Page 22 of An Enchanting Kiss (Captivating Kisses #5)
He followed the butler, Celia carrying her new doll in one arm and the borrowed ball under her arm. The two women were chatting and rose to greet their guests.
“The others have just gone down to the stables, my lord,” the countess informed him.
“You may join them there.” She looked to his niece.
“It is so good to see you again, Celia. I see you brought back the ball. Is that a new doll? My, she looks very pretty. Would you mind showing her to me and Her Grace?”
Celia looked at him, and Rupert bent to one knee. Clasping her by the shoulders, he said, “Remember that you are to stay with Lady Traywick and Her Grace today while I am off on business.”
“Will you be gone long?”
“All day, but tomorrow will be a special day. Lady Lia will come to Crestbrook to spend the entire day with you.”
That caused her to brighten considerably.
“Be a good girl, Celia. I will see you tonight.”
“And Lally, too?”
He smiled. “Lally, too.” He then kissed the doll’s brow and Celia’s before taking his leave.
As Rupert made his way to the stables, he was happy Celia liked the doll he had purchased for her.
She had named it immediately, and Lally was already her constant companion.
As Lady Lia had predicted, Lally had slept nestled against Celia last night.
He had told her to bring the borrowed ball back to Traywick Manor because he showed her the new ball he had bought at Mr. Shaft’s shop yesterday.
Rupert had taken Lady Lia’s advice and not showered her with all the toys he had bought, thinking he could bring them out one at a time over the next several weeks, giving her something new to play with until her governess arrived.
The stables came into view, and he saw everyone gathered outside the structure. He strode toward them, seeing two grooms bringing out the first pair of horses to be ridden.
“Cressley!” Traywick called. “I am glad you could join us for our tour today.”
“Where might we ride today, my lord?” Rupert asked.
“Throughout the area the poet Thomas Gray wrote about fifty years ago.”
“I have read some of Gray’s poems,” Lady Lia said. “He was very fond of Cumberland. His poems are so descriptive. Tia and I look forward to seeing more of the area.”
Traywick continued, telling Rupert, “We will ride south toward Derwentwater, the lake closest to us. I have already told my cousins it is the most beautiful they will ever see. From there, we will head southwest to Buttermere.”
The earl looked to his cousins. “Buttermere is a small hamlet, and we can stable our horses and walk along the path that encircles Buttermere Lake. You will enjoy seeing the fells along the way.”
“What are fells?” Lady Tia asked, frowning.
Lady Verina said, “It usually means hills, but in our area, it can encompass the moors and high barren fields, as well.”
“After our lengthy walk around the lake, we can eat at the local pub,” Lady Justina said. “We have done so in the past. The food is quite good, and we will have worked up an appetite after our long walk.”
“We can reclaim our horses after that and head back toward Keswick,” the earl said. To Rupert, he added, “I have told everyone we will not have time to visit Keswick, but it is a bustling town with plenty of shops to enjoy. Sometime soon, Mama will take my cousins to Keswick.”
“It sounds like a very full day,” Lady Lia said. “I am eager to start.”
The earl looked to Rupert. “My cousins have assured me they are comfortable being in the saddle all day and are competent riders, able to ride over some of the rocky terrain we will encounter. I am assuming the same for you, my lord, since you grew up here.”
“I am happy to ride all day through Cumberland,” he said. “I am passionate about the beauty of the area. It is the chief reason I will choose to remain in the country most of my time. Even when I was a soldier, far from here, my heart always belonged to Cumberland.”
By now, the grooms had brought out horses for their entire riding party. He asked Lady Tia if she needed help mounting, and she accepted his assistance. He moved on to her twin.
“Might I help you into the saddle, Lady Lia?”
“Yes, please.”
His hands spanned her waist as he lifted her into the saddle. Once again, he asked himself why he felt nothing when assisting her twin, and yet his insides seemed to turn to marmalade simply touching Lady Lia briefly .
Rupert headed to where Lord Traywick stood with the last two horses, and the earl said, “This is the mount I chose for you, Cressley. Ajax is a fine horse. Since you have no riding horses in your stables, I am happy to give you use of Ajax as long as you have need of him.”
“That is very generous offer, my lord. Yes, I do need to purchase a few new horses for my stables. Carriage horses cannot be ridden about the estate, and being in the country, you know as well as I do that having horses to get around is essential.”
“I hope you will get along with Ajax.”
He stepped toward the horse and patted his flank. “I believe Ajax and I will do just fine together.”
The two men swung into the saddle, and their party began to canter.
Conversation would be impossible as they rode at this pace, which Rupert was grateful for, simply because he suddenly found himself tongue-tied in Lady Lia’s presence.
What was it about her that made him feel like an awkward schoolboy?
Even worse, he knew she hadn’t a clue as to how he felt about her.
Rupert reminded himself of her wish to wed for love, as her two siblings had.
He was afraid his time in the miliary had wrung all emotion from him, officers having to be stoic no matter what the circumstances.
It had surprised him how quickly he had come to love Celia, but he thought any tender feelings left within him would be used up on his niece.
He promised himself to keep his distance from Lady Lia in the coming weeks.
To focus on learning more about his responsibilities at Crestbrook.
Then when the Season did arrive next spring, he would go to town and find someone he believed would be a good viscountess and mother to his niece.
That he would make a suitable match—not one based upon love.
And Rupert told himself that he would learn to be happy with that match.