Chapter 26

Twenty-Six

"Now, son," Leopold began a moment after Owen finished telling the gentleman that he'd appreciate it if there was no more thinking about kissing and Meemaw from that point forward, even if Aunt Elma kept broaching the topic, "while it's understandable why you feel the need to have the talk with me, although I'm a little elderly for that type of talk, what I think is this—you're devoting far too much time worrying about everyone else and their kissing when what you really should be devoting your time to is getting around to doing some kissing of your own—and with Camilla, if that's in question."

Owen pressed a finger once again to a temple that was definitely beginning to throb. "That has nothing to do with our current conversation."

"I beg to differ because, in my humble opinion, you're getting yourself all worked up about me and your meemaw, as well as Luella and Charles, and kissing in general, because you don't know how to go about securing a few kisses from Camilla."

"If I'm getting worked up it's because I've been left in charge of the family, and we're talking about my grandmother and sister being the objects of gentlemen wanting to kiss them."

"Kissing is what couples do after they realize they're fond of each other, which brings me back to Camilla—are you not fond of her?"

"I'm not comfortable with the direction this conversation is taking."

Leopold sent him a wink. "Then I won't say another word about you kissing Camilla, but I imagine after you get around to kissing her, you'll be keener to discuss matters of kissing with me. Know that I'm more than willing to lend you advice since your father isn't around and I'm a gentleman of a certain ... vintage and experience."

"I don't want to hear about this experience of yours."

Leopold laughed. "Fair enough, and with that settled, I think it's time I went off to join your meemaw."

"But not because you want to kiss her."

Leopold got up from the rocking chair and gave Owen a clap on the back. "You just keep telling yourself that, son, if it makes you feel better." With that, and with the echo of chuckles following him, Leopold ambled off the porch, leaving Owen standing by himself until he spotted Camilla walking over to join him.

"How'd the talk go with Leopold?" she asked once she reached his side.

"Not as well as I'd hoped."

"He didn't agree to abandon any and all thoughts of kissing Beulah?"

"I think he might have just wandered off with kissing Meemaw on his mind since I just put that idea into his head."

The corners of her lips quirked. "An unexpected result of your little chat?"

"Too right it was."

"Then allow me to suggest that we get on our way back to the country house so you won't do something ridiculous like shadowing Leopold, just like you threatened to do with Charles."

Owen blinked and glanced around, frowning a second later. "Where is Charles?"

Camilla took hold of his arm. "Relax. He's talking with Nems, who's getting his beard trimmed by Bernadette, and Luella's talking to Lottie and Edward, so none of them have stolen away to take any of Elma's advice."

After giving his arm a bit of a pat, Camilla pulled him into motion and steered him over to where they'd left their horses. Climbing into their respective saddles a moment later, they headed down the path leading to the country house.

Silence settled around them as they rode, which was somewhat unusual since Camilla normally enjoyed chatting away with him.

He couldn't help but wonder if something troubling had been said when she'd been speaking with Meemaw, although other than the fact Camilla was determined to stay as far away from the apple pie recipe as she could, he couldn't think of anything she might have discussed with his grandmother that she'd find disconcerting.

He, on the other hand, was finding it difficult not to dwell on what Leopold had said because now that kissing and Camilla had been introduced in the same sentence, he found himself unable to help but think about kissing her, a thought he'd already entertained on numerous occasions due, no doubt, to the topic of kissing dominating so many conversations of late.

The problem with kissing in connection with Camilla, though, was this—she seemed to approach that type of business in a rather no-nonsense fashion, probably because she was a matchmaker and talking about kissing went with the territory. However, she'd never lent him the impression she was personally pondering kissing, which suggested she, unlike him, wasn't spending her time wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Frankly, there was a possibility that if he took Leopold's counsel and broached the matter of wanting to kiss her, she'd take to boxing his ears like Aunt Elma was fond of doing.

Realizing it was less than productive to continue considering kissing in general, especially when such considerations were leaving him rather depressed, Owen cleared his throat, drawing Camilla's attention, which drew his attention to her lips, something that wasn't all that surprising given the contemplation he'd just been doing.

"Were you about to say something?" she asked, which had him pulling his gaze from her lips and settling it on her nose, which seemed far safer than her lips were.

