Page 32

T he papers were signed and Cliffstone belonged to Merritt. She, Havers, and Julia moved in. Linwood and Evans followed quickly.

The Duke of Belmont kept true to his word, and arrived with a regiment of workers, along with wagons of tools and supplies. He took her list of tasks and split them between his men. The cleaning, repairing, and building began, and their days started to fall into a rhythm.

Merritt was vastly relieved to find that Mr. Linwood did not prove to be a problem.

Either from his own inclination or due to Belmont’s warnings, the playwright treated Julia with kid gloves.

He spoke gently, treated her with the utmost respect, and watched her incessantly.

He could be found following her about whenever he wasn’t sitting out on the stage, scribbling madly at a makeshift desk and staring out to sea.

The man’s compassionate regard was the very best thing that could have happened to Julia, and Merritt was thrilled to see her sister becoming less anxious by the day. Julia threw herself into the restoration of costumes and scene art and blushed each time she found the playwright staring.

The duke, however, was not so skittish with Merritt.

He came by nearly every day, always by a different route.

She never knew when she might look up and find him climbing up from the shore, striding along the coastal path, or riding up the drive.

To be sure, he was always a gentleman, but he flirted divinely —and Merritt flirted right back.

How many years had it been since she’d felt so giddy? Since the flutter of anticipation in her belly had felt like the happy brush of a butterfly’s wing instead of a heavy stone of dread?

Belmont liked to surprise her—and she was shocked to find that she enjoyed it, too, that she could feel excitement and promise when he spoke quietly in her ear or popped out from the shadows.

“You are wasted here,” the duke said from behind her one morning when she had finished redirecting a group of men who appeared to be waiting for paint to dry. “You should be in London, teaching an officer’s course on efficiency and effective command.”

She turned to grin up at him. A thrum went through her at the sight of him in country buff and blue, his dark hair windblown and his eyes crinkling at her in good humor. “Good morning, Your Grace. I doubt any of our military men are anxious to learn from a woman.”

“Then they don’t deserve their rankings,” the duke said, raising a brow. “A smart man knows there are multitudes to be learned from women.”

“You must be the only man in England to think so,” she said with a shrug.

“Absolutely not.”

“You think a woman can lead?”

“I know it. I’m watching it. More, I lived it.

I grew up in a household of men. My brothers, my father, and I were absolutely ruled by my mother—and she led us with logic, skill, and caring.

Anyone of us would have followed her anywhere.

” Taking her by the hand, he towed her out toward the terrace.

“Some of the best-run businesses I know have women at the helm.”

“Taverns, inns, and tearooms?”

“Yes. But also shipping companies, hospitals, even banks.” He waved a hand. “But enough about that. It’s a beautiful morning.”

“It is.”

“Bright sun, cool breeze, flowers in bloom, and birdsong in the air—and none of it holds a candle to you.”

He was staring at her mouth. His breath came a little faster.

The desire that lived between them was rising to the surface in them both.

He wanted to kiss her. Merritt wanted it too.

If he could inflame her with just the brush of his fingers, what might he to do her with a kiss?

Her body screamed for her to step in and find out.

But her mind? Her heart? They worried about what might come next.

About what he might expect and what she might never be able to give.

It seemed he was done waiting, however. He stepped close. Bent down. Her traitorous head lifted. Her breath caught as she waited for—

“Merritt? Merritt, are you out here?”

She froze.

He stepped back.

“Merritt? We have guests!”

“Guests?” Her surprise was eclipsed by the alarm on his face. Oh, yes . He worried over Linwood. “We’re just over here,” she called as Julia stepped onto the terrace, followed closely by… “Pearl! Whatever are you doing here?”

Miss Pearl Anderson, Julia’s closest friend and daughter to Viscount Wilmer, whose family lived in their district, curtsied and gave Merritt a pleading look.

“I wrote to her,” Julia answered hurriedly. “I told her about everything we are doing here.”

“My parents were so happy to hear that you are indeed going forward with plans for your school,” Pearl said. “They are heading north to deal with some mining issues on one of the estates, and I suggested they might drop me off a little early.”

“Early?” Merritt repeated, aghast.

“School?” Belmont said, surprised.

“Oh, Lady Merritt, there you are.” The Viscountess Wilmer stepped out of the house. “Goodness. What a view!”

