A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle (38 page)

Many of the unmarried gentlemen in the
room promptly snapped to attention with, “Of course,” or, “It would
be my pleasure,” as their responses, eager for an excuse to get
away from the prying eyes of the older chaperones for a bit of
time. Quin and Lord Lipscombe did not appear to be quite as keen as
their unmarried counterparts to join. However they had little
choice since Aurora and Judith, Lady Lipscombe, were each firmly
intent on going.

Indeed, Aurora’s house party had been
a resounding success so far. Certainly, the weather had not
cooperated as much as she would have liked, but she had planned for
enough indoor activities that it had not presented a true
problem.

And, much to her delight, her first
attempt at matchmaking with Nia and Sir Jonas was also going rather
well. At least it seemed that way, since Nia was no longer hiding
in the corner quite so frequently, and Sir Jonas seemed
all-too-content to remain by her side as often as Aurora positioned
him there.

Her matchmaking attempts for Rebecca
and Lord Tucker were not proving quite as auspicious, however. Just
when she thought the two were well and securely situated together
for some entertainment or another, if she turned around for a mere
moment, somehow Lord Norcutt had finagled himself into Lord
Tucker’s position by Rebecca’s side, and Lord Tucker had replaced
Norcutt’s position with Miss Vivian Osbourne.

The four of them were being highly
uncooperative.

Soon, the entire group was ready to go
out for the day. Her Grace of Aylesbury, Lady Pratley, and Lady
Coulter also decided to come along, with Aurora’s father offering
to escort them. Sir Augustus and Lord Rotheby preferred to keep
court at the abbey. Once all the ladies had fetched their gloves
and traded soft caps for bonnets, and the gentlemen had donned
their beaver hats and gloves and fetched parasols to carry for the
ladies, they made their way outside to the four awaiting
carriages.

“
Miss Coulter,” Aurora
said, attempting to direct the members of the shopping party to the
appropriate conveyances to achieve the pairings she preferred, “why
do you and Sir Jonas not ride with Quin and me? Then perhaps Lord
Tucker and Lord Merrick would be so kind as to escort Lady Rebecca
and Lady Emily in the second carriage…”

Her voice trailed off as Lord Tucker
placed Miss Vivian Osbourne’s hand upon the crook of his arm and
guided her into the third carriage with Mr. Bentley and the elder
Miss Osbourne, leaving Rebecca to (once again) be paired with Lord
Norcutt. Blast them all. They were ruining her fun.

“
Come along, love.” Quin
placed a hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the
first carriage, where Nia and Sir Jonas were already firmly
seated—on opposite benches, pressed back against the squabs as if
their lives depended upon it—leaving her no choice but to take up
the seat next to the girl.

She let out a huff of air as she sat,
crossing her arms over her chest and thoroughly resisting the urge
to hide her sulk.

“
Are you unhappy?” Nia
asked in her soft, sweet voice. “I thought you wanted to go
shopping today. We could stay behind”

“
We most certainly
will
not
stay
behind,” Aurora responded a mite more sharply than she intended.
But she would not give Nia an opportunity to avoid being in Sir
Jonas’s company. Not if she could thrust them together at every
turn. And clearly, they needed some encouragement. “I do wish to go
into town. And I wish for you to have a lovely time today. I’m sure
Sir Jonas will be certain you see everything you wish to see, so
please do not fret on my account.”

The carriages rolled to a stop almost
before they had started, it seemed, and the coachmen stepped down
to let out the steps and hand them out on High Street. The shops
here certainly did not hold the appeal of the finest in London, but
they would have to do for an afternoon excursion in the
country.

Indeed, Aurora had not yet visited
town to discover the wares for herself. But Forster and Mrs.
Marshall had assured her that the goods they sold were of excellent
quality, and that the young ladies would certainly find something
upon which to spend their pin money.

