Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

F itz was bored.

He usually didn't mind spending time at his estate. It provided him a respite, a break where he could recover and simply be himself.

But then, he was never usually here while Parliament was in session, and he was missing some of the most important discussions in the country.

Discussions that were so far from those he was currently involved in, which, at the moment, were centered around whether one of the maids and the stablehand were involved in a torrid love affair.

"I am bored," his mother declared, echoing his own thoughts, once the conversation had concluded. She threw her book down in front of her, causing the rest of them to look up at her in surprise.

"Bored?" Sloane repeated. "Why?"

"There is nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to see," she said with a sigh. "Everyone we normally spend time with is in London."

"We could go to the village," Henrietta suggested, but their mother clucked her tongue.

"We cannot. Then everyone will know we are here."

"I'm sure they already do," Georgina said. "Servants talk."

"True, but to be out in the open would be much more dangerous," Henrietta argued, to which Dot nodded her head in agreement.

All of Fitz's sisters had accepted their country stay, except Dot. While she had eventually agreed, that didn't mean that she was particularly pleased about leaving the women she had committed to. Fitz had suggested those women could perhaps find a midwife they might have to actually pay to which Dot told him he was missing the point of everything, and he had raised his hands in defeat and given up the argument.

"Perhaps one of my friends will come to stay with us," his mother said, causing Fitz to raise his eyebrows.

"And just who will you invite?" he asked.

"Does it matter?"

He laughed at her question. "Of course it does! I am in residence with nowhere else to go."

"Very well," she said with a stern expression. "I sent off a few letters, but I assume that no one is going to respond. Who would want to come to a country home in the middle of the Season when there is so much happening in London and most friends have daughters to marry off?"

Immediately his stomach began to turn as he wondered if Lady Willoughby would have received one such letter. He wasn't certain he could handle more time with her daughter, Eliza, especially if they were going to be in such proximity.

"I'm not certain?—"

"Oh, yes, please do, Mother!" Henrietta said. "We would have such fun."

"Perhaps I shall invite a few of my friends," his mother continued. "Or there is always Lady Nottingham and her daughters…"

His mother looked slightly queasy for a moment and with good reason. Lady Nottingham was an absolute bore, and his mother usually avoided her. She must be desperate if she was considering her company. The girls, however, enjoyed Lady Nottingham's daughters, and they visited now and again.

"I would rather you did not let the entirety of the ton know where we are and why we are here," Fitz said through gritted teeth.

"Of course not," his mother said, turning her head toward him sharply. "Do you think me stupid?"

"Never."

"I have told none of them that you are here, pretending that you are in London."

"And if they do decide to visit? Am I going to hide the entire time?"

"No," his mother said with a snort. "We will then say you just arrived."

"Is it so terrible to be spending time amongst family at this beautiful estate?" Fitz asked, even though he was nearly dying of boredom himself.

"Yes, Fitz. It is," Sarah said before sneezing dramatically, as she always did when they were in the country, although Fitz had no idea why.

"Well," he said, standing and clapping his hands against his legs. "I am going for a ride. I shall see you all at dinner time."

He left, rubbing his hand against his temple, hoping that the private detective he had hired would complete the job soon.

For he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand this.

Eliza bounced her foot over her knee, her legs crossed as she sat back against the squab of the carriage.

"I should be telling you that your posture should be much improved," her mother murmured as she stared out the window, although she did not seem particularly inclined to enforce her words.

"I will improve it if I am in company with anyone else," Eliza said. "You know that I behave myself when required."

"True," her mother said, inclining her head, and Eliza gave in to her impulse to lean over and kiss her mother on the cheek.

"What was that for?" her mother asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"For being you," Eliza said with a smile of affection. "I am well aware of how fortunate I am to have you."

"That is very kind, Eliza," her mother said, leaning forward and patting her leg. "Thank you."

As Appleton Manor came into view, Eliza's heart started to beat quickly and, she thought, somewhat erratically.

"Did you tell Lady Fitzroy that we would be coming?" she asked, wondering what Fitz was thinking about their arrival. Not that it mattered. They were nothing to one another.

"I did write to her, but I'm not sure if we will have arrived before the letter," her mother said. "She seemed so concerned that I thought it best we come nearly immediately."

Eliza nodded absentmindedly. This is what she had wanted – to see her friends again much sooner rather than later, and Appleton was a beautiful place.

It didn't take much intelligence to know what the problem was.

Fitz. The lord of the manor himself.

She contained her sigh as the carriage started up the long drive, and Eliza wondered how much she would be seeing of him. She supposed she would soon find out.

By the time the carriage pulled up, the butler and housekeeper were already standing out front, and once Eliza and her mother started up the steps, Lady Fitzroy had joined them.

"Lady Willoughby!" she exclaimed, holding her hands out, taking Eliza's mother's in a firm clasp before they kissed one another's faces. "What are you doing here?"

"You wrote to me!" Eliza's mother exclaimed with a laugh. "You said you must see me immediately."

"I did?"

"You did."

She glanced at Fitz, who lifted his brows as though to say he saw right through his mother's pretense, although there was a smile on his face as Eliza was aware that despite any bluster he might have, he had a soft spot for his mother and sisters.

"Baxter didn't join?" he asked, stepping forward, welcoming the two of them.

