Chapter 8
Eight
Stanton smirked as he walked into Felix’s study. “Your new little ward is quite the woman. I heard about the dressing down she gave Lord Townshend in the park the other day.”
Felix groaned and leaned back in his chair. “I am convinced that she will be the death of me. I do not know what to do about her.”
“I would have made sure everyone was watching. Townshend has needed someone to take him in hand for a long time. Pity that I was not there to watch, truly. Next time Miss Alden decides to verbally spar with the members of the ton, you will have to send someone for me immediately.”
“I will do no such thing.”
Stanton laughed and sat down across from him, picking up the small vase Felix had bought his mother for her birthday. “When will you be in London for the season?”
“Soon. I have been traveling back and forth and I am growing weary of it. I cannot continue this way for much longer, but I think there is a detour I shall have to make first.” Felix glanced out the window to the garden where Victoria and Miss Alden were sitting on a blanket on the grass.
Miss Alden tipped her head back and laughed at something Victoria said.
There was something about the way she smiled when she was happy that made Miss Alden even more lovely.
It would be effortless for her to attract a suitable husband if she tried.
She would have callers lining the halls of his home in London.
A small part of him wished she would not.
The gentlemen of London would not appreciate Miss Alden’s sense of humor or her quick tongue. His mother was right about that. Under the weight of men who thought themselves important, her light would grow dim.
And it would be my fault.
Stanton placed the vase back on the table. “You should spend time allowing the woman to relax. You have brought her to your duchy and forced her in front of one man after another since she has arrived. Now you intend to move her to London without giving her a moment to adjust to life in England?”
“I suppose I did not consider it quite like that.” Felix watched as Miss Alden held up her sketchpad and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
A thin smear of charcoal was left in the wake of her thumb. Victoria laughed and pointed at it before smudging a charcoal line beneath each eye. Edith would not be happy when she saw the two of them but for now Felix would allow them to have their fun.
Victoria was several years removed from childhood, but those years when she had been growing into a beautiful young woman had been filled with nothing but hardship.
She deserved to have some fun.
Miss Alden deserved a bit of enjoyment as well. Once she was married there would be no time for laughing in the sun with her friends. She would be busy raising children and keeping house.
Stanton cleared his throat. “If I did not know any better, Windham, I would say that you were enamored with Miss Alden.”
“I am not.” Felix forced down the lump in his throat. “She is under my protection and I am keeping watch over her. After the show she put on in the park, I need to ensure that she is a suitable companion for Victoria.”
“If that is what you wish to tell yourself.” Stanton crossed one leg over the other and draped his arm over the back of the couch. “However, I believe you should consider taking her as your own wife. Miss Alden does seem to be the only one who is not swayed by your moods.”
“I do not have moods.”
“Oh, but you do.” Stanton reached for the bottle of brandy sitting on the table beside him and poured a small glass. “She does not seem deterred by them though. That is a woman who rushes headfirst into a storm.”
“And once more I will tell you that if you are so fond of Miss Alden, you should make me an offer for her hand.”
Stanton sipped the brandy. “I would not risk your wrath, Windham. We have been friends far too long for that.”
“There would be no wrath. I am merely looking to get Miss Alden married so her father will send me the sum he owes.”
“If you were to marry her, you would get both her dowry and the sum he is paying you to keep her here and find her a husband.”
Felix paced away from the window and over to his desk, closing the ledger that sat open upon it. “I have more than my share of monetary concerns but marrying a woman such as her will not fix them.”
“Do you believe that she is likely to waste a fortune?”
“No.” Felix closed the ledger once more, knowing that he would shortly need to devote an evening to pouring over them and searching for every spare pound that he could find. “I think it far more likely that she would ruin my connections with her quick tongue.”
Laughing, Stanton finished his glass. “I would think that would make her all the more appealing.”
“You would not. You just hope to see me miserable in a marriage that will likely be my downfall.”
The door to the room opened and Evangeline stepped inside with her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face. “Should I tell Miss Alden that you two are in here like a pair of old women gossiping about her and her prospects.”
“I was not gossiping about prospects.” Stanton had the audacity to look scandalized as he rose and clamped a hand to his heart. “I was merely gossiping and insisting that Miss Alden would make Windham a lovely wife.”
As if the devil were on Stanton’s side, Evangeline bounced on her toes and clapped her hands together. Her squeal was of a pitch so high that he was certain only dogs could hear it.
“Felix, are you to marry Miss Alden?” Evangeline’s grin stretched from one ear to the other. “I cannot believe this. Victoria will be so pleased. Hyacinth and I have a wager. She is to give me her pocket money if you propose to Miss Alden.”
Felix held up his hands. “I will not be proposing to Miss Alden. Stanton here is simply trying to cause trouble. Miss Alden is a perfectly lovely young woman, but there is a man out there who is the right husband for her, and I am not him. As for the wager, young ladies should not be wagering.”
