Chapter Thirty-Five
“This is ridiculous,” Nathaniel pointed out, rubbing the mud off his pants, though it seemed like it was everywhere. His attempts only made it worse.
Frances laughed, and it was so genuine, that for a moment he didn’t even mind being cold and dirty and feeling like a fool.
“I don’t know how you got it on every surface. You even have some on your ears.”
She took off the gloves he’d insisted he wouldn’t need for himself and gently rubbed something off his cheek, sending shivers down his spine and a flush to his already rosy cheeks.
In his defense, he’d thought his job was carrying a heavy pot over to her, not uprooting a small tree and handing it to her while cradling the roots.
“You should get tidied up.”
Her smile disappeared, replaced by nerves and dread. He despised the effect her family’s visits had on her.
“As my family is now yours, your sisters are mine,” he assured her, trying his best to sound like he meant it.
“Iris is staying with my parents, but Mary—”
“Is welcome for as long as she wishes to stay. And Iris can visit so long as she behaves.”
Which was unlikely. Lady Dodd had never once behaved in a decent manner in his presence, at least not in regard to Frances.
“Make sure you get behind your ears.”
Frances was blushing, and he knew she was touched by his concern, even if she couldn’t express it, but there seemed to be something else she wasn’t saying.
“You’re not coming?”
“I still have some weeding to do. You can let Sarah know I’ll be in momentarily.”
Probably to appease his concerns, Sarah had taken to watching Frances through the window whenever she gardened, always ready with shawls and hot tea. Clearly, Frances had noticed.
Nathaniel stripped the minute he got to his dressing room, and sighed with relief when he saw the water already warming for a bath.
The longer Frances spent at Sutton House, the more self-assured she was, the less cautious of upsetting people, which meant she gardened to her heart’s content, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen.
He wouldn’t come right out and thank Sarah for keeping an eye on her, but her Christmas bonus would reflect it.
“How is it progressing?” he asked when Stevens arrived through the door to his chambers, which had been boarded up when he’d gotten dressed that morning.
“They finished while you were frolicking in the yard.” Stevens’ tone implied he disapproved, but there was a smile tugging at his cheeks.
“Gardening, Stevens, we were gardening.”
“Having known your parents and their similar antics, I stand by frolicking.”
“And you said it’s entirely done?”
“Ready to receive your lordship,” he agreed.
Nathaniel was eager to inspect the work, but then he realized that meant he no longer had a reason to stay in Frances’ chambers.
To share her bed.
This was good news, because it was taking all he had to keep his distance from Frances when he was awake, with his faculties intact, so the nights were…dangerous.
But it was a torture he’d come to crave.
In the past week, he’d gone to bed progressively earlier, yet slept less than he had in ages.
More than once, he woke up in the middle of the night to find he’d moved closer to Frances, usually just holding her hand, but sometimes, she ended up in his arms, and he had to pull himself away, to the other side of the bed.
Because holding her like that was the last thing he should do.
No matter how badly he wanted to.
“Shall I inform Lady Lark?” Stevens asked in that tone he used when Nathaniel wasn’t responding to a repeated question, thought this time there was less concern, and more of a look that said he knew exactly what Nathaniel was thinking.
No was the answer he wanted to give, but he knew how deceptive that would be.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said instead.
“If she should ask in the meantime, shall I—”
“You would tell her the answer to whatever question she asked.”
Nathaniel was grateful for Stevens’ loyalty, and complete understanding of the situation, but while he wouldn’t be in a hurry to tell Frances about this new development, he would never lie to her about it. Or want his staff to.
“Regarding the repairs?” Stevens pressed.
Nathaniel considered it. Stevens knew nearly everything about him and his family, but he was exceedingly loyal and trustworthy.
As was Sarah. It had never occurred to him that the staff might lie to his wife for him.
Or perhaps he never considered that Frances would ask them her questions instead of him.
“Have there been any questions you couldn’t answer?”
“I have an answer for everything.” Stevens pretended to be offended. “But there have been instances where Lady Lark seemed to stop herself from asking a question to which the answer could feel like a betrayal to you.”
“I never want you to lie to her. Especially not for me. Ever.” He hoped Stevens understood he meant that he should speak up and refuse if ever future Nathaniel asked him to.
