Page 3 of The Boys of Summer
Marchwood clapped him on the shoulder in friendly welcome. “Atherton!” It’s good to see you here. I missed your arrival. What has it been? Two years? Three?”
“At least that, if not more, Henry,” Augustus answered. “Far too long, either way. I slipped in with a crowd earlier but was too muddy from the road for the drawing room. I wished to clean up first. Now, introduce me to your lovely bride.”
She was lovely. Young and vivacious, with brilliant red-gold hair and a smidgen of freckles on her nose, she looked rather fae. Above all, when she smiled, the warmth of it lit her from within. He could certainly see why Henry was so taken with her, whatever her background was or scandal such a match might have wrought.
“Sophie, this is one of my oldest friends, Augustus Brandeis, also known as the Duke of Atherton… newly minted, of course. We went to school together.”
“And you got in no trouble at all, did you? Both of you were perfectly studious and terribly polite at all times.” The viscountess’ tone was gently teasing and thoroughly amused at the both of them.
Of course, it was mostly true. Unlike many of their schoolmates, both he and Henry had been painfully well-behaved. It was the product, perhaps for Henry, of being orphaned at an early age. For himself, it had certainly been the fear of reprisals. School had been a safe place for him and risking being sent home had been terrifying to him. Still, he smiled at the viscountess’ jest. “You seem to have taken our measure very accurately, my lady.”
“Well, your grace,” the viscountess began, “I know my husband quite well and he is not the sort to be close chums with a scapegrace or ne’er-do-well, titled or not.”
“You are too kind, Lady Marchwood, and I am so grateful you could find room for me at your festive gathering.” He could feel Lady Helmsley’s suspicious gaze on him, and while Clarissa refused to look at him, he didn’t doubt her awareness of him as she chose to look in every other direction but his. “Forgive me, Lady Helmsley, we have not been properly introduced, but as we were neighbors for a time, I feel quite like we know one another… at least enough to say hello.”
Lady Helmsley’s eyebrows lifted imperiously. “When, precisely, were we neighbors, your grace?”
“In Margate, Madam, many years ago. My mother was quite ill at the time and it had been recommended that she visit the seashore to recover. We were residing in the same terrace, just one house down.”
Clarissa, standing at her great-aunt’s side, went completely still. From his vantage point, he could tell she hadn’t even taken a breath. And then, after a long moment, she turned to him, wide-eyed. She remembered, he thought. She remembered their promise. Their gazes locked in that second, but what she was thinking and feeling remained unknown to him.
Lady Helmsley let out a loud and disapproving harrumph, breaking the spell. “That hardly counts, your grace. Though, given that we are amongst mutual friends, it will suffice. Allow me to introduce my great-niece, Miss Clarissa Milson.”
“We are acquainted, Lady Helmsley. I was never formally introduced to you, but during that summer in Margate, your great-niece and I were often playmates, if you will.”
Lady Helmsley glanced between them. “She never mentioned it.”
“It was hardly worth mentioning, I imagine. There were few enough children in the area that we had little choice but to entertain one another,” he offered in a conciliatory tone. It was, at least, a partial truth. “Regardless, Miss Milson, would you be so kind as to join me for a stroll about the room?”
Her eyes narrowed in obvious irritation, she snapped at her great-niece. “Why on earth, Clarissa, would you not mention being playmates with a future duke?”
“I didn’t know he was… I only knew him as the boy next door,” Clarissa replied softy. “His title never entered into it.”
“That stroll, Miss Milson?” he prompted, offering her his arm.
There was a long and uncomfortable silence that stretched amongst the group. Then the moment was broken when Clarissa placed her hand on his forearm and he led her away to take a turn about the room.
Chapter Two
Lady Helmsley watchedthe couple walk away from her. “Sophie, what is the meaning of all that?”
“I assure you, I cannot say, Lady Helmsley,” the young viscountess replied. “Though it does seem to be laden with deeper meaning. The duke is a very enigmatic man, I think.”
At that point, both of them turned and looked at the viscount. He immediately held up his hands in supplication. “I have no idea. None whatsoever. I received a missive yesterday from Atherton that he was in the area and would like to stop in for a visit. It seemed only natural at that point to invite him to the house party.”
“Could he have known that Miss Milson would be here?” The viscountess posed the question to Lady Helmsley.
“I can’t imagine how. And I’m most put out with my great-niece. She’s been very tight-lipped about this acquaintance… and didn’t know he was a duke! Heavens.”
They all turned to gaze in the direction of the couple, now strolling on the far side of the drawing room. Clarissa looked incredibly tense and the duke… well, he only looked at Clarissa. Lady Helmsley considered that for a moment. She’d cautioned Clarissa not to set her sights so high but, apparently, she’d been quite wrong. The girl wouldn’t need to worry about catching a duke. It very much appeared that one had caught her. “She could do worse… couldn’t she, Marchwood?”
The viscount shook his head. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“For a husband, Marchwood. She could do worse than the duke, couldn’t she? Or is there something about him I should be made aware of? Is he poor? Is there a history of madness in his family? Is he a profligate rake?”
“None of those, Lady Helmsley. He’s only recently come into the title. His father passed away only a few months ago. To my knowledge, the estates and his finances are sound. He’s never been one for London. He prefers the solitude of his country estate in Leicester.”
Agatha continued to watch them. He’d halted their stroll in a quiet corner near the French doors which led to the terrace. It was a spot where they could speak without risk of being overheard, far enough from the others present for privacy, but still fully in view of all gathered. There was a footman positioned nearby. She’d get it out of him later what was said if Clarissa proved stubborn. Knowing her great-niece as she did, there was little doubt of it.
