Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

D iana had never been to the Lennox family home. In all the years that they had been neighbors, neither family had ever shared a meal or attended a ball at the other’s homes. The deaths of the previous Lord Lennox and Diana’s mother had dealt much grief to both families. She and her father had in many ways closed themselves off after her mother died and Eleanor ran away to get married. Perhaps it had been the same for the Lennox family.

She knew that the current Lord Lennox’s mother entertained in London, but Lennox himself kept his country estate fairly quiet when it came to balls and parties. It was as though the Foxes and the Lennoxes had quite... forgotten each other.

Diana now had a chance to take in the Lennox home with fresh eyes. The lawns had been manicured, the flowers perfectly planted, and the hedges trimmed in marvelous patterns. It was the way Foxglove used to look before her mother died. Even though she worked as hard as the rest of her staff, the best she could do was keep her grounds from looking like a shambles. This estate, on the other hand, sang directly to her soul. That pang of longing for the past dug into her heart, but she could not step into the mirror world from her dreams and be with her family again. The only way now was forward.

She slid off the back of her horse before the groom could meet her.

“My apologies, miss,” he gasped as he arrived and grasped the reins. He had practically sprinted toward her once he’d spotted her, but she was so accustomed to dismounting on her own that she had forgotten it was expected to allow someone to assist her.

“No, I am sorry. I was in such haste to go inside.” She patted her horse’s neck before she let the groom lead it away to the stables.

The butler guided her into the house. She let out a deep breath to steady her nerves. She’d had Mrs. Ripley prepare her best day gown, which was a sensible rose-colored muslin dress with flowers embroidered on the capped sleeves, hem, and bodice. Mrs. Ripley had cleverly concealed the wear and tear of the gown by adding such embellishments as bees and hummingbirds along her sleeves wherever the cloth had worn thin.

Diana pushed away her shame and lifted her chin. She was fit to be in this fine house with its new furnishings, expensive tapestries, and marble statuary. Her gaze drifted about the entryway, her curiosity piqued. She’d heard Lord Lennox was a cold man, but there was nothing cold about this house. Despite the fine feel of everything around her, it still felt warm and welcoming.

Perhaps that was because of Rosalind’s presence. Lennox had been intense, but at the same time, very gentle and sympathetic when she’d met him at the ball last night. If either of them noticed her worn, old gown, she did not believe they would judge her too harshly. Rosalind had extended this invitation, after all, and she was well aware of Diana’s situation after last night.

Diana was shown into a brightly decorated drawing room and left alone while the butler went to find his mistress. A tall portrait of Lennox and his wife hung on the wall opposite her, those blue eyes flashing, so reminiscent of the pair of eyes she’d taken to dreaming about nightly. It reminded her of how she’d woken and found Tyburn gone this morning... and he’d taken her necklace with him. She reached up and touched her throat, her fingers caressing the bare skin. Her gown suddenly felt overwarm and itchy against her sensitive skin as it longed to be touched by Tyburn’s hands rather than cloth.

A blush warmed her cheeks as she recalled how it had felt to make love so wantonly to Tyburn last night, and how she had slept far better in his arms than she had in years. She’d felt freed in a way she’d never thought was possible. She’d done things that would have made the most trained courtesans blush, but she didn’t regret a moment of it. She’d made herself vulnerable in a thousand ways last night and had been so eager to please him and to satisfy herself, but the experience had been more than physical. They’d needed each other last night, to hold each other in the dark, limbs entwined, their breaths mixing as they shared her bed.

When her hand had reached across the bed only to find a cold pillow, a part of her heart had ached. Was she always going to miss that mysterious stranger with such a deep ache? She rubbed her arms and wished she had thought to bring a shawl. She hoped her long sleeves would be enough if the weather turned colder.

She gazed out the tall windows, letting the sunlight warm her as she wondered what Tyburn was up to now. Was he sleeping in after the long ride back to wherever his new hiding spot was? He and his friends would certainly have abandoned the hunting lodge, which meant he was laying his head on a different pillow.

But not my pillow .

