Chapter 10
Ten
Felix sighed and looked at his pocket watch once more as he and Milton sat at the dining table, waiting for the women to arrive. Just for once I wish that Victoria and Isabelle could find it within themselves to make haste and come to the table on time.
The roast in the center was getting cold and he was ravenous.
Milton chuckled and picked up his glass of wine, sipping at it while he looked to the door. “If I had known that you were bringing an army with you, I would have barred you from entering my home.”
“I doubt very much that you would, Milton. You enjoy my company far too much.”
“Of course, Windham.” Milton swirled the wine in the crystal goblet before setting it back on the table.
“Who is the other young woman you have brought with you? Why is she with your family? Has her own passed? She looks too old to be on the marriage mart and I suspect an American would not do well here.”
“She is the most infuriating young lady I have the displeasure of meeting, but you would be wrong about being too old. While she may be approaching the possibility of being a spinster, she is with my mother for the season, and I am to find her a husband.”
Milton’s eyebrows raised. “She is to marry this season? When none of the ton know of her and speak little of the baron? Who can you mean for that task?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes, but she thinks you are as staunchly against marriage as she is. I would suggest you keep up the facade whenever she is near if you even wish for a chance at her hand. She is determined not to marry.”
The other man laughed. “I should think that a woman as beautiful as her would have a line of suitors at the door.”
“There were several who came to see her at my estate. All more ridiculous than the last. If she had not done a fine job of scaring them away, then I would have dispatched them myself.”
“You seem to think a great deal about the type of man she should marry.” Milton picked out a piece of bread from the plate in the center of the oak table. “Does it truly matter to you so much?”
“I will not see her with any man that I would prevent my sisters from marrying. Hyacinth and Evangeline are too young to be involved with the season yet, but Victoria is out as well.”
“And you hold her suitors in such regard as well?”
“In truth, the men at my estate were more taken with Miss Alden. They thought her a rare and exciting creature.” Felix grimaced at the thought.
Rare she was, but it was only because she didn’t know how to hold her tongue or behave in proper society. She was much more likely to send him to an early grave than find a husband willing to tolerate her wit and sharp tongue. Milton was his only hope in that regard.
Milton hummed and looked to the door as the women entered the room. He stood as they took their seats around the table, the staff pushing in the chairs behind them.
Felix looked at his mother with an arched eyebrow. She tipped her head toward Isabelle, indicating that she had been the source of the tardiness.
He was not surprised. If there was one person to throw them off schedule, it would be her. He knew that she would do anything in her power to sabotage her chance at getting married. However, he held onto his faith that Milton would be able to charm her just enough for her guard to lower.
Milton was good at slipping past defenses. It was what made him successful in business and what kept the people who lived on his land devoted to him.
Isabelle sat across from Milton with a serene smile, though it didn’t match her eyes. It was clear that she was putting on a show, but by the end of the night Felix was certain that she would at least give Milton a genuine smile.
“How were your travels, Miss Alden?” Milton asked as the servants moved forward to dole out food onto their plates.
“I know the drive from Windham’s estate can be rather boring.
There is extraordinarily little to look at, and if you happen to be seated across from him in the carriage, there is quite decidedly less. ”
Her gaze flickered to Felix before she shrugged one slender shoulder. “I had not given much thought to what I was looking at as we traveled. I was more interested in meeting a man who does not wish to marry.”
The Dowager Duchess made a small chiding noise at the back of her throat but Isabelle didn’t react, instead spearing one of the roasted potatoes with her fork and swirling it through the cream sauce that pooled around the thin slices of chicken.
Milton chuckled. “I suppose that would be rather a sight given that the only men you have come into contact with are ones who wish to cart you off and lock you away.”
Isabelle’s gaze shone with entertainment. Felix scowled down at his food, not sure what to make of the exchange. While it was good that she was speaking with Milton without making thinly veiled insults, there was a calmness to her demeanor that hadn’t been there before.
It is good that she likes him. She will be out of my hair that much sooner.
“Thank you for inviting us into your home, Lord Milton,” the Dowager Duchess said, her tone soft as she cast a long look at Victoria. “Perhaps my daughter would like to play something for you on the pianoforte after dinner.”
Victoria glowered at her mother for the briefest of seconds before remembering her manners.
Felix bit back a smile. Milton and Victoria as a couple was a comical idea.
Milton was far too relaxed for Victoria’s nature.
He would drive her to insanity with his lack of desire to move in any sort of hurry on any given day.
“I would be honored if you wished to hear me play, Lord Milton.” Victoria raised her napkin from her lap and dabbed at the corners of her mouth. “Though I must admit that my skills pale in comparison to Evangeline. She is quite talented.”
Felix looked at his mother and was sure that if her head wasn’t spinning yet, it would be soon. It seemed that Victoria was acquiring some of Isabelle’s behavior. While it would do Victoria good to have some fun, he doubted that this was what his mother had in mind about how dinner would progress.
