Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The next morning, Joseph leaned back in the washtub and let his thoughts drift back to Lydia and their time together. It was only the third day of knowing her and life had never been so exciting as when she was near.

For years he had been bored by the marriage market and the idea of being forever hitched to a proper lady who spoke of nothing but needlework and party planning. In just a few days, Lydia had already taught him that a romantic relationship didn't have to be a reason to yawn or escape.

Since the moment they met, he and Lydia had had such an unusual and stimulating connection. There was absolutely nothing typical or monotonous about her! It was so refreshing that, for the very first time, he allowed himself to wonder if he might enjoy taking a wife.

But it would have to be that wife. It would have to be someone like Lydia, because she had shown him in such a short time that no other type of woman would do.

"And as luck would have it, I'm already engaged to her." Joseph said aloud, chuckling to himself as he smoothed the bar of soap over his limbs until the water filled with suds.

However, it was important that he got to know her better before he could let his heart follow the same path as his head. Lydia was interesting and arousing, to be sure. But she was also an odd enough young lady that she might not get along well with the ruler of his family, Countess Winstone.

His mother seemed excited by her eldest son's choice of mate, but would she remain so once she got to know Lydia better, quirks and all? That was another experiment he needed to conduct, and soon.

Joseph would have to get Lydia and the countess together to test their compatibility. For if a woman couldn't pass that test, his mother would put an end to the arrangement and find a more suitable match for her son.

"My lord, are you finished? You have a full schedule today." Joseph's valet, Benchley, poked his head into the door of the dressing room with eyebrows raised. "You know how Lady Winstone loves to punish me when you are late."

"Yes indeed, Benchley. Let's move forward. Speaking of the countess, please arrange a private tea this afternoon for Lady Lydia, my mother, and me. A shaded area in the garden near the fragrant apricot trees would be lovely, would it not?"

"As you wish, my lord."

Once dressed, Joseph took his breakfast with their house full of guests and noticed Lydia wasn't yet among them. However, he had sent word through Bridget that they should meet in the late morning for croquet on the front lawn, so he hoped to see her then.

The sun had finally appeared and dried the property surrounding the house, making it the perfect day for enjoying Lydia's company in the presence of others.

Especially Wilhelmina Underwood, to discourage her from ruining a happy couple's engagement.

Joseph was feeling so positive about how well the rest of this week would unfold that he was unusually pleased to be breaking fast with his family. Even the sight of Oliver swallowing his sorrows with a great deal of jam and bread gave him cause to smile.

Henry and Maria were absent from the breakfast table, as was Oliver's wife, Sophia. That wasn't a cause for concern. Henry had confided in Joseph just an hour ago that Maria's new pregnancy made her feel too queasy for eating so early. And Sophia rarely joined the family for breakfast these days other than when pressed to do so.

It was his father's company Joseph most looked forward to at present. The two men rarely had time to converse lately, unless both escaped to the orangery for peace and quiet at the same time.

"My lord, what news of the road repairs? Is there an end in sight?" Joseph secretly hoped his father would say it would take much longer than expected, as he wasn't ready for the Carters to make their leave yet.

"Have some patience, son. We could all be here for a fortnight before the roads are passable again, including the bridge reconstruction. I'm afraid we'll all be quite familiar with each other by then." The earl glanced at the long dining tables full of his guests and sighed. "We'll also need to find more ways to occupy ourselves besides croquet and card games. Perhaps a hunt is in order. We might soon have want for more fresh meat to feed this lot."

"A fine idea, Father. But you know the countess will want for more marriage mart frivolity. She's a natural-born matchmaker." Joseph winked at his mother across the table as she smiled at the mention of her passion for bringing couples together.

"You are right, Joseph! It would please me greatly to have several matches made for the season before our guests depart. I do believe I have a few more romantic games up my sleeve!" Lady Winstone beamed at her eldest son, but her smile disappeared when she glanced at Oliver on her right. "My dear boy, there is no one in more need of sunlight than you. Meet us for croquet after breakfast. You will play on my team."

Oliver rolled his eyes and washed down a large bite of bread with the last of his tea. "Croquet is for children, Mama."

"Rubbish! Croquet is a delight for all ages and you will enjoy it." Lady Winstone dabbed her napkin to her lips and patted her middle son's arm.

"Because you said so?" Oliver asked in a tone laced with his usual sarcasm.

"Precisely." The countess lifted a small silver bell from beside her plate and rang it, which prompted the serving staff to bring the light morning meal to a close.

Joseph made note of how everyone around her, including his grumpy brother, did the countess's bidding. It was all the more reason to get Lydia in his mother's good graces from the start.

Plus, if there was a crack in the foundation of Lydia and Countess Winstone's relationship, Wilhelmina Underwood might sense it and try to break it apart.

