Chapter 1 The Remarkable Mr. Graham #4
With a start, she looked around the room, and her customary composure seemed to return, though her cheeks blazed a deep red. She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts.
For his part, Mr. Graham appeared to overlook my wife’s lapse. His gaze remained upon her as he swept his arm towards me. “My friend has spoken of you in a tireless fashion. In fact, I feel as though I know you already.”
She aimed a quick glance at me, her eyebrow arched.
What? He had learnt nothing of her from me. Of course, as an angel, he must have alternative methods of obtaining information. The overt admiration reflected in Mr. Graham’s azure eyes made my mouth go dry. I edged closer to Elizabeth, positioning my shoulder between her and the angel.
“It is unusual for my husband to be garrulous.” She lightly patted my arm. “I hope his remarks did me credit.”
“Indeed, they did. You can have no concern on that front.” Mr. Graham beamed at her. “I intend to purchase an estate one day soon. Whilst I am here, I hope to learn as much as possible from Darcy.”
“There is no better person than my husband to clarify the many aspects of managing landed property. You are in the best of hands.” She took a backward step. “Pray excuse me. I shall leave you two to talk in privacy.” She curtsied and turned to go.
I touched Elizabeth’s arm to forestall her. “Did you seek me out for a purpose?”
She viewed me over her shoulder. “I had intended to ask whether you were inclined to walk with me this morning, but it is of no matter. Rory will accompany me.”
“Shall we go tomorrow at sunrise?”
“Yes, I should like that.” With a final brief look at Mr. Graham, Elizabeth left the room.
At her departure, equal measures of relief and regret warred within me. How should I tolerate Mr. Graham’s presence around my family over the coming days?
“So, I have met the delightful and charming Elizabeth.”
With a step towards him, I took an erect position, my chin jutting out. “She is Mrs. Darcy to you.”
Profuse laughter shook Mr. Graham’s top half.
“Come, now, Darcy. If we are to convince your wife of our old and abiding friendship, we must not be so formal. I can already surmise from that brief conversation with Elizabeth that she is not one of those cold, pompous ladies who are slaves to formalities. She will not mind her husband’s dearest friend from university calling her by her given name. ”
“In any event, I mind.”
He raised his index finger to me. “Be careful, Darcy. If you persist in being so fastidious, you will spoil my holiday. If I am not satisfied at the week’s end, I may decide to stay longer.”
My jaw went rigid. The treacherous blackguard!
“Now then, my dear old comrade, what are your plans for this morning?”
“I am overseeing the construction of a new, larger pen and shelter for our Merino sheep. We have been growing the herd, and they need more space. I am certain you will find the enterprise tedious.”
Mr. Graham rubbed his hands together. “On the contrary, it sounds fascinating.”
Perchance I could convince him to abandon this course. I cleared my throat. “Mr. Graham—”
The angel raised his eyebrows. “Pray call me Graham.”
“Graham.” I articulated the name through gritted teeth.
“That is much better.”
Shifting my weight, I essayed to present a more composed appearance before continuing.
“As you no doubt realize, I am fortunate to have a most felicitous marriage and a healthy son, Bennet, who will be two years old this month. I have every reason to want to live, so I thank you most sincerely for preventing my death.”
“You are welcome.”
I took a long, indrawn breath and twisted my signet ring.
“In all honesty, I believe you will find it wearisome to follow along with me. You would be certain to find a great many more sources of entertainment with an actor, an opera singer, or a popular bachelor gentleman of the ton. London is full of people who live adventurous, decadent, and colourful lives. In comparison, I am uninteresting.”
His countenance sobered. “You are correct. I could spend my time with anyone of my choosing, whether in England or any other country. I could have delayed the death of the poor chap whose body I now inhabit, and I grant you that spending time with him may have kept me well entertained. Nevertheless, it is you I have chosen to visit. For the next week, you are compelled to tolerate my company.”
“Very well.” I managed not to frown. It appeared the angel would not budge from his decision.
An aspect of Graham’s speech eroded my calm, but perhaps due to the shocking nature of his revelations, the elusive detail remained outside the confines of my reasoning.
Rather than allow this lapse to niggle at me, I abandoned the thought—if the issue proved to be important, I should address it later.
We left the study and proceeded to the stables. I glanced towards him. “Have you ridden horses before?”
“No. But when I assumed this body, I received the benefit of the Italian man’s skills and experiences, including riding.”
“How convenient for you.”
As it happened, the mare I selected for Graham would not stand still for him to mount her and would not calm until he stepped away. I glanced at the angel whilst I stroked the mare’s nose. “I cannot account for her behaviour. She has never acted this way before.”
“Many animals tend to be suspicious of me. I think it would be better if you allowed me to choose one.” As Graham walked down the aisle of stalls, each horse he passed darted away from him until he reached Rusty—the fifteen-year-old red roan gelding allowed Graham to approach him and became the angel’s choice.
We soon set off on horseback. Regal snorted and laid his ears back when Graham directed Rusty alongside him, but I spoke to my horse in a low, steady voice, and he soon quieted.
“Riding on horseback is rather diverting.” Graham patted Rusty’s neck. “As you witnessed, many animals are too sensitive to tolerate me. I guess you could say the exceptions, such as this old boy, have lower standards.” He grinned at the joke made to his own detriment.
In the field where we kept the sheep, several men worked on a shelter and a couple of others repaired a fence.
