“I do, yes, I do. I believe in it and have been waiting for it since from the time I left school,” she answered as honestly as she could.
“And what of your history with Warren? What was that? Was that true love?”
“Ah, no, of course not. I was young and I fancied myself in love, but it wasn’t long before I realized it was no more than a schoolgirl’s crush. He liked me a great deal, but he needed to marry the richest girl in the county. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to propose to the poor little thing, but it was too late. When he turned with an eye to me, well, you see, I had already recovered from the malady.”
His eyes were twinkling. “Had you? I am glad of it.”
The mature woman in the mobcap and pretty apron appeared again and asked if she could fetch them anything else, and Serena said, “Oh yes, I would like that bit of chocolate cake …”
His lordship sat back and laughed. “Where do you put it all?”
She smiled and sipped her coffee.
Oh, but he was everything she could want in a man. Could she win his heart? Could she?
~ Fourteen ~
LORD DANIEL PENDLETON and his nephew had left the inn that same afternoon and taken up residence as Lewis had begged them to do in his charming Tucker Manor.
Restless, Freddy had taken a turn about the grounds with Lewis chattering at him. Lewis was only a few years older, and as they had the same interests it wasn’t long before they became very good friends. The two had returned to the house, still going on about a variety of subjects, when his lordship heard Lewis tell Freddy that Oxford was the best of places and that he had some very great times while a student there.
Freddy agreed with youthful exuberance, and his lordship listened as the two began comparing adventures.
Well pleased to see the two young men with their heads together and laughing, he retired to the library and took up a book he had been meaning to read. As he sat back and warmed himself by the fire, the library door burst open and a road-weary Sir Jasper entered with a grunt.
He smiled at his lordship and said, “Ah, Lewis finally dragged you here. Good. Where is he?”
“They walked in, and then Lewis remembered that he hadn’t given Freddy a tour of the stables … out they went.” His lordship grinned.
“Good, good.” He turned to the butler and said, “Be a good man and see if you can put together a tray of cheese and bread and anything else you can find. I am half starving and shan’t make it to dinner.”
“Very good, sir,” the retainer said and withdrew.
Sir Jasper rubbed his hands as he moved to stand by the fire and remarked, “Chilled to the bone. Probably should have taken my coach but thought it would be quicker to ride and change horses at Hathborne.”
“You look fagged to death,” his lordship remarked, frowning.
“Aye.” He drew a chair closer to the fire and plopped heavily into its massive cushion. “Lewis’ bride, a good sort. I liked her from the start. Like the way she furnished the place, chose suitable chairs, comfortable,” he said and sighed again.
His lordship got up, went to the sideboard, poured a brandy, and brought it to him. “Here, take this, ol’ man.”
Jasper did indeed take up the snifter, swirl, and sip before sighing again and saying, “Well, Danny, ’tis done. All we can do now is keep a sharp eye.”
His lordship eyed him. “Do you mean to explain what that means?”
“All I can tell you is that the Crown means to have this settled one way or another. The Treasury Department is bent on finding the leak in their armor, and they don’t care whose head is sacrificed in the process. It is and will be an ugly business. I am glad I am not connected to the branch of government that is conducting this affair.”
“Did you find out what precisely they mean to do?”
“No, I am not privy to that, only to the information that heads are about to roll. I did, however, arrange the little matter we discussed. That is taken care of,” he added in a low voice.
A servant appeared with a tray laden with food, and he set it on the coffee table before bowing himself out.
Jasper thanked him and tore off a piece of bread and munched for a moment. The quiet of the scene then exploded as Freddy, followed by Lewis, entered, saw the arrangement of cheese and bread, and exclaimed, “Food!” He turned to his new friend and said, “Lewis, what a wonderfully efficient staff you have here at the grange.” After patting first his uncle and then Sir Jasper on their backs, he dove in, found a tart, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Sir Jasper pulled a face at him and said, “Young barbarian. I had an eye on that particular tart.”
Freddy grinned. “Did you …?” He extended what was left towards Sir Jasper unselfishly and said, “Here, then, sir, do take it.”