He scanned the room again for Lydia, but she was nowhere in sight, and neither was her family.

"Mama, have Lord and Lady Briarwood had their breakfast already? I hope you invited them for croquet as well."

"Of course I did! The Carters dined in the breakfast room this morning and are likely relaxing on the terrace now where everyone is gathering to form croquet teams."

"Excellent. May the best team win." Joseph finished his tea and excused himself from the table. It was time to set his scheme in motion to win the support of the ton for he and his bethrothed while Miss Kelly spied on Miss Underwood. He and Lydia needed to present themselves as a united front and the season's most dazzling couple every chance they could.

Sure enough, Lydia's family was where his mother assumed they'd be. All but Lydia.

"Good morning, Lord and Lady Briarwood. You and your family are looking well. It's a fine day for enjoying some fresh air, is it not?" Joseph filled his voice with enthusiasm but was growing concerned by Lydia's continued absence.

"Indeed, Lord Winstone." Lord Briarwood shook Joseph's hand and pointed toward the lawn full of croquet wickets. "The perfect day for some healthy competition!"

Joseph scanned the Carter family's smiling faces until he came to William's. The heir to the Briarwood title seemed in good spirits, but he didn't look Joseph's way.

"You seem to be missing one of your party, Lord Winstone. Will Lady Lydia be joining us for the game?"

Eleanor batted her eyelashes at him and giggled. "Joining Lydia for anything is a game, my lord. She's a constant source of challenge, which you will learn soon enough."

Lady Charlotte laughed at her sister's insult as Joseph smiled. He'd quickly learned not to respond to the Carter sisters' teasing about Lydia to prevent it from continuing on and on.

Lady Briarwood sighed. "Eleanor, please speak kindly of your sister, especially to her future husband. We wouldn't want the viscount to think Lydia is in any way less than the rest of us, now would we?"

Joseph shook his head and kept on smiling. "Rest assured, I would never assume such a thing, Lady Briarwood." He winked at the sisters who tittered and grabbed each other's hands to keep from swooning.

"Lydia should be along soon, Lord Winstone. My apologies that the women in my family aren't known for giving straight answers." Lord Briarwood smirked at Joseph behind the heads of his wife and children.

"Ah, very good, my lord. I shall go tend to other guests until she arrives. Enjoy the game." Joseph turned and descended the steps of the terrace to talk to the footmen managing the croquet mallets and score cards. Only a few steps away from the terrace, he was stopped by the distant call of a disturbed-sounding bird from the side of the house.

"Ca-CAW! Ca-CAW!"

Joseph stifled a laugh as he nonchalantly walked toward the sound to avoid notice, then disappeared out of sight of the other guests.

He found Miss Kelly and Lady Lydia crouched down by a cellar door.

"Have the two of you gone mad? There is no reason to hide from everyone. We can have a conversation in public, you know." Joseph pressed his hands on his waist and frowned. "What is it?"

Lydia opened her mouth but Bridget spoke first. "My mistress has lost her satchel, my lord! She left it in the art gallery!"

"Shhh, Bridget! Let's keep our voices down, please. She speaks the truth, I'm afraid. I forgot it last night and now we cannot find it. We retraced my steps multiple times. The satchel is gone." Lydia bit her lip as her eyebrows knitted together.

"This sneaking around is all because of a lost satchel? We need not panic over something so trivial. I am happy to replace it." Joseph sighed heavily and gestured toward the front lawn. "Please wait a few moments before you follow me. The croquet game is about to start."

"My lord, you don't understand. The satchel had some private papers inside. Ones that may or may not reference a personal matter of which we would not want others to know." Lydia blushed and looked at Bridget, who also blushed and looked down at her feet.

Joseph's shoulders stiffened as his eyes grew wide. "Is that so? Well, which is it, my lady? Do those papers reference a personal matter or do they not?"

Lydia squeezed her eyes shut as if afraid of his reaction to her answer. "They do."

After several seconds of silence between them, Lydia peeked through one narrowed eye at Joseph pacing back and forth with his hand pressed to his forehead.

"Am I to understand that Miss Underwood knows about our kiss on the balcony and now others possibly know about it, too? Or was this personal matter for which you noted in your satchel another encounter I have not yet mentioned?"

Bridget's flushed cheeks grew even rosier as she pressed her hands against her ears to try and keep from learning more of her employer's secrets.

Lydia opened both of her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "It's quite possible Miss Underwood has the satchel, so that would mean she's the only one who knows."

"Unless she has already shared this information, of course!" Joseph's voice grew louder as anger born of fear filled his chest. "There is nothing to be done about it right now. Our absence from croquet would be noticed and unacceptable. Lady Lydia and I will join the game and you, Miss Kelly, will find a reason to get into Miss Underwood's bedchamber to look for the satchel. As well as anything else you can find that might be useful for our cause."

