Page 61 of A Sense of Fate
Flora introduced Melanie, who curtsied and generally behaved impeccably. Archie watched Luke watching Flora, and noticed the momentary regret that flashed through his expression. It was gone almost immediately and Archie wouldn’t have seen it if he hadn’t been specifically looking for it. Violet saw it too, he thought, and her own expression briefly closed down.
Luke greeted Flora with affectionate informality and kissed her cheek.
‘We are glad you are here,’ he said. ‘Rom especially.’
‘He’s a treasure, Lord Swindon,’ Melanie said, tugging the big dog’s ears and sending the silly mutt into a state of near delirium.
‘Well, that’s one way of describing the useless cur, but it isn’t voiced too often,’ Luke replied, sharing a smile with Flora over Melanie’s head.
After taking luncheon, the ladies excused themselves in a flurry of excitement when told that the modiste had arrived.
‘Let’s take ourselves somewhere more comfortable.’ Luke led the way into his library, trailed by Archie, Paul and Alvin, who was married to Luke’s other sister Emma. ‘It’s almost like old times,’ Luke added. ‘The four of us together again.’
‘Twelve years older and wiser, I hope, than we were in our Oxford days,’ Alvin remarked, nodding his thanks when Luke handed him a glass of single malt.
‘Bit early, isn’t it?’ Paul remarked.
Luke waved the suggestion aside. ‘The ladies will be taken up with fabrics and fittings for hours. We need to find a way to occupy ourselves.’
Archie raised his own glass in acknowledgement. ‘The groom should be allowed to do as he pleases in his final days of freedom,’ he said.
‘You’re moving better, Archie,’ Alvin said. ‘Flora’s doing, one supposes.’
‘Actually, yes. That and the fact that I’ve had a steam bath built in the grounds. It helps no end.’
‘There’s no keeping a bad man down,’ Luke quipped.
‘So, Luke,’ Archie said, settling himself in a comfortable chair and straightening his troublesome leg. ‘How does it feel to be on the verge of respectability at last?’
Luke laughed. ‘It had to be done sooner or later. We’ve always known it, all of us.’
Hardly a ringing endorsement of his feelings for Violet, Archie thought. ‘True, I suppose.’
‘You’ll be feeling lonely, Archie. The last man standing, so to speak,’ Paul joked.
‘I’m trying not to feel smug about retaining my freedom,’ Archie replied blandly.
‘You’ll know when you meet the right woman,’ Alvin assured him. ‘Isn’t that right, Luke?’
‘Perhaps he has and doesn’t want us to know it.’ Luke fixed Archie with a sapient smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
He knows.
It didn’t escape Archie’s notice either that Luke had made no enthusiastic noises about having met his heart’s desire. He liked Violet, perhaps even loved her a little. She was beautiful, compliant and suitable countess material. But she was not Flora, who in Luke’s stubborn eyes was none of those things. Archie felt a moment’s sympathy for his oldest friend but knew better than to let it show and was relieved when Paul raised the subject that was on Archie’s mind.
‘What’s the story behind Flora’s sister’s sudden appearance?’ he asked. ‘Flora sent Mary a note asking if she could come along today. Naturally, Mary said yes, but we’re all curious. I’m sure Latimer doesn’t approve of the prodigal daughter taking his youngest under her wing.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Archie held out his glass for a refill. Paul did the honours. ‘What do you recall about Elroy Conrad?’ Archie changed the subject abruptly.
Archie’s friends shared a bemused look. ‘That callow braggart,’ Alvin said for them all, scowling. ‘What’s he to do with anything?’
Romulus panting in front of the fire was the only sound in the library, other than the deep timbre of Archie’s voice as he explained about Conrad’s unlikely friendship with Latimer.
‘What in Heaven’s name…?’ Luke scratched his head, lost for words.
‘He bore you a massive grudge, Archie,’ Paul said in a reflective tone. ‘You too, Luke, although to a lesser degree. And he desperately wanted to be accepted by our set. But he tried too hard. Flashed his money in a vulgar fashion that belied his status as a gentleman.’
‘And there was something dark about him,’ Alvin added. ‘Never could put my finger on it, but he was a bad ’un.’
