A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle (61 page)

They drew close to the city. More
homes and shops lined the streets now than early in their journey.
Thank goodness. She had a desperate need to stand and stretch her
legs, and soon.

Traveling in her uncle’s carriage was
far more pleasant than the journey from London to Somerton on the
stagecoach, however. Here, she was not constantly jostled about by
the other travelers, and there had been no discussions of gout or
poodles.

Uncle Laurence had arranged for them
to stay at the Crescent Court Hotel on the Parade. As they arrived
in town, people were out and about on the streets, shopping and
taking the air. Barnes pulled their carriage up to the hotel and
helped them to climb down to the street.

Uncle Laurence headed to the lobby to
check in to their rooms as various porters and other workers
unloaded their trunks and carried them inside. Grace and Aunt
Dorothea followed along at their leisure, after a gander around
town. While Bath was not new to her aunt, Grace had never been
there before, so she took a moment to study ancient Romanesque
structures, so like the ones she’d studied while she had been holed
away in her chamber at Chatham House.

When they entered the hotel, Uncle
Laurence met them in the lobby. “We have two adjoining rooms with a
shared parlor area. Come along. They’ve already moved our
belongings in for us.” He led the way through wide, ornately
decorated hallways and opened the door to their suites. “Do you
think this will do, my dears?”

The room was pristine, with not even
the tiniest item out of place. A large chandelier hung from the
center of the ceiling, and candlelight danced over the floor and
walls. Brocade drapes lined the windows, and the most opulent of
silks upholstered the furnishings. While not gaudy, the room was
certainly much grander than anything Grace had experienced with her
father, and more ostentatious by far than anything she’d
encountered in Somerton.

The grandeur of it all overwhelmed
her.

Aunt Dorothea swiftly adjusted to
their surroundings. “Yes, this room will be perfect. I believe
we’ll be quite comfortable here, wouldn’t you agree, Gracie? Of
course, you do. How could you not enjoy such finery?”

She puttered around as usual,
unpacking things and finding them homes for the course of their
weeklong stay in Bath, apparently unable to wait for a servant to
do the job. “Shall we order tea sent up? I think it would be a
lovely idea. And Gracie, you must get plenty of rest this evening.
We’ll stay in tonight, but tomorrow morning we must be seen at the
Pump Room, you know.”

Actually, Grace knew nothing of the
sort, but she nodded for her aunt’s benefit.

Why must they engage in social events
here? Couldn’t they simply do their shopping and return to
Somerton? Many of Bath’s residents must also be part of the London
social circles. Word could too easily reach Father. He’d find her
in no time.

Oh, why could they not have stayed in
Somerton?

Aunt Dorothea winked at her. “I cannot
have you becoming too tired or sickly in the morning, dear.
Laurence, you’ll of course join us at the Pump Rooms. After
performing our social duty in the morning, we’ll return here for
luncheon, and then Gracie, you and I will begin our shopping. Oh,
Laurence! You will allow us to use the carriage, won’t you? I
should hate to find ourselves caught out in the rain, and if we
make a number of purchases, we’ll need a way to return them to the
hotel. You are such a dear man, you know.” She patted the back of
her husband’s hand with affection. As usual, she plodded along with
her solitary conversation without waiting for an answer to any of
her myriad questions.

Grace sighed. After the journey to
Bath, she desired nothing less than to be seen anywhere in the
morning or to shop in the afternoon. But what could be done about
it?

The shopping excursion was Aunt
Dorothea’s entire purpose for making the trip. Grace resigned
herself to humor her aunt and prayed no one would recognize her or
know of her father.

Chapter
Eleven

“
Not so tight, Thomas.
Breathing is desirable, if you don’t mind.” This was definitely not
his idea of a good time—promenading through the Pump Rooms—but Gil
wanted to take the waters, and it was what one did while in
Bath.
Insufferable social
customs
. “Would you hurry? I thought we
discussed this.”

