Page 4 of Love and Other Disasters

Win merely chuckled softly, poured herself another drink, and proved for a second time she was more accustomed to the burn of rum down her throat than her husband would ever be.

Jasper did not understand the appeal of the woman his brother had married. Win Sweet was unusual. Utterly dry sense of humor. Dull, except on rare occasions like tonight, when he caught her looking at his brother a certain way—challenging him to keep up with her.

Win was an odd duck in other ways, too. She wasn’t particularly feminine, in his opinion. She did not glide, but strode boldly about the estate. As far as he knew, Win did not embroider, paint watercolors, or even play a musical instrument. It seemed she possessed none of the usual female accomplishments gentlemen were said to favor when choosing a wife. Win also exhibited a careless disinterest for fashion that society women seemed to believe important and seemed only to care for Stratford’s conversation. Which was lucky indeed, because her husband talked a great deal!

Win jostled with Stratford as if they were a pair of old friends out for a night of fun in a tavern on their way to a chaise lounge they could share. The pair were always joking together, whispering, and Jasper suddenly felt the suspicion that he had been left out of some great secret of some kind. He dismissed the idea as a foolish fancy on his part, as he always did. Stratford hadn’t been able to keep a secret in his entire life so there was obviously nothing important to be shared.

Everything was changing in the family, though. His youngest brother had married, mostly to reduce a long-standing debt. Amity, their favorite cousin, was married now, too. Nash was already married, but unhappily, and that left Jasper and the duke as the only unattached males in the room, but even Ravenswood must marry this year.

Jasper shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with the idea that soon he’d be the only bachelor left standing. It would make future dinners awkward and likely dull as the married couples flirted around him. He would have to find other ways to amuse himself on those nights, other than squabbling with the governess.

He let his eyes drift about the riches of the Ravenswood estate drawing room, fighting the usual bitterness when nothing he saw here would truly be his to call his own. Not even his favorite chair.

Jasper inevitably turned his gaze that way and discovered the governess had slipped from the room unnoticed. He was surprisingly disappointed about that. Jasper would have liked a chance to deliver the final word before she went on her way tomorrow. She and the children were to travel with the duke and Nash to meet the future duchess. He would not have to speak with Mrs. Radcliff beyond wishing her a pleasant journey tomorrow morning.

Yet what was he to do about the coming summer?

Suffer his own company for months and go out of his mind with boredom? He’d no close acquaintances in the district. Most being older, married, or decidedly poor company.

But he would be comfortable for the summer and the longer he thought about it, the more he was looking forward to having the place to himself for the first time. A few months of supposed quiet was just the thing he needed before next season got underway. The estate would hardly require much of his time, and what was left could be thoroughly enjoyed.

Perhaps a friend might visit.

Perhaps he could invite one or some.

He smiled slowly as an idea took hold. He could host one of his little parties here.

The duke had not expressly forbidden Jasper companionship over the summer, had he? Jasper had responsibilities that would not be too taxing on his time. He glanced at his brothers. Nash had always disapproved of his friends and his wilder amusements, but the duke was not a saint. He was well aware that Jasper supplemented his income with gambling. Jasper could host a party, with gambling and make some money for himself and the estate. It could be a surprise windfall for them all.

However, if Jasper told his brother’s what he intended to do, his older brothers would want to discuss the matter until dawn. Thankfully, he had never confessed his every waking thought to his elder siblings, or Stratford, who couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. Jasper stuffed his hands under his arms to hide his excitement at hosting a party here. It was a brilliant idea. The best of his entire life, perhaps.

Chapter Two

“So, this is where you rushed off to,” Mrs. Amity Crawford whispered as she slipped into the Ravenswood nursery and shut the door behind her. “I could not help but overhear your exchange with my cousin. Please, pay Lord Jasper no mind. His bark is far worse than his bite.”

“I did not rush away because of him. It was time to check on the children,” Sophie promised as she gently raised the blankets about Thomas Sweet’s shoulders and ran a soothing hand down his back when he stirred from sleep. Lord Nash’s eldest son had become dear to her during her tenure as his governess, as had the younger, more exuberant brother, Liam.

“Poor motherless, nearly forgotten lambs,” Mrs. Crawford whispered, following Sophie through the room. “You’ve done wonders with them. Do you think they even remember their mother?”

“I try my best to keep her memory alive,” Sophie promised. “But it is difficult when Lord Nash will hardly speak of her.”

“You should talk to Jasper. He and Laura were childhood friends.”

That surprised her. “Lord Jasper had a friend?”

Mrs. Crawford laughed softly and then shook her head. “Perhaps it might have been more than friendship if nature had taken its course. But then a marriage was arranged to Nash between their fathers and they—Jasper and Laura—became brother-in-law and sister-in-law. And now we are left with the consequences of a badly made match.”

“An unhappy marriage takes two, I’m told,” Sophie said.

“No. It is Nash’s fault because he agreed to marry for money alone, and he told Laura so. I’m sure you’ll agree that is not what a lady wants to live with for all her days.”

“I’m sure it is not,” Sophie said, turning toward young Liam and wishing the other woman would return to the drawing room and her family. Sophie was an orphan, and a servant here. A woman with no past and only the future she created. She’d no true understanding of the challenges the women of the ton faced in marriage, so it was difficult to feign sympathy for those women forced to such matches. Privately, she thought them lucky to have any chance at all to make a marriage and have somewhere to call home forever. To have a family that cared enough to consider their security.

Sophie would never be married. Had resigned herself to spinsterhood long ago. She’d had the chance of any better future taken out of her hands by a scoundrel of a man who had pretended to care for her and broken her heart. She’d learned the hard way that gentlemen routinely lied about their intentions to get their way with unprotected women like herself.

Mrs. Crawford drew close. “Ask Jasper your questions about Laura.”

She winced, feeling uncomfortable. “I cannot.”