"Baxter?" Eliza said with a snort. "Of course not. We are not nearly close enough to any bar?—"

"Eliza!" her mother intervened, and Eliza snapped her mouth shut, realizing she was turning herself into a liar as she had just finished telling her mother she knew how to behave.

"Baxter is otherwise occupied," she substituted with a demure smile that had her mother rolling her eyes, but she didn't miss Fitz's smirk, which he quickly wiped off of his face before her mother noticed.

"Lady Fitzroy, it is lovely to see you," Eliza said, changing the subject. "I have so missed all of your daughters."

"Oh dear, I do wish I had received your letter first," Lady Fitzroy said with a pained expression on her face. "They have just left, but for Betsy and Daphne."

"Left?" Eliza repeated, her face falling, trying to curb her disappointment as they hadn't known she was coming, so it wasn't their fault. "To where have they gone?"

"To Lady Nottingham's estate. It is only a few hours' ride. They were becoming so bored here that they asked to spend some time there with her daughters, and I…" she waved her hands in the air, "decided that I could not join them at this time."

Eliza completely understood. She knew Lady Nottingham and couldn't imagine spending much time in her presence, especially without anyone else for company. One of her daughters had married beneath her station – there was something of a scandal there if she remembered correctly – and her family lived at the estate.

"Well, hopefully, they will return soon," she said instead, trying to hide her disappointment. Betsy and Daphne were wonderful young women, but they were just that – young. At least ten years her junior, if she remembered correctly.

And then there was Fitz. She stole a glance at him as he stood, rocking back and forth on his heels as he always did. Did he care that she and her mother had arrived so suddenly and without prior warning? She knew they could be somewhat impulsive, but she had thought they would be welcomed warmly. What did he think of them now spending time at Appleton without the presence of his sisters, which had always prevented Fitz from speaking to her alone?

Eliza had accompanied her mother because she was bored without her friends. Now it appeared that she was going to continue to be bored without them, only she no longer had the distractions of London. She was going to have to come up with distractions of another kind.

She glanced over at Fitz as an idea took shape in her mind. One that was probably ill-advised, yet… perhaps she could defeat her boredom while accomplishing her goals simultaneously.

Eliza was aware that she would soon have to marry and settle down. She just wanted to have a little fun first.

And if there was one thing that could be said about Fitz, it was that he was fun.

Just how much fun, she was about to find out.

"Stay away from Lady Eliza."

It was a mantra that Fitz had continued to murmur to himself over and over since she and her mother had appeared at Appleton yesterday.

He had his plan. Have some fun, and then settle down with a demure young lady who would take care of his mother and his sisters, marry them off and bring him all of the respectability that he wasn't able to acquire himself.

Eliza didn't fit into that plan.

He couldn't have fun with her – she was an innocent young lady of the nobility, and his sisters' friend at that. He couldn't marry her either – she was the exact opposite of what he needed.

She was loud, exuberant, adventurous – far too much like himself.

And yet, he couldn't help but be drawn to her.

He had all but avoided her at Greystone. He could do the same here as well.

Only, now, something had shifted. He had become aware of her, and he couldn't be entirely certain of why. Perhaps it was because he had begun to consider marrying and knew that his time to appreciate a woman such as her was coming to an end. Perhaps it was from their dance. He had felt her body against his, and he had liked it far more than he would have preferred.

Or perhaps it was because, as much as he didn't want to admit it, even to himself, he had spent enough time with her now to know that he appreciated her sense of humor, her wit, her charm, the way she looked at life.

Her beauty didn't help matters.

With all of this on his mind, he did the only thing he could think of to cool off his ardor. Taking a circuitous route through the house so that he could emerge outside through the terrace doors, he left the women to their needlepoint or tea or whatever it was they occupied themselves with and he marched through the gardens surrounding the house to seek out the one place that he could find both solace and respite.

The lake.

It was nestled away from the house, close enough that the water was in view from the windows of the upper story, but not so close that anyone might be able to see exactly what he was doing. There were enough trees surrounding the lake that he knew which parts of it provided enough coverage that he would be hidden from view – which was exactly what he needed at the moment.

He slipped through the trees, pushing away the branches that threatened to reach out and smack him in the face, somehow knowing he was being an idiot. But no mind.

Around the edges of the lake, wildflowers bloomed in vibrant colors, creating a picturesque scene. A gentle breeze rustled the tall reeds along the shore, the soothing sound calming his heart that was beating faster than it should have been, lush green trees that surrounded the lake reflecting off the surface of the calm water. The sky was somewhat grey today, and yet the colors of this respite in the middle of the chaos of his life were enough to bring him peace.

He didn't hesitate as he stripped off his jacket, his carefully tied cravat, his waistcoat and his shirt, shucking his breeches without worry that anyone would see him unclothed. And if they did, well, he was proud of his appearance. Unless it was a member of his family happening upon him, they could take his fill.

Knowing where the deep parts of the lake began, Fitz perfectly executed a dive, then propelled himself forward, allowing the cool water to wash over him until he broke through the surface, coming up for air when he could hold his breath no longer.

He blinked, clearing the water from his eyes, whipping his head back and forth to clear his hair from his face.

Suddenly he stopped, sensing that he was no longer alone. He whipped his head from one side to the other until the figure came into view.

There, on the far bank, stood a woman. Lilac dress. Dark hair. A grin that he couldn't see but just knew covered her face.

Eliza.