In the Wake of the Wind (23 page)

“Do no harm, do no harm.” Basil grabbed the biscuit in one foot and started to munch on it, crumbs flying everywhere.

“Don’t you go telling me,” Elspeth said with annoyance. “I’m doing my best to stay out of the way, and don’t think it’s easy. But you and I both know that the lot of them have to sort out their own problems, or it’s no good.”

She returned to her dressing table and liberally scattered a puff full of powder on her face. She peered into the mirror. “Not bad for an old woman,” she said cheerfully, her spirits restored. “Now back to business. I’m going down to see what’s what with those two. Heavens, people can be blind to what’s right under their noses.”

A
iden paced
the
hall,
anxiously waiting for
Serafina
to make an appearance. He still couldn’t believe his good fortune. She had let him kiss her. Actually let him kiss her. And dear God, but that had been an extraordinary experience, even better than he could have imagined. He felt as if he’d been waiting for that kiss all his life.

And it had nearly driven him out of his mind. He was still amazed that he’d managed to put a stop to
it,
but securing Serafina’s trust was far more important to him than physical satisfaction, even though he was fairly certain he could have persuaded her straight under the covers if he’d put a little effort into it.

He couldn’t think what had come over him. He’d never let a woman get under his skin like this, causing him to lower his carefully constructed defenses, ready to do anything to please her. If she asked for the moon, he’d probably start climbing trees in an effort to catch it for her. He’d even gone so far as to offer her a separate bedroom, throwing away all of his carefully laid plans in one foolish moment of truthfulness.

And yet she’d refused his offer. That confused him more than anything. She said she had no interest in letting him make love to her. So why in the name of heaven did she want to share his bed? And how was he ever going to keep his vow not to touch her until she asked, when he had to lie side by side with her every night?

But still, given the way she’d responded to a simple kiss, maybe he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer before he actually managed to convince her that lovemaking was a good idea.

“There you are, Aubrey. Home at last and not a moment too soon.”

Startled, he turned to see Elspeth Beaton hopping down the stairs like a schoolgirl. “Oh … good evening, Miss Beaton,” he said, watching her come off the bottom step with a little skip. It wouldn’t have surprised him if she’d decided to slide down the bannister. “I trust I find you well?”

“What else would I be? Never had a sick day in my life and I’m not about to start now. Did you like your concert, boy?”

“My—oh, yes. Yes, very much. I’ve always been fond of music, and
Serafina
did a fine job of teaching the staff the song. I was impressed. And touched.”

“Of course you were.
Serafina
has an unusual talent. She could probably teach a cow to sing if she put her mind to it.”

Aiden couldn’t help smiling. Elspeth Beaton might be the most peculiar woman he’d ever come across, but he liked her enormously. And despite the eccentric way she’d chosen to raise her niece, he couldn’t be sorry, although he did find that some of the stories Tinkerby had told him about Elspeth’s more unusual practices gave him slight cause for alarm. He didn’t relish the idea of finding strange substances floating in his soup bowl.

“I imagine
Serafina
could accomplish just about anything she put her mind to,” he said, wondering with distraction what Elspeth had all over her face, for it clung in clumps to her wrinkled skin. She looked as if she’d fallen into a flour bin. Maybe one of her dubious experiments had gone awry again, he decided.

“Oh, my yes,” Elspeth said. “The child has a will of steel. Once she makes up her mind to something, that’s that.”

That much Aiden already knew. What he wanted to know was how one went about unmaking it. “On that subject, Miss Beaton, I was wondering if you might enlighten me as to something,” he said, treading carefully. “Apparently
Serafina
made up her mind a long time ago that this was to be a love match. Do you have any idea how she got that idea in her head, when you and I both know it was anything but?”

Elspeth’s eyes sharpened like a hawk’s, and for the first time Aiden saw a keen intelligence lurking there.

“That’s your concern, my boy, not mine. But what makes you think it isn’t a love match?” she challenged. “‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,’” she added cryptically. “Just insert your own name in there, Aubrey, and take a lesson from Shakespeare. Or are you a religious fanatic like your sister? Someone ought to stuff a sock in that girl’s mouth.”

