Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
“Liam is such a baby,” Thomas complained.
“You cried when you were hurt, too. It is not wrong to want the comfort of your mother’s arms about you.” Nash pursed his lips, struggling not to follow Laura too closely in case he was needed. He did not like when they argued, especially when he had no defense. He had left her alone here too much, and she had needed him badly.
He waited until Laura got Liam on his feet and together, with Liam limping, they set off for Ravenswood again.
He put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder and they started back to the manor together at a slower pace.
“Papa, can I ask you something?”
Nash nodded.
“Why is Mama talking about leaving?”
He inhaled. He’d wondered how long it would take for Thomas to ask about that. He was the most observant of the children due to his age. “Mama is angry with me because I did something very wrong. I hurt her feelings, and she is not done with giving me the set down I deserve.”
“You never stay mad at us for so long when we misbehave.”
“Well, I did something wrong for a lot longer than you ever have.” He ruffled his son’s hair.
“She went away, and we never saw her again,” Thomas complained. “Didn’t she love us anymore?”
“She had good reason to go, but listen to me: no matter how much Mama and I squabble, it has nothing to do with how she feels about you and your brother. She loves you both very much.”
“And Isabelle, too?”
“And Isabelle.”
“Do you love Isabelle?”
“Yes, as much as I do you and your brother.”
Thomas chewed on his lip. “I like Belle very much.”
“ Belle?”
Thomas nodded and Nash laughed softly, liking the nickname for his daughter. “Well, I’m glad to hear you like her. She will need her big brother to protect her one day,” Nash said and pulled his son into his side.
Things had changed for them all with Laura’s return. Nash had never spoken of his feelings with his son, for one. But he liked the way things were now. He’d never been friends with his own father, but he hoped to be one for Thomas and Liam and Isabelle too,. Spending time with the children and Laura had given him a sense of belonging and purpose, quite different from how he felt about his brothers.
This was the way things should have been all along, or could be if Laura could ever overlook his shortcomings and ask to stay.
He sighed. There was still time to think of a way they might become friends, too.
When they reached Ravenswood, he sent Thomas off to find his mother and went in search of Algernon. He was not sure why he wanted to see his brother, though, other than to retrieve Isabelle. Algernon would just send Nash back to Laura immediately.
But he thought a little distance after their latest discussion might be in order.
Algernon was at a front window when Nash found him.
“Where’s Isabelle?”
“With her mother already.”
“Oh,” he said disappointed to have been beaten to reach the child.
“Dear God, not now,” Algernon complained.
“What are you looking at?” Nash peeked out at the drive, too, and gasped out loud.
Michael Sweet, a cousin they preferred to ignore, was standing on the drive beside his carriage and four.
“What the devil is he doing here?”
“He’s the least of our concerns. Look who’s with him,” Algernon ordered, pointing to the carriage again, where a gray haired lady was being helped out of the carriage by servants. “What are we going to do about her ?”
Lady Violet Eugenia Sweet, their father’s youngest sister, had come home, and her sour expression was still locked in place.
“Dear God, Aunt Violet hasn’t been here since we buried Mother. We’re in for it,” Nash answered, attempting to hide himself from being seen gaping out the window.
“It doesn’t bode well to have the two of them together,” Algernon complained, straightening his waistcoat and smoothing back his hair.
Nash frowned at his older brother. “You’re not a boy anymore. You’re the duke now. She cannot order you about like she did before.”
“I will always be that unruly boy to her, and she will always tell me what I should do. Don’t pretend she doesn’t terrify you, too.”
“Yes, but I’m just the spare,” Nash replied, rushing to bring his clothing to order despite still being wet from his swim. Aunt Violet had terrified all the branches of the family at one time or another. She had looked down her long nose at them and criticized them for what she termed a disgraceful absence of moral character in the wider family.
However, in recent years, she had kept more or less to her own small estate, finally deeming them all unworthy of her company and opinion. But she wrote to everyone constantly, disparaging them for any gossip she heard. Father had preferred her far away from them all, and she’d sworn she preferred to be away from him, too
Father had believed his sister was a disgrace for failing to marry into a wealthy family. She’d disobliged him by not marrying at all.
