Page 7 of The Spring Promise (The Starlings of Starling Hall #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

M olly hadn’t seen Will for several days. She had assumed he was at the Morton’s, but when Sir Reginald’s parlourmaid, who was a friend of their dairymaid, had called yesterday, Molly had questioned her in a roundabout way. It seemed he had not visited the manor for some time. Celeste was still in residence, but there was talk of her returning to Shropshire.

It seemed strange that Will wasn’t making the most of the time left to him to win her over.

Grace suggested that Will was probably busy. Spring was always a busy season in the country, what with crops to plant and animals having babies. Molly knew that as the heir to Starling Hall, Will never stinted his time when it came to his duties.

Will was serious and responsible, and Molly had always loved that about him.

She sighed, wondering what the point was of loving a man who was so determined to throw himself away on a pretty face.

Was she being unfair? She supposed she was, a little. Celeste was vivacious and charming, and she was very pretty. But after giving it due consideration, Molly concluded that Will married to Celeste would be miserable. Celeste would probably be miserable, too. She didn’t seem the type to stick it out in the country for long. From what Molly had gathered from her conversation with Celeste, she was already dying to move on.

“Not that I haven’t enjoyed my stay,” she had added hastily, “because I have. Very much. But a cousin has asked me to visit her in London, and once one has seen one cow, one has seen them all.”

Molly had smiled dutifully but thought to herself, Poor Will . Unless he could convince Celeste of the joys of Starling Hall, or Celeste grew so in love with him she was willing to forego London, he was doomed to heartbreak.

Perhaps Molly should pay a visit to Starling Hall?

After all, it was what she would have done—before Celeste arrived. It was what any friend would do, and she hoped she and Will were still friends. She wondered if Will had already asked Celeste for her hand, and maybe the Starlings were celebrating, but somehow Molly did not believe that. Will could never keep such a thing to himself, and if he was tying the knot with Celeste Morton, everyone in Barton Lacey would know by now.

With a sigh, Molly changed into one of her better dresses, before she went to the stables and set off on her mare.

Once she reached the Hall, she could see that the children were involved in a game of croquet on the front lawn, while their governess tried to keep order. The rules appeared to have gone out of the window, with the younger children refusing to do as they were told. A couple of the boys were wrestling, and a dog ran barking in circles.

As soon as the children saw Molly, they all gathered around her, everyone speaking at once. Although Molly didn’t usually mind all this attention, she was relieved when Lady Meg Starling came to see what all the noise was about.

“Molly, my dear! It has been ages. We have missed you.”

Molly hastily blinked back tears. If Will succeeded in wooing Celeste her visits would be few indeed. The thought of seeing him with someone else would simply be too much to bear. She would have to stay away for a year or so. Maybe a decade.

Possibly forever.

“I am sorry, Lady Meg. I have been rather busy.”

Lady Meg raised her auburn eyebrows over her blue eyes, and suddenly looked very much like her eldest son. “Will seems to think you have an admirer.”

Molly stared. “An admirer?” She raised a hand to tuck back a strand of fair hair. “Then he knows more than I do. By chance, did he say who this admirer might be?”

“Mr Hunter, I am told.” Lady Meg watched her curiously. “Do you mean to say it is not true? Will seemed sure that it was.”

“I think I need to speak to Will,” Molly said with a forced smile. “But I assure you I have not seen Mr Hunter since that day at the Morton’s.”

Will’s mother looked a little confused, but said she would find her son. However, someone called to her from somewhere inside the hall, and she gave Molly a harried look. “I’m sorry, I must attend to this first.”

Molly smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll find him.”

As expected, she found him in the barn. She had heard that one of their ewes had died, and Will had been bottle feeding it with limited success. But it seemed another ewe’s lamb had died, and he’d taken the opportunity to pair the two together. Both ewe and lamb were happy now.

Will looked up from the shadows of the stall, his blue eyes weary but relieved. “I was beginning to wonder if the poor thing would survive,” he said. “Or maybe I was wondering if I would survive, getting up at all hours to feed the creature.”

That was the thing about Will, he was practical, but also kind hearted. He could have had someone else to do the feeding for him, but he considered it his job.

Molly sat down on a hay bale beside him, watching as the lamb suckled. Will would make a good father someday. He would be stern when necessary, but also understanding. His siblings all loved him, though they teased him incessantly, and he took it in good part. She could imagine him surrounded by children, gazing up at him adoringly.

Molly felt her heart fill with sadness. Whatever Will did, she would not be a part of it.

“Has Hunter been to see you?”