Aiden sighed, grateful that Tinkerby had warned him about Elspeth’s beliefs. “I think it would be better if we left my sister out of this conversation,” he said as patiently as he could manage. “I was asking how
Serafina
came to believe she was entering a marriage based on love.”

“What else do you think would have brought her to you?” Elspeth snapped. “Be grateful for what you have, Aubrey, and don’t ask a lot of fool questions, for they won’t do you any good or make your job any easier. You have a marriage to get on with, and it’s your own fault if you’ve given
Serafina
any reason to doubt you. Not many men are fortunate enough to have their destiny delivered directly into their hands without lifting a finger.”

With that addle-brained statement Aiden had his answer.
Serafina
had obviously had her head filled with a lot of Elspeth’s nonsense, and it was no wonder she’d been so badly disillusioned, although he still couldn’t work out why she thought she’d fall into the arms of a man who loved her when they’d never exchanged so much as a letter.

“I’m not caviling against my destiny, if that’s what you think. But I think you might have been wiser to give
Serafina
the truth rather than a bunch of drivel about true love. I’m not a knight in shining armor, Miss Beaton, and I’m not likely to turn into one any time soon.”

“No one said the first thing about your being a knight, shining armor included. But you are a man with a new wife on your hands, and I suggest you turn your thoughts in that direction.” She pointed at the staircase.

Aiden looked up and his heart nearly stopped in his chest.

“Titania,”
he breathed, staring at her, overwhelmed.

Serafina
stood on the middle landing, attired in one of the evening dresses he’d brought home, a high-waisted sea-green net over a slip of white satin that draped her slender form to perfection. White gloves covered her graceful arms to the elbow, and her dark hair, arranged high on her head with artful ringlets brushing her cheeks, was entwined with flowers throughout.

She appeared every inch a countess, yet she hadn’t lost any of her fairy queen qualities; she was just a more elegant version. He couldn’t help the surge of relief that flooded through him. For some reason he’d thought that dressing her appropriate to her station might turn her into a copy of every other woman he’d ever known.

But he saw now that it didn’t matter how she dressed. Clothes couldn’t alter
Serafina,
they could only enhance her. Her beauty overwhelmed him, humbled him, left him reeling.

She drifted down the stairs toward him, a hesitant smile on her rosy lips, her cheeks lightly flushed. “Good evening, Auntie. Aiden?” She gazed at him, her eyes wide with nervous question. “Are you pleased?”

He could barely formulate a coherent thought. “I—yes, yes I am,” he said, forcing the words out. “You look as if you walked straight out of a fashion plate. No—better than that,” he corrected, trying desperately to regain control of his voice. “You’re a vision,
Serafina.
A true vision,” he said honestly.

“That’s more like it,” Elspeth retorted caustically.

Aiden ignored her. “I—I hadn’t imagined you would look so lovely. You surpass every expectation I had.”

“Do you really like it?”
Serafina
asked, fiddling with her bodice. “I’ve never had anything so fine before. I feel a little foolish.”

Aiden’s every instinct was to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless to reassure her of just how lovely she was, how impossibly desirable. But he obviously couldn’t do that, so all he did was smile and hope he didn’t appear as much of a dazed idiot as he felt. “You look anything but foolish,” he said, wishing Elspeth away so that he could tell her what he really thought.

“Thank you,” she said returning his smile shyly. “Thank you for taking the time to order me such nice things, and thank you for not being disappointed with me—I was afraid you might be. I took ages trying to decide what would please you most.”

“You would please me in anything,” he said, taking her arm.
You would please me more in nothing,
the rogue’s voice inside his head silently added. “Shall we go into the drawing room?”

“Aiden!” Charlotte cried as they entered. “Oh, you’re home! I could barely wait for your return. Come over here, dear boy, and give your sister a kiss. How I’ve missed you—you must tell me everything.” She laughed breathlessly and held her hands out to him. “And thank you for my new dresses. I didn’t like to say, but I was starting to feel positively shabby.”

