Chapter Four

D elilah’s heart gave a peculiar lurch. It was just so unexpected, so incongruous, to come across Lord Linfield here in this intimate scene with the doctor’s wife and child. His eyes alight with fun, the smile lingering on his lips, he was beguiling.

What a wonderful father he would make… The thought came out of nowhere as their eyes met and held in mutual surprise while the boy chattered away. Then the lady was walking between them.

“So sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Elizabeth Lampton. If you’d follow me in here, where I attempt to keep track of my husband’s consultations…”

Far from the comfortable chaos of the other apartment she had glimpsed, the doctor’s consulting room was spotlessly clean and uncluttered. Medical books lined the wall behind the desk, and a tall cabinet of drawers stood against the far wall. The doctor’s wife—a princess by a previous marriage, according to Aubrey, who was making a study of the town—closed the door and opened a large book on the table behind it.

“When would you like the doctor to call?” Mrs. Lampton asked.

“Is it not possible to see him here?” Delilah asked uneasily. “I don’t want to worry my family for nothing.”

“Of course. In fact, it is simpler here, and saves him traveling time. What about tomorrow afternoon? Or Monday morning?”

They settled on Monday morning, and Mrs. Lampton wrote her name in the book. “Ah, you are one of the Vales of Black Hill!” She smiled. “I’m very glad to make your acquaintance. I think I saw you at the ball last night, although we were not introduced. I have met a few of your siblings, though I really only know Sir Julius because of his involvement with the hospital. Would you care to join me for tea?”

“Oh, no, thank you. I would not disturb you further.”

“Please do,” Mrs. Lampton urged. “A doctor’s wife leads a lonely life without friends! Are you acquainted with Lord Linfield?”

For some reason, the open way she mentioned him gave Delilah a sense of relief. “Slightly,” she managed.

Mrs. Lampton smiled mischievously as she led the way back across the hall. “He is quite unexpected, is he not?”

“I suppose diplomats adapt to whatever situation they find themselves in.”

“Of course, your father was also distinguished in such service, was he not? Did you travel with him?”

And somehow it seemed rude not to follow her hostess back to the parlor. Lord Linfield now sat more conventionally in a chair, although he rose as they entered, and bowed to Delilah.

“Miss Vale.”

“My lord.”

Tea almost followed them in. The boy bowed to Delilah too, with a beguiling grin. He hung around only long enough to be allowed a sandwich and a biscuit, which he took in each hand.

“I’m off to play in the garden,” he announced, and shot off.

“He has too much energy,” Mrs. Lampton said. “But I feel he is not yet old enough to go out and about with the other children.”

“He must be about the same age as Edward Macy,” Lord Linfield observed.

Delilah’s gaze flew to his face, but he was not looking at her. His attention was all on Mrs. Lampton.

“Mrs. Macy is my sister’s friend who travels with us,” Linfield continued, dismaying Delilah considerably. “Her son is similarly lively. Perhaps you have met?”

“No, but if you are attending the garden party at the castle on Saturday, I shall look to you to introduce us. The children are always invited, too. Are there not children in your household, too, Miss Vale?”

“Well, there are the twins,” Delilah said, pulling herself together, “but they are fifteen years old.”

“I look forward to making their acquaintance.” Mrs. Lampton frowned. “Actually… Twins, you say? I might have seen them around the town.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m sure they are here more often than they tell us about. Since there are two of them, we tend not to worry about them. In fact, I suspect they worry more about the rest of us!”

Delilah found herself rather liking Mrs. Lampton, although Lord Linfield’s presence—and his connection to Antonia Macy—unsettled her too much to relax into the company. She determined not to stay long, though she was perversely glad when she rose to take her leave and Linfield left at the same time.

“Allow me to walk to your carriage,” he said civilly.

“There is no need. My gig is at the livery stable, which is bound to be out of your way.”

“Not in the slightest.” He offered her his arm, and after an instant’s hesitation, she laid her hand on his sleeve. It would have been rude not to. “I hope you enjoyed the ball last night.”

“Of course I did.”

“Then you must definitely attend another. I believe there is to be a masquerade ball at the castle in a couple of weeks. I hope you will be there.”

“My sister Felicia keeps track of the family’s invitations,” Delilah replied indifferently.

