Laura Matthews (7 page)

Her attack surprised the older woman, who frowned momentarily and then admitted with a suspicion of humor in her eyes, “No, I do not believe I would, my dear, except that I am inordinately fond of my son.”

“Well, I am not,” Olivia said, and then drew herself up abruptly. “That is, I have found Sir Noah most accommodating in the present instance, and I may have misjudged him previously; but he strikes me as too much of a piece with my brothers
to appeal to me as a life-long partner.” She realized that her honesty had not pleased his mother when Lady Lawrence stiffened.

“I assure you, young lady, that my son bears not the slightest resemblance to your ramshackle brothers. He has an affection for his family, manages his estates with the expertise of a much older man, is not in the least a spendthrift where money is concerned, and handles his affairs with women discreetly.” The dowager glared uncompromisingly at Olivia.

“All that may be true,” Olivia retorted, “but I hold him responsible for leading all three of my brothers into their excesses on the turf.”

“Stuff! The Earl spent the Easter holidays from Eton five years ago at the Newmarket Spring Meeting with his brother Charles and won a thousand guineas.
That
was the start of his interest in the turf; I have heard him say so with my own ears. He did not even meet Noah until several years later.” Lady Lawrence sat back with the satisfaction of having delivered a justified reproof.

Olivia bowed her head and muttered stubbornly, “As you say, Lady Lawrence. Nonetheless they are not discouraged in their pursuits by him.”

Lady Lawrence leaned forward and tapped the younger woman’s wrist with her fan. “Noah is not responsible for the conduct of your siblings. We are distantly connected with your family, but there is no question of my son standing in the stead of a guardian to any of your brothers.”

“It is a matter of influence,” Olivia declared stoutly.

“And how do you suppose Noah has influenced them to their extravagances when he has not indulged in them himself? Oh, I do not wish to puff him off as a model of upright behavior by any means. But he has not the strain of profligacy in him which each one of your brothers possesses, Lady Olivia. I am well aware at all times of how matters stand with his estates, and I assure you that Noah has never been so self-indulgent as to draw my disapproval—well, not since he came of age at any rate,” she qualified.

Olivia was unable to make any rejoinder, but sat feeling miserable beside the older woman, aware of the justified criticism leveled at her brothers but much mortified by it. Lady Lawrence was not insensitive to Olivia’s distress and softened toward the young woman. She patted her hand kindly and said, “You must not feel the weight of your brothers’ indiscretions so much, Lady Olivia. There is little you can do to change them, heaven knows, and you will only be hurt by trying.”

“I cannot stop caring,” Olivia murmured, her lips trembling.

“I am sure it is very proper of you, my dear, but hardly appreciated.” Lady Lawrence sighed and gazed out the window. “You would do well to marry Noah.”

“Thank you, no, ma’am. I do not wish to do so.”

“Do you think to go back to Stolenhurst and continue as you were before? You cannot go to London.”

“My aunts were not willing to have me in any case,” Olivia admitted with a laugh, “and now they have disowned me.”

“Stupid women. It distresses me to be connected with them.”

“How are we connected, ma’am?” Olivia asked curiously.

“Your great-grandmother’s younger sister married my grandfather’s second wife’s older brother,” Lady Lawrence answered promptly.

“I should call that a very loose connection.”

“Indeed. But you did not answer me, Lady Olivia. Do you intend to return to Stolenhurst as though nothing had happened?”

“Yes, when Peter and his friends have left. By then the servants will know the actual situation, and I will not feel uncomfortable with them. But my companion has left, and I do not think it had anything to do with my behavior.” Olivia’s forehead wrinkled in a perplexed frown as she once again considered the problem.

“I suggest you think on Noah’s proposal. Now, run along. Julianna will be eager to press you for details of your conversation with me.”

“Everyone seems to suspect Julianna of inordinate curiosity,” Olivia said with a laugh as she rose. “I found her very sympathetic.”

“Just so,” Lady Lawrence agreed with motherly pride, and waved Olivia from the room.