It seemed they were right. The
milliner boasted any number of lovely straw bonnets lined with
ribbons and flowers. At the haberdashery, a broad assortment of
ribbons and bows were found that the ladies could then use to make
their gowns for the upcoming ball a bit more special than they
already were. The linen draper even had a number of lengths of fine
muslins and silks available. Down at the end of the street near
where their carriages waited for their return sat a small sweet
shop.

The various pairs set off, the ladies
to make their purchases, and the gentlemen to carry them. Except
Nia did not seem to want to leave Aurora’s side. In fact, she
latched on to Aurora’s free arm (the other one being occupied with
holding Quin’s) instead of allowing Sir Jonas to escort her. It was
almost infuriating how shy she was.

“
Oh, look over there, Nia,”
she said after several minutes of walking about High Street in a
group of four, instead of the intended groups of two. “Do you see
that lovely bonnet in the window? The one with the bluebells upon
it. I think that would look lovely with your coloring, don’t you
agree?” Before the chit could respond in the negative, Aurora
slipped Nia’s hand free and placed it upon Sir Jonas’s waiting arm,
then practically shoved them across the street. “Sir Jonas, would
you be so kind as to take Miss Coulter to visit the
milliner?”

Nia turned her head with her mouth
open, as though to protest.

“
Oh, dear. Perhaps your
father has not given you enough pin money,” Aurora continued,
fishing around in her reticule to pull free some coins. She shoved
them into Sir Jonas’s free hand. “This should certainly be enough.
We shall meet up with you later! I daresay I cannot wait to see how
stunning you look in that shade, Nia.”

And with that, she walked away, nearly
dragging Quin along behind her when he did not come as soon as she
would have liked.

“
What was that about?” he
asked when they were out of earshot of the other couple and finally
slowed their pace.

Aurora frowned at him. “What was what
about?” Really, it wasn’t as though she was making any secret of
her intentions. The man would have to be daft not to realize that
she was matchmaking.

“
I don’t like that you’re
perpetually putting my sister together with Jonas. He’s nearly old
enough to be her father.”

“
But he’s
not
her father,” Aurora
said with a roll of her eyes. “And you can hardly say anything
about it with how you have avoided the girl her entire life.
Besides, Sir Jonas is almost like a brother to her, she tells me.
That’s all.”

“
You’re fooling yourself if
you believe she thinks of him as a brother,” Quin retorted. “I’ve
seen how she watches him. He isn’t good for her,
Aurora.”

Oh, dear good Lord, the man had picked
a rather inopportune moment to suddenly recognize his brotherly
duty. “Her mother and father don’t seem to agree with your
assessment. Nor do I. In fact, I think Sir Jonas is rather perfect
for Nia. Far more important than any of that, however, is what Nia
thinks. You said yourself that you see how she”

Aurora stopped short when a sharp pain
stabbed her midsection. She placed a hand to her abdomen and bent
over slightly. It felt similar to those pains she would often get
with her courses. But she couldn’t…

“
What is it?” Quin asked,
bending over her. “What’s wrong? The baby?” He looked at her with
his blue eyes awash with fear.

But just as soon as it came, it was
gone. It was almost as though she had imagined it, as though it
weren’t real. Perhaps it had only been her imagination. “Nothing.
I’m all right.”

Aurora straightened herself and
started to walk again, but Quin placed a hand on her arm, his grip
like a vise. He implored her with his eyes.

“
Truthfully, it was nothing
to worry about. I’ll be fine. The baby will be fine.”

She hoped.

~ * ~

Quin didn’t believe her. He didn’t
believe his wife was fine or that his baby would be fine. She
hadn’t looked fine when she had nearly collapsed on High Street,
doubled over in pain and with her face as pale as a
sheet.

He didn’t believe Nia or Jonas,
either, when they climbed into the carriage for the return to the
abbey, claiming that nothing had happened between them, despite the
fact that they returned to the carriage with guilty expressions
upon both their faces. Nia was looking up at Jonas far more often
than she was normally wont to do, and now Jonas had started to peek
across at her as well.