Milton shook his head as he cut into his chicken. “While I don’t doubt your skill, I would much rather play some cards after supper, if there are any of you who think you can beat me.”
Isabelle arched an eyebrow and set down her fork. “Do you think yourself such a talented player that a lowly woman could not beat you?”
“Oh no,” Milton said, leaning forward in his seat and bracing his elbows on the table. “I fancy myself so good at cards that only the most adept woman with exceptional skills in lying shall be able to beat me. Would that woman be you, Miss Alden?”
Her bright peal of laughter made Felix stiffen. He looked between the two of them, wondering what he had missed in their exchange. It sounded as if they were preparing to tear each other’s head off, but Isabelle was laughing and awarding Milton with a delighted smile.
Felix’s hand clenched around his fork and he speared his chicken with a little more force than necessary. Victoria glanced at him from the other side of the table, a ghost of a smile playing about the corner of her mouth.
“Is there a problem, brother?” she whispered, glancing over at Isabelle. “I have it on good authority that Isabelle has little intention of giving Lord Milton the time of day.”
“Hush.” Felix’s face grew warm as he looked at Milton and Isabelle, both of whom were too lost in their own conversation to pay any attention to Felix and Victoria.
“If I did not know better, I would say you were jealous,” Victoria’s teasing tone grated on the last ounce of good sense he had left.
“I am not jealous in the slightest, and if you do not silence yourself on the matter, then I shall marry you to the lowliest fishmonger I can find.”
Victoria laughed and shook her head, cutting her potatoes into small pieces. “A man who is not jealous would not threaten me so.”
“A man who is not jealous is simply trying to enjoy his dinner without the pestering of his younger sister.” Felix stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth, chewing as he looked back over to the couple.
Isabelle had all but abandoned her dinner as she looked at the scars on Milton’s hands. “And you say you won these fighting a bear?”
Milton beamed, his hands curling into fists and showing off the thick glossy pink lines that were a sharp contrast to his sun-kissed skin. “I did. I would never lie about something as serious as a bear fight.”
Felix rolled his eyes. “He won them when he did not listen to me about how to properly pull in the boat lines. Decided to wrap a wet rope around his hands before it was time to pull. The boat shifted back out into the water. He got those and a dip in a lake for his troubles.”
“Ah, so you are a liar to your core,” Isabelle quipped, her tone teasing as she drew back. “I suppose we will have to do something about that.”
“And what shall you recommend for rehabilitation?” Milton leaned closer to her like he was truly invested in what she had to say.
Felix didn’t like it. He could see the way his friend looked at Miss Alden.
If he wasn’t careful, there would be a wedding before the month was out.
He would have to arrange one while still trying to find Victoria a husband of her own.
It would be better to wait until the end of the season to have them both engaged.
He could take meetings with potential suitors at the same time instead of spending endless weeks going back and forth with men he didn’t particularly like.
He cleared his throat. “I should think that we will only impose on you for another day or so, Milton, and then we will take our leave for London.”
“Your visit is the furthest thing from an imposition I could imagine. Especially since you have brought me a woman as spirited as Miss Alden. I dare say we shall have some good fun.”
Miss Alden smirked and resumed her supper once more. “I would think that you would much rather spend time with Duke Windham. Once the season begins, you will be swarmed with young ladies.”
“And I shall beat them all off with a stick and fight my way back to you,” Milton said, his tone dramatic as he stood and mimed fighting off women vying for his attention.
“Wild bears could not keep you away, could they?”
Milton paused in his fight, looking down at her like he was half in love with her already. “Are you denying my ability to fight a bear?”
Felix sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wishing that he had retired to his room the moment supper had begun so he wouldn’t have had to suffer Milton’s foolishness. “You will not fight bears. Miss Alden, do not entertain his wild fantasies.”
For the first time that evening, Isabelle looked at him for more than a second and the world around him tipped just slightly. He cleared his throat and sat taller, his attention returning to his dinner. The heat of her stare lingered.
“I should think that you would be glad I have no intention of behaving like an angry goose with your friend.” Her tone was sharp, each word a barb that was designed to sink beneath his skin.
Felix ground his teeth together and looked up at her. “I should be impressed if you were to maintain this decorum when we go to London to find you a suitor. You have the manners of a wild animal and lack the beauty to warrant such behavior.”
The color drained from her face and her mouth set in a hard line. She looked at Milton and gave him a small smile. “Excuse me, my Lord, I feel I am rather unwell.”
Miss Alden fled from the room without another word, her steps slow and measured until she reached the door. Once she was through them, Felix was certain that he heard her running.
“I should ensure she is well enough to return to her room,” Victoria said, standing and pushing her chair back. “Thank you for the lovely evening.”
As she left the room, Felix knew that even attempting to see Miss Alden and Victoria married by the end of the season would be a triumph.
They were far more likely to push away every man in London and run away as spinsters together.