Hunting the Hero (13 page)

Constantine gaped. He dropped into a nearby chair, taking Calista with him so she sat at his side. “She didn’t.”

“She did. Though I must admit I am grateful. The lady has impeccable timing. I was on the point of resuming my duties.”

Constantine brushed his fingers along the length of her sleeve. A question burned his tongue. Had she lain with another? Had she enjoyed another man as much as she appeared to enjoy what they had done together? He wanted to ask, but he didn’t know how to phrase the question without sounding as jealous as he was. Calista did not like expectations. She didn’t want his affection.

Calista heaved a heavy sigh. “I’ve slept with none but you. My courses arrived and prevented my return to entertaining any other guests in the interim.”

Constantine closed his eyes. That last night together had preyed on his mind. Once he’d almost been too late and had come close to spending inside her. At least now he knew she didn’t carry his child.
 

Calista relaxed eventually while Constantine rubbed his fingers over her palm. “However it came to be, I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m not. I swore I would never do this.”

“Do what?”

“Depend on a gentleman for my welfare. I’ve always preferred my independence, but I’ve nowhere else to go given the speed of Lady Farnsworth’s departure.”

“Were you not beholden to the bawd for your living?”

“The House was not the first brothel I’ve lived in, nor should I think it the last.”

The idea of her walking from his door and into another similar situation appalled him. “Stay with me instead,” he blurted quickly.

She shook her head. “I cannot promise that.”

“For as long as you can bear it then. Stay and be governess to my daughters. But if you wanted it, you could have my protection for the rest of your life.”

She rubbed her brow. “You’re just keen to have your wicked way with me again.”

Why deny it? He’d give his fortune to keep the little minx in his bed. But he’d made a promise and, difficult or not, when she entered his service he intended to keep it. “While the idea definitely appeals, I gave you my word. Sharing my bed would never be part of our new arrangement. As much as I would enjoy it, and I hope you would too, I’d much rather keep you safe and warm.”

“Such a gentleman.”

“I try to be.” He kissed her hand again. “I’m not saying it will be easy. I’ve no doubt it shall be hard to forget sharing your bed. But I’m willing to ignore your allure if you can do the same for mine.”

Her hand wrenched free from his as she faced him. “Why do you want me here if not to take me to bed?”

Constantine leaned back against the chair. “I can’t be certain but I think I may like your company. You’re a bright spark of light I run to catch. Arabella sees the good in you, too. She would never have brought you here to meet my children if she thought you in any way inappropriate. She was my wife’s best friend.”

“You don’t like to speak of her.”

He smiled. “It’s hard to admit I’ve not set aside the memory of my first love when I have a woman writhing naked on my lap. When would have been the right time to mention I had trouble sleeping at night for missing her?”

An unladylike grunt left Calista’s mouth and then she scowled. “You sleep soundly enough most nights.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “You may take credit for all of that if it pleases you. If it eases your pride somewhat, my spirits have been quite low since we parted company.”

She could take credit for the immediate improvement and a whole lot more but he wouldn’t mention the changes she’d brought to his life already. Just seeing her again was enough.

Calista scowled. “You look terribly healthy to me.”

He caught her hands again. “I’m not. I truly am miserable. It’s just the unexpected surprise of seeing you again and here that has improved my spirits. If it helps, I can pretend to be unwell. Would you be my nursemaid and visit my sickbed?”

“I see that you lie very well, too. You told me you did not opportune the women in your employ. I was wrong about you.”

“Ah, but you haven’t said yes yet, and I’ve fallen into our old habit of teasing each other. I’ve always enjoyed our little battles of words and you are a hard woman to deny. Almost irresistible.” He had meant that he would keep her at a distance, but he was simply too overwhelmed with relief at seeing her again to behave appropriately. “I would keep my word if you were to stay. I promise.”

