Page 47 of The Earl and His Lady

“I am glad to do it,” Ellen added more seriously. “They are marvelous boys, and I am quite accustomed to being around children. My sisters have more than a few.”

“You are well practiced at being an aunt. I think the boys could sense it the moment they met you.” Truthfully, Virginia hadn’t seen them take to anyone in such a short time, even Christine. “I hope you aren’t spending too much time away from your own household.”

Ellen lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “The wonderful thing about well-run households is that they are well-run even when you don’t oversee them.” She looked down at her dress, a beautiful pink evening gown with a dark blue sash, and smoothed her skirt. “Will this do for dinner?”

“It’s perfect, and very lovely on you.” Virginia tried to keep the note of longing from her voice. Charles had loved when she wore pink, but it hadn’t been her favorite color. She much preferred the richer hues permitted married women. But anything would make her feel more alive, more like herself, than gray. Tonight she wore gray crepe, the fabric made in such a way that it didn’t shine as a silk gown would.

Charles had told her once, when they first received the prognosis, that he would hate to see her in mourning. She had said he wouldn’t have to, of course, and wore her most beautiful gowns every day she attended to him. He never saw gray or black upon her in those final days.

“If it is not too personal for me to ask, Virginia, are you in half mourning?” Ellen motioned to Virginia’s gray dress.

“Not precisely.” Virginia looked at her lavender gloves. “To tell the truth, I am uncertain where I am in mourning. It has been four months since Charles passed away, but I feel as though it has been so much longer. And as a newlywed, where does the duty to my late husband end and my present husband begin? It leaves me out of sorts.”

Ellen didn’t speak for a moment, but Virginia did not rush her. The other woman, she had learned, possessed a thoughtful nature.

“I cannot imagine your position, your feelings, on the matter.” Ellen reached out and laid her hand on Virginia’s wrist. “But I do know something of marrying into a rather impossible position.”

“You?” Virginia couldn’t contain her surprise. “Marcus is entirely devoted to you.”

Humor sparkled in Ellen’s eyes. “He is, isn’t he? But it was not always that way for us. When we married, it was a matter of convenience. It took a little time for us to understand one another. Your situation is very different than mine, and I will not pretend otherwise. But I wish to give you hope, Virginia, that where we begin is not where we must end. Lucas is a good man, as I’m certain you know. If you are struggling, if you cannot find the footing you need in your relationship with him, speak to him.”

Though she did not think herself able to follow such advice, Virginia appreciated Ellen’s words. “Thank you, Ellen. You are a kind friend.”

Ellen shook her head, deflecting the compliment before she spoke again. “You will be alone in a carriage with your husband for nearly all of tomorrow. Make use of that uninterrupted time.”

A tiny prick of anxiety touched Virginia’s heart. She had avoided thinking about the long journey by carriage. Why, she could not say, but with Ellen’s words the truth came into her mind at last.

Their journey to Heatherton Hall would put them alone, truly alone, for the first time. Thus far, they had only spent snatches of time in each other’s company, nearly always with a servant or family member present. Or else they spoke to each other with a very specific purpose, such as she checking menus with him and he asking if he might take the boys to their riding lessons. They never simply talked.

Oh dear. What if we have nothing to say?

Marcus appeared at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at them. “There you ladies are. You had better come down to dinner. Mother is convinced you are both having a wonderful time without her.”

Virginia and Ellen shared quick smiles before saying, in unison, “Coming!” They laughed and descended together, going directly to the dining room. Ellen went in on her husband’s arm, though he offered to take Virginia in, as was correct.

“It is a family dinner,” Virginia had protested. “We need not be formal here.”

When they entered, she saw her mother-in-law already seated and Lucas standing beside her chair, waiting to assist her into it. Their eyes met and his lightened with his smile. Virginia’s heart gave an odd twist.

The carriage ride became all the more daunting.

Chapter Seventeen

If the roads stayed dry, Lucas calculated it would take ten hours on the road to reach Suffolk. They would travel for six, changing horses twice, and stay the night in Kentford. He had sent Randal and Virginia’s maid ahead to prepare the way for them and sent letters to the stable yards along the way to ensure a speedy change of horses when they stopped.

It would be a long day of travel, but hopefully a pleasant one. His cook had provided them an excellent hamper, at his request. One never knew what sort of food they would find at roadside inns.

Lucas waited for Virginia in the entryway, the whole family lingering to bid them farewell. Ellen was speaking with the boys in a soft, lilting voice while Nurse Smythe smiled encouragingly at them both. His mother sat on a cushioned bench, dog in her lap, watching everyone around her with an indulgent look. And Marcus stood next to him, hands tucked behind his back, staring upward at the chandelier.

“I like your wife,” his brother said, tone low enough that only Lucas heard him.

Lucas turned and raised his eyebrows. “Do you? I rather like yours, too.”

Marcus’s smile appeared, though crooked. “It would seem we both have an unusual amount of luck, to stumble into marriages with women who are rather perfect for us.”

This gave Lucas pause. His brother’s match hadn’t begun with affection, but Marcus’s own desperation. Eventually, Marcus had fallen in love with his wife, and had been perhaps the last to realize it.

“You needn’t look at me like that,” Marcus continued after Lucas stayed silent too long. “I think you know precisely what I mean. I’ve seen you, and the way you watch her.”