Neither of which sat well with Quin.
He may not have been the best brother for Nia all along, but he was
still her older brother, by Jove. And the thought of Jonas, at
thirty years of age, chasing after the seventeen-year-old girl’s
skirts was enough to send Quin’s blood to boiling.

Blast his meddlesome wife. She ought
to put her mind to her own matters. After all, they certainly had
more than enough matters in need of minding, at the
moment.

Or, perhaps more importantly even than
those matters, she ought to rest. Was it not important for an
expectant mother to rest? Wasn’t that why they had their
confinement periods and the like? Quin really wanted to send the
entire lot of their guests away, however inappropriate such an
action might be. Aurora didn’t need the added worry of finding ways
to entertain all of these people, let alone of planning a
ball.

Needless to say, he was caught
woolgathering later that evening, when Norcutt came over to him in
the salon after supper.

“
Might I beg a moment of
your time, Quinton?” the man asked when he finally caught Quin’s
attention. “There is a favor I must ask of you.”

Quin nodded his agreement and followed
as Norcutt led him out to the veranda.

Once outside, the marquess clenched
and unclenched his hands repeatedly, shifting from one foot to the
other. There were damned better uses for Quin’s time.

“
Out with it,” he
half-shouted to the nitwit standing before him, causing the other
man to jump.

“
Y-yes, of course,” Norcutt
replied. “I do apologize for my nerves, Quinton. It is just that I
intend to make an offer for Lady Rebecca tomorrow afternoon. I have
already obtained His Grace’s approval, of course. We discussed
matters long before I traveled. But I wondered, if she should
accept, which I do hope with all that I am she does because I will
feel quite the fool otherwise, but if she should accept, might we
make the announcement to your guests at supper tomorrow evening? If
it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience, of course. I would not
want to impose upon either you or Lady Quinton, as you’ve been such
agreeable hosts.”

Quin chuckled. “Stop rambling, man.”
Gesturing to a bench, he made his way over and took a seat. “You
are more than welcome to make your announcement at any time. Just
give me a nod, and I’ll get everyone’s attention for
you.”

A mass of air flew from the man’s lips
as he took a seat beside Quin. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. I
don’t know how I’ll ever repay you”

“
Slow down and breathe, to
start,” Quin said jovially. Thank God he hadn’t had as much time to
think about making his offer to Aurora. There’d been no time for
nervous behavior at all. Not that he was the nervous sort.
“Honestly, there is nothing to repay. Now, tell me. Have you
decided how to go about it?”

Norcutt nodded vigorously. “I shall
take her for a walk. Through the park over there,” he said,
pointing toward a copse of trees alongside a path. “And once I have
her alone, I’ll get down to my knees and ask the
question.”

Hmm. The path Norcutt had
chosen was not a particularly beautiful path—not something
memorable, like Lady Rebecca would likely prefer. Ladies did tend
to have rather grand ideas about how certain events should play
out, after all. There were at least a
few
things Quin had learned in his
marriage.

“
Instead of the path you
had chosen,” he said, “perhaps I might make a suggestion?” Quin
pointed over the hill off to the side of the abbey. “If you follow
the pea-gravel path over the hill, you’ll come to a lovely spot
beside a small hermitage at the river. I’ll have Cook put together
a picnic basket for you. Sit beneath the great oak and ask her
there.”

That spot needed more pleasant
memories. It needed more beauty. The time had arrived to move
on.

~ * ~

Aurora sat in the shade of a beech
tree just off the kitchen garden with the older and married ladies,
watching as Nia and Lady Emily and the two Miss Osbournes all
painted the landscape with their watercolors. She’d never had a
taste for painting. Perhaps because she was a rather poor artist.
She preferred to think her dearth of talent in that arena stemmed
from her distaste for it rather than the other way
around.