Although her gaze was skeptical, the arrival of his children halted their conversation. Arabella carried Poppy toward Calista and stopped before her. “This is Grayling’s youngest, Lady Poppy Hunt.” She gestured to each of the girls. “Lady Willow and Lady Maisy Hunt. The sweetest girls you could ever hope to meet.”

To Constantine’s surprise, Poppy leaned toward Calista and attempted to catch her glasses in her chubby little fists. Surprisingly, Calista merely moved her head back, slipped her glasses off and into her reticule, and took the child. She turned Poppy to face the room. An effective way to avoid similar incidents, one that had taken some time for him to discover and implement.
 

Calista brushed her chin against the baby’s hair. “They have such lovely names.”

Seeing Calista with his youngest daughter in her arms settled his anxiety. She appeared confident enough to hold a young child. How she would handle the other two remained to be seen. “My wife chose their names. She was very fond of flowers and shrubs.”

Calista smiled ruefully, her eyes growing distant. “I know what that can be like. At least she didn’t name your girls after vegetables. Wouldn’t it be terrible to be named Lady Spinach Hunt?”

An involuntary giggle left Willow’s mouth, but before he caught a glimpse of her face, all amusement vanished.
 

Arabella smiled serenely. “So that settles it then. I must take my leave to pack for my sojourn in London. Miss Clark will return tomorrow to begin her duties?”

Calista quickly handed the baby to him while he gaped. He wasn’t ready to let Calista go yet. She’d only just arrived. “She’s not staying?”

Arabella’s smile grew rather devious. “Oh, no. Miss Clark has promised to dine with me this evening. There is so much information I must share with her about you before we part company. You may expect your new governess at nine o’clock tomorrow.”

CHAPTER 11

“WELL, I MUST say that all went remarkably well,” Lady Farnsworth confided as the carriage rattled along the road to her neat little manor house, if a thirty-six room country home could be considered small.
 

Meredith was not inclined to speak to her just yet. She felt rather foolish for how she had reacted to Grayling and the sparkle lighting up the lady’s eyes hinted she was well aware of her lack of indifference to the man. The fact that Meredith had been eager to see Grayling again was not in dispute. What troubled her most was the way she had lapped up his gorgeous warmth like an eager puppy.
 

If they had been alone much longer she might have climbed onto his lap and curled contentedly into his strong arms. Leaving quickly had been imperative if she wished to avoid appearing foolishly sentimental. Tomorrow she would be the invisible governess and not needed for anything else. Meredith folded her arms over her chest. Grayling would regret that decision.
 

“There is so much yet to do,” Lady Farnsworth said. “I wish Farnsworth hadn’t written. I hate London in the winter. Constantine is stubborn. Augusta often complained that he’d cut off his own arm rather than ask for help. He will take time to understand what you want. I expect him to make many mistakes. I’m just sorry I won’t be here to smooth things over should you quarrel again.”

“We did no such thing.” Meredith glanced sideways at Lady Farnsworth. “But with friends like you to do his bidding, I’m sure he doesn’t need to learn the skills necessary for greater understanding.”

Instead of taking offense, Lady Farnsworth merely laughed. “Nonsense. All men should learn how to better appease the women in their life. It’s their duty, in my humble opinion, to see we are happy. So many gentlemen fail.”

At that, Meredith’s curiosity was stirred. “Lord Grayling’s children are rather quiet.”

Their silence had been rather concerning. Children so young had no cause to be so restrained in the presence of a parent.
 

“They miss their mother terribly.” Lady Farnsworth sighed. “She was their whole world. Gray wasn’t always so good with them and the eldest remembers. I’ve done all I can, but a succession of governesses coming and going hasn’t helped ease their grief. The girls need stability. So does Gray.”

“They have you.”

“Not really.” Lady Farnsworth frowned and looked out the window. “Everyone expected us to wed when he came out of mourning. I’m sure my brother-in-law did, or hoped to be rid of me. Yet while I’m fond of the children, Gray is more like a brother. I could never marry him.”