She hesitated in the hall, unsure whether she wished to speak with Noah before returning to his sister. When a footman appeared she had him direct her to the Small Library where she tapped timidly at the door.

“Come in,” he called and stood with a questioning expression by the satinwood library table. “Ah, she did not eat you, I see.”

“Well, she is not so terrifying as I had thought,” Olivia admitted as he seated her beside the table, “but I am afraid I displeased her somewhat.”

“Because you would not marry me?” he asked quizzingly.

“No, because I told her I thought you responsible for leading my brothers into their excesses.” His frown lowered the brows over his watchful brown eyes. “I have come to apologize to you for that. It has always seemed to me that
someone
else must be responsible for their conduct, that they were not so very corkbrained when they were younger. I suppose I lighted on you because of your mutual interest in horse racing. Lady Lawrence informed me that you did not meet them until they were already addicted to the track.”

“I have done nothing to curb their enthusiasm, Olivia, but then I don’t believe my offices would be of any use. Just as yours are not,” he said gently.

“No, it’s very frustrating. And they will only laugh at me now that they can pretend they think me guilty of improper behavior myself,” she said sadly.

Noah realized only too well that they would do precisely that, and he once again experienced a real concern for the girl before him. It would do her good to be away from Stolenhurst and enjoy the country society around Welling Towers with his sister. “Do you wish me to stay here or return to Stolenhurst?”

“There is no need for you to stay,” she said gallantly.

He tried to guess at her emotions, deserted by the one person she knew in a strange household. And yet she might feel uncomfortable in his presence as well. “As I am here, I shall attend to some household matters but I’ll plan to leave again the day after tomorrow,” he temporized, and he did not miss the gratitude in her eyes.

“Whatever is agreeable to you,” she replied as she headed for the door.

“Olivia.” She turned inquiringly to him. “You may stay as long as you please, you know. After all, we are connected.”

“Your mother explained the connection to me,” she remarked blandly, “and it is exceedingly tenuous.”

He smiled down at her. “Nevertheless, we are connected, and, as I said before, Julianna will welcome the company. I can have anything you need sent from Stolenhurst.”

“I’ll think on it,” she promised as she slipped out the door.

Noah reseated himself at the library table and absently picked up a letter opener, drawing it back and forth between his fingers as he thought about Olivia. She was really a very determined, proud young thing, but she had nowhere to go. Attractive, too, even enchanting when she confessed her problems as though they were surmountable.

He shook his head, disheartened. Her situation was touching, she was personable, and probably quite capable of handling an ordinary household but not Stolenhurst. But, Lord, she was so young; two years younger than his own sister. He shrugged off the depression of spirits he was suffering from and hoped that his sister would be able to afford Olivia some pleasant hours.

Chapter Seven

Julianna was delighted to have a companion in her own home. The winter months had been gray and cold, and there was not as much visiting among the households of the neighborhood as occurred in better weather. But Olivia’s visit provided an excuse for morning calls which could not be denied, and the next morning found all four of the residents at Welling Towers on an enjoyable round of calls which was to result in a stream of callers returning the compliment.

Lady Lawrence arranged for a small dinner party for the young people to take place after Noah returned to Stolenhurst, since there was not time to plan it before he left. Olivia appreciated the time he spent with her and Julianna, making the morning calls and riding with them in the afternoon after she arrived, but she had only a twinge of regret when they saw him off the next morning.

Indoors the young women were often joined by Lady Lawrence in their pursuits of needlework, reading aloud and practice on the harpsichord, but she seldom accompanied them on their rides and drives about the estate. Julianna was fascinated by the accounts of life at Stolenhurst which she drew from Olivia, who had never felt so free in discussing her life there. Her brothers had rarely taken her on visits to London or the country estates of their friends, so most of her life had passed at Stolenhurst, for better or worse. Her friendships in the neighborhood were few, as the concerned parents of the young people were wont to view intercourse with those at Stolenhurst as highly dangerous to their offspring.