The valet scowled up and him and gave
another hard tug on the neck cloth, but didn’t respond.

Alex groaned. His valet held far more
concern for his appearance than he did. He just wanted to get this
morning over with.

The previous day’s journey
had proven difficult for Gil. His coughing fits grew more
pronounced, and more frequent to Alex’s estimation, the longer they
were in that blasted carriage. He would prefer to stay in their
hotel that day, in order to allow the earl enough time to recover
from the trip. Gil, however, seemed disinclined to listen to
the
young whippersnapper’s
ideas on the matter.

Taking the waters was never Gil’s true
intention in traveling to Bath. The actual purpose of the visit
surely had more to do with his business than the Roman Baths. Alex
had his own ideas on what that particular business might entail,
but he wouldn’t force his friend to disclose anything until he was
ready. Lord Rotheby would be meeting with his man-of-business to
discuss details of the entailments on his properties. What else
could it be? It wouldn’t surprise Alex one whit if the man was
trying to keep as much as possible from his grandson. Lord Quinton
had always been a wild one, if memory served—though since his
marriage, he seemed to have settled somewhat.

He should be in Somerton, resting at
Roundstone Park, but instead he was traipsing all over Somerset,
seeing to affairs that would no longer affect him after he
passed.

Thomas finished his torture and
excused himself just as the viscount arrived in Alex’s
chamber.

“
Ah, good, I see you’re
dressed. Are you ready? I’d like to start our day.” Gil slumped in
his stance as he groped for his cane—yet another sign that he
should stay at the hotel and rest instead of meeting some blasted
social ritual. One couldn’t tell from his tone that anything was
amiss, however. He seemed as chipper and falsely gruff as
ever.

Alex offered an arm for his friend to
lean on. “I’m as ready to deal with this infernal business as I’ll
ever be, but I will have you know I’m not at all happy with it. But
you already know my feelings on the matter.” He let out an audible
sigh at the look of grim resolve on the earl’s face. “I’ve already
ordered a carriage brought around. They should be downstairs
preparing for our departure.”

The walk to the Pump Rooms was not
far, but Alex wouldn’t risk overtiring Lord Rotheby so early in the
day. If he must suffer through this ordeal, he would at least do
everything in his power to take good care of the older man in the
process.

Not that the earl made the task easy.
He grumbled beneath his breath something along the lines of he
could damned well walk, but what alternative did Alex have? He
would concede to the older man on certain points, but on this one
he refused to budge.

They traveled in silence. By the time
they arrived, a number of fashionable people were already milling
about the room in groups of twos and threes. Some stood near the
Grecian columns and carried on in-depth conversations. Those who
were sickly made their way to the end of the room to drink from the
waters. Alex and Gil had scarcely arrived before various desirables
made their way over to greet them.

The Countess of Trent
swooped in on them like a huntress after her prey, with her greying
yellowed locks in a loose knot behind her head. The woman’s sharp
nose led her forward, with the rest of her following close behind.
“Lord Rotheby! How pleasant to see you in Bath again, sir. I see
you’ve brought your friend Lord Alexander with you.
Quelle surprise
.”

She placed one arm through each of
theirs and walked around the room, effectively trapping them in her
grasp.

“
You know, my lord, you
really ought to grace us with your presence more often. Bath is not
such a far jaunt from Somerton. It’s quite unfair of you to hole
yourself up in that manor house of yours. Why, Lady Kensington just
told me how you visit their cottage all the time, and I thought to
myself the Kensingtons were not sharing you very well with the rest
of us. Of course, she failed to mention that you were also in Bath
today, the wretch. I’ll have to give her a piece of my mind for not
sharing the most delightful news!”

The Kensingtons were in Bath? Alex
stopped in his tracks momentarily, but Lady Trent soon pulled him
along again. If the Kensingtons were here, then Lady Grace would be
as well.

