Page 40 of The Wise Daughter
Aaron laughed, a friendly but forced sound to Nora’s ear. “For a time, Mrs. Hansley I was not sure I would ever marry.” Had he interrupted her on purpose?
“Really?” Mrs. Hansley persisted. “Lord Bilford has always said–”
“Lord Bilford has always been quite vocal about his opinions, hasn’t he?” Aaron definitely interrupted this time. “I’m afraid there are too many rumors these days for me to even contemplate tracking them all.”
“Indeed,” Mrs. Hansley good-naturedly agreed and said nothing more.
Nora debated whether she should satisfy her curiosity by asking Aaron or Mrs. Hansley more, but one glance at Aaron, and she decided against it. Mr. and Mrs. Hansley also held a brief, unspoken conversation with their eyes.
Chuff saved them all from further awkwardness, or so Nora thought, by announcing her father. As Nora greeted him, she gritted her teeth. He smelled heavily of tobacco.He’s been back to that wretched tavern!Aaron must have given him money the same way he had filled her reticule with pin money.
Dinner was pronounced ready, and soon, everyone was seated at the end of a polished walnut table capable of hosting several more people. Blue and white china was carefully laid out along with silver candelabras to light their meal. It was Nora’s first time in the formal dining hall. Extra care seemed to have been taken for the evening. The white molding on the ceiling and walls were free from cobwebs, the paint perfectly elegant in its pale gold, and the portraits full of pleasant-faced individuals who must have enjoyed entertaining in their day.
“I’m glad to see portraits of smiling people,” she whispered to Aaron, hoping the jest would ease her nerves for the conversation ahead. “Those grim individuals upstairs would have ruined our appetites.”
She savored his quiet laugh and decided she rather missed the quiet coziness of dining with him in his study.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Hansley focused on their food, eating without much conversation until Mr. Hansley asked, “Your Grace, I am not surewhether you are aware, but the chapel has been in need of repairs for some time. Your father promised help, but that was before his illness.”
Aaron answered as readily as if this matter had been on his mind. “Yes, I am aware. My steward and I have been discussing such needs. I’d value your input if you would provide more details. Once we’ve determined what should be done, I’ll arrange it all with my steward.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Mr. Hansley sounded genuinely pleased.
“You’re most welcome. We just have to be sure to arrange everything before Miss Lacy and I leave on our wedding tour.”
Nora’s bite of roasted potato stuck in her throat, and she started coughing. Aaron hadn’t mentioned the idea of a wedding tour to her. She wasn’t ready to plan the wedding. How could she even think of a wedding tour?
When she finally stopped coughing, everyone was watching her.
“Excuse me,” she said, demurely patting the corners of her lips with her serviette.
Aaron gave her a quick wink and turned the attention away from her. “Mr. and Mrs. Hansley, did you know Mr. Lacy will soon be taking over Raven Manor?”
“Really? Someone in Raven Manor after all these years?” Mrs. Hansley asked. “How very pleasant. And is Raven Manor to your liking, Mr. Lacy?”
Her father straightened in his seat like a boy being caught daydreaming. “What? Raven Manor? Oh, yes. Delightful.”
Nora inwardly groaned. She was probably the only one who could detect his sarcasm, but she did not miss his exaggerated tone or the way he was scratching his cheek. He only scratched his cheek when he was lying.Why can he not be satisfied or the least bit grateful?Aaron was giving them everything they had asked for and more.
Her father continued speaking a little too loudly. “It does my heart a great deal of good to see the duke with my little Nora.” Thesickeningly sweet smell of alcohol carried on his breath, confirming Nora’s suspicions that he had been to the tavern. “Never again will I chide you for rejecting Lord Newberry.”
“Lord Newberry?” Mrs. Hansley raised an innocent brow. “Of West Riding?”
“An old family friend,” Nora delicately explained before lifting another bite of roasted potato to her lips, which she chewed more carefully this time.
“A family friend who offered Nora his hand several times,” her father smirked.
“How interesting,” Mrs. Hansley tittered. “We heard he was rather put out after losing a fair bit of money to the family of a woman who broke her engagement to him.”
Nora’s fork fell to her plate in a clatter. So the rumors had finally caught up to her. The room grew uncomfortably hot.
Mr. Lacy apparently had not noticed the implications of Mrs. Hansley's comment. “I thought my daughter was foolish for telling him no, but look at her now.”
Oh, please don’t!
“Soon, she’ll be a duchess. Such a smart match. Don’t I have a clever daughter?”
No one seemed to know what to say to that. Nora closed her eyes, fully aware that no matter how much she wished it, the scene before her would not disappear. She opened her eyes to Aaron watching her.
