Page 6 of The Spring Promise (The Starlings of Starling Hall #1)

CHAPTER SIX

W ill and Molly found an unoccupied sitting room and made themselves at home. There was a loud clock ticking on the mantel and a very small plant in a pot, which he stayed well away from.

Will had only spoken the truth. Molly did know him so well; his faults and his quirks as well as his good points. Why couldn’t Celeste be more like Molly? She had been taken aback when she realised how afraid he was up on the tower. To make matters worse, she had taken Hunter up there and he was sure to put on a fearless display. He might even propose to Celeste as well, and despite her assurance to the contrary, this time, she might just say yes.

Despite Will’s best efforts, nothing seemed to be going right.

To make matters more confusing, he had found himself perturbed by the sight of Molly and Hunter together just now. Yes, he had wanted her to be an attractive distraction, but they had seemed to be getting along far too well. He supposed he should not be surprised, Molly had the ability to get on with everyone, but he did feel rather uncomfortable at the sight. They had both been smiling, enjoying some little joke or story, and Hunter had been looking at Will’s friend as if he was… interested .

Will felt a sinking in his stomach. He wasn’t sure what that feeling was, but the thought of Molly and Hunter together made him even more queasy than the view from the roof.

Was Molly right? Should he be completely honest with Celeste? Perhaps. And yet he suspected she wouldn’t want to hear about his faults. That seemed hardly fair. She must have some flaws of her own. She wasn’t completely perfect. Was she? No, now he thought about it, she most certainly was not!

When Will first set eyes on her, Celeste had seemed like the answer to his dreams. He still thought her beautiful, but he was beginning to wonder if they could be happy together. If they married, would she join him in the crowded Hall, with his parents and siblings, or would she want him to take up residence somewhere else? London, for instance?

But that was impossible for Will. As the eldest son and the Starling heir, he would one day take over the title and the Hall. He would become Sir William Starling. His siblings might tease him about his dedication to their land and the tenants who relied on him, but Will loved his life. His future lay here in Barton Lacey. The family was not immensely wealthy, but they were comfortable, and as long as he worked hard, they would continue to remain so.

Celeste was not wealthy either. She had once told him that her face was her fortune, which at the time he had thought charming, but now…

He sighed.

Molly squeezed his hand, which he only now realised she was still holding. “You sound as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” she said. “Really, Will, do cheer up. I am sure things will right themselves. If Celeste loves you, then she will accept you for who you are. Who cares if you find heights uncomfortable? Unless you are going to become the President of the Ballooning Club, it really doesn’t matter. As for tropical plants, you’re hardly likely to take a job with the Horticultural Society.”

Molly was always good at making him laugh and shaking off his gloomy thoughts, and this was no exception.

“If I decide to attempt either of those things, I hope you will stop me,” he teased her.

“You have my word.”

He gazed into her green eyes. There was something so comforting, so warm, about them, that Will did not want to stop.

Molly blinked, and then her cheeks coloured. She gave an uneasy laugh and looked away.

“I think we should find the others,” she said, and led the way out of the room and into the hall.

At that moment, Celeste and Hunter came down the stairs, faces flushed with laughter. Will felt that familiar sting of jealousy, but then Hunter turned his gaze away from Celeste to look at Molly. And at that moment, Will’s jealousy turned into something else. A squeeze in his chest that was quite painful, like someone pressing on a bruise.

Was Hunter in love with Molly? Impossible. They had only just met! And yet Abby had said the same thing to him about Celeste and he had argued that it had only taken one look for him to be head over heels. What if she…?

Will left shortly afterwards, making the excuse that he had business to attend to with one of his father’s tenant farmers.

“That sounds somewhat dull,” Celeste had replied, with a glance at Hunter as if to share her opinion, but Hunter and Molly were engaged in a conversation about the view from the roof, and Hunter was now offering to show it to her.

Will stormed off, and Celeste accompanied him to the door.

“Are you cross with me for refusing you?” she asked. “I am sorry, Will. I should have said I would consider your offer and then refused in a day or two, but I so hate subterfuge.”

“As do I,” Will said stoically. “It is always better to know where one stands, Miss Morton.”

She chewed her lip and gave him one of those little glances he used to find so charming. “Can we be friends, Will? Please?”

Celeste’s expression was serious for once, her blue eyes wide and guileless.

“I suppose so,” he said, and despite himself, hope rose in his chest.

Will’s horse was waiting outside. He set off, grateful to leave the Morton house far behind. He had much to think about where Celeste was concerned. He realised now that he had made an error on the roof. He should have asked his parents about their potential living situation before he had proposed.

Will tended to over think things, but believed Celeste might appreciate some clarity. Perhaps he could make a detailed sketch of the interior of the Hall? He could note the water closets too—she had seemed interested during his conversation about his father’s innovations. Molly always complimented them on such a modern convenience.

Now his mind drifted back to Molly. The way Hunter had looked at her, and how well they seemed to get on. What if Hunter proposed to Molly? What if that rake seduced Molly?

Will found his heart was beating hard and fast. His fists clenched on the horse’s reins. Perhaps he should have stayed and kept watch over her? He hesitated, about to turn back, until it occurred to him that Molly was far too sensible to fall for Hunter’s tricks.

Still full of questions and doubts, Will made his way home to Starling Hall. His low spirits lifted at the sight of his home. It may not be a Tudor manor like Sir Reginald’s, or a Georgian palace like the Norris’s, but he loved it. He belonged here. He knew every nook and cranny within its walls, and he could never imagine living anywhere else.

And he just knew that if Celeste married him, she would come to love it too.