Page 5 of A Sense of Injustice
His breath caught in his throat when he glanced at her in her sparkling bronze gown. She looked svelte, self-assured and truly beautiful. Luke hadn’t thought of her as a beauty before. It was as though her coming of age and independence had lifted a weight from her shoulders and she had now grown into the person she was destined to be. She looked up, caught him watching her and smiled.
‘There you are at last.’ Luke was almost grateful when his grandmother’s voice intruded upon the moment, affording him the strength to look away from Flora. ‘We thought you had forgotten all about us.’
‘As if you would ever let us do such a thing,’ Sam said, kissing their grandmother’s cheek.
‘Ha!’ she responded, pretending to be disgruntled.
‘Happy birthday, Flora,’ Archie said, limping slowing towards her, taking her gloved hand in his and flamboyantly kissing the back of it.
‘Thank you, Lord Hardwick. And thank you as well for the lovely flowers. It was most thoughtful of you. My room is now delightfully filled with the fragrance of roses.’
‘Flowers?’ Luke muttered, scowling at Archie’s back. ‘You sent her flowers?’
Archie heard him, glanced over his shoulder and sent Luke a smug grin.
‘You are very welcome, my dear,’ Archie said suavely.
‘I cannot begin to imagine where you found rosebuds at this time of year, Lord Hardwick,’ Mary said disingenuously. ‘And so many of them too.’
‘Money talks, little sister,’ Henry said.
‘Did you send her all of Covent Garden market?’ Emma asked.
‘Just relieved it of a couple of dozen blooms,’ Archie responded flippantly.
‘I have been thoroughly spoiled,’ Flora said, perhaps sensing Luke’s tension and seeking to ease it. ‘Look at the lovely shawl that Miranda so thoughtfully embroidered for me.’ She held up her arms in order that the garment might be admired. ‘Emma gave me very extravagant silver-backed brushes. Mary a wonderful drawing of Zeus that I intend to have framed.’ Zeus was their grandmother’s unsociable cat. ‘Sam gave me a first edition of Jane Eyre because he recalled me once saying how much I enjoyed the book. Henry gave me perfume and—’
‘And Grandmamma gave her a beautiful brooch,’ Emma said, pointing to the discreet jewel nestling between her breasts. Luke found himself scowling again when Archie leaned in much closer than necessary in order to admire it.
All eyes turned towards Luke, since he was the only person not to have presented Flora with a gift. He fully intended to do so, but his gift was not for public scrutiny. At least not yet. It had only arrived an hour or so earlier, which had precluded him from presenting it to Flora. Now it would have to wait until later.
He was saved from the trouble of making excuses by the arrival of the first guests, all of whom fussed over Flora and presented her with more gifts. Luke stood back, glad that his family had made a point of spoiling Flora, since it was evident that her own had not marked the occasion in any way. Idiots!
Luke’s grandmother was in fine form, holding court and making herself the centre of attention, as if it was her birthday they were celebrating. Archie had taken the chair beside her and the two of them laughed like naughty children. Archie encouraged the dowager’s eccentricities, and she responded by flirting with him quite shamelessly.
Luke paid his respects to Mrs Pearson, one of the few locals for whom his grandmother had any time. Her young granddaughter, Marianne, was with her. And another lady too, who was presumably the older granddaughter.
‘A pretty little thing,’ Sam said, standing beside Luke and watching the newcomers greeting their grandmother. ‘How come we haven’t met her before?’
‘Henry looks as if he wants to alter that situation,’ Luke said, watching his brother, who despite his earlier loudly proclaimed aversion to matrimony had lost no time in approaching Mrs Pearson. ‘I clearly don’t give him enough to do around here if his thoughts are turning in that direction at his young age.’
Sam grinned. ‘Henry is twenty-three. You’re just worried that his natural interest in an eligible female will draw attention to your disinclination to lead by example, big brother.’
Luke fixed Sam with a droll look. ‘Not at all. But I do share your curiosity about the sudden appearance of an elder Miss Pearson. I didn’t know there was one.’
‘Mrs Pearson’s son resided permanently in London up until his death. I would imagine the elder daughter still lives in his property there.’
‘Perhaps.’ Luke gave an indifferent shrug. ‘I am not sufficiently interested to ask. Hopefully, having two granddaughters to keep in her sights will distract Mrs Pearson and prevent her from encouraging Grandmamma’s more outrageous behaviour.’
‘I doubt it. They’re as bad as one another.’ Sam grinned. ‘You’re not embarrassed by her, are you? It’s only family and close friends here tonight. No one will judge her. I for one rejoice in the fact that she must be free of pain in order to behave as flamboyantly as she now does. We have Flora to thank for that, and so much more besides. She bullies Grandmamma into drinking potions she makes up for her in the stillroom. Grandmamma protests, of course, and says they make no difference, but it’s obvious that they do. The changes in her are quite remarkable.’
‘I agree. Grandmamma can be cantankerous when she’s in pain or bored. Flora has worked wonders with our family matriarch. I am not ready to part with her yet, as I feared we might have to when her health was so poor before Flora came to us.’
‘Well then, Flora deserves to be spoiled this evening.’
‘That she does, little brother.’ Luke allowed his gaze to rest upon Flora as she laughed at something Archie had just said to her. She must have sensed him watching her since she turned her head and met his gaze, and was slow to return her attention to Archie. ‘That she does.’
Chapter Two