The old girl walked with two canes now, instead of just the one he remembered her with when he was a boy, but she still managed the stairs at a sprightly pace, ignoring their cousin Michael’s offer of assistance.
“The last I heard, Michael was in Derbyshire,” Nash whispered. Keeping his voice low because even though Aunt Violet hadn’t come inside yet, she had beyond-excellent hearing. She heard things everyone else seemed to miss.
“Our cousin has been traveling a great deal lately. His oldest sister complained about it to me at Amity’s wedding breakfast,” Algernon confided. “Come on. We must greet our unexpected guests with a smile.”
At times, Nash did not always appreciate being included in greeting his brother’s visitors. This was one of them. But he would have to speak with his aunt eventually, he supposed, so there was no point delaying the inevitable set down. Best to get the awkward encounter over and done with immediately.
They reached the entrance hall as the Ravenswood butler welcomed Aunt Violet back to the estate with transparent delight. The woman, nearly sixty years old now, looked him up and down and then nodded. “Home at last.”
Algernon stepped forward. “Aunt Violet. A pleasure to have you visit us.”
She looked him up and down, too, one brow raised. She scowled. “One does not visit one’s home, Your Grace. One returns.”
And then she did something extraordinary. She curtsied to her nephew, the new Duke of Ravenswood. Something Nash never thought to see in his lifetime. She’d little respect for their father when he’d held the title.
Algernon appeared stunned as well and glanced discreetly at Nash, before bowing in return.
Nash glanced at Michael, but he seemed to have no interest in the extraordinary exchange.
The last time Aunt Violet and Algernon had stood in the same room, she’d smacked him hard with her walking stick and told him to take himself away. They had argued about him not taking a wife. Algernon had refused to yield to her demands, just as he had their father’s.
“Won’t you come into the drawing room, Aunt,” Algernon said.
“I prefer the sitting room. The ladies should be there by this hour, yes?”
“I… Ah,” Algernon stuttered.
Aunt Violet stamped her canes on the parquetry floor. “Don’t say you don’t know everything that goes on in your own home?”
“Of course I do, but I, ah…” Algernon tried again, seemingly at a loss for words, and looked to Nash for rescue.
Aunt Violet began to laugh. “I see things have finally improved around here, if you are not sticking your nose into everyone’s business like your father was prone to do.” She turned away. “I trust my bedchamber has been prepared and tea already sent to the sitting room, Seymour. I wish to see everyone there in exactly twenty minutes.”
She went on her way, not wanting or waiting for his reply or for anyone to guide her through the house she’d grown up in.
Nash glanced at Michael, who did not follow their aunt. “What is she doing here?”
“How should I know?” Michael protested. “Do you think I wanted to come to Ravenswood? Aunt Violet sent a letter demanding a carriage and my escort. I didn’t know where we were headed until the morning we set out. She’s up to something.”
“Clearly you were meant to bear witness,” Algernon mused.
“Actually, she said I could leave as soon as I care to,” Michael said. “So I’m off. Best of luck with her.”
“You can stay the night,” Algernon offered, surprising Nash. They did not particularly care for Michael’s company, though they liked him more than they did their horrible cousin George. “If you want to, that is.”
Algernon moved away, issuing an order to the butler to make up another guest room, who’d rushed back to join them. The butler whispered in the duke’s ear.
Nash kept a discreet eye on his cousin, who wasn’t at all curious about the whispers, either.
Algernon sent the butler away. “It seems she’s not come for a brief visit,” he informed them. “She’s come home to stay.”
They both looked at Michael, who only shrugged. “That does explain the need for my carriage, when she had a perfectly good but older carriage of her own she could have used. The second carriage proved slower than mine and will probably arrive later tonight with the rest of her luggage and servants.”
Algernon raked a hand through his hair. “Best gather everyone—and I mean everyone—in the sitting room. Get the surprise over and done with.”