“Miss Grimes suggested offering to answer, but explaining that Lady Lark would get a better answer from you directly.”
“Has Sarah said anything?”
“To me, or to Lady Lark?”
“Both.”
“I believe Lady Lark would feel more comfortable asking Miss Grimes than myself, but your wife has an excellent sense of propriety. And loyalty.”
“Thank you, Stevens.”
He wasn’t sure that answered his question, but hopefully, he and Frances spoke enough every night that she felt confident enough to ask him herself.
Mary, the nicer sister, must have arrived at some point while he was getting ready, because when he walked into the drawing room, there were children in it, along with a helpless governess.
Then there was Frances, sitting on the floor with one child in her arms, one in her lap, and another listening raptly to her story.
She was so engrossed in the children that Nathaniel stood there and watched her for a full five minutes before he realized what he'd been doing.
“Have you had a chance to change?” he asked, clearing his throat.
Try as he might, Nathaniel could not remove the smile from his face when he looked at her. His chest, however, was not smiling. It felt like something was squeezing his heart. Or perhaps this was what it felt like to be stabbed.
“I promised I would entertain the children while Mary and George get settled.”
He looked at the governess and wasn’t sure if it was an act of kindness, or if Frances had insisted.
“And Lady Dodd will be…”
“Meeting us there. Though one can always hope we never cross paths.” Frances sighed. “I should get ready.”
She stood, gently nudging the child in her lap to stand, and balancing the one in her arms with a little rock to keep them calm, before she turned to him. She’d mentioned spending time with Mary’s family following each birth, and it showed in the way those children loved her.
Nathaniel was the oldest of six children, more often seven, in a very close family that recently welcomed a niece, so he was no stranger to holding infants, but in the moment before he reached out and accepted the child from her, he knew that this was what their life could look like.
He knew, without a doubt, that Frances would be a mother like his.
On the floor, in the yard, wearing costumes, and playing along.
He would be like his father, counting the minutes until he could join them again.
“Getting a head start with my brood?” Mary asked, ruining the moment or saving him, he wasn’t sure, before she scolded her eldest child for taxing his poor aunt.
“Marigold, if you want nieces and nephews, you’d best keep our children far away from them,” her husband warned, getting a reproachful look.
“It’s a lovely nickname,” Nathaniel assured them. “That’s another yellow flower, is it not?” He looked to Frances for confirmation, but there was something off about the way she nodded.
“Goldie is my nickname for her. Marigold is one of the flowers, like irises and daisies.”
“Which flower is Frances short for?” Nathaniel wondered, assuming it must be ridiculous or complicated for her to never have mentioned it. But the room went silent, as he turned to his wife and saw her shake her head, pleading with him not to go there.
He’d found it slightly odd, but no more than that when half the Plimpton sisters had flower names, and the other half didn’t.
Discovering that Mary was short for Marigold, leaving Frances as the odd one out, from birth…
it made him hate her parents more than he already did. A feat he hadn’t thought possible.
“We have them in our names, Frances has them in her heart.” Mary attempted to relieve the tension and awkwardness, but Nathaniel was seething. Had he not been holding a small child, he would have clenched his fists so hard they might have burst.
“I should really go dress.” Frances gave him another pleading look before going upstairs.
“Stevens, can you get our friends some refreshments?” Nathaniel requested once he was alone with them, not sure what to say that wouldn’t be rude.
It wasn’t until the governess walked over to him that Nathaniel remembered the infant he was holding was theirs. He handed the child over before addressing the parents. “I trust your journey was pleasant?”
“Oh, yes, we visited friends along the way, but the children will be glad we’re settled now. You’re sure you don’t mind having us? We wouldn’t want to be an inconvenience.”
“Of course, it is our pleasure to welcome you at Sutton House,” he assured his sister-in-law.
“Thank you. We were going to have a dinner at Iris’ for their anniversary, but as neither she nor Papa can host it anymore, we’ll probably return home earlier.”
Nathaniel couldn’t tell if she was nervously filling the space with words, or if Mary knew exactly what she was doing.
“Nonsense, the four of you may celebrate here. I’ll inform Mrs. Mulberry to inquire with you about any preparations.”