“Mrs. Maitland?” he guessed.

“Indeed. She is the most sociable of my family.” And would therefore make an excellent ambassador’s wife. The thought did not please her somehow. Although Felicia needed a new husband, a kind one, even if she did not know it. Was Linfield kind? He seemed so, but he was so much the diplomat that she could not read the character beneath.

He dances like a friend. Like someone to be trusted.

Delilah Vale, your brains are addled.

“What brought you to Blackhaven, my lord?” she asked.

“The waters,” he replied. “My sister was ill after we returned from Vienna, and she has never fully recovered. She believes the waters are helping.”

“We believe they help my brother Aubrey too. He has been sickly since childhood, and yet here, he thrives. Dr. Lampton says it is the fresh air—we have usually lived in large cities until now—but Aubrey keeps drinking the water, just in case.”

“Perhaps you should try them, too.”

She had almost forgotten he had seen her semi-blinded and vulnerable. Instinctively, she attacked. “So it was your sister’s idea to come to Blackhaven? Or Mrs. Macy’s, perhaps?”

His eyebrows flew up. “Mine, as I recall. Why should you imagine it was Mrs. Macy’s?”

“Her position appears to be ambiguous. Is she your sister’s companion? Or merely her friend?”

“You must allow her to be both.” His voice was cool.

No doubt the woman had him fooled, too. No doubt she would reject Julius again for this man if no one better offered.

“Must I? I have no interest in her at all.”

“Well that’s a whopper,” he observed, and unexpected laughter caught at her breath. “It was you who mentioned her.”

“So I did. I merely recognized the name. I have never met her. Is your sister satisfied with her companion?”

“Ah. You are after her position.”

Delilah turned on him, narrowing her eyes with indignation. “I am not.” Too late, she saw the teasing glint in his eyes, and added, “My work is quite other.”

“Organizing and translating. Which is not so very different from Mrs. Macy’s in some ways. You must let me see examples of your work some time, so that I can recommend you. I might even have my own use for such services.”

“Really?” she asked.

“You sound doubtful. Is that of my worth or yours?”

“Neither,” she said, flustered.

As though letting her off the hook, he changed the subject. “Tell me about your family. I have met Sir Julius and Mrs. Maitland, and I know of a younger sister, a brother Aubrey, and a set of twins. Who else lives with you at Black Hill?”

“My brother Roderick—Major Vale. And Cornelius, who looks after the land. Lucy was at the ball, too. And the twins are Lawrence and Leona. Why?”

“Curiosity—my besetting sin. Large families intrigue me, probably because I only have the one sibling. And, of course, the fact that you are all Sir George’s children fascinates me even more. I liked your father very much.”

From nowhere, emotion sprang up, clogging her throat. She couldn’t speak.

“I’m sorry,” he said with unbearable gentleness. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t,” she managed, speeding up as if she could outrun both the emotion and him, but he simply lengthened his stride.

“Do you know about this hospital that Mrs. Lampton mentioned?” he asked.

Glad of the subject change, Delilah said, “I am not involved. Julius became so because there are so many sailors and soldiers among the patients. He employs them when he can. Once they are better, of course.” Mercifully, they had reached the livery stable gates. She removed her hand from his arm and turned resolutely to face him. “Goodbye, my lord.”

A rueful smile flickered across his face and was gone. She could almost imagine he was disappointed. At the last moment, probably to prove she could, she stretched out her hand to him, and he took it. His grip was firm, drawing her attention to his ungloved hand—strong, capable, warm. His thumb glided over her knuckles like a caress, surely by accident, and yet her skin tingled under his touch.

“Until we meet again,” he said lightly.

“Of course.” She slid her hand free and walked through the gate without looking back. She almost collided with an emerging horse and rider and swerved at the last moment. She hoped his lordship didn’t see that either.

*

When she returned to Black Hill, absorbed in her own problems, she found her siblings planning the capture of whoever was, apparently, driving wild horses over their land for some unknown purpose. It certainly provided a distraction from Antonia Macy and Julius, Lord Linfield, and her mother’s marital problems, so she found herself entering into the spirit of the adventure—which, however, ended in Julius injuring himself further and Aubrey capturing a horse who was far from wild but suffering from some neglect.