Michael raised a brow, but Nash ignored his cousin’s expression. “I’ll fetch my family now.”
Nash hurried up the stairs, leaving Algernon to explain that Laura had returned with another child in her arms.
He discovered his family in Laura’s bedchamber, Laura at her dressing-table mirror, fixing her hair. The boys watched her in obvious fascination. Isabelle was sitting on the floor between them, ignoring everything but the hem of her smock.
“I gather you saw the carriage on the drive?”
“Yes. They’re ready to meet her,” Laura promised, smoothing Liam’s hair. The children had been quickly turned out into fresh clean clothes, hair brushed, and seemed excited.
Nash snatched up his daughter before she could put Laura’s dress material into her mouth. He led his family downstairs to the morning room and the meeting with his aunt.
Laura snuck around him at the door and rushed across the room. She threw herself at the old lady’s feet and, to his astonishment, the pair embraced. “How was your journey, Aunt Vi?”
“Tedious, my dear. That boy is not much for conversation, is he?”
Isabelle chortled and squirmed in his arms, and Nash struggled to hold her still.
Laura laughed softly. “He is as smart as he boasts though.”
Nash’s eyes narrowed with suspicion at Laura’s praise for a cousin she’d had little to do with while they were together. How could she know cousin Michael so well?
“Yes, I suppose he must be. All he cared to talk about was investment and what I could do with my money and estate, as if I don’t already know how the world works. I heard nary a word of a pursuit of a suitable wife or matches for his poor sisters.”
“Give him time. He’s still young,” Laura urged, finally turning around to face the room. She beckoned their sons closer. “Thomas, Liam, this is your aunt, Lady Violet Sweet. Do you remember her at all?”
The boys shook their heads while the old lady looked them up and down. “A fine, healthy pair, despite growing up here under my brother’s thumb.” She lifted one of her canes and pointed it at each of them. Her gaze narrowed. “I see your father in you.”
Nash tensed, ready to step between them, anticipating a blow from that cane that they could not possibly deserve.
Instead, her cane turned aside. “There is cake over there, children. One piece each. No gorging yourself like your father used to do.”
Nash could feel his face heating. The boys headed straight to the table, each picking up a plate, taking one slice. They took small bites, and he was so impressed with their good manners. They kept their eyes on the old lady but seemed unafraid of her.
Aunt Violet nodded approvingly and turned her narrowed gaze on Nash. Then her dark eyes dipped to Isabelle, snuggled safely in his arms. “Bring the gel to me. Now.”
Nash didn’t want to give up his daughter to his aunt. She wriggled and gurgled as he held his ground.
Laura stood up, frowning at him. “Nash? Please?”
Reluctantly, and only because Laura asked, he brought his daughter closer to a woman who would likely criticize her, too.
Laura took Isabelle from him and dropped her immediately on the old woman’s lap. The walking sticks fell aside as Aunt Violet embraced his little girl tightly. Her smile was blinding. “She’s gown fat since I saw her last.”
Nash’s gaze flew to Laura in shock, but she wasn’t looking at him. She knelt again beside the old lady and grinned. “She missed you, terribly, too,” Laura promised with a playful laugh.
His aunt held Isabelle away from her, studying her, and her eyes danced with amusement. “So she should have. She’s my favorite, and I simply must be hers.”
Nash felt his legs grow weak. Laura had lived with Aunt Violet? They clearly knew each other well, and his aunt knew Isabelle enough to see the changes in her.
He sank into the nearest chair, mind spinning.
Laura had been with his family member at some point, but not one he’d ever thought to visit. No one willingly visited Aunt Violet…and that was how Laura had stayed hidden from him, and Father too, most likely. He could have easily found his wife and child, if he’d been on better terms with his aunt.
Algernon arrived, clearly taken aback by the sight of Isabelle in Aunt Violet’s arms, as well. He recovered quickly and glanced at him.
“Take her back now,” Aunt Violet said, dropping a kiss on the girl’s cheek first before giving her up. “She’s almost too heavy for me to hold for long.”