"I was, ah, just going to say that I thought it was very considerate of you to tell Bernadette that she didn't need to accompany you back to the house to help you change" was all he could think to say as he forced himself not to allow his gaze to drift to her lips again.

Her brow puckered the slightest bit, and it almost seemed as if her gaze lingered for just a second on his lips, but then she shook her head ever so slightly right before she frowned. "I, ah, wasn't, um ... what were we talking about again?"

His mood suddenly improved by leaps and bounds.

"Bernadette not helping you change."

She gave herself another shake. "Oh, right, well, ah ... I couldn't very well put an end to Bernadette's impromptu barber shop when she had men waiting in line to get their hair cut and beards trimmed."

"Her services do seem to be in high demand."

"Word has certainly gotten around about her skills with a pair of shears and a razor, although I hope she isn't overcharging the men for her services today."

"She isn't charging them at all. I told her to send the bill to me since she's doing work for my family members or men who work for me."

Camilla's eyes began to sparkle. "It does speak very highly of your character that you're so attentive to your family and employees, but I'm afraid Bernadette will probably inflate her rates by at least twenty-five percent since you're paying."

"I would expect nothing less of Bernadette, especially when I've been coming to the conclusion she possesses quite the head for business."

Camilla halted her mare and turned in the saddle. "That's exactly why I've been considering offering her financial backing so she can set up her own business here."

Owen reined George to a stop, as well. "What makes you think she'd want to stay in Wheeling?"

"She's mentioned more than once that she finds the locals charming, especially Nems, and loves that everyone simply accepts her exactly how she is, flirtatious nature and all. She also seems to really enjoy having so many ladies from prominent families pleading with her to style their hair. Seems to me she'd have a ready-made book of clients."

"I thought Bernadette aspired to become an actress."

"She did, but she's a practical sort. I think she knows her talent with a pair of shears will provide her with a more secure income than dreams of treading the boards ever will."

"But if you help her open her own business, you'll be losing your lady's maid."

"True, but as Reverend Braun said during last Sunday's sermon revolving around verses from Philippians, we should look not only after our own interests, but also the interests of others."

"Seems like you were really listening to the sermon."

She laughed. "That's the point of attending a service—well, that and the fact that Beulah and Elma have taken to quizzing me on the ride home about what Reverend Braun had imparted, which is why I've been listening to every word that comes out of his mouth."

"Why would they do that?"

"They like to keep me on my toes."

"You don't seem bothered by that," Owen said.

She smiled. "I like your grandmother and aunt, even with them being two of the most contrary ladies I've ever been acquainted with, and..."

Whatever else Camilla continued to say faded away when he found his attention drawn to her lips again, undoubtedly because they were now curved in a most enticing manner, which made them downright impossible to ignore.

He lost all sense of his surroundings until he realized Camilla had stopped talking, as her lips were no longer moving. Drawing in a breath, he forced his attention from her lips and lifted his gaze, all sense of time completely disappearing when he caught her eye and found himself captured by the fact she was staring at him just as intently as he was staring at her. Before he knew it, he was leaning toward her, his attention returning to lips that were now parted ever so slightly, and...

"Ah, Camilla, there you are," a voice suddenly rang out, which left Camilla drawing in a sharp breath as time returned to normal and a slice of disappointment slid over him because, clearly, the moment he'd been highly anticipating for quite some time had just vanished into thin air.

Forcing himself to settle back in the saddle as Camilla took to doing the same, he gave himself a shake to clear his head right as Lottie and Edward rode up to join them, Lottie edging her mare alongside Camilla's.

"I hope we're not interrupting," Lottie said as she looked to Camilla, then to Owen, arched a brow at Edward, who sent her an arch of his brow in return, then turned her attention to Camilla again.

"Not at all," Camilla said in a downright chirpy tone, which left Lottie all but gawking at her. "Owen and I simply stopped for a moment because we were, ah..." She glanced around before she gestured to a field off to their right. "Admiring those lovely flowers over there."

"Those are dandelions," Lottie said.

"Aren't they simply spectacular?"

"They're weeds."

Camilla waved that aside. "Perhaps, but they're still lovely, and would look wonderful in those vases Luella found the other day, the yellow ones with the gold rim around them?" She sent a smile Owen's way, which, unfortunately, had his gaze immediately returning to her lips, until he remembered they had an audience, and a very curious audience at that.

