Chapter 9
Nine
The care and treatment of bears, and the necessity of having the proper means of defending oneself when meeting them in the wild, had formed the topic of conversation in the Duke of Galloway’s carriage as it made its way back to the other end of town.
A stop at a bookshop, for the trio to have a delighted exploration of the newest arrivals, followed by another stop at Gunther’s for the promised ices, rounded out their day’s excursions.
An invitation was extended to drink tea in Berkeley Square to make their greetings to the Dowager Duchess of Galloway, who was also in residence, but the Duke of Selkirk excused himself and his daughter, arguing that too much excitement in one day led to the inability to fall asleep and much disruption of household life.
They would be happy to accept another time.
Marjorie had looked regretful at this, because it was turning into such a thrilling day that seeing the grand house in Berkeley Square would have been the frosting on what was turning out to be a goodly-sized slice of cake.
However, when her father said no in just that tone, she knew it was useless to argue.
She proceeded to demonstrate her displeasure at this decision by sitting next to Finn in the carriage and gently stroking his hand to help ease any disappointment on his part in having his invitation rejected, while pointedly ignoring her father.
All of which Alec duly remarked on with a raised eyebrow.
All too soon, they were in Russell Square and lumbering to a stop in front of their rooms. Finn caught Alec’s glance, wryly noting Marjorie’s continued possession of Finn’s hand.
All Alec did, however, was to issue an invitation to take tea with them, “Though I can’t say as to what state we will find things; they were rather a shambles this morning. ”
Finn happily acquiesced. In spite of Alec’s protests, Finn found a tidy, cozy atmosphere, with a cheerful fire in the parlor and the much put-upon Peg and Archibald bustling about getting the tea things.
Marjorie started to droop by the time they got inside, so Peg chivvied her off to her room.
This left the two men to sit comfortably by the fire, munching on some bread, country cheese and mustard, and slices of roast beef.
“Ah, this is the life, Alec. I am almost tempted to take my shoes off and wiggle my stockinged toes on the fender.”
“Please don’t,” and Alec tossed back the last of his cup of tea. “Would you like something a little stronger?”
“No, not for me as yet. I am too contented to move.”
Alec’s only response was to begin humming quietly, beating a quiet tattoo on the arm of his chair to accompany the tune. Alec and his music. Probably Bach. It was a good sign.
Finn had closed his eyes as he was leaning back into the chair but then cocked one open. “I envy you this, Alec.”
“This?” Alec stopped humming and gave a strangled laugh. “It is a far cry from Berkeley Square. And not up to a duke’s standards.”
“Fiddle!” came the reply. “Berkeley Square is highly overrated. Besides, here you are free from hovering hordes of servants and the gimlet eye of my mother. Who is, naturally, in residence.”
“Oh, that.”
“Yes, that.” And the two men settled into companionable silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire.
“She was beautiful, wasn’t she?”
Finn did not need to ask who she was. “Yes. Exquisite.”
“I don’t believe I have ever seen anyone more beautiful.”
“No, you are decidedly right there. She will almost definitely be this Season’s Beauty.”
“And in the market for a husband.”
Finn hauled himself into a more upright position and leaned forward, tapped Alec on the knee, then sat back again. “What sort of husband?” he asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“We do not know as yet who she is. Does she have dowry enough to choose where she wishes, or is she in the market for money and a title?”
At that, Alec sat up sharply in his chair. “Again, what do you mean by that, Finn?”
“Exactly what I said, Alec. This is not one of those chivalric romances you were so fond of reading while we were growing up. It is, well, business.”
“Business? How inexpressibly vulgar of you, Finn! Business?”
“Look, I am a realist. This is all about money and position. You know that; I know that. You and I know our respective strengths and weaknesses in each of these areas. It is not personal; marriage is never personal. Well, almost never. It is about the uniting of titles and fortunes.”
Alec’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Finn. “You have grown cynical.”
“No, not cynical. At least, I prefer not to call it such. Happiness in marriage is accomplished through the toleration of the other person: you have your life, she has hers. You work that out, and you should scrape well enough together for the remainder of your lives. Come, Alec, you married for love. What did that get you? And how long did it last?”
“Not fair, Finn.”
“I am only saying, this time you need to proceed with studied rationality. What you require is an heiress. Perhaps our Beauty is one; perhaps she is not. But—” on seeing Alec’s mutinous look, Finn briefly paused, then continued, “we will come to no conclusions as yet. She will most decidedly be met with again, and the next time we shall find out who she is.”
“Yes.” Seemingly mollified, Alec sat back.
And sighed. “I am no green boy, Finn. Yet, while my soldiering has rubbed away quite a bit of the idealistic shine, I confess this is one corner of my life where I have a weakness still for those old-fashioned tales. I do know. What I need is a mother for Marjorie and an infusion of material security to address my father’s debts. Look who is being crass now.”
His cousin tilted his head to one side at Alec’s admission. “Who was the other girl she was with? Marjorie seemed very taken with her.”
“Yes, she did, didn’t she. Rather nondescript, though. Couldn’t even tell you what color her hair was, let alone her eyes.”
“Hmm, yes. Unlike her companion.”
“Yes, unlike her companion.”
“Never you mind, Alec. We shall see our two mysterious young women again. And soon, I should expect.”
Amity restored, the two men relaxed into their chairs, watching the fire, but Finn knew he was not alone in imagining the exquisite face of a porcelain doll with shining white-gold curls and haunting gray eyes.