Page 5 of An Heiress and An Astronomer (Gentleman Scholars #3)

G reta hadn’t enjoyed an afternoon so much in longer than she could remember. Lucy Northcott was the most delightful woman she had ever met. Not that Greta had a great deal of experience.

Since she’d made her debut the previous year, she had been introduced to countless women, titled ladies, gentlewomen, all sorts of connections to the ton , besides shopkeepers and servants galore. Lucy, as she had been commanded to address the young matron, was a cut above any of the others.

By a long margin if Greta was any judge.

Of course, she didn’t have friends, so perhaps she wasn’t a good judge. But Lucy was far sweeter and kinder than even any of the matrons Greta had met, certainly nicer or kinder than Greta’s mother or aunt.

And for some unfathomable reason, Lucy had decided to befriend Greta.

Greta didn’t care what the reason was, she wanted to accept that friendship even if she didn’t know what to do with it, never having had experience with friends before, unless one counted the beloved servants at home.

She was even learning to laugh.

It was rusty sounding and always delayed when the appropriate moments for mirth occurred, but she felt as though her heart had lightened if that were even something that was physically possible. Greta wondered if there was a scholar present who would know.

“I do hope you’ll agree to visit the estate one day,” Lucy was saying as though she had read Greta’s thoughts. “You strike me as a sensible woman who could appreciate some of the science being concocted there.”

Another laugh was surprised from Greta’s lips.

“Concocted?” she said with a questioning tone. “Do you not approve of the gentlemen’s studies?”

“Oh no, I think it’s the most delightful thing, even when I don’t fully understand their pursuits,” Lucy said as she settled herself on a settee in the salon where she had escorted Greta upon their arrival at the beautiful but severe Everleigh House.

“But when I do understand, I love it almost beyond anything else. No one, including me, would ever believe I could enjoy learning so much,” she explained with a light laugh.

“But sometimes, when I don’t understand what they’re doing, it does seem to me they are making it up.” Lucy stopped suddenly, turning to Greta with an expression of alarm coating her features. “But you wouldn’t tell any of them that, would you?”

“Of course not,” Greta vowed with widened eyes, surprised by the other woman’s welcoming frankness.

“I won’t either,” a deep voice said from the doorway as the two ladies were about to pour the tea that had just been delivered to the receiving room.

“Oh, no, Pierce, did you hear me? How perfectly dreadful. You know I didn’t mean it quite the way it sounded.”

“I know you put on a good show of supporting the science, Lucy.”

“I swear it, Pierce, it’s not a show.”

Even Greta could tell Mr. Darby was jesting with the matron so she was surprised at the extent of the other woman’s distress. Suddenly, though, Lucy’s face cleared, and she batted at the gentleman’s arm as he took a seat nearby. “Oh, Pierce, you were funning.”

“Of course, I was. But I still shan’t tell anyone what I overheard.”

“See that you don’t, or you won’t like what you find on your plate.”

“Never threaten a man’s victuals,” Mr. Darby exclaimed in mock horror, causing another giggle to surprise Greta as it lingered in the air.

It was evident Pierce wasn’t expecting the giggle either as he turned an expression of clear appreciative assessment upon her.

“It would seem your drive has done you both well,” he said mildly.

“It was perfectly lovely,” Lucy agreed with a pleased expression. “Are you planning to stay for tea, Pierce? I expect Roderick will be joining us.”

Greta averted her gaze, not wishing to appear too eager for his response. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stay or not.

While she had enjoyed their brief encounter the night before, it hadn’t ended on the most positive note and she was having the most delightful visit with the other woman, she didn’t want it marred by worry about how to go on in the handsome gentleman’s presence.

“Tea sounds delightful, Lucy, thank you for asking.”

Was it possible for one’s heart to both lift and sink at the same time? How unhealthful sounding, Greta thought while she fought another laugh.

Was she losing her mind? Being in the young matron’s presence seemed to be altering her in some strange, fundamental way.

“Why don’t you tell Greta about your telescopes, Pierce? She was just telling me that she has a fascination with the stars on her estate, so it is fortuitous that you were lingering about today.”

Greta wasn’t certain what Lucy’s tone was implying but she turned her inquisitive gaze upon the scholar in anticipation of his explanation.

