Page 16 of The Mister I Married

Chapter Six

“It seems our Tess has attracted an admirer,” Aunt Lawrence whispered to Alex as she openly stared out the carriage window. “Mr. Crandall has called on her every day this week, and now this? A supposed chance meeting on the street?” A smile stretched her lips, plumping her rouged cheeks. “Methinks the boy is smitten.”

Alex flicked a glance at the fashionably-dressed young man chatting with his sister on the pavement outside their carriage. “Yes, it would seem he is,” he said, pursing his lips as his gaze moved to Tess. Was she smitten with Crandall? Her smile was friendly, her posture relaxed, but he could glean no hint to her opinion of the man.

Her behavior toward Crandall seemed the same as her behavior toward any of the other single men who had called on her this week, though it was obvious she was enjoying the man’s attention. She’d received a fair bit of male notice ever since the dinner party at the Keswicks’ townhouse three nights ago. It would seem the Keswick influence was already working its magic.

“It would be a great coup if she could snag Mr. Crandall,” Aunt Lawrence went on. “He has ten thousand a year, you know, and a thriving estate in Devonshire, yet he is an artless and affable young man all the same.”

Alex grunted. “Too affable, if you ask me,” he grumbled. “So affable it borders on the ridiculous.”

Aunt Lawrence’s tinkling laugh filled the carriage. “There is no such thing as too much affability in a man.”

“I disagree,” he said with a pointed look at Crandall.

“Ah, but you are not a woman. You are an overprotective older brother who thinks no man is good enough for his sister.”

Alex shrugged, not bothering to deny it. If there was a man good enough for Tess, he had yet to meet him.

The carriage door swung open, and Tess climbed inside with the help of their footman.

“I’m ready,” she said, settling onto the seat beside Aunt Lawrence. “I apologize for the delay.”

“No apology necessary, my girl,” their aunt replied as the carriage began to move up the street. “Mr. Crandall is one of the most desired bachelors in Town.” She patted Tess’s knee. “Quite a coup, indeed.”

“It is much too soon for talk of coups, Aunt,” Tess said. “I barely know the gentleman.”

“That may be so, but I do not think it would be putting the cart before the cow to assert that he intends to court you.”

A smile tugged at Tess’s lips, and she shrugged. “We shall see, I suppose.”

Aunt Lawrence gave a slow shake of her head, and said, “Forgive me for saying so, girl, but your reaction leaves a lot to be desired. Are you not excited?”

Alex listened to the exchange with interest, though he did not comment, as was often the case when he was with his sister and aunt. It was a good thing he was a man of few words, he thought with a smile, for he was seldom able to slip any past these two chatterboxes.

“Mr. Crandall is a lovely man,” Tess said, “and I enjoy his company, but…” She leaned back in her seat and blew out a sigh. “There is no romantic feeling there, no…spark, if you understand my meaning.”

Aunt Lawrence nodded sagely. “You are not bescuttered by him.”

“Bescuttered?” Alex asked, his brow pinched in confusion.

“Yes, bescuttered,” his aunt replied, her tone mildly exasperated, as if he ought to know the meaning of a word which, to his knowledge, did not exist. “It is that rare combination one feels when one has finally met one’s true love. Besotted heart, scattered mind and a belly full of fluttering, scuttling wings.” She smiled. “I felt it for the first time when I met Mr. Lawrence at Lady Plunterford’s card party on the 4th of August 1786,” she went on, her gaze softening with the memory. “We were married for twenty-five years, and that feeling never went away. It was there from the very first day, all the way until the very last…”

She trailed off and the carriage fell silent for a moment before she shook her head, seeming to collect herself. Softly, she said, “I hope you both experience the same for yourselves someday.”

She smiled at Alex and then at Tess, who said, “I hope so, too, Aunt.”

Alex made no reply. He was glad his aunt had loved her husband, but as for himself, love was not a priority. He wanted only a mutually-beneficial match with a woman of intelligence and good sense. A partnership based on respect and communication.

One that would not end in infidelity and scandal.

Surely that was not too much to hope for.

“Alex?”

He looked up. “Hm?”

Tess rolled her eyes, and said, “Don’t you also hope to find what Aunt and Uncle Lawrence shared?”