Chapter 9
Gavin’s mood remained black as they trundled into town. The last thing he wanted to do right now was play chaperone. He detested having Lainey cross with him, and he only grew more annoyed when he noticed that Devereaux had managed to seat himself in the carriage next to Lainey, and was now tucking her hand in the crook of his arm after they had descended. He was being a little proprietary, and Gavin thought it was inappropriate. Devereaux had not been on Gavin’s invitee list, after all. He knew nothing about this man, and it irked Gavin to watch him manage to separate Lainey from the other suitors so easily. He would have to have a talk with Aidan, who had miraculously escaped this little excursion by claiming he had some estate business to take care of, the coward.
Elizabeth sidled up to Gavin and slid her arm through his. “My dear Mr. Mayfield, what are you scowling so ferociously about?”
“I’m scowling?”
“Quite severely, I’m afraid.” Elizabeth smiled up at him. “Could it have something to do with the gentleman hanging off my sister-in-law’s arm?”
Gavin’s face heated under Elizabeth’s assessing gaze. “What do you make of him, Elizabeth?”
“Aside from his astonishing good looks and charming manner?”
Gavin twisted his mouth into a grimace. “Yes,” he said flatly. “Aside from those.”
He thought he heard Elizabeth snicker. “I think he is quite eager to make an impression on Lainey.”
“That much is obvious. But doesn’t he seem a little…young…for her?”
“He is only a year younger than she. But I do understand what you mean, and I agree. He does have a school boy air about him.”
“I fear he is only wanting to win the prize, not the person.”
“We have only just met him. Perhaps we should wait to judge him?” Elizabeth hinted. Gavin remained silent, grinding his teeth when Devereaux leaned his head toward Lainey to say something in her ear. “He may be rushing into thoughts of marriage as quickly as she seems to be, or perhaps he’s given it quite a bit of thought and Lainey happened to cross his path at the right time. We must wait and see, and trust Lainey to know what her heart wants.”
“That’s the thing. I think she’s giving up what her heart wants.”
Elizabeth gave him a sideways glance. “Interesting you should say that.”
He was spared from responding, because up ahead Lainey let out a shriek. Gavin was instantly at attention. “What the devil?”
They caught up to Lainey and Devereaux and several others in their party who were gathered around something on the ground. Lainey looked up, glancing about until her eyes fell on Gavin.
“Gavin, come look! Kittens!” she squealed. She bent down and scooped up a tiny bit of black and white fluff and held it up for him to see. Gavin chuckled. He’d never met anyone who went crazy over animals like Lainey.
“Oh, Elizabeth, look how sweet!” She cradled the little ball of fur in her arms. “What do you think my brother would say if we brought home a house cat?”
Elizabeth laughed. “I have no idea, but I know I wouldn’t mind!” She tickled the cat under its chin.
“Oh dear,” Lainey said, shifting the kitten so that they were nose to nose. “I suppose I shall have to ask before I make a hasty decision. Do you like cats, Mr. Devereaux?” She held the kitten out to him, and Gavin was inexplicably pleased to see Devereaux recoil slightly.
“I’m afraid my affinity for animals doesn’t extend beyond horses,” he said honestly. Gavin had to concede a point to him for being truthful.
“Well, we shall have to work on that,” Lainey replied merrily, kissing the kitten and returning it to its basket of siblings. She sighed wistfully as she took one last look at the basket of mewling creatures and its owner. “Perhaps I can come back tomorrow. I hope you find them wonderful homes,” she said, subtly slipping the young boy some coins. She took Devereaux’s offered arm and they moved off down the street. Companionable chatter resumed, but Gavin couldn’t resist glancing back at the noisy basket. The kittens were rather adorable.
Sometime later, the party retired to the local tavern for luncheon. Gavin found himself at a table with Lord Kingston, one of the few peers invited to the house party. He was a recent widower, recommended by Lainey’s best friend, Anne Hastings. He seemed a nice enough fellow, though he was quite a bit older than Lainey. Apparently, he was a friend of Anne’s parents, and though Gavin had met him several times, they often didn’t travel in the same social circle. Kingston eased his lean frame onto a chair across from Gavin and slid a pint across the wood.
“You look like you could use this.”
