Page 3 of Assisting Lord Richmond
“Yes, thank you for the reminder. The thing is, I’m not sure if it’s a delicate matter. Have you heard from Jeffrey?”
The strangest sensation trickled through Ellen as she observed no shift upon Hugh’s face. He appeared completely pleasant and unconcerned, almost as though he hadn’t even heard her question. It was an odd reaction on his part, considering she was certain there was a furrow of worry between her own eyebrows and she had thought she felt his hands tighten on her ever so slightly when she started speaking.
“I hear from Jeffrey fairly regularly,” he answered mildly. “Your brother is an excellent correspondent. Quite remarkably so for a gentleman, in fact. I’ve heard that it’s more a female activity to write to one’s friends so often. But your brother can be found putting pen to paper nearly every day in order to maintain contact with his many friends.”
Ellen pinched her lips between her teeth and lowered her eyebrows for the briefest moment before she heard the whisper of her mother’s voice within her head reminding her that she shouldn’t be frowning at a Society ball. That thought nearly made her laugh, and she found herself grinning again up into Hugh’s surprised face.
Chapter Two
Hugh wasn’t in Town to dance attendance upon his friend’s little sister, he reminded himself even as he held her to him as closely as polite Society would permit. He really shouldn’t even be out in Society. It was barely six months since his brother and father had died, making him the Viscount of Richmond. It wasn’t a situation he ever thought to occupy and certainly not one he had wished for.
In fact, it was ruining his life.
But Ellen Courtenay couldn’t possibly know that. And it was ridiculous for Hugh to be resenting her and her adorable dimples. Those dimples, he knew, were the bane of Ellen’s existence. She usually contained herself to small, gentle smiles so they would not reveal themselves. It was actually probably a testament to their long acquaintance that she was allowing them out of hiding that evening.
He thought they were the most precious things he had seen in an age. Perhaps since the last time he had seen her dimples. It had been more than three years since he had visited his friend Jeffrey on his family’s estate. So much had changed recently. The sight of those lovely crevices in her cheeks made him have need to admonish himself once more about the impropriety of his current situation. His mind turned again to what had brought him to this moment.
He had been on a mission in France when his brother and father had drowned in that sudden, monstrous boating accident. Hugh tried to tell himself it was pointless to be angry with them.But why hadn’t they brought servants with them?It had been just the two of them out on the water in their small skiff that day when a squall had blown up and overwhelmed them. Or at least, that is what he had been told when the runners had finally found him in Paris where he had been stationed for some time.
It was hard to bear the disappointment in his mother’s eyes when she thought he had been there drinking and wenching, rather than the real reason for his time in Paris. But he couldn’t tell her why and had to allow her to think what she will. But that was why he was again in the great metropolis. He needed to hand over his responsibilities for his mission and leave off his role with the Home Office. He had to be the staid and responsible Viscount of Richmond now and take care of his mother as she saw fit.
Of course, Lady Richmond was quite determined to become the Dowager Viscountess and was diligently and unfortunately regularly expressing her feelings on the subject to her only remaining child.
Hugh was well aware that marrying and starting a family was part of the responsibility that came along with the title. And his father’s and brother’s deaths had well illustrated how unpredictable life could be, so Hugh knew he needed to think about finding himself a wife. But now was not the time. He already had to accept far too many changes in his life. Adding a wife into the mix was not going to simplify his life in any way. And until he got this matter sorted out, it might not actually even be safe to take a wife.
At least not for whichever young lady he happened to wed.
Not that he had any intention of wedding.
And especially not with Jeffrey’s little sister, no matter how endearing her dimples might be. He dragged his thoughts away from his morose musings and tried to focus on what Ellen was saying without actually thinking about how very pretty she was with her curls all piled on top of her head and her pretty gown flowing on her clearly grown up form.
And now the pretty little thing was asking him something about her brother and appeared to be genuinely worried about something. As a gentleman, he couldn’t really do nothing. Stifling the deep sigh he truly longed to utter, Hugh made an effort to be conciliatory.
“What exactly is the issue? Why did you ask if I’ve heard from him?”
The girl managed to shrug and follow his steps quite skillfully without missing a single step. And then she sighed.
“A gentleman I was dancing with expressed his immense surprise that my father hasn’t come up to Town yet even though Parliament is in Session. I feel like a veritable beast as I didn’t really think about it when Mama and I were finalizing our plans to come without him.”
She sighed again and shook her head. “But that gentleman was quite correct. In all my life, Father has never missed the opening of Parliament. Even when Amelia was about to be born, he came up, much to Mama’s displeasure. So it makes me think that the problems with the flock that kept them home must be far more serious than anyone is letting on, or perhaps it’s even a ruse of some sort so as to not tell me the real reason.” She smiled through her obvious worry. “I mean, really, Father isn’t usually that involved with the flocks, as far as I’ve noticed. But perhaps I’m a selfish beast who pays no attention to such things, and he’s actually always acting the shepherd.” The girl sighed once more and then looked up at him quite trustingly, as though she expected him to answer every last question that might arise into her pretty little head.
Hugh felt his chest puff up in the strangest way. It was as though his subconscious thrilled at the thought of answering every one of her questions just exactly as she expected. He ignored the sensation no matter how surprisingly pleasurable it seemed. He couldn’t deal with any other than his own issues in that moment.
“It does sound unlike Hanley to stay away. But I haven’t heard anything that ought to trouble you from Jeffrey,” Hugh found himself saying. “Would you like me to send a courier to find out?” He didn’t know he was about to offer that until the words were already out of his mouth.
“Would you?” The delighted expression upon her face made him forget about his own chagrin.
“It’s the simplest thing for me to do. I’d be happy to do it. As you know, Jeffrey is one of my oldest friends. I would hate to think of him and your father having a big issue on their hands.” Suddenly he called himself to his senses. “But I’m sure it isn’t anything for you to concern yourself over. As you said, surely if there was a real problem, they wouldn’t have sent you to Town.”
Her expressive face was a contradictory mix of pleased and doubtful. If Hugh had to guess her thoughts, he surmised that while she was delighted by his offer to send a courier, she wasn’t certain of his reasoning on whether or not there was reason for her to be concerned about her home.
While Hugh had many other things to take care of, it really wasn’t a large commitment to send a courier to Hanley House. He had a great number of them that must be quite bored now that he was leaving his life as an agent behind. They would be eager for even such a simple assignment. And now that he thought on it, itwasa strange thing that neither Lord Hanley nor his son, Baron Hastings, were present for Lady Ellen’s debut.
But of course, he couldn’t allow the lady to worry.
“How are you enjoying your first Season?”
“Well, as you noted, it is decidedly strange to be meeting people as Lady Eleanor rather than Lady Ellen. But other than that, it has been delightful. Well, that and this concern that I have ignored a very obvious problem at home, so it makes me feel like the worst daughter ever born.”
