Chapter Seven
T hat Wednesday, Edith arrived at the registry office a few minutes before noon. As she entered the building, she spied Miss Tilford and her brother standing to one side of the lobby.
“Edith!” Alicia waved to her.
“Good day, Miss Tilford, Lord Harbury.”
The baron bowed elegantly, his dark blonde hair glinting in a ray of sunshine radiating through the window near the front door. She’d thought his eyes were hazel. Today, they were a light green color.
“I’ll leave you ladies to it.” Lord Harbury gave her a bright smile as he took his leave.
Diana approached them. “Good afternoon, Lady Edith, Miss Tilford. Let’s get you two ladies to work.”
In the back office, one desk held an employer ledger, the other a veteran ledger.
“Mrs. Stafford distributed the cards to matched veterans this morning. The cards you write up today will be handed out tomorrow.” Diana smiled briefly before exiting the room.
“I’ll work with the employee ledger,” Edith said to Alicia, taking a seat behind one of the oak desks. “You can have the employer ledger.”
“Very good. Now what?” Alicia was seated.
“Start at the beginning of the employer ledger and look for employers without a veteran’s name next to their entry. If you can briefly tell me what position they have open, I will start looking for matches.”
Alicia opened her ledger and glanced over a few pages.
“ Lord Mayton. Oh my, a viscount no less!”
“And what does he need?”
Alicia frowned. “Two gardeners for his estate in Devon. No provision for a family will be made.”
“Hmmm... So we need men with an aptitude for gardening and willing to leave London. Thankfully, the ledger states whether a man is married or not.”
Edith scanned the entries.
Alicia let out a squeak. “Oh! I also see Lord Davenport. I believe he served with my brother on one of his ships.”
Edith dearly hoped Alicia would be able to stay on task.
“The baron left the navy recently?” Edith didn’t know much about Lord Harbury. To be truthful, she’d never been interested in his background.
“Oh yes!” She sighed dramatically. “He left it for me. Our parents died, you see.”
“Charlotte told me. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“It hasn’t always been easy, but Nathaniel has been wonderful. He loved the Navy, but after the sinking of the HMS St. George , he wasn’t the same. I was young when he went away and wasn’t used to seeing him often, but after the sinking, his letters were not as light and cheerful as they had been.”
She thought the baron appeared cheerful most of the time. If he were indeed haunted by inner demons, today he’d looked to be in control of them. “He surely wasn’t aboard the St. George when it sank. None of the officers survived.”
“He’d recently been transferred. Several of his friends perished when the ship went down.” Alicia added softly, “My brother doesn’t talk about it. I’ve overheard Lord Ashford say he believes Nathaniel pretends to be happy to mask his melancholia. He says my brother feels guilty for not being on the ship when it sank.”
Nathaniel pretends to be happy. Could Ashford be right? Lord Harbury was one of his closest friends. Edith thought about observing the baron more closely when next in his company but told herself the baron’s demeanor was no concern of hers.
She remained silent and studied her ledger as Alicia chatted about other employers in the book.
“I’ve found someone!” Edith took one of the pencils on her desk and handed it to Alicia. “Write this name next to the employer.”
Edith then took one of the cards on the corner of the desk, walked to Alicia’s desk, and explained that she was to write down the employer’s information for the chosen veteran on the card.
Returning to her desk, she scanned the ledger again for another possible gardener.
“I’m not finding another candidate without a family. Oh yes! Here’s one. Thank goodness! Nearly the last name we have. Write this down, Alicia.”
Alicia picked up a card and wrote down the employer’s name, address, and who the veteran was supposed to report to at the residence.
When finished, the other girl grinned. “That’s one employer sorted. On to the next!”
* * * * *
N athaniel could have sent a maid to collect Alicia, but he chose to call for his sister at the registry since he was at loose ends. Ashford was busy with his new bride, and Cecil was rarely home due to his preoccupation with the Rogue’s Alliance.
Although the office was now closed to clients, Mrs. Stafford spied him through the window and let him into the lobby.
“Good afternoon, my lord.”
He replied cheerfully, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Stafford. I’m here to collect my sister.”
“She and Lady Edith have been toiling away. Hard at work, they are. Lady Diana has already gone home for the day.”
Despite what was most likely a crowded lobby earlier in the day, the room was as neat as a pin. Had Mrs. Stafford been married to a navy man? She appeared to run a tight ship.
One of the male employees, Taylor, a former Seaman, exited the kitchen and raised a hand in greeting.
“Good afternoon, Lord Harbury.”
“Good afternoon, Taylor. How do you enjoy working at the registry?”
“It is rewarding work, my lord. And living upstairs is a boon. I’ve never been so comfortable in all my days.” The man’s Scouse accent informed all who heard him that he hailed from Liverpool.
He added, “Thank you for taking this job. You were quite popular on the Cressy .”
“As were you, my lord.”
“That is kind of you to say,” he replied quickly, uncomfortable with the praise.
Nathaniel knocked at the office door before opening it.
“Brother!” Alicia welcomed him with a wide smile.
He returned the smile with a glance at Lady Edith, who looked up and nodded a greeting. Her lips curved into a soft smile, and he felt warmth in his limbs. He returned his gaze to his sister and asked, “How was your afternoon?”
“Splendid! Lady Edith and I have had a marvelous day.”
He took a few steps closer and looked at the lady in question.
“A busy one, at least,” Lady Edith replied wryly. “I don’t know how sitting here looking through ledgers can be exhausting, but it is.”
“Do say you will attend Lady Cairs’ dinner party this evening. There are few entertainments now that the season is over, and I would love to see you there.” Alicia’s tone of voice was coaxing.