“You truly are a perfect gentleman.” She beamed in a way that both made her seem too innocent to possibly have orchestrated it, but also made her seem, for the first time since he’d met her, like she truly was Frances’ sister, in mannerisms at least. He was careful not to promise their attendance, however, as he wasn’t sure if Frances would be pleased or furious with him.
He was mentally sorting through invitations they’d received to see which they could accept at the last minute to escape Iris’ presence.
“Shall we?” Frances asked, alerting him to her return. She’d changed into a red dress he’d yet to see her wear. Had she been wearing it the day of the garden party, there wasn’t a thing Lady Rochefort could have said to convince anyone he hadn’t touched her, lady or not.
“I…yes…we should,” he managed.
“George and I will meet you there, if that is agreeable. Little Georgie doesn’t like sleeping in foreign places, and I wouldn’t feel right leaving until he was settled.”
“Of course,” Frances assured her sister, as Nathaniel realized he was still gawking at his wife.
“There’s a second carriage available for your use, just ask Stevens when you’re ready.”
They stopped at Wiltshire Manor to collect Rebecca, who cast an eye around the room as soon as they arrived at the ball.
“Looking for someone in particular?” Nathaniel asked teasingly.
“Lord Dorset called this morning and asked for my first dance.”
Frances froze at the mention of his name, but Nathaniel looked happy for his cousin. Then concerned.
“Should I be…”
“Spending every day in Grandmama’s drawing room in case a suitor comes calling?” Rebecca finished for him.
“Have there been many?”
“More than I would have expected, but Lizzie is there,” she assured him.
Frances looked around while Nathaniel questioned Rebecca, as there were flowers on vines within the very ballroom, but she also kept an eye out for Lord Dorset, her nerves on edge.
She would have assumed she was mistaken about his identity, if he hadn’t referenced the conversation she’d overheard like it was an amusing anecdote, not hurtful words she’d carried for days.
“Had you looked half this appetizing at the Sampson ball I wouldn’t have judged poor Brooks so harshly. Might even have tasted you myself.”
She nearly screamed as she felt the whispered words on the exposed skin of her neck before she even heard them, but she would never draw attention to herself in such a way.
And Dorset knew that.
Instead, she turned to face him, praying she didn’t look as terrified as she felt while he winked in the most despicable way before catching Rebecca’s attention.
“Miss Turner, you are ravishing this evening.”
Pleasantries were exchanged, and Dorset said something that had both Nathaniel and Rebecca laughing, but Frances felt unable to do anything but observe as the odious man charmed her family.
“Frances, are you well?” Nathaniel roused her as Dorset accompanied Rebecca to the dance floor.
“Of course,” she said, doing her best to appear it. Thankfully, Nathaniel’s hand was extended as if to ask her for a dance, so she nodded. “Yes, you’ll want to keep an eye on her.”
“Rebecca?” Nathaniel asked as he pulled Frances close, his tone implying she’d said something hilarious. “At the risk of bringing myself lower in your esteem, I’d sooner trust Rebecca to keep an eye on me.”
“It’s not her behavior that concerns me. Young women…it’s in our nature to be kind and trusting. We don’t look for traps or false promises. When a gentleman shows us kindness and attention, we believe it too easily and then we don't always have recourse."
She’d said too much. She knew it even before Nathaniel sighed, but she had to say something.
“The only way Rebecca is leaving my care is if she willingly chooses to, because she so loves a man she can’t live without him.
As her guardian, it is my job to help her find him in a safe environment, so nothing can get in the way of her happiness, not greed or power or fear for reputation.
I would give up my title and all my possessions before I would let one of my sisters marry someone they weren’t in love with.
I wish it were the same for all parents, but you may rest assured that Rebecca is perfectly safe in my care,” he defended himself, before his tone softened. “As are you. I promise.”
She’d been concerned about Rebecca falling for a man she did not trust to be kind, and hadn’t even considered Dorset luring her off into a dark corner, but Nathaniel raised an excellent point.
“Your intentions are honorable, my lord, and I know you care for your sisters, but how can you promise to keep them safe when even you, the Earl of Lark, was forced into a marriage against your will?”