Page 40 of Beauty and the Rake (Endless Love #1)

“Yes, of course.”

“The man wears your father’s ring.”

“What? You didn’t confront him about it?”

He arched a brow. “I didn’t realize it until after he’d left.”

“You need to confront him on how he came in possession of the ring.”

“I intend to, but I need to think it through before I go accusing him of theft.”

“You’re right, of course, though I can’t imagine there’s a second ring out there that looks like my father’s. Yes, we need to think it through.”

He patted her hand. “Enough about that. We can talk it through with Arthur when he arrives. I’m sure he’ll have thoughts on what we need to do next.”

“I think you’re on to something, especially hearing this. He’s hiding something.”

He waggled his eyebrows. “Have you plans for this afternoon?”

“No. I have already gone to the nursery and seen Mary.”

“And how is she?”

“Perfect. She’s smiling now, though Nanny says it’s nothing more than gas.”

“What does Nanny know? I’m sure it was a true smile.”

“Of course it was. We have the most perfect daughter.”

It made Graham’s heart fill with love and pride to hear his wife refer to his illegitimate daughter as her own.

Not all women would have it in them to even allow the child of a paramour to take up residence in her house, let alone have anything to do with the child.

The child would be non-existent. But Roxanne was gracious.

Despite the horrid years she spent in a marriage of convenience, she never lost track of who she truly was.

*

The evening approached and dinner would be upon them in a short time.

As Roxanne raised her glass of wine to her lips, she noted the chiming clock on the mantel read eight.

Arthur was late, which was uncommon for him.

He was one of the most punctual men she knew.

He’d always been that way. She placed the glass on the table beside her before smoothing the skirt of her plum silk gown.

It was a gown she’d picked up in Paris on her last trip.

Her trip home. She loved how the lavender color used as trim set the gown off.

She hated that the owner of two ships they wanted to purchase had not gone as planned.

Graham had mentioned they weren’t going to let him go that easily.

He and Arthur would keep the investigator and continue their quest to find out more about this man.

Especially now that they discovered the ring Crenshaw wore had belonged to her father.

It confirmed her suspicions something bad had happened to her parents while en route to India.

How else would he have it? Her father never removed it, and he wouldn’t have started then.

She would support whatever Arthur and Graham decided.

A familiar pair of voices could be heard on the other side of the door. She wondered how long her brother had been here, or if he was just arrived.

“Look who I found in the grand entry,” Graham said.

“You know you’re late, don’t you?” came her quick response.

He nodded as Graham motioned him over to the sideboard.

He poured each of them a healthy swallow of whiskey.

He knew Roxanne wanted to pounce and ask her brother and him a long list of questions.

Arthur nodded when his glass was half full.

He thoughtfully swirled the amber contents then took a swallow.

“Yes, but it couldn’t be helped.”

“Why’s that?”

He took another sip before walking toward her. He sat down on a cream-colored damask chair. “There was a horse in the meadow. Not one of mine and I’m unsure who it belongs to. I tried approaching it, but the beast fled.”

“Could it be one of Graham’s?”

“No. At least, I didn’t recognize it as one of his.”

“From Arthur’s description, it’s not one of mine,” Graham said.

“A feral horse?” Roxanne asked.

Arthur shook his head. “Doubtful. We would have encountered it before now.”

Knowing they were dancing around the subject, Roxanne decided to see her brother’s reaction to the ring which would have been his. “Graham says that Crenshaw is wearing a ring belonging to our father. Did you see it?”

Arthur scrubbed his face with one hand. “I really didn’t notice.”

“Do you think it possible? It could answer a lot of questions.”

“Anything’s possible,” Arthur replied. He polished off his whiskey and sat back.

“I agree with Graham about continuing your investigation. I think you need to find the answers, and using an investigator, you should have far better chances.”

“Agreed.” Graham nodded his head. “One of us should get word to our investigator so he can continue.”

“I can do it. I have a meeting in London. I won’t be there but for a few days, but I could definitely speak with him and give him all we found out during our meeting with Crenshaw.”

“That would be an enormous weight off our shoulders,” Graham said.

Before anyone could get another word in, dinner was announced.

The men followed Roxanne into the dining room.