Laura scooped her up, kissed Isabelle too, and brought her back to him. She turned back to Aunt Violet. “Everything is arranged as you would wish.”
Nash turned his gaze on his wife again and kept it there. Laura looked delighted by her own announcement. She had known their aunt was coming to Ravenswood and hadn’t thought to warn them. Aunt Violet had once sworn she’d never return to Ravenswood without a good reason. Laura and Aunt Violet hadn’t spent much time together, or had they?
Aunt Violet hadn’t come for their father’s funeral and had declined to attend cousin Amity’s wedding breakfast. But she was here now, and clearly pleased to be so.
Laura might be the reason she’d returned, or perhaps was it Isabelle who drew her back home?
They could hide nothing from Aunt Violet if she stayed forever. She would learn about the debts Father had incurred and what they had done to save the estate. Nash would also have to contend with his aunts complaints when Laura finally left him, too.
“Damn,” he whispered.
“Damned, indeed,” Aunt Violet answered him, smiling. “Clearly you are still the smartest of my brother’s offspring if you understand the situation you find yourself in now.”
“We so missed your sunny disposition, Aunt.” Algernon rolled his eyes and bent to pick up the old lady’s canes for her. “Your room is ready, should you like to retire and rest after your long journey.”
“I will go when I am ready and not a moment sooner, boy. Where are the other ones? The new wife, particularly?”
“Stratford and Win are visiting Mr. Aston. I expect them back any day now.”
“It will be good to see the old devil again. The only friend of your father’s with any sense,” she said, and then chuckled. “Although his eyesight has always left much to be desired.” She glanced about the room again, lips pursed. “And the other one. The silly one. What’s his name?”
“Jasper? I’m afraid you just missed him. He has left for London only this morning with the woman he will marry.”
“And her name?”
“Sophie Radcliffe.”
Aunt’s eyes flickered between Laura and Nash. “The governess.”
“Yes, they will be very good together, I’m sure,” Laura promised her.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Aunt Violet kept her narrowed gaze on Laura, and then her eyes widened in definite surprise. “Don’t say it’s another love match.”
“Indeed, it is,” Nash admitted.
Aunt Violet laughed, a rusty sound, as if she was unused to such things. “My brother must be restless in his grave. I must go out and pour salt on his wounds and increase the sting my return must be causing him.”
Nash glanced outside and saw that it had begun to rain. “Perhaps when the weather improves,” he suggested.
“It rained the day your mother died.” Aunt Violet sniffed. “If only she were here to see you all. Now. Leave me.”
Algernon stepped forward. “Aunt, let me help you up?”
“I do not approve of coddling at any age,” she insisted as she snatched her canes from him. “But send the butler to attend me. We have much to discuss, he and I.”
Although clearly puzzled by what their aunt and butler had to talk about, Algernon inclined his head and fled. Laura said a slow goodbye, clearly reluctant to leave the old woman so soon.
“Come to me tomorrow when you can and we’ll talk again,” Aunt Violet promised.
Nash was the last to exit the room. Him and Isabelle. He took the girl to his aunt.
Isabelle kicked her legs, clearly recognizing the old woman’s face.
The woman laughed. “She’s a gift, that girl.”
He hugged Isabelle to him. “I quite agree.”
The old lady scowled. “I meant your wife.”
Nash did not answer that, but he agreed with her on that, as well. Laura had been a gift he’d not appreciated enough.
He took his leave of his aunt just as the butler arrived. Seymour hurried past him, and shut the door in Nash’s face. Inside he heard his aunt begin issuing orders but whatever she was telling Seymour to do was none of his business anymore.
Nash strolled the house with Isabelle, talking to her and slowly headed toward the upper floors, mulling over why he was not angry over being duped by his own aunt. She had deliberately hidden Laura from him, and probably from his father, too. He soon decided he had no right at all to be angry about the latter.
Laura had been safe, protected by an older relative of his these last years. The new information and her diary entries made everything clear. Aunt Violet had always been fiercely devoted to the women of the family. She had been his mother’s only friend.
