Chapter Twelve
Much to his surprise, Sterling had managed to make it to the refreshment table without being stopped, unlike a ball in London.
But, then again, he was a stranger here.
Unfortunately, such was not the case when he attempted to return as word had spread that he was the Earl of Wyndham, owner of Wyndview Farm, and an eligible bachelor of eight and twenty.
At least, that is what he assumed given the number of misses and unmarried ladies he was introduced to as he tried to make his way back to Caroline while carrying two glasses of wine.
However, when he finally drew near, his stomach tightened with jealousy upon seeing her speak with a handsome major in the army.
Was the major special to her?
Why did he have such an unpleasant reaction?
Bloody hell! Was the summer heat affecting his mind and making him irrational?
Or had he been away from Society and formal gatherings for so long that he forgot how to behave?
Just because he had escorted Caroline into the ball did not mean she must speak to only him.
Besides, he’d barely been here three days, and certainly had no claim to her, yet every instinct insisted that he remain by her side so that nobody else could enjoy her attention.
What the blazes was wrong with him? This was certainly out of character because he had never reacted in such a manner with regard to any woman of his acquaintance, not even those he had briefly considered courting.
And, as he did not want to leave her too long alone in a conversation with major, Sterling marched forward with every intention of introducing himself, possibly in a manner that might warn the major away.
Yet he was halted when his mother stepped in his path to introduce him to an acquaintance.
Sterling was polite but made his escape quickly and once again started for Caroline.
“Mrs. Sutcliffe, your wine.” he pressed it into her hand.
“Thank you,” she murmured, taking in from him before she sipped.
“Lord Sterling Wynd, Earl of Wyndham,” he introduced himself.
The man drew himself up and frowned. “Major David Cooper.”
“Were you and Mrs. Sutcliffe previously acquainted?” He needed to know if the man was courting her, even though it was none of his concern.
“Her husband was a close friend,” the major answered.
Ah, so they did know one another, which he did not like.
“I have recently been posted here and I hope to renew our acquaintance,” the major finished looking into Caroline’s eyes. “If she would allow me to call on her.”
Caroline’s jaw tightened even though she smiled. “That is not possible, Major Cooper. I am needed by my father and daughter and have duties at Wyndview Farm.”
Her duties were not such that she did not have time to be courted, but Sterling rather liked that she was rejecting the man.
Major Cooper glanced at Sterling, a question in his eyes, and since she had rejected the major, Sterling stepped closer to Caroline.
Bloody hell! Why was he suddenly possessive and protective of a woman he barely knew?
“Perhaps after the harvest.” Cooper nodded and walked away.
“You do not care for Major Cooper?” Sterling asked.
“I have no time for gentlemen callers,” she answered simply, except it did not truly answer his question.
“Several people stopped for introductions as you made your way back,” Caroline noted.
Sterling groaned just before he sipped his wine.
“I assume the same happens every Season.”
“Except I will not be in attendance at the upcoming one.”
“Had you hoped to return home in time to attend?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I only planned on being here a fortnight at the most then sail to Madeira, visit with my brother, Elliot, then return to England, which would have me arriving in London in May.”
“Do you enjoy the Season so much?” she asked in surprise.
“No, I do not, but it is a necessity since it is time that I must settle on a wife. I thought to pick one from those available in the ballrooms of London.” He hadn’t meant for his tone to be so disparaging, but he truly dreaded the process of what was to come.
“Then I hope that we can begin the harvest soon so that you are not delayed in your quest,” she offered with humor.
“Do you find my discomfort amusing, Mrs. Sutcliffe?”
“Not at all, Lord Wyndham. I am just humored to see that how a bachelor lord approaches a Season filled with misses ready to wed never changes.”
It likely never would.
“Perhaps I am no longer in a hurry,” he offered before he took a sip of wine. “Maybe my mother was correct in that I need to take a holiday.”
Caroline’s brown eyes widened in alarm. Did she not want him here?
And what of the major? Why would she discourage a potential courtship? Which brought another question to his mind—how could she know how bachelors approach a Season?
“You said that your husband died at the Battle of Dresden. I assume he was English.”
“Yes, he was.”
