Page 36 of Mr Winterbourne's Christmas
AT CAVENDISH’S REQUEST, Adam and Lysander stayed with him during his interview with Sir Edmund. Lysander had commandeered the earl’s study for the meeting, shutting out the earl—much to his dismay and Adam’s private amusement—and the curious Goulds.
“Well?” Cavendish said to Sir Edmund once they’d all sat down. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
Sir Edmund cleared his throat. “With your leave, I would like to pay my addresses to your sister.”
“You want tomarryher?” Cavendish sounded surprised and a little angry still.
“Yes,” Sir Edmund said flatly. “Though if she does not want to accept my proposal, I have no intention of allowing you to force her to wed me.”
“Force her!” Cavendish exclaimed. “That’s rich, coming from you!”
Sir Edmund coloured again, though with temper this time, Adam thought. His lips were thinly pressed together, and his eyes flashed with irritation.
“Perry, come on,” Lysander cajoled, setting a hand on Cavendish’s forearm. Adam found he really didn’t much like it when Lysander touched Cavendish, which really was an absurd thought.
“Come on, what?” Cavendish sulked.
“Her reputation will be in shreds after this,” Lysander said. “The Goulds are terrible gossips, so it will certainly get out. This will ruin her, Perry—unless she marries.” He gave a lopsided smile. “And she does seem quite partial to him.”
Cavendish gestured at Sir Edmund. “He was hurting her. What if—”
“Oh, for goodness sake!” Lysander interrupted, “How many times did she tell you, Perry? They were obviously playing a game. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of people doing such things.”
Cavendish flushed but said no more. At length he looked at Sir Edmund again, his expression unfriendly. “Fine,” he said. “But only if she wants you.”
***
SHE WANTED HIM.
Sir Edmund was granted a few minutes’ privacy with Lady Arabella—now respectably attired—to make his proposal and when they came into the drawing room, where most of the other guests were still gathered, she was radiant with happiness. Sir Edmund appeared rather grimmer, but you had to give the man credit. He was dealing with a difficult situation with considerable aplomb.
In expectation of the happy announcement, Lady Winterbourne had arranged for wine and cake to be served. Since the earl could not bring himself to speak, Simon was given the job of proposing a toast in the engaged couple’s honour. He skated over the evening’s scandal, skilfully hinting it had been little more than a stolen kiss and managed to leave the company with the feeling that Sir Edmund and Lady Arabella’s sudden engagement was the height of chaste romance. And if not quite everyone believed him—Adam saw Mrs. Gould roll her eyes at her husband—no one was rude enough to say so. Or, indeed, mention that just a few hours ago, the earl had proposed a toast to Sir Edmund with the obvious expectation that he would soon be the man’s father-in-law.
Afterwards the guests milled around, conversing. Lady Arabella and Sir Edmund stood in the centre of the room, accepting the other guests’ congratulations. Mrs. Rodney didn’t seem unhappy about the situation. She was in conversation with Miss Greenhill, the two of them smiling and chatting easily. She certainly didn’t have the look of a woman scorned.
Lysander had been standing with Perry during the toast, giving him his silent support, but when Adam glanced their way again, he saw that Perry was talking with Simon now. Gazing around the room, he finally caught sight of Lysander sitting with his great-aunt Maud on a small sofa, listening intently to whatever she was saying. Adam bit back a smile of affection—and amusement—because God only knew what the eccentric old lady was saying to him.
Adam decided to rescue him—or at least share his trials. He excused himself from the group he’d been standing with and crossed the room.
Mrs. Winterbourne beamed as he approached. “Ah, it’s your friend, Lysander. I like this one a great deal. He has a lovely—”
“May I join you, ma’am?” Adam interrupted before she could complete the thought. Lysander pressed his lips together against laughter.
“Of course,” she replied. “I shall have the two handsomest men in the room on either side of me and I can tell you it’s been a few years since I’ve been able to say that!” She winked at him roguishly, gesturing at the chair beside her, and Adam obediently sat himself down.
“I was just saying to Lysander,” the old lady began, smiling at Adam, “how nice it is to see young people pairing up—and those two make such a lovely couple, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know either of them very well,” Adam admitted. “But Lady Arabella appears to be a very lively young woman and Sir Edmund—”
“Oh, not those two!” Mrs. Winterbourne said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “The gals, I mean.”
Adam blinked, confused. “The gals?”
Mrs. Winterbourne nodded. “Anne and Gwen,” she said as though Adam was quite stupid. Sighing happily, she added, “You only need to look at them to see how devoted they are to one another.”
Adam met Lysander’s gaze. His lover’s eyes were wide with surprise and Adam suspected his own expression was similarly shocked, though he had to admit he was already feeling rather stupid as he remembered the events of the last days, particularly that moment, earlier in the library when the two women had emerged from the window seat. They’d seemed perturbed at being discovered, but at the time he’d put it down to them being seen by a group of gentlemen with their hair down. And then yesterday in the nursery, and yes, on the greenery walk too...When he came to think about it, it seemed they’d been trying quite as hard as he and Lysander to find some privacy.
Glancing across the drawing room to where Miss Greenhill stood with Lysander’s sister, Adam watched as Mrs. Rodney spoke animatedly, her pretty face bright with amusement, and Miss Greenhill smiled at her with obvious affection. There was friendship between them, yes, but it seemed there was more than that. A deeper intimacy in the way they looked at each other.