A group of six-month-old lambs had been separated into a small enclosure, and I examined each one to ensure they remained healthy.
I took more time to scrutinize the final lamb, Flora, born the runt of a twin litter.
Due to harassment from the other lambs, we had been forced to separate Flora until she grew stronger.
Elizabeth had taken a peculiar interest in the lamb and often came to visit her.
Graham turned towards the road. “Darcy, I see your wife.”
In the distance, Elizabeth made her way towards us with Rory at her side. The collie burst forth with a series of excited barks as he often did when within sight of the sheep. The vision of my wife brought an automatic smile to my face. At her wave, I raised my arm to return the gesture.
As she drew near, though, my spine stiffened. Graham’s unsettling presence impaired the gratification I should otherwise have enjoyed with her arrival. Still, I endeavoured to appear unruffled for her sake. “I should have guessed you would come to see Flora this morning.”
“Well, I do not deny she has wormed her way into my affections. How can I resist such an endearing face?” She gestured to Flora.
The aforementioned lamb, having pushed her way to the edge of the fence, poked her head through the space between the boards towards Elizabeth and bleated. “Oh, she is calling for me.”
My wife went to Flora and scratched the creature behind her ears. She straightened and faced the blond angel. “Mr. Graham, I hope you approve of our little herd. Their wool is extremely fine and a popular material for pelisses and stockings.”
A grin lit up Graham’s face as he stepped nearer to her. “Mrs. Darcy, your sheep are impressive, but I should be greatly appreciative if you would call me Graham. Darcy and I are so close that employing such distant terms would feel wrong.”
Her mouth fell open for a moment. “Well, I…um…”
I tensed and would have voiced an objection, but the angel’s earlier warning resounded in my head. Plague take it, I should allow the reprobate this concession.
Graham raised his palm. “I realize my request might not be considered the height of propriety here, but I beg your indulgence.” His words flowed out in a swift, yet eloquent inflexion.
“You see, in the section of Calabria where I reside, we use given names unless we dislike one another. I am a vain man, and I cannot bear the thought that the wife of my dearest old friend could despise me.”
My wife glanced at me, and I fought to keep from revealing my inner turmoil. Her sanguine expression returned. “Since my husband makes no objection, I shall agree to your request, Graham. You may call me Elizabeth.”
The angel clapped his hands together. “Thank you, Elizabeth.”
She gave him a nod. Her brow creased as she fixed her gaze upon our collie sitting on the road a fair distance away. “Rory, what are you doing there? Come here, boy.”
After a few halting steps towards her, Rory stopped and sat again.
She turned to me, and her arm swept towards our dog. “Did you see that? Is it not odd?”
“Yes, this behaviour is unusual for him.” It seemed Rory sensed Graham’s uncanny nature.
She glanced at Graham. “Most of the time, he is eager to meet new people. I often need to restrain him from being too familiar and vociferous in his greetings.”
“The dog may be distracted by a small rodent or bird near him.” Graham presented an ingratiating smile.
“Perhaps so.” Elizabeth met my gaze. “Have you examined the lambs? Are they well?”
“Yes, although I imagine you want to get a closer look for yourself.”
“That is true.” My wife sauntered towards the gate to the penned area and entered. Flora rushed forwards to receive Elizabeth’s attention. The lamb followed when my wife went on to greet the others.
Graham watched my wife’s progress as she cooed at the lambs and fed them pieces of apple and carrot from her pocket.
“As someone who has seen beautiful women all over the world, I can state with assurance that Elizabeth possesses a rare and compelling quality that defies explanation. She is pretty, of course, but attractive ladies may be found everywhere. What word best describes her unparalleled attribute? Effervescence? Sparkle? Forsooth yes, but there is more—a form of excellence rarely encountered. Your wife embodies all these things in a way that transcends the meaning of the words.”
My hands formed fists. “You have said quite enough. I have no need for you to tell me how special Elizabeth is or why I should appreciate her. You may be assured I already do. I shall thank you to remember she is my wife. See that you maintain a proper distance from her.”
Graham raised his hands in a show of submission. “Calm yourself. I meant to compliment you on your taste in women. I am not here to take advantage of your wife in any way.”
A new suspicion caused my stomach muscles to writhe. “You have admitted to covert observation of me since yesterday. Have you spied on my wife and me when we believed ourselves to be alone?” I regarded Graham with a savage glare.
With a forceful exhale, he put his hands on his hips. “Sir, even an angel of death has scruples. You may be assured that I shall act as a gentleman while I am here.” He moved closer. “Make yourself easy. Your wife is returning, and I am certain you do not want to alarm her.”
I made every effort to soften my expression as she moved towards us. No doubt I had limited success.
With a tilt of her head, Elizabeth’s eyes met mine. “The lambs appear to be thriving.”
“Yes, I am pleased with them.” With a slight move, I edged Graham out of my field of vision. “I expect to return early enough to spend time with you and Bennet before breakfast.”
Her visage brightened with a smile. “Wonderful. I shall see you later.”
I took her hand and lifted it to bestow a kiss. She bid farewell to Graham, who bowed. She departed in a brisk, lively gait on the road towards Pemberley House.
This time, when she called Rory, he raced towards her and remained at her side. Rory turned back several times to glance at Graham. After a few minutes, though, he lowered his ears, wagged his tail, and resumed his usual jaunty gait, scouring the area for interesting scents.