Chapter 2 #2
It was almost noon when he went to collect his son from the Dumpkins schoolroom.
When Mother had insisted on this summer “adventure,” Cash had been unwilling to leave Matthew behind at Cashard, anymore than he’d been able to leave his work behind.
He cherished the time he was able to spend with his son, and was looking forward to this afternoon for more reasons than just being able to see Athena again.
He and Matthew stopped at one of the outbuildings to have the gamekeeper supply them with poles and buckets.
Thus loaded down, the pair of them began the hike to the river. It seemed closer today than usual, and Cash was cognizant enough to realize it was just his perception of things. This might also explain why he had been so eager to complete his business that morning.
He had a compelling reason.
One with bright red hair and an alluring smile.
Said smile—or rather, the memory of those lips around the apple—might also explain the vigorous hand-frigging he gave himself last night, but he supposed, as a gentleman, he shouldn’t dwell on that.
It seemed his son was just as enamored of their visitors as Cash had been, although he assumed Matthew’s interest was less base. The lad chatted constantly about his new friend on their walk, which made Cash wonder how starved the lad had been for companionship.
“Do you think Callan and his mother are from the area, Father?”
“I’m certain of it. One of the local clans is Oliphant.”
“I think the clans are interesting,” his son said seriously. “They’re like large families. If they’re local, I suppose it’s likely they just don’t travel in the same circles as you.”
Cash twitched a brow at his son’s observation. Had the lad turned into a bit of a class snob, then? He’d hoped, by keeping them both in the country—the far north country, at that—and away from Society in London, Matthew would grow to think of men as equal.
But perhaps not quite equal to you, hmm? Being a duke is second only to a prince really.
That was his father’s voice, he knew.
“Well, lad, no matter her rank, I would expect someone as lovely as Miss Oliphant to stand out.”
Matthew snorted softly. “That’s true. I like her.”
“I like her too, son.”
The lad glanced at him when he said that, and Cash hoped his tone hadn’t given away too much.
But then they were at their swimming spot, and Athena and Callan were already there.
There was much exclaiming from the boys as their parents shared a smile, and they soon settled into the business of fishing.
While Cash supervised the boys in their attempts to find worms, Athena began to lay out the picnic lunch. She made them all wash their hands in the rushing river, and even made a show of examining under Cash’s fingernails, which sent Matthew into peals of laughter.
Luncheon was surprisingly complex. No simple farmer’s fare for Athena; she’d brought delicate tea sandwiches and fruit tarts and lemonade.
If she had access to a kitchen to produce such delicacies, Cash began to wonder if she was a guest at one of the nearby manor homes.
After all, she and Callan obviously walked to this spot each day, so she couldn’t be staying too far away.
Could she be…staying with a man?
Although she’d said she wasn’t married, that didn’t mean she didn’t have an arrangement with one of the local lords.
Cash was honest enough with himself to admit he was already considering the proposition to her himself, and if she was taken, he was confident he could offer her enough to break off her existing liaison.
She didn’t seem to begrudge him his deep thoughts as she teased the boys into laughter while they ate. She was good with them, and the thought sent a shot of longing through him he hadn’t expected.
Before he had time to examine the reason behind it, he heard Callan say matter-of-factly to Matthew, “Mama is the best Mama. And the funniest, and I have so much fun with her.”
Matthew nodded as he bit into his tart. He was careful to wipe his mouth with one of the linen serviettes Athena had provided, before cutting his eyes toward his father. “I think having a mother like your mama must be the best thing in the world.”
And here comes the guilt.
His son was subtle; Cash had to give him credit.
But last year, he’d begun to hint to Cash he’d very much like a sibling, and when Cash—thinking the boy was old enough to have a frank discussion on the matter—had explained it wouldn’t be a legitimate sibling without getting remarried, Matthew had asked him why he hadn’t found another wife.
Somehow, the argument of, “I don’t have the time, and frankly, I like things the way they are,” hadn’t impressed the ten-year-old.
Cash might like things the way they were, with it being only him and Matthew together, but it was clear Matthew wanted more.
So Cash had agreed to put some effort into finding a new wife.
