Page 103 of Snapdragons
“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 atFather. “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 poorlady 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 thatan arranged marriagewasn’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?”