“Have you had any experience with telescopes, Miss Billingsley?”

Greta shook her head. “Not a great deal, Mr. Darby. In fact, I would say none,” she added as heat painted her cheeks. “My father and I merely waited for a cloudless night and stared with our own eyes. My father had spectacles that would amplify the view to a certain extent, but not to the magnification you are likely used to.”

“One has to start somewhere,” he answered kindly. “It’s interesting that you mentioned using spectacles. It was actually an eyeglass maker who is credited with inventing the very first telescope. Those early telescopes were the refracting sort using convex and concave lenses.”

Greta nodded, even as she knew a frown of concentration was creasing her forehead. She only hoped he didn’t misinterpret it as disapproval. Perhaps he didn’t even notice as he carried on explaining.

“Galileo and Newton improved on various designs. They are every astronomer’s heroes, of course.”

“Of course,” Greta murmured, fascinated despite her lack of knowledge or true understanding on the topic.

“Because light comes in different wavelengths, this can cause distortions, especially when viewing in the dark. But the achromatic lenses invented by Chester Hall brought two wavelengths of light to a focus, thus preventing colour distortion. Not long after that, the inclusion of larger paraboloidal mirrors in the reflecting devices made a big difference.”

Greta kept nodding even though she wasn’t completely certain what some of those words even meant.

“So I am working on adjusting the symmetry of the cones so that they can be smaller and yet more effective.”

“To what purpose?” she asked before she thought better of the question. She nearly clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her embarrassment. “I beg your pardon, that was unaccountably rude.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Lucy insisted. “It’s a valid question, isn’t it Pierce?”

Greta didn’t think questioning the value of someone’s life’s work was valid, but she wasn’t going to dig her hole any deeper by arguing. She knew her face was flaming with her discomfort, but Greta just sat there, mute, wishing she could disappear.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, my dear.”

They were saved from the awkward moment by the arrival of Mr. Northcott.

“We haven’t been pining for you, have no fear,” Lucy answered her husband with an impish grin that he returned in such a syrupy sweet manner that for a brief moment Greta was swept with a wave of intense jealousy. Thankfully it passed quickly. It was a recently recurring experience she didn’t wish to cultivate.

“We were just discussing Pierce’s devices for counting the stars and Greta was telling us how good the sky gazing is on her estate,” Lucy explained.

The expression on Mr. Northcott’s face was far more complicated than his wife’s words warranted, leaving Greta to wonder what was going on within the household.

“My dearest Lucy, surely controlling the lives of our offspring ought to be enough for you now.” Roderick Northcott’s expression was filled with indulgent censure.

This indecipherable sentence seemed to make sense to everyone in the room except Greta. Discomfort threatened to overwhelm her, and she wondered how bad it would be if she were to just get up and leave. She didn’t know Mrs. Northcott well but she didn’t think the friendly matron would go so far as to speak badly about her in public even if she were offended by her guest’s departure.

But did Greta want to take the chance?

And her curiosity was well and truly piqued. Why were these people all being so strange?

Her confusion must have been written upon her features for suddenly the jovial astronomer laughed and waved toward the Northcotts.

“Forgive them, please, Miss Billingsley. If they are giving you a toothache with their sweetness, do know that you are not the first, nor the only, one this has happened to. They are, as you can no doubt tell, a terribly unfashionable love match.”

Greta must have appeared still bewildered for Mr. Darby continued to explain.

“Our dearest matron of the sciences worries that she stole a march on all the young ladies who were in an unwed state at the same time as she was and is determined to find them matches of their own whether they like it or not.”

The gentleman was laughing as though it were all a jest, but Greta’s stomach pitched with her discomfort. Greta was still frowning at him with incomprehension throughout his speech but then she turned her gaze suddenly upon the blushing Mrs. Northcott and she knew her eyes had rounded to the size of saucers.

“That would explain your sudden interest in me, then, wouldn’t it? I was unwed last year when you made your debut.” Greta’s mortification made her wish she had left the house when it was merely jealousy motivating her. This was far worse.

“Well, no, this is not the only reason, my dear Greta, I thought we were to be friends.”

The other woman had been quite insistent on their drive that they were to be on friendly, first name usage, terms. But Greta hadn’t been able to relax that much into the others’ presence. Now she was glad that she hadn’t.