Not much effort, granted, but some. He’d put it about that he wouldn’t be averse to finding his name on a few of the local hostess’s guest lists, and the matrons had been thrilled by the news.
Of course, there was a limit to the number of social gatherings expected so far away from London, and he only accepted a minimum of invitations within those.
But in the spring, Matthew had asked again, and thus when the invitation to the Dumpkins house party had been delivered, Cash hadn’t immediately dismissed it.
Originally, he’d been unwilling to commit to an entire summer of frivolity, and saw no need to do so.
After all, his compatibility with a lady could be found after a single dance, could it not?
That is how he’d found Amanda, his deceased wife and Matthew’s mother, whose father had been a nearby landowner.
But Mother and Carlotta had also been invited, and when Mother made a decision on something, it was sometimes easier to just allow her free rein.
So Cash had packed up his household, his son, and his work, and decamped to the Dumpkins study, where Carlotta could gallivant to her heart’s content—it wasn’t as if she was actually serious about finding a husband!
—and Cash could occasionally attend the dinners and evening events.
When he wasn’t too busy with work or with Matthew.
From all accounts, when Lady Dumpkins had announced his attendance, the attending ladies had all but fainted in excitement.
After all, having a young, unmarried duke in attendance must have been quite the social coup.
Keeping in mind Matthew’s desires for a mother, he’d discreetly asked the Countess to arrange a dance with each of the ladies, when he could spare the time.
But each time he’d danced with a perfectly lovely young lady, they had done absolutely nothing to interest him enough to ask for a second dance. Not a single one of them had half the energy, half the blood-pounding intrigue, as the Scot sitting beside him on the blanket.
Of course, if one of those Society virgins had looked at him with the same heat Athena looked at him, perhaps things would’ve been different.
She continued to send him teasing looks as she collected the remnants of their luncheon—further evidence she was no pampered lady—and packed them away. Then she took one of Callan’s hands and one of Matthew’s. “Well, lads, are we going to learn how to fish?”
“You, ma’am?” Matthew asked in surprise.
Cash watched as she squeezed his son’s hand in excitement.
“Of course! I have heard ye are the best, after all, and as long as I dinnae have to touch a worm, I am up for some fun.”
The look she sent Cash made him wonder just how much fun she was looking for.
Teaching her and Callan to fish was surprisingly fun.
He remembered when he’d tried to teach Carlotta, and the disaster that had turned out to be.
He loved his younger sister, but she was much too talkative to appreciate a pastime which required one to sit quietly in the shadows and wait for fish to take the bait.
As he recalled, that was the afternoon she’d attempted to climb the oak and had fallen out instead…
Athena, on the other hand, took to fishing quite easily, and eventually confessed in an aside to Cash she’d been fishing here since she was a girl.
Callan, on the other hand, lacked the patience and ability to stay quiet and in one place for long, which was required of a successful fisherman, but the lad certainly seemed to have fun chasing after the smaller fish in the shallows.
After a while, the two lads resorted to cavorting in the water.
Since both of them were still fully dressed, Athena made them strip to their smalls, which had made Callan—and Matthew—laugh in delight.
She’d called out challenges, and Cash had to chuckle as he watched the two lads try to outdo each other.
“You are good at this,” he murmured to her, as their sons tried to do push-ups under water.
She winked at him. “I’m just attempting to tire them out.”
Sure enough, after about an hour, she called both boys up to the blanket and helped them dry off. Then she had them lie down on their stomachs, one on either side of her. Matthew pillowed his head in his arms and watched her.
Cash saw her smile gently at his son, then place her hand on his bare back. The lad shivered slightly, then closed his eyes as if in pain. Frowning, Cash wondered if he should interfere, but then Athena began to sing.
It wasn’t that she had a beautiful voice, no, but her voice wasn’t bad, and she closed her eyes while she sang the lullaby, low and soft and sweet. That, combined with the gentle breeze and the murmur of the river, made even Cash wish he might close his eyes for a moment.
Then she began to rub the boys’ backs; not just Callan, but Matthew as well. Cash saw his son’s eyes flash open in confusion—being caressed so intimately by a near stranger must’ve been a surprise—but just as quickly, his eyelids began to droop again.