"They would look exceedingly lovely in those vases," he finally mustered up to say when she narrowed an eye on him. "Which is why I'm now going to gather you a nice bunch of them to put in those vases."

A second later, Edward was looking at him as if he'd never seen him before, while Lottie sent him a cheeky grin. Realizing everyone was waiting for him to make a move, he swung from the saddle and took a step toward the dandelion field.

"Perhaps while you do that flower gathering," Lottie began, "Camilla and I will continue on to the house because everyone will be coming over within the hour." She nodded to Camilla. "Beulah thought you might need my help getting ready since you're under a time constraint, but before I forget." She snagged something pink from her lap and held it up. "Beulah asked me to give you this apron, thinking the pink would go well with the afternoon dress you told her you were planning on wearing today."

Camilla, instead of taking the apron, released a snort. "And here I thought she and Elma had decided to abandon their attempts at skullduggery."

"They haven't abandoned anything," Lottie returned. "However, since we share the same suspicions, I've already emptied the pockets of more than a few copies of a particular recipe."

"Did you throw them away?"

"All but one, because that apple pie is delicious, and I'm certainly going to use the infamous pie recipe the next time I make pie."

Edward was suddenly all smiles. "I've heard about that apple pie recipe for as long as I can remember."

Lottie's brow took to furrowing. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because even though you've been reluctant to entertain the thought of me courting you, you're now going to have no choice in the matter since it's all but a given that we're supposed to be together, what with you possessing a copy of that recipe."

"Except that the recipe only works when someone is going to be marrying into the Chesterfield family," Lottie countered.

Edward's smile turned a little smug. "True, but you see, Owen and I are cousins three times removed, which means I am a Chesterfield, if a bit distantly related."

For the briefest of seconds, Lottie merely gazed at Edward, disbelief evident in her eyes, until she kneed her mare into motion and took off like a shot, bouncing around in the saddle because of her inexperience with riding, Camilla sending him a grin before she took off after her companion.

The grin left Owen feeling a little discombobulated, but before he could do anything to address that unusual state, Edward swung from his saddle and strode over to join him.

"Is it my imagination or was that a bit of an odd reaction on Lottie's part to discovering we're distant cousins?" Edward asked.

"I suppose it wasn't odd if she actually has been reluctant to have you court her and just learned she's in possession of a recipe that usually precedes a couple getting married."

Edward frowned. "I would have thought having possession of that recipe would have convinced her to set aside her reservations since, if you think about it, there's every chance your meemaw deliberately gave that apron to Lottie to give to Camilla, knowing Lottie would riffle through the pockets and find copies of the recipe. That means the matriarch of the Chesterfield family is more than willing to embrace Lottie and has, in fact, bestowed her blessing on an upcoming union between me and Lottie."

"You think Meemaw deliberately set Lottie up?"

"Since she and Elma pulled me aside the other day and asked if I'd gotten around to kissing Lottie—which was, in my humble opinion, a completely unexpected and uncomfortable thing to ask me, since, no, I haven't kissed her, but, yes, I've thought about it—I think they're now determined to make sure Lottie comes to her senses and agrees to become a part of the Chesterfield family, however distant the relationship might be."

"Why won't Lottie agree to you courting her?"

"Her colorful past seems to be the main issue, even though I've told her I don't care that she was once employed by a New York underworld boss."

"She told you about that?"

"She did, the day after she arrived, when we went to Stone and Thomas." Edward shook his head. "Lottie's very ethical, and she thought I needed to know she wasn't a proper lady right from the start because she didn't want me to keep finding myself in her company and developing a friendship with her, only to learn she'd been withholding pertinent information that could have affected whether I wanted to become friends with her or not."

"It clearly didn't affect your interest in her."

Edward smiled. "Of course not. Lottie's the woman of my dreams, and I'll eventually wear her down, especially when it appears Beulah and Elma have now gotten involved."

Owen returned the smile. "I imagine Lottie doesn't stand a chance of refusing your suit since Meemaw and Aunt Elma seem to be in cahoots to change her mind."

"Too right she doesn't, but enough about my romantic problems, let's turn the conversation to you. Anything you care to discuss with me?"

"I suppose we could discuss how many dandelions I should pick to fit into those vases for Camilla," Owen said before he headed for the dandelion field, Edward falling into step beside him.

