Page 30 of Defying the Earl
“You will not be a spinster,” Nathan said, not intending to be domineering, but it came out sounding that way nonetheless. To his relief, though, she merely laughed, sounding a little like a small sprite. Nathan almost rolled his eyes. A sprite? Who thought such things? Courtship, even a fake one, was turning him into a loose screw.
“You are not to know that, my lord,” Beatrice said in a voice that sounded both amused and scolding all at once. “But you are likely right. I truly had thought it would be best for me to remain unwed, but I am coming around to the idea of leaving behind my unmarried status.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened but he forced himself to remain relaxed. He didn’t own this girl. She was not his. He had no say over whether or not she wed. In fact, he wished her well.
“So this has turned out to be a good thing for you,” he said mildly.
Beatrice leaned closer and lowered her voice, making Nathan’s heart skip a beat. “You think the risk of scandal has been worth it?” Nathan couldn’t tell if she were angry or surprised since her voice was so low, and she was evidently trying to keep her expression pleasant.
“No, of course not,” Nathan quickly said, lifting a hand as though to ward off her anger. “I’m just glad that it isn’t an onerous chore for you to go through.”
She scanned the room almost casually and then brought her gaze back to meet his. “Not onerous, no,” she finally said, adding a small smile, and Nathan wished intensely that he could know exactly what she was thinking.
He had thought he didn’t care what she was thinking, but now he wished to know everything about her. He usually enjoyed her thoughts, or at least her thought process, even when her conclusions were contrary to his own. She made him think in different ways about things, even things pertaining to the governance of their great nation. She would make a better partner than he had thought despite her lack of connections. His continued confusing thoughts were making him feel as though he were back on a storm-tossed sea.
“I’ve always wondered how my aunts came across you,” he blurted out before he could stop his tongue from running away from him. To his relief, though, her face softened into a sweet smile of reminiscence.
“Have they never told you? That surprises me,” she said. When he shook his head, she continued, “They were great friends with my grandmother when they were all girls andremained in touch all throughout the years. So when my grandfather passed, they took me in.”
Nathan wasn’t sure how to ask how she felt about her circumstances. Had it been a step up for her to enter the noblewomen’s home? Or how had it altered her life? He ought to know this sort of thing, he admonished himself.
“What do you think of hosting this sort of thing?”
Beatrice blinked at the sudden turn of topic. “I don’t understand. Do you mean, do I think it would be entertaining to host a large ball?”
Nathan shrugged and nodded. He wasn’t even sure what he had meant by the question, but her interpretation was as good as any. He was being a dolt, for certain.
Again her gaze swept the room and he could almost see her taking note of details. With her obvious intelligence, he found himself anticipating her response.
“I would be terrified, of course, as I’ve never done anything similar, but I would say the countess has a very well-trained staff who have done excellent work. I very much doubt she did most of the organizing. Or rather, she probably did much of the organizing but none of the actual work, except possibly addressing the invitations. So it might actually be amusing to do. Planning the menu and hiring the orchestra and such, that would surely be diverting.” She lapsed into silence for a moment before adding, “But I would much rather plan a musicale, or a rout, or even a supper. Balls are not my favourite event to attend, so I doubt they would be my favourite to manage, either.”
“Would you like to help my housekeeper arrange our supper? I’ve already set much of the plans in motion, but if you’d like to become involved, you’re welcome to do so.”
Beatrice’s eyebrows rose. “Would that be how it was done if we were truly courting?”
“Of course not, but we have known each other a long time, you are my aunts’ companion, we both know and understand the situation. If it would entertain you, why not allow yourself the experience?”
“Because I am your aunts’ companion, not yours,” she answered, her tone cooling noticeably. “Also, no matter how much one might trust their servants, servants talk amongst themselves. Our secrets would get out and the entire purpose for this ‘chore’,” she emphasized the word he had used, “would be out before it could come to its conclusion.”
Nathan wasn’t sure where he had gone wrong, but he could feel her withdrawal and he wanted her warmth back for himself. Valiantly he pondered how to apologize when he didn’t know at all what he had done. Before he could do so, though, she was being hailed by her next swain.
He almost called her back, claiming her for himself a bit longer, but that would cause more of a scene than he wished to court. He ought to have warned her to stay away from Robertson. Despite his and Douglas’ promise to keep the wager to themselves, Braxton didn’t trust either of them. Their connection to some of the troublemakers in Upper Canada didn’t sit well with him, and Nathan had reason to wonder if the wager was just a means to keep him distracted. He needed to keep his mind focused on both matters at once. All while managing his conflicting feelings. He rolled his eyes, hoping no one noticed and thought it was a dismissal of Lady Beatrice.
Frustration roiled through him. If his brother could see him now, no doubt he would never live it down. But if his brother could see him now, he wouldn’t be in this situation, he remindedhimself. He would be in York, finishing up his assignment there rather than here, looking for someone he could trust to conclude it for him and embroiled in a ridiculous wager to avoid courting a woman that if he weren’t Braxton, he would wish to court for real.
What a quagmire he had created for himself!
Chapter Fifteen
Beatrice tried very hard not to make a scene, but she was far from disappointed when Lord Wilfrid claimed her for the dance that was about to start. It had thrilled her for the briefest moment to think Lord Braxton was asking for her assistance as though he wished to work together on a project, as though he valued her skills or opinion or something. But then it became obvious to her that, of course, he thought her skilled. As a paid companion, planning entertainments was well within her experience and skill set. She had arranged various affairs for the Ladies. But she was not Braxton’s paid companion, that was for certain. And she hadn’t been lying when she said the servants might talk.
Of course, if one had servants you could trust, it was possible rumours wouldn’t spread. Or it could be explained away in this instance that Braxton was new to entertaining and had requested her assistance. It might be possible that was something a gentleman wishing to “audition” a potential wife might actually do. How was she to know? But she wasn’t going to be Braxton’s servant. She was from the family Houndseith for goodness’ sake. Surely she ought to be offered a trifle more dignity than being a glorified servant.
The thoughts bubbled and stewed at the back of her mind even as she allowed herself to feel a small thrill from once again being on the dance floor. Beatrice hadn’t thought she had been pining for the experiences of a debuting young lady, but from how much she was enjoying the experience, she would have been wrong to think so. Dancing in particular was her greatest delight. She could almost hope this courtship fiasco never ended.
With a sigh, though, Beatrice realized that was a foolish wish. She would have to accept someone, surely. Or else leave Town. She was not a debutante. She was not being sponsored by the Ladies, although, that was how it would appear to onlookers. They were her employers. They were lovely and kind and treated her generously, but they had taken her into their home as their employee. She needed to keep that in mind. They had now decided that she ought to wed. She would have to do so or leave, as she had planned, to the cottage by the sea that she had always imagined.
Except she still had two more years to wait to receive her inheritance.