Gavin’s brows raised in surprise. “You are the second person today who has told me I seem out of sorts. Perhaps I should take more care with my facial expressions.”
Kingston took a sip of his ale. “I daresay these house parties are trying on anyone of the male sex.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Gavin grumbled. Curse Lainey for dragging him into this ridiculous affair. Finding her a husband should be Aidan’s responsibility, yet who was here with a gaggle of giddy women, playing chaperone? If he wasn’t leg shackled to some scheming debutante by the end of this thing, it would be a bloody miracle.
“So, Miss Hastings tells me you’ve known Lady Elaine most of your life, since before they inherited the earldom.”
“That’s true. My family’s land borders Rosecroft, and Lord Ashby and I would have great fun playing knights and dragons in the woods for hours. When Lady Elaine grew old enough, she began to follow us around, so being the boys that we were, we allowed her to be the damsel in distress and tied her to a tree.” Kingston made a choking noise and he huffed into his glass of ale. Gavin laughed. “It was all well and good until one day, she was being particularly bratty, so… we left her there.”
Kingston leaned forward in disbelief. “You left a little girl tied to a tree in the woods?”
“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds bad,” Gavin replied defensively. “Come on, Kingston, don’t you remember what it was like to be a boy?”
“All too well. I have two older brothers who made it their life’s work to torture me.”
“Exactly!” Gavin grinned. “We only left her there for a few minutes, just to teach her a lesson.”
“And let me guess. You wound up being the lesson learner?”
“I wound up wet.”
Kingston’s head cocked to the side. “I beg your pardon?”
“We went back after a few minutes to untie her, and needless to say, she was rather cross with us. But, we were boys, we had important boy things to do and discuss, and didn’t want Aidan’s pesky little sister hanging around all afternoon so we told her to go home. She planted her hands on her hips and refused, continuing to berate us for the unfair treatment of little sisters everywhere. I couldn’t take it anymore, so in my infinite ten-year-old wisdom, I turned around and told her girls were stupid.”
Kingston let out a bark of laughter. “And?”
“And she promptly shoved me into the pond and stomped off.”
Kingston slapped his hand on the table and threw his head back in laughter. “You were bested by a little girl, Mr. Mayfield?”
“In my defense, she was remarkably strong for a six-year-old.”
Kingston wiped his eyes, still laughing, and Gavin found himself chuckling right along with him. Gavin was suddenly enjoying the outing after all. Kingston was not a bad sort. Indeed, he was rather refreshing.
“So, you are telling me to never cross Lady Elaine, or it may be detrimental to my health?”
“Or your wardrobe, if there is water nearby.” Gavin smiled down into his mug of ale, then glanced around the room, automatically seeking Lainey out. She was seated at a table in the corner, having an animated conversation with Anne and Elizabeth. Lainey laughed at something Anne said, and Gavin’s heart squeezed. He turned his attention back to his companion. “Lady Elaine is a special woman, Kingston. She will cut you off at the knees if she thinks you are being unjust, she is fiercely independent, and she will not tolerate being left out just because she is a woman. But if you are lucky enough to win her heart…” He glanced over at her once more, guilt washing over him yet again. “Well, if you are that lucky and you don’t do anything stupid, she’ll be yours forever.”
He sipped his beer and met Kingston’s eyes across the table, the other man studying Gavin for a long, uncomfortable moment. “She sounds like a remarkable young woman, and I look forward to getting to know her. Although, one has to wonder why you aren’t on the list of suitors as well.”
Gavin nearly choked on his ale. “Me? No, no. Lainey—er, Lady Elaine and I are just friends. Practically siblings, really. Besides, she’s my best friend’s little sister. She’s off limits even if I were interested. Which I’m not.” Gavin gulped the last of his drink in the effort to stop his babbling.
Kingston nodded. “I see,” he said slowly, giving Gavin the impression he wanted to say more, but didn’t.
Lainey and the other two ladies suddenly appeared at his side, and the chair shrieked in his haste to stand. “I think we are ready to move on, Mr. Mayfield,” she said brightly. “This was a fun excursion, but the ladies and I are ready to return home to a nice cup of tea and to look over what we bought—that is always the fun part,” she said, her eyes full of sparkle.