Delilah cared for the horse as best she could—as yet, they had few servants—and was rather touched by its surprise at her gentleness. Someone had neglected and mistreated the animal, probably all the animals she had seen from the window being driven across the hills.

In the morning, Julius, his limp more pronounced, insisted on going into Blackhaven about his charitable duties at the hospital. Delilah was hopeful that between the hospital and the horses’ mystery, he would be distracted from Antonia.

As everyone else scattered about their own business, Delilah divided her time between the captured horse and her own work. She was excited to receive a parcel of papers in the post from Mr. Charles, her promising new client, who wanted everything translated into German, apart from a few letters in German that he wanted translated into English, and everything ordered according to date.

There was a pleasant morning room at the corner of Black Hill House that caught the best of whatever sunlight managed to pierce the perpetual cloud of this northern summer. Since no one else used it and visitors were rare, Delilah set up her office there, arranging the documents into their required order.

They were in several different languages—French, Italian, Polish, and Russian, as well as English. Delilah sharpened her pen and drew a fresh sheet of paper toward her before reaching for the document at the top of her pile.

She didn’t know how long she was working before the door opened, distracting her from a very convoluted sentence.

“Oh, there you are, Miss Vale,” said Betsy the parlor maid. “There’s a gentleman to see Mrs. Maitland—Lord Linfield.”

“What?” Delilah sprang up from her chair, very conscious suddenly of the ink stains on her fingers, the darned patches on her old gown, and her unruly hair escaping from its pins. “Well, run and find Mrs. Maitland. Where have you put him?”

“Nowhere,” said the man looming behind Betsy in the doorway. “I’m afraid I just followed the maid.”

“Mrs. Maitland went out, ma’am,” Betsy said, standing aside and blushing furiously for her mistake. Delilah and Felicia had taken her on because they liked her rather than because she had any experience of domestic service.

Linfield sauntered into the room. “I seem to have called at a bad time. Shall I just leave my card?”

Delilah had no idea what the time was, but she would not deprive her sister of so distinguished a caller if she could help it. “I’m sure Felicia won’t be long. Betsy, would you bring tea? Shall we repair to the drawing room, my lord?”

“Only if you wish to. I am quite charmed to find you au naturelle, as it were.”

“Don’t be so diplomatic,” Delilah said wryly. “I am at work, as you see. Won’t you sit down? I’m sure several of my siblings will be along momentarily.”

“Carry on working if you wish,” he said mildly, taking one the upholstered chairs. “I shall even bring you a cup of tea when it arrives.”

“Oh, no, the break will do me good.” She sat in the chair opposite, nearest the tea table, and tried not to think of how attractive he looked in riding dress, his short hair pleasingly windswept, the glow of fresh air about his skin. He wore a dark green riding coat with a casually knotted cravat, and his breeches fitted close to his muscular legs. Heat seeped through her body, and she hastily raised her eyes to his face.

“Perhaps it is even working with close-written papers that upsets your eyes,” he said.

She blinked, somehow surprised that he even remembered the incident. But then, he had seen her at Dr. Lampton’s house. She said hurriedly, “I wondered that, but I didn’t read anything at all at the ball.”

A large fellow Delilah didn’t recognize carried in a heavy tea tray at Betsy’s instructions. He looked more like a groom or one of the farm laborers, and the maid shooed him out again as soon as he set the tray down on the table. He went meekly enough, though Delilah made a mental note to discover who the devil he was—perhaps someone Julius had recruited straight from the hospital.

She busied herself pouring tea, and he reached over to accept his cup and a proffered sandwich.

“Did your sister not care to ride out with you?” Delilah inquired.

“I believe she has gone to investigate some charitable opportunity. And then to the pump room. Though she does enjoy making calls. I shall bring her next time, if you permit.”

Next time…

“What a beautiful view you have from this room,” he said, setting down his cup and wandering toward the window.

“It will be better once we have fully tamed the garden. Since it’s merely for show, we have neglected the formal gardens in favor of necessities like making the house habitable and reviving the kitchen garden. But we are each taking a turn now, so it might be beautiful before the end of the summer.”

“I can see why you all came home,” he murmured. “It is beautiful here.”