She gave him a flat look. “You should propose to Miss Alden. You would make a handsome couple.”
Stanton smirked and sauntered over to Evangeline. “For the sake of my curiosity, I must know what this wager was, Lady Evangeline.”
“Hyacinth thought that Felix would be too dull for Miss Alden. She was certain that he would die an old maid—though of course he is not a maid.”
“Do you hear that, Windham? Your family believes you are to die alone. You truly do have moods, do you not?”
Evangeline nodded in agreement as she took one of the ribbons she had left in the study the week prior.
“He does. One would think that he would be better left here than going to London. Mama is worried that he will take one look at Victoria’s suitors and send them running in the opposite direction.
I told her it would be much more likely that he would prevent Miss Alden from finding a good match. ”
Felix arched an eyebrow. “And you said we are the ones gossiping like old women?”
She gave him a wicked smirk. “I shall be telling Mama you called her old.”
“There is little Mother can do about it.” Felix stared at his sister knowing that she truly would not do such a thing. She simply loved to tease him.
Evangeline’s dramatic sigh was her parting answer as she slipped back through the door and disappeared down the hall.
Stanton wandered to the window. “Is that a pup?”
Felix followed him, glancing at the ball of fur that bounced around Miss Alden’s ankles as she and Victoria practiced their waltz, their drawings forgotten. “Yes.”
“You have allowed her to keep one of the puppies?” Stanton chuckled and shook his head, looking at Felix from the corner of his eye. “Do you not remember the way your sisters all begged for puppies when they were children?”
“They were children who would not take care of a dog. Miss Alden has already proven herself quite capable of caring for the creature and it rarely leaves her side.”
“And you have quite the soft spot for this woman.”
“I can sympathize with her plight,” he said sharply, cutting off Stanton before more rumors of marriage made their way around the estate. “She is in a country that is not her own and while she may smile now, I doubt that she is truly happy here.”
Miss Alden put on bright smiles in the morning and seldom dropped them until the evening, but they didn’t quite meet her eyes. More of her sunny disposition was slipping away with each passing day.
That morning when they had been out walking, she didn’t think twice about the goose that crossed their paths.
The Miss Alden who had stepped off the boat and into his port was fading away each day.
He had expected her to tease him about the goose comment he had made previously, but she didn’t so much as give him a sly look.
He had to do something to improve her mood if only to find her a husband.
“You will be in London soon and then she will see that there is more to life in England than rain and sausage.”
Felix snorted. “She is already convinced that London is dreary. I doubt that her temperament will improve when she sees it in person. She is not the kind of woman to find solace in balls and pretty dresses. Mother has tried to win her over with promises of those and Miss Alden is entirely uninterested.”
Stanton raised one arm, bracing it against the frame of the window as Miss Alden stopped dancing and looked at them. He raised his hand in a slight wave and laughed at Felix’s sigh.
Miss Alden smiled and wiggled her fingers at the pair of them before crouching down to pet the puppy. She smiled and scooped it into her arms though the creature would soon be too big to lift. With a wide grin, she waved one of the dog’s paws at the two men.
Before Felix knew what he was doing, he nodded back to them.
Stanton burst out laughing. “You are certain you are not smitten with the woman?”
“I am not. I am simply being a good host and showing her the same kindness and hospitality to anyone who is a guest at my estate.”
“If I were to go lift my horse’s foot at this very moment and wave to you with it, would you wave back to me or would you give me a sullen scowl and deem me mad?” Stanton crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Come now, Windham. I am desperate to hear your answer.”
“You are a horrid friend.” Felix turned from the window and strode to the other side of the room. “I must find a way to get this woman married and I cannot simply shove suitors in front of her. It will not work.”
“Perhaps you should stop forcing her to create a relationship with a gentleman. If Miss Alden has no need for marriage, then convince her that she has a need for companionship and let it blossom from there.”
Felix turned the idea over in his mind.
Miss Alden wouldn’t be swayed by men standing in front of her and proclaiming their love despite not knowing her. She didn’t care to listen to their admirations or the pretty compliments they could give her. She did not possess an ounce of care for their fortunes or their standing in society.
Convincing her to become friends with a gentleman before allowing her thoughts to naturally turn to marriage might be the only way I will see her married.
And with that, a plan was born.
It would be a foolish plan if it didn’t work, but there was a season to see Miss Alden married. He would find her a suitable husband for her if it was the last thing he did.
Felix looked at Stanton with a smile. “I need a messenger. The Viscount of Tewers may be just the person I need to help me resolve this matter.”
“You truly think Milton will be willing to help? The man has no interest in taking a wife.”
“And yet, this might be the season when everything changes.”