As the carriages carrying Ria and the ladies departed, a black horse trotted into the stable yard. The rider dismounted near Luc. After handing the reins to a stable boy, he walked over to the earl. “You have troubles, my lord?”
“Yes, McDermott, I believe I do—or at least someone important to me does.”
“Can’t have that.”
“No, McDermott, we can’t.”
In perfect agreement, the two of them ascended the inn steps together.
18
Ria looked at her embroidery as she halfheartedly listened to the ladies’ chatter. Her flower was looking decidedly lopsided. If she embroidered a caterpillar, she could say it had eaten the petals.
Her attention was caught when she heard someone mention Lord Arden. She looked over at Agnes, seated at a library table, talking about a newspaper item. “Lord Arden’s mother has been seen about town on the arm of a young gentleman whom the writer believes is the son of an old flame.”
Aunt Charity shook her head as she put another stitch in her embroidery. “They keep trying to find something to reignite interest in her antics. But it’s just not the same anymore, not now she’s a widow.”
“No, indeed,” said Aunt Faith. “I believe the editors went into mourning when her husband died. There’s less interest without a wounded spouse playing the martyr.”
Ria’s brow furrowed, and she looked at the ladies. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean.”
Aunt Faith, sitting beside her on the library sofa, patted her on the knee. “Oh, my dear, you are probably too young to know. Lord Arden’s parents’ marital difficulties provided the ton with a substantial amount of gossip for years. They probably kept a number of scandal sheets in business.”
Aunt Faith opened her snuffbox and took a pinch. Ria and the other ladies waited patiently until she had finished sneezing. “His mother had numerous affaires, but unlike most spouses, her husband didn’t turn a blind eye. Instead, he humiliated her with very public scenes.”
The feather in Agatha’s hair trembled as she bobbed her head. “Yes, indeed. Why, I was at one ball Lady Arden attended and Lord Arden—the father of course, not the son—he came right in amongst the dancers, seized her arm, and dragged her away with him. And what do you think she did? Do you think she went quietly?”
To Ria’s surprise, the other ladies shook their heads.
“Exactly. Any other lady would have gone very quietly to avoid making a scene. Well, not she. She tried to pull her arm away, and when he wouldn’t let go, she screamed. Loudly. Right there in the crowded ballroom.”
From the things Luc had said, Ria knew he’d had a difficult relationship with his parents, but she hadn’t realized his parents, themselves, had problems. “What happened then?” She asked. “Did anyone go to her aid?”
Agatha looked at her in astonishment. “Of course not. As was proper, they politely ignored the scene and pretended it wasn’t happening until the Ardens left.”
“And then talked of nothing else for a sennight,” Aunt Charity said dryly.
“Was she all right? Did he hurt her?” Ria asked anxiously.
All the ladies looked taken aback at her question. Agatha answered her, “If I recall correctly, she was seen a day or two after that. Quite brazen, as though nothing had happened.”
Looking thoughtful, Aunt Charity said, “I don’t believe he was violent. She was never missing for more than a day or so—and she certainly never changed her behavior.”
Ria wondered what Luc’s childhood had been like—a poor little boy caught in his parents’ war. Even with a nanny and then a tutor to look after him, until he went to school he’d have been exposed to a corrosive atmosphere. And no wonder he’d spent his summers at Little Bridgeton.
Her attention was drawn back to the ladies when Aunt Charity said her name. She looked up to find all of them looking at her expectantly.
“My dear,” Aunt Charity told her, “I said the earl is visiting us often these days.”
Cousin Agatha added, “He does seem much taken with our shrubbery walk.”
Cousin Agnes naively said, “Mayhap he wants one of his own. Though I would be surprised if he does not already have one. Ria, my dear, does Arden Park have a shrubbery walk?”
“I don’t know, Agnes. He hasn’t mentioned it.”
“Perhaps it doesn’t.” Cousin Agnes looked disturbed at the thought. Obviously, in her mind, no house was complete without one.
Aunt Faith gently told Agnes, “I do not think the earl is visiting us because of our landscaping.”