Gavin smiled warmly at her, then caught blasted Devereaux out of the corner of his eye heading toward them, no doubt ready to whisk Lainey away again. That was not happening on Gavin’s watch. “Whatever you wish, my lady. Lord Kingston, perhaps you’d like to be Lady Elaine’s escort on the return home?”
“I’d be delighted,” he replied, offering her his arm. Gavin shot a triumphant glance Devereaux’s way. The other man definitely did not look pleased. Well, isn’t that just a shame?
He offered his arm to Anne. “Shall we, ladies?”
They left the tavern and walked back in the direction they had come, passing by the little boy with the basket of kittens once again. Lainey looked longingly at the furry creatures, but resisted temptation and walked on with the viscount. Gavin slowed his pace as he approached the bushel of cats, wondering if Aidan just might kill him for what he was about to do. He stopped and stared down at the little black and white kitten Lainey had held as the rest of the party moved ahead. Beside him, Anne smiled.
“I won’t tell if you do.”
Gavin snapped his gaze to hers. “I shouldn’t.”
“I rather think you should.”
“Miss Hastings, has anyone ever told you that you are a bad influence?”
“Only my dearest friends.” She laughed. “You will make her happy for years to come. You know she’d be delighted.”
“I do.” Gavin sighed. “Promise me you won’t tell her who it was? I don’t want it to appear as though I’m trying to buy her affections. She is here to find a husband, after all.”
“I will keep your secret. Both of them,” she added.
Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, nothing,” she replied breezily. “It’s just that men who don’t have certain feelings for women don’t usually gift them a cat.”
“Men who’ve made an egregious error might.”
“Why, Mr. Mayfield, what have you done?”
“Nothing you need to worry about, Miss Hastings. And I’ll thank you to get those matchmaking thoughts out of your head. There is nothing untoward between Lainey and I. We are dear friends, that is all.”
“Mm hmm.” Anne’s expression said she clearly didn’t believe him. She gestured toward the basket. “Well then, shall we give one of these little loves a home?”
She bent over the basket to play with the kittens while Gavin ground his teeth. Why on earth was everyone trying to shove him and Lainey together all of a sudden? It was downright frustrating. The kitten was an apology, nothing more. Though no one else knew he was trying to earn back Lainey’s good opinion, he supposed. Still. He needed to distance himself more; he was getting too involved if people were starting to notice his attention.
He selected the black and white kitten for Lainey, and paid the boy handsomely to have it delivered to the house the following morning, promising there would be some tarts waiting for him upon delivery. The boy’s face lit up, both at the amount of money he held in his grasp and the prospect of a sweet treat on the morrow. Gavin tucked Anne’s hand in the crook of his elbow drawing her away from the fuzzy things so they could catch up with the rest of their party. After a few moments of silence, Anne patted his bicep with her other hand.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you gave the boy enough money to buy every kitten in that basket,” she said with a smile.
After they had returned home, Lainey slipped away for a stroll while everyone went to rest. She trudged glumly through the gardens in the waning light, kicking at stones, still bothered by her argument with Gavin. Had he really called her selfish? That accusation smarted. She may be a lot of things, but she’d never been accused of being selfish. After her terrible row with Gavin, she’d gone and had one with Aidan as well. Gavin was right, Aidan would not change his mind. He explained the pressing need for space, and while he understood her ire, it would take months for her to gather everything she would need to start a new business. He was established and could start up right away, and he needed the time to prep for next year’s season, which was only six months away. She plopped down unceremoniously on a bench, slumping over as far as one could while wearing a corset. She stared dejectedly down at the stone path, digging a small trench with her boot. The hem of a skirt appeared in her view.
“There you are.” Elizabeth sat down beside her. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I don’t feel like entertaining at the moment.”
Elizabeth put an arm around her friend. “Aidan told me what happened. I’m sorry you fought.”
Lainey sighed. “I don’t like quarreling with my brother. It makes me feel like a shrew after all he’s given me.”
“We can’t be angels all the time, Lainey. Sometimes disappointment gets the best of us.”
“So, he told you?”
“Yes. Gavin is also looking quite out of sorts.”
“I’m not surprised. I wasn’t very nice to him, either.”
