Page 6

A nnie finished helping Dru dress, and she thanked the maid before petting Toby, who lay curled on the bed, and heading to the breakfast room.

Already, her stay at Huntsworth had been interesting.

Lucy had given her a tour of the house, which was even larger than Marleyfield, proudly showing off some of the decorating changes she had made.

Naturally, Lucy’s favorite part of the house was the nursery on the top floor of the house.

They had talked about things the babe would need, and Ariadne had said she could help in any way since she had learned so much about infants after Penelope’s birth.

Penelope was a delight. Lucy and Judson had taken Dru to Aldridge Manor for tea.

While she thought the house and estate beautiful, she had lost her heart to the tiny girl.

Penelope had tufts of red hair, a softer shade than her mother’s copper locks, and round, blue eyes, reminiscent of her father’s.

Though Dru had never been much interested in children and had never been around babes, other than for short visits to their tenants when she accompanied Lucy, Penelope was different.

She would be six months soon, but she already was alert and loved to smile.

She also had two teeth on the bottom and one on top.

Gnawing on fingers was one of her favorite pastimes.

Still, one babe did not change Dru’s mind about marriage.

She could not see herself with a husband.

She had never liked being told what to do, especially by Mama, and trading Mama for a husband did not seem like a wise decision.

Dru valued independence more than anything.

She told herself it wasn’t necessary she have babes of her own.

She could be the doting aunt to Lucy and Con’s children. To her cousins’ children, too.

Judson had taken her for a long ride about Huntsworth.

The estate was vast and took several hours to ride.

He introduced Dru to some of his tenants, and she saw the crops in the field and livestock grazing.

Her brother-in-law was very intelligent and wanted to please Lucy in every way.

He assured Dru that she was welcome to stay at Huntsworth as long as she pleased, even until next spring when she was supposed to make her come-out.

She wondered how she was going to get out of doing so.

The idea of dancing until the wee hours of the morning night after night seemed rather boring.

While Dru did enjoy dancing, she did not think she would like all the courting that went with it.

“Good morning,” she told Lucy as she entered the breakfast room, going straight to the buffet and filling her plate. She had always had a healthy appetite and was so active, she could eat whatever she pleased without consequences.

Settling into a seat to Lucy’s left, she thanked the footman for bringing her tea, and then asked her sister, “Have you heard from Mama?”

“No.” Her sister took a sip of tea. “Then again, I am not expecting to. I believe she said she and Papa were staying in town until the end of the month before they returned to Marleyfield.”

“What about Con?”

After her brother had escorted her from Somerset to Surrey, he had returned to town.

“I assume he will stay in town for a bit,” Lucy said. “He enjoys being there. Of course, with Val no longer his constant companion, he might go to Kent to see Val there.”

“I always envied Con and Val being such close friends,” she said. “They got to spend all those years together at school and university, and then they enjoyed being bachelors in town.”

Lucy signaled for more tea. “Those days are over for Val, with him now being the Duke of Millbrooke. Sons are not prevalent in our families. Val is the only boy of four. Con is the boy to our two. And Hadrian also has two sisters. If Val is going to get his heir and spare, he needs to wed and start his family.”

“I hate that. It sounds so practical.”

Her sister laughed. “I thought you liked practical. You have never been a whimsical female, Dru.”

“And I never will be.” Turning the conversation to a new topic, she said, “I really do like Judson.”

Lucy’s face grew dreamy. “Isn’t he marvelous? He is the best husband I could have asked for, and I know he will be a wonderful father.”

She had seen the interaction between the pair and knew for certain they were a love match for the ages. Ariadne and Julian were also most affectionate. While she was happy for her sister and cousin, she could never picture herself so enamored with a man.

Then thoughts of Lord Martindale invaded her mind.

The earl was certainly handsome, with his thick, blond hair and moss green eyes. She was tall for a female, but he was a good half-foot taller than she, with a long, lean frame.

Why on earth was she mooning over Martindale?

She had learned from talk at tea that he was a quiet sort.

Though an only son, he had entered the army shortly after Great Britain declared war against Bonaparte.