Aiden crossed the room and dropped a kiss on his sister’s cheek. “You’re looking well, Lottie,” he said, surprised by the new color in her face. She’d lost the pinched look she’d worn for years, and he couldn’t think what to attribute it to.

“I am well,” she said, smiling up at him. “Your dear wife has given me an oil that helps considerably with my pain.”

“Did she?” Aiden said, casting a suspicious look in Elspeth’s direction, sure that her hand was behind the oil, but pleased nonetheless that something was helping his poor sister.

“Yes, and I’m really most obligated to her. I am sleeping much better at night. Why
Serafina,
how charming you look—your dress suits you beautifully. Doesn’t Aiden have a fine eye?”

“He has,”
Serafina
said. “I wouldn’t have had any idea how to go about choosing a trousseau for myself, but Aiden did a wonderful job.” She glanced at him shyly.

Aiden’s heart swelled with gratification. He felt like a puffed-up rooster, even though he’d had little to do with actually choosing her trousseau—he’d have to remember to send a note of thanks to Harriet. But what was important was that
Serafina
was pleased with him. Almost better than that, it appeared that Charlotte liked his wife. That was a miracle in itself, given Charlotte’s antagonistic attitude when he’d left, an attitude that had worried him considerably over the last month.

He listened as
Serafina
conversed easily with Charlotte, watched as she laughed merrily with Elspeth and his father—still clear-eyed and coherent even though it was past seven. That alone was cause for incredulity.

He observed her all the way through dinner, nearly falling off his chair as she gracefully helped herself from the serving platters the footmen presented at her side as if she’d been doing it all her life, her manners impeccable throughout the meal, not that her aunt’s had improved any. He couldn’t think where she’d acquired her skill, unless Charlotte had been teaching her.

And miracle of miracles, Charlotte only quoted two biblical verses during the entire meal.

Aiden felt as if he’d walked into someone else’s house where goodwill and harmony were the norm. For the first time in memory, he actually enjoyed dinner with his family.

“That was an interesting evening,” he said to
Serafina
as soon as she finished saying good night to her aunt, the last person except for themselves to go upstairs. “I just have one question for you.”

Serafina
turned from the open doorway, her smile fading. “What is it?” she asked, her expression suddenly nervous. “Did I displease you in some way?”

“
Displease
me?” he said with surprise. “Anything but. I was only going to ask if you’ve been flinging fairy dust about. I can’t think of any other explanation for the profound changes I observed tonight.”

Serafina
burst into laughter. “Despite what you tell me to the contrary, I think you’re secretly fanciful at heart, Aiden.”

“I’m beginning to think I must be—either that, or I’m hallucinating. I’m not sure if I care. Four weeks ago I would have sworn on my soul that a pleasant evening like this would have been impossible.” He shook his head. “And yet I can’t question what I witnessed. My God, my father only had two glasses of wine all night, and believe me, I was counting. I don’t think I’ve ever known him to go to his bed sober.”

Serafina
clasped her hands together. “I told you he was trying,” she said. “He only wants your approval, Aiden. He feels terrible for nearly losing everything and putting you in such a terrible position.”

“Not so terrible,” Aiden said, crossing the room and taking her hands in his. “I’m beginning to think his stupidity was a blessing in disguise.”

A pensive expression came over Serafina’s face. “Really?” she asked softly. “I—I think maybe you’re right.”

Aiden inhaled sharply. He knew he should expect the unexpected from her, but she continuously caught him off guard. “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously, wondering if his kiss hadn’t had more of a beneficial effect on her than he’d first realized.

“When I first came to Townsend, I thought everything in my life had gone wrong. But then I realized that there’s a purpose behind everything, that nothing happens by mistake. So I looked to see what my purpose was, and I saw that I had a chance to make things a little better, not just for the people around me, but for myself too.” She swallowed. “Do you understand?”