Page 15 of Two of a Kind
“Claire, darling, Leah and Guy’s betrothal notice is in today’sTimes,” said Mary.
“Yes. Leah said Guy was at pains to have it announced as soon as possible,” replied Claire.
“When is the wedding?” asked Mary. To James’s quiet relief, the question was directed at Claire.
“A little over three weeks. It was the earliest they could get a booking at the church. Guy tried to talk Leah into an earlier date elsewhere, but she held fast on them getting married at St George’s. You should see the long list of things that Leah wants me to help her with in the lead-up to the wedding,” his sister replied.
Hugh nodded. “It is that time of the year when everyone is rushing to the altar. I have three weddings booked for this Saturday morning. As soon as one is over, the next will be coming up the steps of St Paul’s. It will require precise timing to get them all done and dusted first thing. In my day, you got married as soon as the season was over. There was none of this waiting-until-late-autumn business.”
James stabbed his fork into the sausage on his plate. He picked up his knife and after cutting the sausage in half, stuffed one portion into his mouth and sat chewing it slowly. All this talk of Guy and Leah’s wedding had now made him lose interest in his breakfast. He held the other half of the sausage under the table, and King quickly snapped it out of his fingers.
James swallowed, feeling the sausage going down his throat in the same painful way that the news of the impending wedding had. He rued not having given the dog the whole thing.
Under the table, he balled his hands into tight fists. After the events of the garden party and the ball, his interest in Leah Shepherd had gone from barely thinking of her to spending more time than he knew he should, wondering where she was and what she was doing. Even his dreams had not been spared.
His nights were now filled with visions of her pale blue eyes staring up into his. Of her tender, pliant lips yielding to his kiss. The touch of her hair, so soft in his fingers. Worst of all, he had enjoyed long lust-filled dreams, at the center of which were those tiny brown sun-kissed freckles. He wanted to place a kiss on every single one of them. To count them all and then begin again. To still be kissing them as he rose over her and slid his hard cock home into her heated, willing body.
He picked up his cold tea and downed the rest of it in one inelegant mouthful, ignoring his mother’s frown at his lack of table manners. He forced himself to think of work, of checking shipping manifests. He dared not risk trying to excuse himself from the breakfast table while his body was still in its hardened state.
He pushed some of the scrambled egg around on the plate, frustrated in the knowledge that he was completely besotted with Leah and there was not a thing he could do about it. The closest he would ever get to holding her in his arms again would be in his dreams.
“In other news of thetonthis week, I hear the Dowager Countess Newhall is helping to arrange a country house party for her son,” said Mary.
James sat up and forced his attention on listening to this less-than-interesting tidbit. Anything to get his mind away from Leah.
Claire snorted. “Who on earth would want to go all the way to Derbyshire? And it is getting a little late in the year for a house party. I hear from Cousin Lucy that the first snow has already fallen at Strathmore Castle.”
“It snows all-year-round in Scotland, so I wouldn’t be using that as any weather vane,” replied Hugh.
“The former Countess Newhall is now the Countess of Lienz; she recently married the scoundrel she ran off with all those years ago. I know this because she sent a calling card yesterday. She is coming here later this week to discuss the possibility of you two attending the house party,” said Mary. She looked from Claire to Maggie, giving them both a hopeful smile. “Who knows? One of my daughters might fall in love with an earl. Wouldn’t that be lovely?”
Maggie shook her head.
Claire screwed up her nose. “No thank you, Mama. Lord Newhall and dear Cousin Caroline have had several nasty encounters of late. The man lacks manners. Besides, I shall have to stay in London to assist Leah with her wedding preparations; there is much to do.”
And with that, the chance of either of the Radley sisters becoming the next Countess of Newhall died a swift death.
“Well then, your grace, we can forget about spending our summers at Newhall Castle, though I doubt that the Countess Lienz will take the news so graciously. She seems rather keen to have as many eligible girls in attendance as possible,” said Mary.
“From what I know of the woman, all she will be looking for will be the girl with the largest dowry. Though from what William Saunders has told me, he wouldn’t be surprised if Newhall holds out for a woman who has at least a degree of affection for him. No doubt the scandalous failure of his parents’ marriage will have left its scars. And as I have always said, a marriage based on anything other than passion and mutual interests will surely falter,” replied Hugh.
James caught the shared gentle smile between his parents. They were forever embarrassing their children with their stolen kisses and whispered words of endearment.
“Not that we are all granted the choice of whom we marry. It might sound unkind, but I think Leah and Guy’s union is founded on her father’s political connections rather than any degree of love. Her mother said it was a smart match and that Leah should be proud to have a possible future cabinet minister as her husband,” said Claire.
His sister’s words gave weight to Leah’s reasons for not wishing to marry Guy. James now found himself in the unenviable situation of feeling sorry for Leah, while knowing he should be supporting his friend.
It was a little after seven in the morning and already he had heard enough about the impending wedding for one day.
“And with that, I am off to work. Those shipping ledgers will not complete themselves,” James said, getting to his feet. He moved quickly out of the breakfast room, not bothering to look back. He didn’t wish to catch his father’s eye again in case he was asked to retake his seat. He had enough on his mind this morning without dealing with another argument over when he was going back to university.
His father’s words about a marriage based on passion and love were foremost in his thoughts as he climbed into the Radley town carriage a short while later. That sort of marriage made sense in his world. His parents’ marriage a prime example. A forced marriage, such as the one Leah Shepherd was about to endure, made a mockery of true love.
Having held her in his arms and for a brief, precious moment known the heat of her passion, James despaired at what now lay ahead for Leah.
She didn’t deserve that fate.
Chapter Eleven
