Page 73 of The Baron Takes a Bet
“I do.”
A moment of silence, then.
“Well, I’ll be. I guess old John knew what he was doing.” Jasper shook his head. “You know, he said something to me once last summer. Something about how Holly would do well to meet you, but I didn’t think he was serious. He was always coming up with ideas and writing them in those daft journals of his.”
“Journals?”
“Yes, the ones he left you, I gather. He always was so sure that whatever he wrote down in those books was brilliant, but I never believed him.” Jasper shrugged, looking around the room. “So, which room is mine?”
Gavin was temporarily distracted, thinking about the journals. But the next moment, he called for Everton and instructed his butler to show Jasper the rest of the house as he left. He needed to return to Bairnsdale Terrace.
So, Uncle John had written about them? Gavin was suddenly consumed with a need to read through all his uncle’s journals immediately. He wondered what else his uncle had managed to write down. Maybe he could understand Holly a little better if he could read about her from a friend’s point of view.
He also now needed to figure out how he would facilitate the sale of Felton Manor so that Jasper could follow his dream while simultaneously crushing Holly’s hope of keeping her family home in her brother’s possession.
Ah, the joys of dealing with in-laws.
Chapter Sixteen
Holly could barelycontain her aggravation as she prepared to travel to Bond Street that morning after breakfast. Gavin had taken his leave with Jasper to settle her brother at his old Marylebone residence without so much as a goodbye. Well, that was just as well. She didn’t wish to speak to either of them, particularly if they were busy congratulating themselves for making such a careless mistake.
The nerve of Gavin! Jasper was still a child, completely unfit to govern his own life, let alone anyone else’s. And it didn’t have anything to do with his age. Katrina was born the same day and was vastly more competent than her twin brother. Jasper simply didn’t have the maturity to be given an entire residence without supervision.
It bothered Holly to no end that Jasper had somehow gotten his way once more. Not because she didn’t wish the world for him but because he had never learned to handle disappointment properly. He was always bitter and sarcastic as if the world had done a great injustice to him and only him. It was infuriating, to say the least.
Still, some of her hoped Gavin knew what he was doing. Holly truly wanted Jasper to become a successful, happy man. She knew a time would come when she would have to let him stumble as he undoubtedly would, but at this point, he was more likely to fall flat on his face. She lacked the ability or the moneyto pull him back from the brink of failure, and she hoped she wouldn’t need to.
Thankfully Katrina didn’t give her such issues. Never had a set of twins been more different than Jasper and Katrina. Waiting for her sister in the foyer, she was surprised to see Katrina come down the stairs, accompanied by Marnie. Holly tried not to grimace. Surely she wouldn’t be coming with them again, would she?
“Holly, Aunt Marnie has decided that she is in the market for new gloves,” Katrina said without a hint of aversion. “She doesn’t have any for the St. James Palace.”
Holly kept her face blank though her insides shook.
“I didn’t realize Miss Winscombe would be accompanying us to St. James.”
“Yes, I’m sure you would rather I stay locked up here,” Marnie said, brushing past her. “But at least one of you Smyths has learned some manners. Miss Katrina here has invited me.”
Holly’s eyes widened as she looked at her sister, who silently shook her head as they followed Marnie out the door.
“Did she?” Holly asked.
“Yes, and it was with a dutiful heart that I accepted. Surely there isn’t anyone better than I to instruct this young lady on court life. I’ve been attending Queen’s ball since the very first. Now, of course, since our King no longer has his queen, the ball is being hosted by Princess Elizabeth, but she is quite dedicated to maintaining the old traditions in her mother’s memory. So, it is a good choice of your sister to call on me for my services.”
“A blessing we were not aware of, I’m sure,” Holly said as she climbed into the carriage.
For the entire ride to Bond Street, Marnie delighted in telling the two about all the times she had attended the annual debutante event. She spoke of her favorites which somehow always coincided with the most successful lady of the season,and named several choices marked with favor by others who had not lived up to their names. She also mentioned several disappointments and famous errors she had witnessed over the years and how each person had fared afterward.
Holly tried to catch Katrina’s eye but she seemed entirely engrossed in everything Marnie said. She continued talking as they entered Miss Piedmont’s establishment to pick up their ballgowns. Once finished there they went next door to the glove and fan shop. Marnie’s recitation continued unabated, but to Holly’s surprise, Katrina seemed genuinely interested, leaving Holly wandering about the shop idly as the two chatted.
Lifting a silk kerchief laid out on a dark-grain wood display table. Holly traced the fine cloth through her fingers as she watched the two pick out gloves. Perhaps Katrina had found something amiable about the old woman, though Holly wasn’t sure how that was possible. Still, she might try to befriend the old woman, if only to minimize Marnie’s hostility towards her, mainly when she brought up John.
Holly sighed at the thought of her friend. She had so many questions. Ever since his death, it seemed she was bombarded with mysteries, and every day, she seemed to get further from the truth. Holly wanted to ask him about his sister and why she was so hellbent on keeping the coffers full. Was it because he really hadn’t provided an adequate allowance to support Marnie and Gavin? That didn’t sound like him at all—but she knew the relationship between the siblings had been strained, and perhaps anger had driven John to behave uncharacteristically. John had even mentioned once that he didn’t enjoy the London season much and rarely visited the town during the spring and summer for fear of running into his sister. Holly thought avoiding an entire city for one person was silly, but then she’d supposed that John had his reasons.
And Marnie was a particular reason. Now that she’d had the chance to spend time with the woman, Holly could well understand how someone might go to great lengths to avoid her. Holly would do so herself if she had the opportunity. But instead, they had all been thrown together, and she supposed she should try and make the best of it, especially now that they would likely remain in each other’s lives.
Coming around the display table, Holly heard Katrina asking which shade of orange she might use as a ribbon, holding two different trimmings on either side of her head.
“Which contrasts better with the shade of my hair?” Katrina asked.