She gazed out at the dark-green lawns when an odd, prickling sensation tickled the back of her neck, like she was being watched. The door to the drawing room had been left open by the butler as he exited the room, but she saw no one standing there. Yet that sense of being watched had not left her. Careful not to spook her invisible watcher, she turned away from the window and walked to the bookshelves against one wall, pretending to study the titles.

A soft thud sounded behind her. She peered over her shoulder and hid a smile as she saw a tiny head adorned with russet curls duck behind the settee. A child. Diana pretended to finish her examination of the books and wandered toward the settee. She sat down, arranged her skirts, and let out a loud dramatic sigh.

“What a pity I have no one to talk to while I wait.”

There was another little thud from just behind her, and a little voice whispered, “Mrs. Crumpet, she said she wants someone to talk to.” The voice was Scottish and utterly adorable. Diana bit her lip, holding back a giggle. She waited very patiently until, out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a porcelain doll head rise up behind the settee just over Diana’s shoulder as if it was looking at her. Then the doll dropped down out of sight.

“What did ye see, Mrs. Crumpet?” the little voice asked. “Is she a nice lady?”

More silence.

Diana couldn’t hide the grin this time. The child was having a conversation with her doll. “I’m sure Mrs. Crumpet would tell you I’m very nice,” Diana said to the back of the settee.

“Did ye hear that?” the girl whispered to her doll.

“If you come out, I would be most delighted to talk to you.” Diana leaned over the back of the settee just as the child stood up. Diana stared transfixed at the most beautiful child she’d ever seen. Her solemn blue eyes stirred something deep within Diana, something that filled her chest with a tightness of both pain and a love that she could not fathom.

“Are ye here to see Uncle Ash?” the girl asked.

“Uncle Ash?” Rosalind had three dashing brothers, and all of them were married. This little angel must be one of theirs.

She offered the little girl her hand. “I’m Diana.”

The girl stared at it before she grasped it with surprising strength. “I’m Isla.”

Diana gave it a gentle shake. “Isla, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Is that your friend?”

The girl glanced at her doll and nodded.

“Would you introduce me to her?”

Isla beamed at Diana and displayed her doll proudly. “This is Mrs. Crumpet. She’s a fine lady... a duchess!”

“A duchess? Oh my. So we are in the presence of a lady of the realm! It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.” She bowed her head respectfully to the doll.

“Yer Grace?” the little girl echoed in confusion.

“Oh yes. When you meet a duke or duchess, you must address them as Your Grace .”

Isla walked around the settee and then sat down beside Diana, placing the doll in her lap.

“Did ye hear that?” she said to her doll in amazement. “Yer Grace!”

Diana reached over and tucked the doll’s fine blue dress back into place. “And I see she’s dressed for a ball.”

Isla nodded, then peeped shyly up at Diana. Something stirred in Diana with such a potent longing that her throat tightened.

“Do ye go to balls?” the child asked.

“I do, sometimes,” Diana said. She stared at the girl’s face, wondering why this child tugged at her heart so much. She was such a lovely little creature. Why was she here in this room and not playing with other children?

“Do you have any siblings?” Diana asked.

Isla shook her head. “’Tis only me.”

“Oh, well, I am alone too.” Diana didn’t speak of her sister or her parents. She didn’t want to burden this child with talk of loss and grief. Diana felt like an only child now in so many ways. The memories she had of her elder sister, even her parents, had become a very sad sort of dream over the last few years, rather than a reality.

Isla beamed at her. “Maybe we can be together. Ye, me, Mrs. Crumpet, and Papa.”

“Not your mama?”

Isla sighed deeply for one so little. “She died.”

“Oh... I’m so sorry...” Diana put an arm around the girl’s little shoulders. One of Rosalind’s brothers had lost his wife? It couldn’t have been that long ago, and it must still be a terrifyingly painful subject. It would be best not to bring it up unless Rosalind did so first.

Rosalind swept into the room at that very moment. “Oh, Diana! I’m so sorry for the delay!” Then she spied the little girl and smiled.

“Ah. You’ve met Isla, I see.”

“And Her Grace, Mrs. Crumpet.” Diana winked at Rosalind, and the two women shared a knowing smile.