So it was that Olivia met Julianna’s friends with a great deal of pleasure and was drawn into their circle. Any rumors of her conduct which might have filtered back from Stolenhurst had no chance of acceptance in Lady Lawrence’s neighborhood. Lady Lawrence was respected, even revered, in her community, and the fact that she agreeably housed Olivia was refutation enough for her friends.

On the afternoon of the supper party Julianna watched with impatience the heavy snow falling. “I do not think it will deter the majority of our guests, but it’s a nuisance. It could have snowed tomorrow,” she chided.

“Yes, but then your guests could not boast of the obstacles they overcame to get here,” Olivia teased. She sat with some needlework near the blazing hearth with its steel grate and serpentine fender feeling the cozy warmth of the fire. “Are there guests coming whom I did not meet on our morning calls?”

“Only a few. Norissa’s brother Alexander was not at home when we called and Caroline Pugh’s youngest sister Lorraine. Mama says we may have some country dances later if we wish, and if our guests do not have to hurry home because of the weather. So you see, the snow really is a bother.”

“Perhaps it will cease after a while,” Olivia suggested hopefully, since she was even more intrigued with the idea of dancing than her friend, having only just reached the age where it was permitted her in company.

“Here are the Cutlers now,” Julianna cried with a flush of excitement as the sounds of an arrival could be heard without. She drew away from the window and seated herself by the fire, saying, “I think you will find Alexander quite handsome, you know. Mama does not precisely approve of him, I fear, for he is a bit wild, but he is ever so much more exciting than the other young men hereabouts.”

When Norissa and Alexander Cutler were shown into the room, Olivia had to agree that the tall blonde young man with his laughing blue eyes was indeed attractive. He wore his clothes with an elegance attained by few of the men she had met, and he had the faculty of making the people to whom he spoke believe they were especially important. But there was a particularity in the attention he paid to Julianna which Olivia realized was not unnoticed by either the recipient or her mother. Julianna blossomed under his regard and occasionally neglected her duties as hostess to remain within the radius of his charm.

The situation made Olivia slightly uneasy, but she shouldered whichever of Julianna’s burdens she was able so that Lady Lawrence would have nothing about which to complain. At the dinner table she found herself seated next to Alexander; Lady Lawrence had placed Julianna some distance away.

He bestowed a fascinated smile on her and remarked, “I understand you are Lord Bolenham’s sister. I’ve often wished that Noah would introduce me to him when he stops here on his way to Newmarket.”

“Perhaps he will some day. My brother is engaged for several matches at the Spring Meetings,” Olivia remarked.

“I
have
met your brothers Charles and Samuel in London—very good fellows,” Alexander said enthusiastically as he speared a morsel of baked carp. “Had the most famous time with them one afternoon when we all dressed as postillions and took some carriages for a merry ride. Very nearly overturned one of them. Lord, you would not have believed the language the vicar used on
that
occasion.” He laughed heartily as he placed the fish in his mouth.

Olivia could not share his enthusiasm for such a prank, since she had suffered the consequences of similar devilment for too many years. What she had to accept in her brothers she would not willingly condone in someone who was no relation of hers. Mr. Cutler was old enough, she thought, to be past being amused by childish high spirits which involved possible harm to other people, and Olivia was surprised that Julianna found him an admirable young man.

But such was obviously the case. When the dancing began, Julianna flushed cheerfully as Alexander asked her to stand up with him for the first set. The young men and women were of an equal number, due to Lady Lawrence’s careful planning, so there was never a lack of partners for anyone. Olivia dismissed her concerns for Julianna during the dancing and thoroughly enjoyed the evening, which was not brought to an early close by any maturer discretion of its young members or any worsening of the weather. When the last of the guests had departed, Julianna urged Olivia to come to her bedroom for a chat about the evening.

“Was it not delightful?” Julianna asked, her eyes sparkling, when she had curled up in a chair by the fire.

“I have never had such a fine time,” Olivia replied truthfully. “You have such charming neighbors, and they were so very kind to me.”

“And did you think Alexander Cutler handsome?” Julianna asked anxiously.

“Very, but he told me of an adventure with two of my brothers which was not so pleasing to me,” Olivia remarked cautiously.