The Clarendon Rose (19 page)

She rewarded him with a grin, once again reminding him that the child had grown up very well-favored indeed.
 
She was bound to make an excellent match on the marriage mart.

Clarendon finished his coffee.
 
“I was actually just about to leave,” he said, casting another glare in the direction of their mother.
 

 
“Understandable.
 
Well, I’ll be happy to meet you there,” Edmund said.
 
“I’ll have the driver give me the direction of the place,” he added as his brother rose from the table.

“Excellent,” Clarendon sketched cursory bows in the direction of the two women, then stalked from the room, his irritation evident.

It was as the carriage bearing Miss Fielding rode away that the letter arrived.
 
Edmund opened it with a frown, recognizing the spiky handwriting that so resembled his own.

“My dearest Edmund,” it began.
 
“I have settled in
chez
Miss Smythe-Perkins and am now at some leisure to write to you.
 
I must firstly apologize for not telling you that I had accepted a position, but I was not of a mind to argue, dear Edmund, and I know you would not have allowed me to be on my way without great importunings and protestations.
 
It seemed far easier to let you assume I had gone back to the manor until I had the opportunity to present you with the
fait accompli
of my employment, as it were.
 
And please do rest assured that I believe my new employer and I shall deal very well together, as Miss Smythe-Perkins is something of an Original…”
 

The letter continued on in the same vein, providing the address of the place, once again assuring him that she was doing very well indeed and then going on to detail some of the peculiarities and quirks of the place that had amused her to this point.
 

Edmund smiled wryly as he folded the paper and tucked it into the inside pocket of his jacket. He wished Tina had simply told him of her plans and saved everyone the worry—
though of course she’s right; I would have argued with her about them and done everything in my power to prevent her from taking the position.
 

He sighed.
 
Perhaps she feared that if she returned to the manor, she might have allowed herself to be further compromised by my brother.
 
Edmund shook his head, frowning.
 

Clarendon must be made to see sense.
 
He’s attracted to Tina—and, I’m likely to suspect, more than a little in love with her, if his behavior is anything to go by.
 
He surely must realize that she would also be invaluable to him in the administration of the estates.

As he headed for the stables, Edmund wondered what he should tell his brother.
 
On the one hand, the man was half mad with worry over Tina’s whereabouts—confirmation that she was safe would provide a welcome relief for his anxieties.
 
But on the other, the duke also seemed convinced that he had done the unforgivable as far as Tina was concerned.
 

Edmund worried that upon hearing she was well, his brother might be moved to insist upon setting up an allowance for her, should she ever be in need of the money, and otherwise keeping his distance, out of some misguided sense of self-abnegation.

And how am I to get around that without giving up the game?

Clarendon paced the length of the stableyard at the inn, a scowl darkening his expression.
 
What’s taking that damned brother of mine so long?
he thought savagely.
 
Perhaps the fool lad decided to escort Miss Fielding all the way home?
 
His frown grew darker at the recollection of his brother’s chivalry toward the child and all those smiles the two had exchanged.
 

Not bloody appropriate for someone who’s just been jilted by the love of his life,
he thought sourly, for he hadn’t believed a word of his brother’s denials.
 
If it were me, I’d be refusing to sit still until I had found Miss Merriweather and made it up with her.
 
Instead the lad’s going on as if nothing untoward had happened at all, seeing that child off, taking his bloody time about getting here when I might finally have learned Miss Merriweather’s direction.

And that, of course, was the crux of his impatience, for he had finally managed to get a clear answer regarding Miss Merriweather’s likely whereabouts.
 
He wanted to leap on his horse and make for the town in question immediately, but was instead forced to wait upon his brother.

When Edmund did finally arrive, riding into the stable yard with an unhurried trot, Clarendon mounted Hercules and accosted his brother before Edmund had even drawn to a halt.

“Good God, man, where have you been?
 
I’ve been waiting this past half hour for you!
 
I have news of her direction and have only been awaiting your arrival in order to set out.
 
Another few minutes and I would have left a message and gone on without you.”

A slow smile spread across his brother’s features, rather than the delighted grin and show of relief Clarendon had expected would greet the news.
 
Nor did Edmund seem in much of a hurry to be on his way.
 

Clarendon felt a surge of irritation.
 
What was wrong with the boy?
 
He should be writhing with impatience to head off in search of his beloved and initiate a reconciliation.

“I’m glad to hear it.
 
So, where are we riding, brother?” Edmund asked with an inexplicable air of amusement.
 

The duke named the place and was rewarded with a nod.
 
“Excellent.
 
But the thing is,” Edmund began in a slow drawl.
 
“I have news that contradicts what you heard.
 
From what Miss Fielding told me this morning, I have reason to suspect Tina might have taken a different direction altogether.”

“Bloody hell,” Clarendon swore.
 
“All right then.
 
I’ll follow up on this lead and you can follow up on the one from Miss Fielding.”

“Excellent plan, brother,” Edmund replied, his grin wider than ever.
 
Clarendon was tempted to demand what Edmund found so amusing, but he was too eager to be off to bother with such things.
 
He had already turned Hercules when Edmund’s voice stopped him.

“Clarendon, wait.”

Clarendon turned to find his brother had grown serious.
 
“What is it?”

“I want you to know that there is absolutely no possibility of a reconciliation between Tina and me.
 
We have agreed to part company and there is nothing that will change that.”

Clarendon frowned, about to interrupt, but Edmund held up a hand.
 