“Well, Isla, I’m afraid Diana and I must talk about very boring business things. Why don’t you go wake your Papa? He’s already slept half the day away. Then you can come back down and have tea with us if you wish.”

Isla hugged her doll close as she slid off the settee. She rushed from the room with a happy squeal.

“I hope you didn’t mind entertaining her. We have no other children here save for my little Malcolm, but he’s only six months old. So poor Isla ends up running through the house on her own.”

“She is a sweet child. I didn’t mind at all.”

Rosalind got straight to the matter of business. “Now, tell me about what you want to invest and what your fiscal goals are. I’m sure I can do something to help you.”

Diana removed the banknotes she’d brought from her reticule. In total, she’d saved up a hundred pounds. It was quite a lot to her, but she imagined it had to be very little when it came to investments.

“I have one hundred pounds here...” She noted a concerned look on Rosalind’s face and quickly added, “But I should have more in a few weeks. I was hoping to invest safely but still make a little money that I could use to support my estate. That would be my goal.”

“Well.” Rosalind tapped her chin. “The consolidated annuities provide a return of 3 percent, which is quite decent and safe, but I think India bonds would yield 10 percent. Since they are riskier, I will, as your banker, cover the risk of loss by 80 percent for the first year.”

Diana’s eyes widened. “You would cover that much?”

Rosalind gave an elegant shrug. “I have plenty of money to spare should the bonds devalue. But I wish to help you and am willing to take on that risk.”

“Well, I’m immensely grateful.” Diana handed Rosalind the banknotes.

“And other than my husband, I promise no one will know of this arrangement,” Rosalind assured her.

“Thank you.” They discussed a few more strategies in the meantime to assure that Diana would have some money for living expenses until the bonds began to pay off.

“Now, let’s have tea out on the terrace.” Rosalind grinned. “The weather is too lovely to be indoors, at least for now. I believe storms are on the way, but we won’t have them for a little while yet.”

Isla listened quietly to the two women discuss business just outside the door. She had heard lots of business talk since she’d moved into Lennox House. Uncle Ash and Aunt Rosalind seemed to love to talk about such things, and whenever they did, they often ended up kissing. Isla always giggled when they did that.

Uncle Ash wasn’t as scary and serious as he pretended to be. Whenever Papa had to leave, Uncle Ash and Aunt Rosalind would read her stories, take her on walks, and play with her in the gardens. Uncle Ash even let her have extra biscuits at teatime and he would carry her around on his shoulders, pretending to be a giant. Rosalind would let her hold baby Malcolm on her lap and rock him to sleep. She felt like this was her family, even though her real mama and papa were gone.

Isla clutched Mrs. Crumpet as she remembered the first time she saw her new papa, when she had been rescued by Uncle Brodie and Aunt Lydia. Her new papa had been lonely. She’d known right away that he needed her, so she’d attached herself to him. That first night he had read her a story to go to sleep, and she’d dreamt of Mama standing in the room watching her with her new papa. Her mama had smiled and whispered, “ Yes. ” Isla knew that her mama liked her new papa very much.

But now Isla was aware that she needed a new mama too. Uncle Ash had told Aunt Rosalind that Rafe, as a papa, needed a wife so that Isla would have a new mother. She didn’t understand why Papa needed a wife , but Isla would be happy to have a mama again.

But if she needed a mama, she wanted one like the lady who was visiting. Diana . She was pretty and kind. She had treated Mrs. Crumpet like a duchess. Maybe she would want to have a daughter? But did she want a husband like Papa? Isla adored Papa, but would her new mama? Would they kiss like Uncle Ash and Aunt Rosalind?

Weighed down with these deep questions, Isla hurried up the stairs at a run and collided with Uncle Ash at the top.

“Well, Isla, you’re in a hurry!” He chuckled as he scooped her and Mrs. Crumpet up in his arms. “Where are the pair of you off to?” he asked.

“To wake Papa. He has to meet the new lady! She can be my new mama!”

“There’s a new lady and you want Rafe to meet her?” Ashton’s mustache twitched as he realized what else she had said. “Wait, he’s still in bed at this hour?” Ashton’s brows drew together into a frown.

She nodded and squirmed, wanting to be put down so she could go wake her papa.