“Esther!” Merritt rushed forward to greet the lady. “What an unexpected surprise.”

“Yes. So I see. I am afraid Pearl led us to believe you were rather farther along with your…project.”

“We’ve only just found the place,” Merritt explained. “But I have high hopes for it.”

“We had meant to leave Pearl here with you while Robert and I traveled north, but…” The viscountess’s words trailed away as she glanced back toward the house.

“Oh, do not change your mind, Mama,” Pearl pleaded. “I’m sure I can be a help. And you and Father should have your time away together.”

“Thank you, dear, but I’m not sure Lady Merritt is ready for you?” She said it with a question in her voice, and an uncertain glance over Merritt’s shoulder.

“Goodness. Where are my manners?” Merritt exclaimed. “Do come and meet our neighbor, the Duke of Belmont. Your Grace?” She beckoned him. “May I present Lady Wilmer?”

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, my lady.” Belmont’s bow was exquisite, and the viscountess’s frown immediately vanished.

“Your Grace. What a pleasure.” She blinked, obviously placing his name. “Although I am sorry indeed to hear of your family troubles.”

Belmont inclined his head. “You are very kind. And very wise, I think, to allow your daughter to learn from Lady Merritt. I was just admiring her organized efficiency in dealing with the repairs to her new home.”

“There you are, Merritt.” Viscount Wilmer stepped out of the house. “What’s this I hear about a theatre?”

“George,” his wife said, “come and meet the Duke of Belmont. He’s Merritt’s neighbor, it seems.”

Introductions were made and pleasantries exchanged again. “Well then, Belmont, you’ll know about this theatre, then, eh? Built right into the cliff, I hear?”

“Indeed. It was a labor of love for the lady who previously owned the place and has become a beloved local landmark.”

“Let’s see it, then,” the viscount said eagerly. “And Merritt can explain how it fits in with her school.”

Belmont stepped back. “I’ll just step down ahead of you, to be sure the workers clear any hazards away.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” Merritt knew he meant to clear Linwood out of the way. She glanced over to see Julia and Pearl hovering together back by the terrace doors, so Merritt turned to the couple as Belmont strode off. “Is everything all right, Esther?”

The viscountess’s lip trembled. “I’ve lost the baby, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, my dear.”

“I thought to take my wife away. A bit of time on our own. New sights, new people,” the viscount said.

“But the girls seem to have acted prematurely,” Esther said.

“No, no. Not at all,” Merritt said. “Of course, you must continue with your plans. Pearl can help us as we ready the place for the arrival of the other girls.”

The viscount was pleased to accept. Merritt saw the doubt in his wife’s face, but she also saw her glance at Belmont’s retreating form.

She knew what Esther was thinking—it would do her daughter no harm to have the duke’s acquaintance when she went to London for her Season next year. “If you are sure, Merritt, dear.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it otherwise. Now, let’s go and see the real jewel of Cliffstone.” She trusted the duke would have had plenty of time to squirrel Linwood away, but she did wax more rhapsodic about the view from the clifftop than she might otherwise have.

“It’s stunning, to be sure,” the viscount said as they arrived at the bottom and looked about the stage. “But what has it to do with a finishing school?”

“It’s not a finishing school that I have in mind, exactly, but something more.

” She gestured back toward the girls following in their path.

“You have already done a marvelous job with Pearl. She and Julia are both well versed in music, languages, manners, all the things that Society has deemed necessary for them to demonstrate in order to catch a husband. What I mean to teach them is to think about the skills and ideas they will need after they are married.”

“Do you mean organizational skills, like Belmont mentioned you are so good at?” Esther asked. “Goodness knows, I could have used a few lessons in household management before I was tasked with it.”

“I can understand that, but they won’t be asked to take the stage,” the viscount said, gesturing.

“No, of course not,” Merritt agreed. “But I thought it would be a grand learning experience for the girls to work with each other and members of the community to pull off an event like a local theatre production. There is so much involved in such a project, and it can provide a valuable chance to strengthen relationships between a great house and the tenants and locals. Rather like the grand fair that Lady Dayle throws each summer. It is known far and wide, and she is beloved in Dorsetshire.”

“True enough,” the viscount admitted.

“I think it is a marvelous idea,” Esther declared.