Intuitively, she knew the war had affected him harshly.

It wasn’t merely that he did not wish to speak about it.

It was the way he said it. Something in his eyes told Dru he’d had a rough time of things.

She supposed that was what living daily with men butchering other men would do to a soul.

Even though she had no intentions of wedding, she did wish to get to know Martindale a bit better.

He had looked so vulnerable. She decided she would make a friend of him.

Not that ladies and gentlemen were ever friends, but then Dru was no typical lady.

If today were not one where they would attend church, she would be in her usual breeches.

The thought made her glad she was not Catholic and having to confess her sins to a priest. Mama and Papa had no idea their daughter roamed the countryside alone in male attire while they were gone, much less that she had brought breeches with her for her visit with Lucy and Judson.

Her brother-in-law entered the breakfast room, bending to kiss his wife’s cheek. His hand went to Lucy’s belly, cradling it a moment. Dru couldn’t see a difference in her sister, other than she glowed a bit, which Dru chalked up to Lucy being in love.

“Good morning to you both,” Judson said cheerfully, helping himself to the food on the sideboard. “Anything planned other than church today?”

“Not that I can think of,” Lucy said.

Dru caught the wolfish look Judson gave his wife and decided that the couple would be occupied this afternoon in their bedchamber.

Lucy had admitted to her that she and Judson shared a bed each night, which Dru thought outlandish.

Of course, she only had her parents to judge by, but she could no more see Mama and Papa sleeping together than she could see men walking on the moon.

Lucy had told her it was an unusual practice, and that Ariadne and Julian did the same.

That would be another reason never to wed. It would be bad enough having to submit physically to a man, much less have him in her bed all night. To Dru, her bed was her sanctuary. She loved lying in it, reading, playing with Toby, even daydreaming. A husband would not be welcome in it.

They finished their breakfast, and Annie fetched bonnets for them before they climbed into the carriage.

“We walked to church last week because the day was nice,” Lucy said. “Now that I am increasing, Judson says we will drive.”

“I think walking would be good for you, Lucy,” Dru pointed out, eager to test her theory that even men in love ordered their wives about.

“I do enjoy walking,” Lucy said. “And it is not as if my belly is swollen and interfering with me walking.”

Immediately, Judson rapped his cane against the ceiling in the carriage, and it began to slow.

“We will walk if that is what you wish, love,” he said, such tenderness in his eyes that it gave Dru goosebumps.

“The day is warm,” Lucy told her husband. “I would not want to arrive at church with a flushed face, perspiring.”

A footman opened the door. “Do you need something, my lord?”

“No. Have the coachman continue on,” Judson said.

The vehicle started up again, and Dru decided she was quite impressed.

Lucy had said Judson looked upon her as an equal.

She should have known that because he doted on his wife, he would do whatever she asked.

She thought Judson unique, which was another reason she did not want a husband.

Lucy and Ariadne had swept up two unusual, kind, thoughtful men.

Dru doubted any more like them would be available for years to come.

Even though she loved her brother, she did not see Con behaving this way with a woman.

Then again, she had never seen her brother in love.

They reached the village and climbed from the carriage.

Entering the church, she saw it was filling.

Judson led them to the front, where two full pews remained almost empty, save for Ariadne and Julian and an older gentleman sitting in the first one.

She knew the practice of reserving plum spots in a church for titled gentlemen in the area and wondered if Lord Martindale might make an appearance this morning.

Drat! There she went again, her thoughts drifting to the handsome earl. She shouldn’t call him handsome. That made her feel weak, and if anything, she was a strong-willed woman.

Judson indicated the second pew, and Dru went in first, followed by Lucy and then Judson. Ariadne and Julian turned to greet them.

Her cousin said, “This is Viscount Tilsbury. Lord Tilsbury, this is Lady Drusilla Alington, my cousin, and Lady Huntsberry’s sister.”

The viscount, whose hair was as white as snow, gave her a welcoming smile. “Lady Drusilla, it is lovely to meet you. I hear you are from Somerset. So was my late wife.”

He looked so sad, Dru wanted to wrap her arms about him in comfort.