She sat to Graham’s right as they were seated.

She tried to keep the conversation light as they went through the first couple of courses.

It was the entrée that got them talking.

Roxanne had decided to try the cook’s acclaimed pork roast. Graham had boasted about it when she asked if he’d tried it before.

It was served with potatoes, carrots, and peas.

By the silence around the table, she knew she had made the right choice.

A cheese and pear plate was next. It included Stilton, mild red cheddar made on the estate, as well as the sharp cheddar also made on the estate. She was amazed at how good the cheddars were.

As she and Graham were to visit tenants, she would give each family some cheese.

It would be a nice gesture and a way for her to get to know the families who helped to keep the estate in perfect working condition.

Seasons would be changing soon, and everyone would be working to make sure they were ready for the cold of winter.

“Graham, have you ever thought about selling your cheese? That is, if you make enough.” Roxanne asked.

He shook his head. “I’ve thought about it, but sadly, no. Occasionally a wheel to one of the pubs. To seriously sell it, we’d have to make more and since it’s aged, it would be a year or two minimum before it would be ready to go to market.”

“What else is there? I would like to take each family some cheese.”

“Honey,” Graham replied.

“Arthur? You should do something like this.”

He shook his head as he popped a piece of cheese in his mouth. “It’s never been done. Repairs were the only thing Father ever did.”

“Now’s a good time to change that.”

He grinned. “Perhaps once I’ve married.”

Roxanne shook her head, wagging her finger at her brother. “Oh no, you’re not going to go there and use not being married as an excuse not to do things.”

“I’m not going to discuss this with you.”

“Roxanne,” Graham said lowly. He knew this to be a sensitive subject matter with Arthur, though he knew his wife only meant well when it came to her brother.

However, she was like a dog with a bone.

Once she took an interest in something, that was that.

All bets were off. In this case, it was getting her brother married.

“What? Can’t I be concerned that my brother has no heir and isn’t making any strides to fix the situation? He’s not making an effort to find a wife on his own. That’s why I will help.”

Arthur picked up the brandy snifter Graham had placed in front of him and swirled the dark liquid. “I need no help. I’m not going to accept a loveless union.”

“No one said you should,” she said, her lips pursed.

“Good, I’m glad to see we agree on something.”

He polished off his brandy and pushed himself away from the table. “This was a lovely dinner, sister.”

“You aren’t leaving, are you? The night’s still young.”

He nodded and stood. “I have to catch up on things I didn’t take care of earlier.”

Roxanne nodded. “I understand.”

Arthur came around the table and kissed his sister on the cheek.

“Good evening,” he said before turning to follow Graham out of the dining room.

As the door closed behind them, Roxanne finished off the brandy sitting before her.

It was still early, and she wasn’t ready to turn in.

Instead, she would go to the drawing room and relax.

She could play the pianoforte for Graham, but she wasn’t sure if he’d sit through her playing.

She was still not as good as she had been before Casper.

He never wanted her to play when he was around and discouraged her playing by cruel means.

Closing her eyes, Roxanne tried to forget Casper’s brutality.

She sat in front of the fire, staring at the flames.

She’d poured herself another brandy and sat with it in her hands.

Taking a reflection of the evening, she was not comfortable that Arthur thought her assisting in his quest for a wife was interference.

He’d used an excuse that he was up to the task himself.

She knew that was merely an excuse. She knew he had a history of choosing the wrong women through no fault of his own.

It went without saying that most women he chose were after two things: his money and his title.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to figure this out.

The women could be quite bold. All they needed was for Arthur to feign to show interest by dancing more than once with a particular lady, sitting with another for too long.

The rules went on and on. She would continue what she had started doing. Find her brother a wife.

“Are you ready to retire?” Graham asked. He put his hands on both her shoulders. He bent to kiss her on the cheek.

“It is still early, but yes, I’m ready to go up. I can read some.”

“Reading is not what I had in mind, Lady Roxanne.”

“No?”

“No. Come, let me show you the way.”

She rose and strode to where her husband still stood behind her chair. She extended a hand which he took and pulled her close to his chest before ravishingly kissing her. A few minutes later, he led her up the stairs to their bedchamber.