“Dearest, you do realize what a momentous thing this is for him right? He’s worked hard all of his life toward this goal. Becoming a full partner is a huge success for him.”
Lainey choked back her bitterness. “I know. I was just so angry. You’re right, I did not handle the disappointment well at all.”
“I’m sure the three of you will smooth things over. I know your brother feels badly, but you know he will help you find the perfect place to start your help center. And who knows, perhaps another spot will open very near our original location? You still have a wedding to plan, papers to file, employees to hire and train. There is much to do that can occupy your time while you are waiting.”
Lainey pulled a face. “Hmph. That’s almost exactly what Aidan said.”
Elizabeth shrugged and pressed her lips together, an indication that perhaps Aidan had a point. “He is incredibly proud of you, you know.”
“Blast, Eliza! Don’t make me feel worse!”
Elizabeth stood, pulling Lainey with her. “Come, it’s nearly time for dinner. Perhaps that will fortify you.”
“To apologize for being ridiculous?”
Elizabeth slipped an arm about Lainey’s waist and squeezed. “Something like that.”
Dinner had been interminable. Gavin had shot furtive glances at Lainey all evening, trying to asses if she was still angry with him. He’d deserted the party that afternoon after they returned and gone out for a long, punishing ride instead. Once he’d calmed down, he’d been able to see things from her point of view. It didn’t change his mind, but it did help him understand. She had a right to be upset, but hopefully that would fade. Surely, she would come around.
But first, he needed to apologize for implying she was being selfish. Lainey was quite possibly the least selfish person he knew, and her anger had caught him off guard. He’d lashed out without thinking.
“Gavin? May I have a word with you?”
He looked up from his brandy snifter to find the woman he’d just been thinking about standing in front of him. He glanced around the drawing room. Everyone seemed to be occupied in their own pursuits, so no one would be paying attention to their conversation. Gavin moved to stand, but Lainey stayed him with her hand and sat down next to him on the settee.
“I owe you an apology,” she said quietly.
“Lainey—”
“Hear me out. Please. I don’t handle disappointment well. You know this about me. I have big dreams, and sometimes I get overly excited and I don’t think things through. I should not have gone looking for a property before I even knew if any of this was possible. The estate agent said as much when I was crestfallen that the property had sold. I just…I want this so badly. I’m anxious to make my mark on the world, so to speak.”
“And you will, Lainey…but I don’t understand. Why are you in such a rush? I know once you get an idea in your head, you run with it, but it’s unlike you to charge into a project without a solid plan. What’s driving you?”
Lainey fell silent, absently twisting a piece of skirt in her fingers. She glanced across the room at Aidan and Elizabeth, and Gavin followed her gaze. She continued to work the innocent fabric into a molehill of hopeless creases. Without thinking, he reached out and covered her hand with his. Her hand stilled, and the jolt of electricity that shot up his arm at the contact robbed him of his breath. She turned her warm brown eyes to him, surprise lighting the tiny gold flecks so that they reminded him of slivers of mica catching the sunlight in a shallow stream.
“What is it?” he asked softly.
Lainey shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose I’ve been restless for a while.” She glanced at her brother once again. “And I am anxious to start a family.”
Gavin pressed his lips together and withdrew his hand. The stark reminder of why he could never have Lainey for his own was a blow to the gut. “All the more reason to take your time and choose wisely. You want a good father for your children.”
“You would not have invited anyone who would not make a good father. You are aware of my goals.”
“True,” Gavin conceded.
“Forgive me for being selfish?”
“Lainey, you are one of the most selfless people I know. I’m sorry I lashed out like that. It was not well done of me.” Gavin had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms and hold her till their world was right again. Instead, he slapped his thighs. “Well. We’ve apologized to each other, enough of this dreary conversation. You have some mingling to do, and I have a game of billiards to begin.” He stood, holding his hand out to Lainey to assist her from the settee. He pressed a brief kiss to the back of her hand. “Let’s not quarrel like this again, all right? It doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Nor I,” Lainey agreed. “Thank you, Gavin. I’m glad we talked.” She moved off toward the gentlemen seated at the card table, and he watched as their faces lit up at her approach.
Bloody lucky bastards.
Gavin shook off the sliver of jealousy as he headed for the billiard table.