“I suppose I should let you get on with your mission, then. Rouse the rogue from his sleep.”

He set her down and she ran straight to Papa’s bedchamber. She opened the door and crept inside the darkened room. The curtains were pulled closed to make the room dim. Sometimes he was out very late and had to sleep in.

Uncle Ash and Aunt Rosalind didn’t know about all the times that he left late at night, but Isla did. Sometimes when she had bad dreams, she would go to his bedchamber, wanting to be cuddled until she fell back asleep, but Papa would be gone. One night, she’d hidden in his wardrobe behind some cloaks, where she fell asleep. She woke a little while later when he returned just before dawn. She’d had to wait until he was asleep before she crept out of the wardrobe and climbed into the bed beside him. She always felt safe when her papa was near. He never seemed to mind when she woke him up at night. Instead, he’d tuck her beneath the blankets and say, “Bad dreams, little kitten? Sleep now. You’re safe with me.”

And then, as if he’d cast some magic spell, she’d fall instantly asleep.

Now Isla studied her papa. He was sleeping on his stomach, one arm hanging off the side of the bed, breathing softly. With a barely stifled giggle, she tucked Mrs. Crumpet under one arm and then climbed up on the chaise longue at the foot of the bed. Then, with a squeal, she jumped straight onto her papa’s back.

“Oof!” he wheezed and woke with a start.

“’Tis a bonnie day, Papa! Ye must wake up!”

“You little rascal,” he rasped. He rolled over, sending her flying off him to bounce on the big bed. She couldn’t hold in her giggles any longer, and her laughter made him let out a raspy chuckle.

He threw one arm over his eyes as he lay on his back. “What hour is it, kitten?”

“’Tis three o’clock,” she declared proudly. She’d been learning to read the time from the grandfather clock with Uncle Ash each morning at breakfast. Papa would usually sit with her and practice reading letters later in the morning. He would write stories about fairies and magical toads and other silly things, and she would sound out the words. She liked to read, especially with Papa.

Her papa let out another displeased moan. “Ugh. I feel as though I’ve been run over by a coach and four.”

“What’s a coach and four?” Isla asked.

“A very large coach pulled by four horses,” her papa explained. “Now what’s all the fuss, kitten?”

“There’s a pretty lady downstairs,” she announced.

“Pretty, eh?” Her father removed his arm from his eyes to look at her. “ How pretty?”

She grinned. “ Verra pretty. Mrs. Crumpet says she could be our new mama.”

“Oh, she does, does she?” He arched a skeptical brow. “Well, tell Mrs. Crumpet that your papa is very selective. He will only consider a new mama if you and I both agree we like her.”

“Well, I like her,” Isla said without hesitation.

“Unless I’ve been asleep a lot longer than I realized, you can’t really know her that well yet, kitten. You must spend time with someone to learn more about them. You understand?”

She saw things in Papa’s gaze that she didn’t quite understand, but she wanted to pretend that she did.

Isla sat back on her heels, feeling defeated. She thought for sure Papa would want to meet the new lady. He liked pretty ladies, and Diana was the prettiest lady she’d ever seen. When she’d stood up and had a good look at her, something had made her feel very strange, as though she was supposed to know this woman. But they’d never met before. At least, Isla didn’t think she had. Something inside her had told her that this woman should be her new mama. Now she just had to convince her papa.

“Do ye not want a wife, Papa?” she asked, her voice quiet.

Rafe sat up, scooped her into his arms, and sighed. “It’s complicated, little one. But I do. Trust me, I do.” He stroked her hair before he kissed her forehead.

“Will ye at least come and see her?” Isla asked hopefully.

“All right. I must get dressed first. Why don’t you go downstairs and wait for me?” He gave her a gentle teasing shake and tickled her waist until she laughed. He set her down on the bed and she slid off the side, taking Mrs. Crumpet with her as she left.

Papa would like the new lady, she just knew it. Mrs. Crumpet had told her they were perfect for each other. Isla wasn’t sure what that meant when it came to mamas and papas... Perfect. But it sounded nice.

She slipped out of the bedchamber, humming softly to herself. Then she went to find Aunt Rosalind and the new lady.