Chapter Thirty-Five

Niles pulled Aldric aside as they all gathered in the entryway, awaiting the carriages. He'd not yet had a chance to speak with the others, as they'd all been ushered to various bedchambers shortly after arriving in order to dress for dinner at Ipsworth.

"My parents told me you wrote to them from Yorkshire."

Aldric looked a little unsure how Niles felt about that discovery.

"Thank you," Niles quickly added. "My father said your letter is the reason he began thinking differently about my situation and the family's demands. Thank you ."

"Stanley would have marched here directly and diplomatically given your family a piece of his mind." A corner of Aldric's mouth pulled in a hint of a smirk. "I am not easily suited to the role of diplomat."

"No, you're not." Niles smiled a little himself.

"I thought a letter might allow me to say what they needed to hear without raising their hackles. And unfortunately, I thought they would be more likely to listen to me than to you."

Niles couldn't argue with that. "The Gents have always heard me in ways no one else ever does."

"Mag does." Aldric motioned to Penelope with his head.

She was chatting amicably with Mother, at ease even in this difficult situation. "My Penny is remarkable."

"Keep that in mind when we reach Ipsworth. If my evaluation of your parents' few hints is correct, your grandfather is excessively put out with you. Remember how remarkably fortunate you are to have found your Penny and that building your life together is worth whatever discomfort you have to endure tonight."

"I will," Niles said.

That declaration was put to the test within moments of arriving in his grandparents' drawing room.

Introductions were quickly undertaken. Grandmother was the perfect hostess, warmly welcoming everyone. Grandfather was equally gracious, except when his eyes would happen upon Niles. He didn't glare, but he did narrow his eyes and tense his jaw.

Nicolette, employing the grace of manner so often associated with the French, smoothed the way. "What a delight it is to be here, Mr. and Mrs. Greenberry. I have never before seen Cornwall, and your grandson was certain your family would kindly allow me to impose a little in order to have a glimpse of this beautiful area of England."

Grandmother motioned for Nicolette and Mother to sit with her, speaking, as they walked to the settee, of the sites nearby that she felt the newly arrived Frenchwoman would find particularly delightful. Henri followed in their wake, staying near his wife.

"Mr. Greenberry," Aldric greeted with a bow. "Always a pleasure to see you."

"The pleasure is mine, Lord Aldric." Grandfather's gaze quickly shifted to Penelope. "Miss Seymour, welcome back. Your brother did not tell us you were returning."

"He did not know."

"He does intend to join us for the evening meal," Grandfather said, "but he returned later than he'd expected from his excursions and is still dressing."

"Liam is here, then?" Penelope pressed.

Grandfather nodded. "He is."

That, Niles would wager, was both a relief and a source of unease for Penelope. It was for him as well.

Without any preamble, Grandfather addressed Niles. "Might I have a few words with you before we eat?" He looked briefly at Father. "Privately."

"Of course." Best get this over with.

He followed Grandfather into the empty sitting room across the entry hall.

They'd not gone more than three steps inside when Grandfather spoke. "Do you have any idea of the havoc you have wreaked in this family, Niles? The humiliation? The worry over your health that you did not relieve but left Mr. Seymour to do? Your mother was certain you were near death's door."

"Why is it Mr. and Miss Seymour were the only ones to make the journey to Yorkshire if my family was so convinced I was taking my last breath?"

Grandfather took his own breath. "I exaggerate, I confess, but the chaos you have sown is no exaggeration. A rift has begun in this family, a divide between those who see the value in the age-old tradition of finding suitable spouses for the Greenberrys and those who think you have the right of it and all your cousins should simply run away from home should your grandmother and I dare to work tirelessly at making good matches for all of you."

Too many people don't listen to you as they ought. Niles deserved to be heard, and he meant to try one last time. "I have told you ever since I was old enough to understand these things that I know myself and my heart well enough to be absolutely certain I could not be happily married to someone I did not already love." He spoke firmly but not confrontationally.

"Your grandmother and I were strangers when we married," Grandfather countered. "And we love each other deeply. Your parents weren't entirely unacquainted, but they found and built that love after they were married."

"And I cannot express how grateful I am that the four of you had such happy outcomes. But my heart does not work that way. I've always known it didn't. You were dooming me and the poor lady you chose to a life of frustration and misery. I couldn't, in good conscience, cause such acute lifelong suffering for either of us."

"If you found her so entirely not to your liking, I wonder that you brought her here with you." It wasn't confusion but doubt that filled Grandfather's words.

"I didn't say she wasn't to my liking," Niles countered. "I said that an arranged marriage wasn't. Though it has proven a good approach for others, it would have been anguish for me."

"And you felt the best way to tell me this was to hide in Yorkshire?"

"I have been telling you for years ," Niles said. "But no one in this family would listen."

Footsteps sounded behind them. They both turned. Penelope crossed to Niles but watched Grandfather. "If I had known that the letters exchanged between you and my brother hadn't so much as been shown to Niles through the entire negotiation, I would never have agreed to it. Arranged marriages are difficult enough without leaving one half of the would-be couple entirely in the dark. He ought to have had a voice in so enormous a decision."

"Is that why you went to Yorkshire?" Grandfather asked her. "To give him a voice?"

"I went to meet him, to find out who he was, to discover if there was a chance of moving forward."

"And what did you discover?"

"That you have a remarkable grandson, Mr. Greenberry. Any lady would count herself fortunate to know him."

To Niles, Grandfather asked, "And what did you discover?"

"That you chose well. She and I have similar interests. We get on well. Every time I'm with her, I like her even more. I love her."

"Sounds to me like you could have skipped the theatrics of the past weeks and gone ahead with the match," Grandfather grumbled.

"No, sir," Penelope said. "The choosing is important. Crucial. If you have any doubts on that score, simply contemplate the lengths he has gone to in order to have that choice."

For the first time since Niles's arrival, Grandfather looked a little less sure of himself, even a little humbled.

"Miss Seymour and I were able to come to know each other in Yorkshire," Niles said. "Which is more or less what I'd been asking for all these years: a chance to know someone before deciding whether we could happily build a life together."

"And what am I to do with the rest of this family?" Grandfather asked. "There is dissension in the ranks, Niles. The tranquility we have known is under threat."

"I can tell you this: I haven't experienced the least tranquility on this matter for twenty years. I know I am not the only Greenberry who has felt that way. What you have seen as familial tranquility has, in truth, been silent misery. I would hope this family would want to be actually happy rather than simply pretending to be."

Penelope took Niles's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. She had come to know him well enough to, it seemed, sense that speaking so bluntly to his grandfather was not an easy thing.

"I really have worked exceptionally hard to make good matches for my children and grandchildren," Grandfather said. "I have given that far greater consideration than most heads of family do."

"Perhaps," Niles said, "instead of abandoning your efforts altogether to appease those who object, you might consider allowing them the opportunity to meet their potential spouses before anything is decided upon, to make your grandchildren's ability to have a choice a crucial part of the process."

"I will give it some thought." It was an enormous concession, truth be told. Niles couldn't manage a response.

Aldric spoke from the doorway. "Pardon the interruption, but I think Miss Seymour would appreciate knowing that her brother has joined everyone in the drawing room."

Penelope took a tense breath. Her shoulders squared. "If you will excuse me." She turned and, chin at a determined angle, walked out of the room.