He stopped in the hallway as he heard voices raised in anger. He pivoted toward the sound to find Algernon and Michael almost at each other’s throats outside a guest bedroom.
He quickly got between them. “Enough.”
“He started it,” Michael complained, as if they were still twelve and denied a seat at the older children’s nursery table for supper.
“Don’t make me finish it again,” Algernon threatened. “He does not owe you anything, no matter what Father might have promised.”
“This has nothing to do with your father.”
There had never been much love between them and their cousins in the past. Father had pitted George, Michael, and Algernon against each other since birth. Michael, though, had grown up without brothers to back him up and had a chip on his shoulder a mile wide.
Isabelle whimpered, sensing the tension in the air, and he held her close, rocking her until she quieted. He pressed a kiss to her brow and studied his cousin over her head. “Uncle doesn’t want to hurt cousin Michael, sweetheart, but Papa will if he has to. What seems to be the problem?”
“He claims you owe him,” Algernon growled.
Nash frowned. “For what?”
“Looking at your face is enough,” Michael countered.
Nash handed Isabelle to her uncle. Nash could fight his own battles. “Have you looked in the mirror lately, cousin? The older you get, the more like us you seem to become in your looks.”
Michael’s face colored. “I’m nothing like you lot.”
“Looks, not character,” Nash admitted. “I’m sure your father did a better job of raising you than ours did. Which means we know exactly how to deal with troublemakers. We have held back from teaching you that lesson many times in the past, but our patience has limits. My brother welcomed you to stay with no agenda. Can we not bury past disagreements and speak with civility for once?”
Michael reeled back on his heels, as if he’d not expected any attempt at reconciliation. But he recovered quickly. “I am still owed.”
“For what, exactly?”
“For that child, for one. You wouldn’t have her if not for me.”
Nash’s eyes narrowed on his cousin, noting the belligerence of his gaze and the return of a smirk. Behind him, Algernon gasped, taking the comment the wrong way, but Nash would not rise to the bait. There was no impropriety involved concerning Isabelle. “For how long exactly have you been her coachman?”
“Aunt Violet is a menace,” Michael said, his face turning scarlet. “She’s no right to order a grown man about.”
“But we still do her bidding anyway,” Nash replied. “You carried Laura away from Ravenswood.”
“Not from here but I found her later. I took her to Aunt Violet and she said… demanded I help her.”
The later pieces of the puzzle of Laura’s disappearance fell neatly into place. But how Laura left the estate so easily was still unanswered. Surely she had not walked off the estate. Vanishing without a trace and so well that Father never found her was quite the feat.
“You must have brought her to me in London, as well?” He paused until Michael finally nodded. And then the words he never expected to say to this particular cousin burst out. “Thank you. I am forever in your debt.”
Michael nodded. “And I will collect.”
“Whatever sum you require will be paid,” Nash promised.
“I don’t want money.” Michael looked about. “What little you have left is not enough for the debt you owe me. Collection can wait until the time is right, and I’ll be creative when I make my demands.”
“Hmm, very well,” Nash agreed. The safety of his wife and daughter were without price. He owed Michael everything for their safe return to his care. “I will look forward to hearing your demands at a later time, then.”
“I’ll be taking back the horse your wife borrowed when I leave as well.”
Nash nodded.
Satisfied that he’d got the answer he wanted, Michael pivoted on his heel and strode into the guest room, slamming the door.
Algernon nudged him hard on the shoulder. “How could you do that? You just handed him everything on a silver platter without challenge. Who knows for how long his demand will hang over your head?”
“I owe him everything for protecting my wife from Father,” Nash murmured. “Aunt Violet, too. It was something I should have done all along.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Nash glanced at Isabelle. His little girl was drowsing in Algernon’s arms now. “You know, you ought to get one of these before you become too decrepit to hold them.”
Algernon glanced down too and handed Isabelle back. “I’ve always wanted children.”
“Then marry.”
“The time is almost right,” he said. “I promise.”