"Yes, my lord. Right away!" Bridget curtsied and turned to run around the other side of the house but Joseph's stern voice stopped her.

"No, not yet! Please escort Lady Lydia into the house from the back garden first. That way she may join us on the terrace through the proper door." Joseph pressed his hands together over his mouth and sighed. His frustration was difficult to hide and he could tell Lydia had tired of it.

"There is no need to speak to so harshly, my lord. We are doing the best we can under the circumstances." Lydia jutted her chin forward and stared at him. "I don't appreciate your tone, so please change it before I get back."

She offered her arm to Bridget and the two women rushed together toward the back of the mansion.

Joseph harrumphed and turned in the opposite direction. He'd forgotten a very important lesson about women. Even if they were the most interesting creatures on earth, they would still sometimes make you see red.

***

The croquet match began with a rocky start when Lydia behaved as though she merely tolerated Joseph and was not pretending to be madly in love with him.

There were two matches happening at the same time with teams of two players each. As Joseph and Lydia took turns knocking their orange ball through each wicket, his mood soured even more.

"My lady, do you think you could replace some of your scowls with a smile? This plan of ours isn't going to work if you continue to act like you're unhappy at my side."

Joseph rested his hands on top of his croquet mallet and watched Lydia concentrate on aiming for her next hit.

"You should have thought of that before you spoke to Bridget and me like fools." Lydia scowled at him again.

"So punishing me is more important than trying to prevent our possible ruin?" Joseph smiled at guests as they walked by and played their turn, but he was not feeling the joy he displayed. "What can I do to make it up to you? Tell me how I might endear myself to you again, little nymph. Unfortunately, I cannot strip down for an anatomy lesson here on the playing field, so how about another poem? Would that do the trick?"

He was delighted to see that suggestion found the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corners of Lydia's pretty mouth.

"Perhaps. Try me." Her tone was still sarcastic, but a bit more playful now.

"Spendid! Let's see. There once was a nymph with a mallet, whose tongue judged me swift as a ballot…"

"I believe you meant swiftly, my lord." Lydia's smile grew wider and her green eyes sparkled with amusement under the late morning sun.

"Whose poem is this, m'lady?" Joseph grinned and felt silly that his heart was soaring again under the spell of Lydia Carter's happy gaze.

"You said it was for me, did you not?"

"Indeed, I did. It's all for you." He took her right hand and slowly lifted it to his lips and kissed it for all to see. He released her and sighed with relief that their tiff had subsided. The good feeling that replaced it was sweet and flirtatious and real.

Which was what he was thinking when he caught a glimpse of Wilhelmina Underwood having tea on the terrace and staring right at him. Though she was too far away to decipher the look in her eyes, they seemed cold and calculating from here.

Joseph turned his back to her and spoke softly to Lydia. "We have an audience. I hope Miss Kelly finds the satchel while Miss Underwood is scowling at me from the terrace as you were scowling at me moments ago."

Lydia stole a peek around his arm and sighed. "Forgive me, my lord, but I don't understand that woman's fixation on you. She is wealthy and beautiful; she could have any man she wanted. I'm beginning to think she wants you just because I do."

Joseph tilted his head with his brows furrowed as if he hadn't heard her correctly. He took a step closer to Lydia as she continued to focus on their adversary on the terrace. "Did you just say that you want me, little nymph?"

Her eyes flew open wide and she took a step backward. "No, of course not! You must have… misunderstood, my lord." She spluttered and blushed and looked down at her hands.

Joseph chuckled. "I think the rest of the poem is coming to me now, my lady. There once was a nymph with a mallet, who judged me as swift as a ballot, but somewhere in there, ‘tween her hips and her hair," Joseph pointed at Lydia's chest where her heart would be, "lived a girl with great want for my shallots."

"Your shallots? My lord, that makes no sense!" Lydia giggled at his silliness with her gloved hand over her mouth.

Joseph laughed and offered his arm to Lydia before they walked on to the next wicket. "Oh, it will someday, my nymph. It will."

The rest of the game found Joseph and Lydia joking and glowing from laughter. They recited more silly limericks and didn't care that they were far behind in points compared to their opponents.

By the end of their match, Joseph had forgotten all about his scheme. He truly enjoyed his fiancée's company with not a care of who was watching or made note of their growing closeness.

At some point, Wilhelmina Underwood disappeared from the terrace when he wasn't paying her any attention. As Joseph helped gather up the game pieces for storage, he hoped Miss Kelly had found Lydia's satchel with all its contents intact.

But finding Bridget would have to wait. Joseph needed to check on the arrangements for the private tea with Lydia and his mother, where he hoped that his nymph wouldn't fall prey to the Winstone lioness.