With her stunning good looks, Lady Farnsworth could marry anyone she chose or none at all. It was a pity she didn’t have an easier time of it with her family. But wasn’t that the way of the world? Friends were often more reliable. “Grayling explained some of the difficulties you have with Farnsworth. Is there any way to be free? Or is there someone you want to marry so you may escape him?”

A sad smile crossed her face. “No one comes to mind.”
 

They were silent as the carriage drew to a halt before the large manor house. Meredith stepped out onto the front steps and looked around curiously. Lady Farnsworth’s estate, or rather her brother-in-law’s, was rather too neat for her taste. Not a leaf out of place and no color due to the time of year. Since Meredith had come to stay there had been few visitors for the lady. She must get lonely. “So you live here alone most of the year?”

“At the moment I’m alone. Francesca, a lady whose husband deserved a sound whipping, has recently returned to her family in York. She stayed with me a few months while waiting for word from her brother that he would take her in. Farnsworth doesn’t much care for strangers living in his house, but what he doesn’t know doesn’t hurt him.”

The butler, in the act of allowing them to pass inside, grinned widely. “Will you be needing the carriage again today, my lady?”
 

It was clear the servant approved of their lady’s decisions to keep Farnsworth in the dark, too. How interesting.
 

“Not until tomorrow for the journey to London,” she said. “We’ll dine informally tonight and then tomorrow you may close the house at your leisure. I won’t return for some time.”

The butler nodded. “You’ll be very much missed, my lady.”

Lady Farnsworth glanced left and right into the empty lower rooms, her expression pensive. Meredith never liked to stay in one place for long. She liked to have options. However, even she could imagine being summoned to London must seem like exile to a lady who liked her home.
 

Meredith caught the lady’s eye. “Do you do that often? Take in strays like myself?”

Lady Farnsworth linked arms with her and led her up the stairs, deeper into the house. “I’d hardly call you a stray, Meredith Clark. I was rather impressed with how you conducted yourself when we met. I wish I had your courage.”

Meredith followed Lady Farnsworth into her dressing room and assisted in removing her pelisse to begin packing for the trip to London. “I’d say you already had enough courage of your own. Proper ladies do not visit bawdy houses to steal away a woman with my background, Lady Farnsworth.”

“Oh please, it’s Arabella.” She returned her bonnet to a shelf. “And what exactly is your background? Your diction and grace belie the life you were living.” She wagged a finger. “There is something about you that tugs at the mind. I feel we have met before, a long time ago, but that cannot be, can it?”

Assured no one would ever make the connection to her past, Meredith shrugged aside the question. She had covered her trail rather well. “You, my lady, have an overactive imagination. Why did you really bring me back here for another night? A servant could have fetched my meager possessions and brought them to Stanton Harold Hall.”

“Ah.” Arabella sighed as she glanced over her shoulder, checked for servants, and then closed the door. “I’d like to take advantage of your unique expertise.”

For a moment, Meredith couldn’t imagine what expertise she had of value until she realized that a lady, a widow, might have a keen interest in broadening her knowledge of the intimate arts. “With men?”

Arabella nodded slowly, a flush of color sweeping up her cheeks.

“But you’re a widow. Surely…” Meredith left the rest unsaid as she divined the nature of Lady Farnsworth’s marriage and her current level of discomfort with the subject. The frequent blushes and oddly stilted phrases about intimate relations had not been what she was used to hearing, but she’d failed to detect the correct level of Arabella’s experience. She might not be a bride anymore, but she was no experienced widow either. Meredith would bet her prettiest bauble on it. “You’re a virgin.”

The lady glanced away, her cheeks turning a fiery red. “My husband already had two healthy sons from his first marriage and lacked only funds to keep him in life’s little luxuries. He wanted my dowry but not me. I’m eight and twenty and haven’t the faintest idea of what to do to correct the oversight.”