucy may stay with me, if they wish.”

“Certainly not!” his mother said with hauteur.

“The daughters of an earl stay on as guests in a house with no suitable chaperon in residence? I think not, and no, Kiltarlity, you are not a suitable chaperon. If Mr Marsden’s wife were here…

but she is not. Stay on here for your own pleasure if you must, for I am sure we will struggle through the journey somehow without your escort, but the girls go where I go.

That is the proper way of doing things.”

So saying, she rose and swept out of the room.

Robert looked ruefully at his sisters. “I am sorry your enjoyment will be cut short.”

“It is no matter,” Lizzie said. “Mama is right. With two incomparable beauties in the immediate neighbourhood, not to mention Lady Euphemia and her fifty thousand pounds—”

“Fifty!”

“Yes, an uncle took a fancy to her and promptly died. I wish I had a rich, sickly uncle to leave me such a sum. But you must admit, Robert, no one is going to look at two old maids like us when there are such treasures to be had.”

“Not that there is anyone one would want,” Lucy said.

“Except the marquess!” Lizzie said, laughing. “But we spoilt our chances there. Rushed our fences and no mistake.”

“It is not every day one encounters a future duke who is not hideous in some way or other. We could never get near him in London, but when we suddenly found ourselves under the same roof as him—”