“Did you meet him here? Was his regiment first here then sent to the Continent?”
“No. I met him in London,” Caroline answered.
Sterling frowned. “When were you in London?”
“The year I turned eighteen. Mother insisted that I have a Season so we returned to England and my grandfather, Baron Hallaway, provided one.”
How was that possible? Not that she had a Season, but that he hadn’t known. “I have not missed a Season since I returned from university. One would think that we would have been introduced.”
“We were often at the same ball, Lord Wyndham,” Caroline answered.
He frowned even deeper. “Please do not tell me that we were introduced and I have failed to recall.” He couldn’t imagine he would have forgotten someone as attractive as Caroline.
“No, we were not. I did know who you were, however. Your name was on the lips of several debutantes who hoped that you would settle on a bride,” she explained in a whisper. “A friend pointed you out to me.”
Did Caroline just tease him? She seemed so reserved and unassuming previously. Was there more to his mother’s companion gardener than he realized? “I wish you would have asked for an introduction.”
“I would not have been so bold. Your father was my father’s employer and it would not have been proper.”
“There would have been nothing improper. You were the granddaughter of a baron and attending the same Season as I.”
“I felt that it may have made you uncomfortable in a social setting.”
“Then you misjudged me, Mrs. Sutcliff. I would have liked to have met you back then.”
What had she been like as a girl fresh from the school room?
She was likely just as beautiful as she was now though he found that impossible or he would have noticed her.
If she had been in England long enough, maybe her tan had faded and she blended in with all the other dark-haired debutantes.
Except he still found it difficult to believe that Caroline could have gone unnoticed among even the loveliest gathering.
How had he not noticed her?
*
Caroline was taken aback by his statement.
Perhaps she had misjudged him when he first arrived. Maybe he wasn’t as rigid and disapproving as she believed.
And what did he mean that he was no longer in a hurry and that maybe he did need a holiday?
The idea of him lingering around Wyndview Farm was rather disconcerting given…well…everything.
Then Caroline looked around the ballroom, and particularly at the guests. Some were English and some were ancestors of the Dutch who had settled in the area during the 1600s. The first to plant grapes that created a wine empire.
And, among the English and Dutch were pretty daughters of marriageable age.
Why should Wyndham hurry his return to London when the wife he sought might be in this very room?
He was rather callous about the away he was going to decide on who he would marry by picking one from those available in the ballrooms of London. What were his requirements? That she be pretty enough or have the right connections, daughter of a peer?
What about love?
Except, English lords rarely considered love when choosing a wife. At least, that was what she had observed during her one and only Season.
It also bothered her that she did not want to witness any courtship that he might engage in and told herself that it was only because she pitied the woman that he chose for reasons other than the heart.
Yet, she was already jealous of the woman for reasons that she could not fathom.
Yes, she may have had a moment of lust, but that was all.
Was he the type of gentleman who gravitated toward the blushing and simpering misses who would obey without question or someone who showed more confidence—a challenge?
Or perhaps he wanted one with more maturity than a miss fresh from the schoolroom.
Who he chose to dance with and perhaps walk about the room with would tell her what type of mate he sought.
As the musicians took their seats and tuned their instruments, Caroline glanced around the room as the women nervously smoothed their skirts and cast shy smiles at the bachelors, many of them aiming their attention at Wyndham.
Quietly, she waited for him to leave her side and approach a lovely miss and ask her to dance. But, as partners were claimed and the first country dance began, he remained by her side.
She knew he danced. She had seen him do so in England, but he showed no interest here. At least, not yet.
“I brought the two of you here so that you could enjoy yourselves, not stand off to the side like wallflowers hoping to go unnoticed,” Lady Wyndham chided as she joined them.
“I was not asked,” Caroline answered. “Nor do I expect to be.”
“Of course you will not.”
Lady Wyndham proclamation rather stung, even if it was the truth.
“Not while you are standing with my son, as if he has a claim on your heart,” Lady Wyndham continued. “No bachelor will approach.”
“I hardly think that is the case,” Caroline returned.
“And you, Sterling, you need a bride.”
With that, Lady Wyndham turned and marched away from her son.