He searched the crowded room to catch
a glimpse of her before berating himself. He was supposed to be
avoiding her, not seeking her out. Blast, it wasn’t any sort of an
impossible goal. But how could he avoid thinking about the woman
whose eyes had become his constant companion at night, who set his
loins aflame with a simple glance?

Lady Trent then turned her attentions
from Rotheby to him. “And you, Lord Alexander. Where have you and
your family been hiding all this time? I declare, we have seen
neither hide nor hair of any of the Hardwickes in an age. His
Grace, your brother—he must be out of mourning now, isn’t he? You
know my youngest daughter, Lady Cecelia, would be just perfect for
him. I’m certain she could help him to forget all about his first
duchess.”

The woman’s audacity spawned a glare
in him, which he neglected to quell.

“
Oh goodness me, there are
the Marquess and Marchioness of Coulter. I must speak with them.
Please do excuse me, gentlemen. Lady Trent swooped away from them
as fast as she had come, and Alex could not be more pleased to see
her go.

He eased over to Gil’s side to provide
him assistance in walking without being too obvious. “Relax, Alex,”
the older man said. “She’s moved on to her next targets. She’ll not
bother us again, but will simply gossip about us.” He smiled
weakly. “She’s still convinced she will marry me. Ever since Trent
passed away five years ago, she’s been hounding me. All the woman
cares about is money and status.” He let out a heaving sigh and
shook his head. “I think there are much more important things in
this lifetime to focus my attentions on. Now, what did she say
about the Kensingtons? Have you spotted your young lady yet?” The
twinkle was back in the earl’s eyes. “I think I’ll go and take some
of the waters while you search for better company.” Gil
straightened and detached himself.

“
She is most certainly
not
my
young
lady,” Alex called after his friend. The exasperation in his tone
rang out in the grand hall. How would he ever convince himself to
stay away from her if no one in his blasted life would
cooperate?

“
Well, if she is not your
young lady yet, perhaps you should do something about it. Time is
wasting, my friend. And you never know how much you’ll have. If you
do nothing, I’m quite sure another man will come along and snatch
her out from under your nose. Perhaps a Mr. Maxwell?”

Rotheby walked away, leaving him alone
in the center of the huge hall. He turned about, trying to spot
anyone he recognized.

While he did find someone
he knew, the particular someone he found was
not
anyone he wanted to converse
with. Alex turned in the opposite direction, walking away from Lord
Overstreet and hoping to find a diversion. The bastard had no sense
of decorum, and Alex wanted nothing less than to be associated with
the man.

In his haste to escape Overstreet’s
company, he walked straight into another, far more acceptable,
acquaintance. “My apologies, Sir Laurence! I didn’t see you there.
I must admit, my distractions got the better of me.”

Sir Laurence glanced over Alex’s
shoulder and gave him a consolatory look before glancing across at
Overstreet.

“
Lord Rotheby just left me
to take the waters,” Alex continued. “I’m sure he would love to see
you. We were unaware you had come to Bath.”

Sir Laurence placed a hand on Alex’s
shoulder in a show of camaraderie and smiled. “Come, join us. We’ll
keep you company, and Overstreet will have no reason to interrupt.
He and I have never been on the best of terms, to put it mildly.”
His conspiratorial tone made Alex like the man even
more.

He led Alex to where his wife and
niece were conversing quietly. “Look who I bumped into, my dears.
Our neighbors have also come to Bath.”

A brief flash of panic swept across
Lady Grace’s features, just as soon replaced by a bland expression
she showed obvious difficulty in achieving. Apparently, she was no
more in favor of their continued association than he.

“
Ladies.” Alex bowed his
head to them.

“
Oh, Lord Alexander. How
fine it is to see you here. I assume you’re not alone? Is Lord
Rotheby with you?” Lady Kensington grasped his hand with clear
euphoria before scanning the crowds for a glimpse of the earl.
However much he may wish to avoid Lady Grace, he was unable to deny
her aunt’s exuberant display of affection for him.