She looked up, surprised. “Hunter? No, why?”

Will’s frown brought his auburn brows down over his blue eyes. “I was sure he would. He seemed very taken with you the other day.”

“Did he?” She smiled at the thought that a handsome London gentleman might find her interesting enough to call.

Will replaced some of the tools that had been left about. “You must have noticed.”

Molly’s smile was replaced by a glare. “I didn’t, and he hasn’t. Have you been to call on the Mortons?”

He picked some straw from his sleeve. “I thought if I stayed away, Celeste might miss me. Come looking for me. So far it hasn’t worked.”

“So you asked her?” she said abruptly. “To marry you?”

“I did, yes.”

“So if you’re hoping she would come looking for you… oh my. Did she refuse you?”

Will’s mouth closed hard and he gave a single nod. He muttered something that sounded like, “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“I am your friend, so it is my business,” Molly snapped.

There was silence for a while. The lamb had finished feeding and was asleep with its new mother. Molly was beginning to wish she had not come when Will sighed. His shoulders slumped as he said, “Sorry, Molly. I am out of sorts. This business with Celeste… It has shaken me. I was always so sure I knew my place in the world, that I had a great deal to offer any woman, but she has me thinking it is not enough. That I am not enough.”

“Oh Will.” Molly took his hands in hers. His palms were calloused and a tad grimy from work, but Molly didn’t care. “You are enough for any woman. Just because she does not see you as her perfect fit does not mean anything.”

He shook his head and looked down at their clasped hands. “You’re right, I know. But it still hurts that I offered myself to her only to be refused.”

Molly wished she could shake Celeste until her teeth rattled for causing Will, the most confident man she knew, to doubt himself. “Of course it hurts. Love is like that. One moment you’re up in the clouds and the next you’re crashing to earth.”

Will gave her a curious look. “You sound as if you know all about it. Who did you love, Molly?”

Molly gaped at him, her usually quick wits deserting her.

“Who do you love?” His expression darkened and his voice had risen. “It’s Hunter, isn’t it?”

“Will, please, that isn’t…”

Will stood up. “He would only make you miserable,” he said gruffly. “You are dazzled by his handsome face and clever manners, but the truth is the man is a cad. Why else is he rusticating here in the country?”

Molly felt a spark of anger. “I don’t think it is your place to offer me advice.”

Will wasn’t listening to her. “I know that I asked you to divert Hunter’s attention from Celeste, but I didn’t mean for you to fall in love with the man! I thought you had more sense than that.”

Molly stood up to face him. “You selfish, arrogant beast! You begged me to help you. You promised if I did, you would give me whatever I wanted! And I kept my end of the bargain.”

“Oh, is that all?” he said, his voice rising. “All that was simply to earn my favour? What do you want then? Tell me so I can pay my debt. I’d hate for you to think I had reneged.”

“I’ll tell you what I want!” Molly burst out, only to realise she couldn’t. Not if she wanted to retain her self-respect. Then she remembered what Will had asked of her, and without thinking she blurted out, “I want you to make Mark Hunter jealous.”

“You want what ?” Will shook himself. “Why would I want to do that?”

“This is not about what you want, is it?” Molly retorted. “I want you to pretend you are in love with me and make him jealous. There, I’ve said it. Now, I expect you to make good on your promise, Will Starling.”

For a moment, she was sure he would refuse. He sat heavily on the hay bale. “Is that what you really want?” he asked, confused.

“I’ve said so, haven’t I?”

He nodded slowly. “So you do desire him? I thought perhaps…” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Very well, then. I made the promise, so I will do as you ask. Together we will make Hunter green with jealousy.”

“Good,” said Molly.

Will’s lips twitched into a smile, as if he had suddenly become aware of the ridiculousness of the situation. “Do you have a plan? Knowing you, you will have several plans.”

“I do have a plan,” she said, refusing to smile back. “There is a ball at the Norris’s on Saturday, if I recall correctly. We can start there.”

Will looked at her in a curious way, as if he had never seen this side of her before. Indeed, she felt as if she was a stranger to herself. Perhaps she had lost her mind, but it was too late to back out now.

“Very well,” he said briskly. “Saturday it is.”

Molly nodded in a decisive way and walked out. What had been meant to be a visit to check on a friend had turned into a ridiculous charade. It was Will’s fault, of course. Everything was his fault. Except the bit where Molly loved him but she was too proud to tell him so. Because how could she do that when he was still in mourning for Celeste?

She should be happy. It appeared as though Will’s hopes for marrying Celeste were dashed. Only now she was enmeshed in this absurd farce that seemed to have no end.