How perfectly ridiculous . She had barely even met Mr. Northcott last year before he wed his lovely bride. Nothing had been taken from her.

Was the household destined for Bedlam?

Greta got to her feet after quickly gulping down half the contents in her teacup.

“Thank you for the drive but I really must be going,” she said with as much sincerity as she could muster.

“Oh, no, don’t go so soon. I implore you not to take our silliness to heart. We can be quite serious and fit company, I promise you.”

Despite her discomfort, Greta found the other woman entertaining company. But it really was time she be on her way.

“My aunt will be expecting me,” Greta said with relieved truthfulness. “Thank you for a fascinating afternoon.”

“Can I walk you home?” Mr. Darby shocked her by asking.

Greta nearly stumbled as she was making her way to the door.

“Oh yes, that’s a wonderful idea, thank you for offering, Pierce.” Before Greta had a chance to respond, Mrs. Northcott had accepted on her behalf. There was now no way for her to gracefully refuse the offer, even if she wanted to. She was surprised to note that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to or not. How very odd.

She knew her smile was stilted as she took her leave of the Northcotts, but there was little to be done about that. Sometimes she considered that she herself was stilted. It was hard being such an odd combination of her two very different parents – both a bourgeois leaning businessman and a haughty earl’s daughter.

Greta was fascinated with investments and loved meeting with her steward and solicitor. Of course, those two gentlemen struggled with accepting her intelligent contributions to the conversations they had about her holdings, but the side of her that followed in her mother’s footsteps could fully understand that.

Torn between laughing and sighing, Greta held onto her composure with practiced ease and waited in the entrance hall while Mr. Darby joined her and the footman collected their outerwear.

“You didn’t have to escort me, Mr. Darby. I would have been perfectly fine with a footman,” Greta began before realizing that likely sounded churlish. “But I do thank you for your kindness,” she added at the end, rather lamely.

“It’s a pleasant day, you’re actually doing me a favour in allowing my escort. It gets me out of the house and away from the twittering of the lovebirds.”

This surprised a gust of laughter out of her. “You have quite a way with words, Mr. Darby.”

Unrepentant, he grinned in reply.

“You mustn’t mind Lucy. She’s a managing little baggage but she means well.”

Greta wondered if she ought to be offended by his words. Should she defend the other woman? The man’s words were a trifle condescending. Before she could decide he continued.

“Things are a little different in the scholarly community, as I’m sure you can imagine if you think on it. Because of that, Roderick had gone about his search for a wife in a scientific manner.”

“How could it be scientific?” Greta couldn’t help but ask even though she couldn’t fathom why the man was discussing this with her. “Do you mean cold and only fact based rather than pursuing his feelings? It would seem feelings have overtaken them whatever his approach might have been.”

“Isn’t it grand?” he asked with a grin before he shook his head. “While I wouldn’t say he was cold about it, you’re right in that he tried very hard to keep his feelings out of the matter. On the surface Lucy wasn’t right for him at all since she was seemingly the most Society-minded debutante around. But he made a list, you see.”

“A list? Of what, pray tell.” Despite herself, Greta was becoming fascinated with the discussion.

“Of all the available ladies with sufficient dowries to assist with the institute he was trying to set up.”

Greta blinked, stopping in her tracks in order to stare at the gentleman scholar, understanding dawning on her. “I was on that list, wasn’t I?”

“I never saw it for myself, but that would explain Lucy and Rod’s conversation just now, wouldn’t it?”

“I suppose it might,” she nodded as she resumed walking, and he quickly matched her stride. After a moment of silence, she added, “Thank you for explaining it to me more clearly.”

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug which, added to his lopsided smile, made him look like an adorable schoolboy for a brief moment.

“Lucy feels beholden to the other women. Especially since she wasn’t even on the list. It seems to her that she snatched Roderick out of your hands.”

“But I barely even met the man,” Greta protested. “I certainly hadn’t formed any sort of attachment to him, and he was most definitely not courting me in any discernible way.”

“The one drawback of being in love, it seems to me, is that it clouds one’s judgment or logical thought processes quite considerably,” Pierce added in such an agreeable tone that Greta couldn’t decide if he was criticizing or merely making a comment.

Once again, Greta’s rusty laugh made its appearance.