“No, listen to me.
 
If you feel that she is important to the estate—and to you—or even if you simply feel you have compromised her beyond redemption, I would suggest you offer for her as a way of making amends.
 
It might prove a start towards earning that forgiveness you spoke of last night.
 
Just be aware that such a union would take place with my heartfelt blessing.
 
That is all.”
 
Edmund started to turn his horse, then glanced back at Clarendon.
 
“I will see you when I see you, brother, and hope that at least one of us has managed to avoid a fool’s errand.”

With that, he rode off, leaving Clarendon frowning in his wake.
 
As the duke set off on his own journey, he wondered at what his brother had said.
 
Offer for Miss Merriweather?
 
Ridiculous!
 
What an utterly preposterous notion.
 
The boy must be deranged from grief.
 

Yet, as he fell into the rhythm of his horse’s gallop, he found that the idea wouldn’t be laid aside.
 
After all, Edmund had repeatedly insisted there was no possibility of a reconciliation with her.
 
The lad
had
been awfully calm about the whole breakup—so perhaps he was telling the truth, rather than hiding his grief, as Clarendon had originally assumed.
 
He mulled over that for a time, before other thoughts began encroaching.

Miss Merriweather had run the estate with a deft competence that had, again and again, left him in complete admiration of her abilities.
 
Though he would, over time, be able to master the various aspects of estate management, he knew that if they worked together, the estate would not only move along well enough, but thrive.
 
And with her help, he would be able to spend more time on his foreign investments, which, if he were completely honest with himself, really interested him far more than did the daily affairs of the holdings.

He scowled, amazed that he was even contemplating such a notion.
 
No doubt, if he brought it up to her, she’d laugh heartily before slamming the door in his face.
 
Then again, you know how much she loves that damned estate.
 
She would do just about anything to ensure it does well.
 
His frown darkened as that insidious voice continued,
She might even consider marrying a seasoned reprobate like you.

And, even as he began to consider that such a plan might not be completely without merit or possibility of success, something dark and lustful stirred in him as he thought of the way her body had felt, pressed against his.

“Yes my dear, that’s lovely,” Miss Smythe-Perkins commented weakly as she surveyed the mangled sampler Tina had presented for her approval.
 
They were sitting in the morning room of Rose Cottage, which served double duty as a parlor.
 
The small room had been decorated using the frequent and recurring motifs of ruffles and rose-print fabrics.
 

Though the latter did not always match each other, the entire décor was marked by such an abundance of clashing patterns that it became quite impossible to determine which was meant to be the dominant motif.
 
The overall impression was of a nightmarish garden gone to wild and profuse seed.
 

Miss Smye herself seemed to blend right into the room, for she also favored copious amounts of ruffles and rose-printed fabrics in the area of personal adornment.
 
With her gray hair and petite figure, Tina had been hard-pressed to find her employer amid the patterned chaos the first few times she joined the lady in the parlor.

Tina sighed, a reluctant grin tugging at her lips as she looked at the tangled mess of threads that she had tried so hard to make into a convincing-looking rose.
 
“Miss Smye, you don’t have to be polite, you know.
 
I’ve never been much good at this sort of fine work.”

“Well never mind, my dear Miss Merri, I’m sure you’ll improve with time,” Miss Smye said, a smile brightening her wrinkled face.
 
Her nickname for Tina still evoked a twist of ironic amusement, given that Tina felt anything but merry at the moment.

Still, she enjoyed Miss Smythe-Perkins’s company.
 
When she had arrived, Miss Smye greeted her with a show of delight,

“How very lovely!
 
I’ve been
so
looking forward to meeting you, Miss Merri.
 
I hope you don’t mind if I call you Miss Merri, do you?
 
And you must call me Perky, or Miss Smye, if you prefer.
 
The other is just too long, you understand.
 
Doesn’t trip off the tongue at all… But as I was saying, I do get lonely with only Meg for company and she’s always kept so busy cooking and cleaning and keeping things right and tight, if you see what I’m saying...”
 

Tina had soon discovered that Miss Smye had an extraordinary ability to speak for almost a full minute without pausing for breath, which could be trying at times.
 
Fortunately, Miss Smye had been delighted that Tina liked to walk, pronouncing it “a perfectly marvelous practice,” so at least once a day, Tina was able to escape from the perpetual chatter.

“Oh and you had said you don’t play any instruments, is that right, Miss Merri?”

Tina’s nod was all the encouragement Miss Smye required.
 

“Well, I have an absolutely delightful spinet left to me by my dear papa, do you know and I am convinced you’ll love playing once you know how.
 
Perhaps we can begin lessons?
 
Won’t that be fun?
 
I can teach you to play and we’ll have lovely musical evenings, for I do so love singing, but I’ve never been able to get the knack of singing and playing both at the same time, you see.
 
Of course, we could take turns playing, so you can have the chance to sing as well,” she added generously.

“It sounds delightful,” Tina replied faintly.
 
She was lucky to get such an amiable employer, she knew, but between Miss Smye’s whirlwind plans and her stated intention to find a “young man” for Tina because “after all, Miss Merri, while I am clearly on the shelf, you are not.
 
I had not realized you’d be so young, you see”, Tina almost wished Miss Smye were a little more cantankerous and self-absorbed.
 

In fact, though Tina had arrived but two days earlier, Miss Smye had already contrived to introduce her young companion to several of the well-bred young men in the area.