He hadn’t realized Lady Edith was invited to the dinner party. Nathaniel endeavored to merely show polite interest in the lady’s response to his sister’s plea as he breathed in the orange blossom scent Lady Edith wore.
The lady replied, “I shall attend with Lord and Lady Ashford. My father is otherwise engaged this evening.”
Alicia stood up from her chair and clapped her hands. “Excellent! Let us hurry along, Nathaniel. I should like to rest before we dress for dinner.”
He nodded to Edith. “Until this evening.”
The lady murmured a response, her gaze on his face more intent than he was used to. She appeared to be searching for something in his expression.
Surely not. The lady had shown little interest in him before now. To imagine anything else was purely wishful thinking.
* * * * *
E dith contemplated Lord Harbury’s personality as she dressed for dinner. Was he faking cheeriness? The baron did look happy whenever he glanced at his sister; you could see true affection between the siblings. Curiosity about the baron's temperament warred with the knowledge that she shouldn't engage him in conversation merely to study him.
Her father had already departed for his evening entertainment, so she couldn’t ask him if he’d attended a rout yesterday rather than his literary club.
She was sure Lord Wycliffe wouldn’t attend Lady Cairs’ dinner. Charlotte had said she would be surprised to see the viscount again before leaving for the country unless she invited him to her home in Grosvenor Square.
As when she’d had a childhood infatuation for a stableboy at her father’s estate near Basildon, Edith feared nothing would or could come of her fondness for the viscount. Lord Wycliffe appeared to only have room in his life for the RA.
“You’re looking gloomy, my lady.”
“Am I?” Edith mentally shook herself. “I was far away.”
Mary gave her a bright smile. “I think the color Lady Louisa chose for your gown is excellent for your complexion.”
Edith’s dress consisted of a pale blush gauze gown over a white satin slip cut low around the bust, with a short waist, the skirt trimmed in a mixture of white satin and moss roses. Her hair was dressed in a plain braid across her forehead, with only a few ringlets beside her face.
She stared at her reflection in the dressing table mirror. “I think you are right. And you are a wonder with my hair, Mary.”
“It is a pleasure to dress your hair, my lady. The color is so light; you look like a fairy.”
She chuckled. “My father has said that often enough.”
Soon after, Charlotte and her husband arrived in their carriage to whisk Edith away to the dinner party.
“How are you enjoying your volunteer work?” Lord Ashford asked once she was seated on the velvet squabs of his town carriage facing the marquess and Charlotte.
“I love it. Twice a week is no burden at all.”
Charlotte snorted. “Tell that to Louisa. If she complains again tomorrow, I will ask her to stop volunteering.”
“I can’t believe she agreed to help with the registry. Louisa is a loyal friend assuredly, but not given to charity work.”
Charlotte tapped the side of her nose with a glove-covered finger. “It was Louisa’s only excuse for staying in London. Her mother wanted her only daughter in the countryside.”
She imagined Louisa’s mother would have attempted to marry her daughter off to someone attending her brother’s shooting parties.
Their hostess for the evening, Lady Cairs, was a grande dame of the ton who entertained lavishly throughout the year. The marchioness was a widow and chose to remain in London rather than leave Town for the countryside when the season ended, and had recently moved from her townhouse in Grosvenor Square to a larger house in Cavendish Square.
When they entered Lady Cairs’ drawing room, it was to find Alicia and her brother already there. There were two other married couples in attendance. The addition of Edith made the party an even number.
“Lady Edith!” Alicia rushed forward to grasp Edith’s hands. “I was just telling Lord Alethorpe about the registry office. He has promised to send his man of business to us the next time he needs a position filled.”
“That is wonderful to hear.” She nodded to Lord Harbury.
The baron was turned out in an immaculate white shirt and tan waistcoat, his blue tailcoat and cream breeches the first stare of fashion. He wasn’t Lord Wycliffe, but she had to admit he did cut a fine figure in his evening clothes.
“And what about the other gentleman standing next to Lord Alethorpe?” she asked teasingly.
“Lord St. Clair keeps slipping away.” Alicia grinned. “I’ll have to speak with him again.”
The girl rushed off, and Edith was left standing with Lord Harbury. The faint scent of lavender and citrus drifted to her. She recognized the cologne the baron wore as one of her favorites, Albany , by D.R. Harris & Company.
“I wish I had as much energy,” the baron murmured.
She raised a brow. “Are you in your dotage, my lord?”
“Very nearly.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Would Edith have noticed the sorrow in his eyes if she wasn’t looking for it?
“Alicia was a great help today.”
This time, the smile did reach his eyes. “Thank you for ensuring my sister is allowed to volunteer at the registry. It means a lot to her. And me.”
For a moment, she couldn’t think of anything to say. The way he looked at her- He liked her. He truly liked her. Perhaps she could ask him about Lord Wycliffe.
“Your sister means well.”
He nodded. “She does. I believe living for a year with nearly mute relatives led to her desire to fill in awkward silences.”
“That would make sense. Sometimes our disposition changes depending on events we’ve experienced.” She watched his face for a response to her comment.
He nodded vaguely. “That is very likely.”
His expression was no longer as open as it had been. They stood for a moment in silence.
The dinner gong sounded.
“Shall we go in?”
Lord Harbury sounded relieved to end their conversation.
Although she was not seated next to the baron, she listened intently to his conversation. He kept his comments light, discussing nothing of any consequence. They enjoyed a delicious repast, and when the meal was over, their hostess decreed there would be no separation of the sexes. All of her guests were expected to participate in after-dinner entertainments.