Page 37 of The Best-Kept Secrets
He nodded so subtly that she would have missed it if she’d not been watching closely. And she recognized his acknowledgment of her response to his silent question.
They’d grown so close and connected during their time at the abandoned inn. As they always did when she thought of the inn, her thoughts filled with their kiss. Their glorious, heart-stopping, wonderful kiss.
The carriage followed a bend in the road, and framed by the carriage window, a grand house came into view. Evergreen shrubs lined the drive as they passed in front of the tall, redbrick home, creating a striking contrast. Every tree, every shrub, the hedgerows and lawn were all perfectly and elegantly manicured.
Eve all but pressed her face to the carriage window to better see the view. “I had no idea Fairfield was this grand. Most everyone knows the larger Greenberry family is significant in Cornwall. I didn’t realize they have such an impressive holding in Surrey as well.” Tulleyloch was not tiny nor rundown, but it looked like a hovel compared to Fairfield.
“Fairfield belonged to my aunt before she married,” Duke said. “It isn’t a Greenberry holding.”
“But it is now,” she said.
“Actually, no. It remained hers after they married, a condition of their marriage agreement.”
Nothing short of that shocking declaration could have taken her eyes off the vista outside the window. She looked directly at Duke. “Is that even possible? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“It is extremely rare,” he acknowledged.
With a sniff, Mrs. Seymour said, “It is inexcusable that Penelope should have all this and her brother is relegated to so ordinary an estate in the north.”
Eve swore she saw frustration flit quickly through Duke’s eyes as he looked at his grandmother before his expression became conciliatory once more. “Regardless of the circumstances of estates and inheritances, it is for us to show the guests at Fairfield that the Seymour family can be depended upon to be pattern cards of gentility.”
His grandmother sat up straighter and more stiffly, something Eve would not have thought possible. “I amalwayscomplimented on my impeccable manners and enviable ability as a hostess.”
Duke dipped his head. “I know you are, and I am depending on it.”
Mrs. Seymour actually smiled at him. Hers was a smile that didn’t fit her face, though, as if her features were so unaccustomed to the expression that they had to be forced into it. “You can depend on me, Dubhán.”
The carriage reached the top of the drive and stopped at the exterior vestibule. Eve took a tight breath. She’d felt out of place at Brier Hill during the last house party, and it was smaller than Tulleyloch. Fairfield, indeed, was no place for a comparatively insignificant Irish lady with no money or future.
The Huntresses are here, she reminded herself. Her dearest friends. And this was likely the last time they would all be together. She would not squander even a moment on such worries.
Eve reached across and gave Nia’s knee a quick pat. Another was required to wake her.
“We’ve reached Fairfield,” Eve said. “I suspect a footman will open the door at any moment. Best shake off the sleep.”
Nia blinked a few times. “Could we tell the footman I’ve swooned and he’ll need to carry me inside?”
“Only if he is particularly handsome,” Eve said.
Nia smiled as she smoothed her clothing. Mrs. Seymour looked completely horrified. A quick glance at Duke, however, revealed that he was holding back his amusement.
I will make you laugh out loud, Dubhán Seymour. And smile fully. Mark my words.
Nia was handed down first. Mrs. Seymour followed. Her immediate listing of complaints to, Eve assumed, the footman stopped the disembarkation.
“Do I have to go inside?” Duke said with a sigh.
Eve turned and looked at him. “I have absolute faith in your bravery, Duke.” She leaned toward him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
Her timing was good; a mere moment after she turned back to face the carriage door, the footman pivoted to look inside.
Eve was handed down. She moved to Nia’s side and hooked her arm through her sister’s.
“This is a very impressive home,” Nia whispered.
“I admit to being a bit intimidated.” Eve kept her voice equally as quiet.
Duke, now out of the carriage as well, joined his grandmother and led the procession through the exterior vestibule and into the grand entryway. It was elegant without boasting the least hint of opulence, a simplicity that somehow stood as a greater testament to the owners’ prosperity than a space filled with expensive belongings would have.