"I was thinking you'd want to discuss something other than weeds, such as how annoyed you probably are with me after Lottie and I interrupted your rather ... romantic interlude."

"You noticed that?"

"Would have been hard to miss. However, know that Lottie and I were going to attempt to make a stealthy retreat, but you know she's not good on a horse. When she tried to turn it around, she ended up encouraging it to bolt forward instead, interrupting your moment in the process."

"You might want to consider giving Lottie a few riding lessons," Owen muttered, bending down to begin picking dandelions.

"So she won't be able to interrupt another one of your romantic moments again through inept horseback riding?"

"I'm not certain there'll be another moment because it didn't seem as if Camilla was that disappointed by the interruption."

"Women behave oddly when they're taken by surprise."

"Are you talking about my attempt to kiss her or the interruption?"

"Hard to say."

Owen picked a few more dandelions. "I'm not sure you're the best man to be giving me advice since ‘hard to say' isn't exactly helpful, and besides that, you seem to have some unresolved issues of your own."

Edward handed Owen a handful of dandelions and smiled. "You might have a point, which is why I think it might be beneficial if both of us seek out people who can give us some sage advice. In this particular case, I'm going to seek out my father, but I'm going to suggest you seek the advice of a man who knows Camilla—that being Leopold Pendleton, of course."

Thirty minutes later, after Owen got George settled with a bucket of oats in his stall, he headed for the backyard in search of Leopold, who was probably going to be more than amused when Owen set about asking that gentleman for some advice that was, indeed, going to revolve around kissing.

He came to a stop when he rounded the corner of the house, taking a second to allow his gaze to take in the scene in front of him.

Normally, when the family gathered, tables constructed from planks of wood and resting on sawhorses was as fancy as it got, but evidently Mr. Timken, Luella, and Camilla had had other ideas.

Yes, the long tables that were placed over a recently mown lawn were still sitting on sawhorses, but he couldn't tell if the tops were planks of wood because they were draped in white linen and the tables were set with lilac-colored dishes, everything matching, including the lilac flowers someone had placed every few feet as centerpieces.

Chairs, all of them matching as well, marched down both sides of the tables, and resting beside each plate was one knife, one spoon, and two forks, compliments of Mr. Timken, no doubt, who'd obviously realized that some of the Chesterfield relations wouldn't be comfortable sitting down to a formal dining setting.

"Camilla, Luella, and Mr. Timken certainly know their way around organizing a good party," Leopold said, ambling up to join him and sparing Owen the bother of tracking him down. "And your relatives who've taken over the kitchen certainly know how to fashion a fine meal."

"They do indeed, but before everyone arrives for the family reunion, I was wondering if you might have a moment to speak privately with me."

Leopold's eyes began to twinkle. "Have you been thinking up new rules to give me concerning your grandmother?"

"No, but I'm sure a few will come to me over the next day or so." He drew in a breath. "What I really wanted to speak with you about is ... Camilla."

Before Leopold could do more than smile, and rather smugly at that, Camilla walked into view, dressed in a charming gown of some shade of pink, the apron Meemaw had given her tied around her waist.

As soon as she reached the center of the lawn, where she'd arranged games for the younger set, children streamed out to join her, all of them expecting hugs and a few of them leaving behind evidence on her apron that chocolate ice cream had already been pilfered from the kitchen, which suggested that Meemaw, even with her attempt at additional shenanigans, had evidently known Camilla would find herself the object of children and their messy hands and had provided her with a barrier for her lovely gown.

Not that Camilla seemed particularly concerned these days about dirt, but ... still.

"Given the way you're watching Camilla," Leopold began, "perhaps I should be shadowing you as you threatened to do with Charles, although . . ." He leaned closer. "In all honesty, if you're thinking about stealing any kisses, know that I wholeheartedly approve, and even if I were to happen upon you at what you'd consider an inopportune moment, I certainly wouldn't interrupt because if you've yet to figure this out, your meemaw is quite correct in that Camilla is perfect for you in every way."

Owen, especially after almost enjoying a romantic interlude with Camilla earlier, found he couldn't disagree with that.

Before he could contemplate the thought further, though, Leopold gave him a clap on the back. "Now, son, all that's left for you to discern is whether Camilla's figured out how well-suited the two of you are for each other, and if she hasn't, then you're going to need to figure out how to convince her that you're rather perfect for her as well."