“Julius and Cornelius are working very hard to make the estate viable again. My father neglected it for too long.”

He moved toward the other window, glancing at her desk beside it. “Is it enjoyable work?”

“Not as much as I had hoped,” she confessed. “I prefer to learn something that keeps my interest. These reports and letters are frankly dull.”

“They must be riveting to someone,” he observed, his gaze returning to the desk.

“Presumably. Forgive me, my lord, although I was not so instructed, I believe I owe my clients some duty of confidence.”

His lips curved, but when he looked up, there was no warmth in his eyes. Had she offended him? And why did she care when he had come for Felicia?

And when I have had my last dance, she told herself severely.

“Forgive me,” he said easily, moving away from the desk. “From old habit, I glance at every document and discard from my mind anything irrelevant. Do you have to risk sending your translations overseas?”

“Not in this case, but sometimes.”

“If I can help by using diplomatic bags, do let me know.”

“Thank you,” she said in surprise. “I will. More tea? A honey cake?”

“Perhaps just half a cup.” He sat back down and for the next quarter of an hour made pleasant, amusing conversation. The time flew by for Delilah, and yet even before he rose to leave she felt uneasy, even hurt. For the first time since she had met him, she sensed he was merely making small talk without any interest or care for her replies.

He has no care or interest in me. He came to see Felicia. And that is as it should be .

To show she did not care either, she escorted him personally to the front door to bid him a distant farewell.

At that, he suddenly smiled and took her hand, although she had not offered it. “Thank you for your kindness. I’ll call again if I may.”

“Please do,” she managed. “My brothers and sisters will be sorry to have missed you.”

He bowed over her hand. For a startled moment, she thought he was going to kiss her fingers and stopped breathing.

He straightened and released her. “Good day, Miss Vale.”

“Good day, my lord.” And of course I am not disappointed. I am not that foolish .

*

Denzil felt unaccountably weary as he mounted his hired horse and trotted out of the stable yard toward the drive. Delilah Vale was still working for the enemy. He should have been glad to identify her, for it made the rest of his task much simpler. But he didn’t feel glad at all. He felt disappointed and grim and as if something delightful and innocent had slipped through his fingers…

At the top of the drive, two figures stepped out of the undergrowth and halted in front of him, grinning. For a moment, he thought he was seeing double and blinked rapidly to clear his eyes. No, they were definitely two different people, for one was a girl, the other a boy. At least from their dress.

“Greetings!” said the boy. “Have you been calling at the house?”

“I have,” Denzil replied.

“We’re the twins,” the girl informed him.

“I don’t believe you.”

They laughed with clear delight and turned to walk on either side of his horse.

“You’re funny,” the girl said. “Did you see Delilah?”

“I did. Everyone else appears to be away from home.”

The boy looked up at him, clear-eyed. He had old eyes for fourteen or fifteen or however young he was. “Wasn’t Delilah enough?”

“More than enough.”

The warmth came back to the boy’s eyes. “I’m Lawrence. This is Leona. We both think Delilah works too much.”

“On her papers?” Denzil asked lightly.

“On everything,” Leona said. “She did everything for Papa, you know. And now she’s trying to do everything for the rest of us, when she should be dancing and enjoying herself. Are you her friend?”

“I would like to be.”

“Perhaps there is hope for you, then,” Lawrence said with a grin. “People don’t always see Delilah. They just see a managing female, a sharp-tongued spinster-in-waiting, when she is actually funny and kind and motherly.”

“She is a lady of many parts, I am sure.”

“You should be sure before you make her your friend,” Leona observed, causing him to peer down at her. She was looking straight ahead, though she turned quite suddenly to meet his gaze. “She’s like us, you know.”

“Impudent and overtalkative?”

“Illegitimate,” Lawrence said.

Denzil had the measure of them now and didn’t even blink. “Some of my best friends are illegitimate.”

“Really?” Leona asked, narrowing her eyes in a shrewd kind of way.

“Really. It’s hardly the first thing I notice about them, though. Do you find it a barrier to friendship?”

“No,” Lawrence said cautiously.

“Well, I would like to be your sister’s friend. I might even like to be yours, but I’m reserving judgment.”

“So are we,” Leona said cheekily, and they ran off again, their movements perfectly aligned with each other.