Page 46 of So Wild A Heart

“Well, yes. I mean, it’s not as if I’m an ogre. Women like me.”

“So we’re talking about a bit of hurt pride.”

Devin hesitated. “Yes…I suppose so. I mean, it couldn’t really be anything else.”

“I’m sure not.” Michael took a quick drink to hide his smile. “You know, Dev, I think this is going to be a very interesting marriage.”

“That’s one way to describe it. Hellish is more like it.”

“I was going to go back home as soon as the wedding was over,” Michael went on musingly. “But you know, I think I may just stay awhile now.”

Lord Westhampton was the only person in the dining room when Miranda walked in the following morning. He looked up at her and smiled. “Miss Upshaw. So, you are an early riser?”

“A lamentable habit,” Miranda said with a smile. “I am afraid I cannot seem to shake it. Good morning, Lord Westhampton.”

He got up and came around the table to pull her chair out for her, “There is food on the sideboard. And a pot of tea. Shall I ring for a servant to bring you coffee? I understand many Americans thrive on it.”

“Yes, and I am one. It would be kind of you to ring.” Miranda got up and walked along the elegant dark sideboard, investigating the various dishes. “If I ate like this every morning, pretty soon you would have to roll me down the hallway.”

She picked up a small sampling of the various dishes, leaving the kidneys, which she could not work up a taste for. She brought her plate back to the table and sat down just as a footman entered with a rack of toast. He set it down beside Miranda and went back for the pot of coffee.

“Tomorrow you can be sure that the coffee will be ready and waiting for you,” Michael told her. “Cummings runs a tight ship. It has pained him these many years, I’m sure, to be unable to staff the house properly.”

“Yes. I shall have to talk to him later. There are so many things to do—repairs to the house, the gardens, the estate.” Miranda smiled, seemingly not at all daunted by the task before her.

“Ravenscar tells me you are very interested in restoring the estate.”

“Oh, yes. Papa is, too, probably even more than I.”

“If I can be of any assistance to you, please feel free to ask. I have had to do quite a few repairs to my own house over the years.”

“How kind of you. But I warn you, if you tell Papa that, he will bend your ear for hours.”

“I wouldn’t mind. It’s rare that I can find anyone who has any interest in the matter.”

They talked for a few minutes about the problems of very old houses. The footman reappeared with a pot of coffee for Miranda, and after he left, there was a short silence.

Then Michael said, “You know, Miss Upshaw…Lord Ravenscar is, well, he isn’t exactly what he seems to be.”

“Really?” Miranda looked at the man with great innocence.

“No, he…well, he is a much nicer person than most people think. I am very fond of him, and I should hate to think that he might get hurt.”

Miranda gazed at him levelly. “You know, Lord Westhampton, any observer of our wedding, seeing the two of us, would generally not worry that Lord Ravenscar is going to get hurt.”

“Yes, you’re right, of course. Devin is not naive or innocent by any means. But neither is he a scoundrel. He has a heart, which he does his best to keep hidden, and he can be wounded. On the other hand, with the right woman, he could be very happy.”

“Well, that is fortunate, isn’t it? Some people, I understand, can never be happy no matter what the circumstances.” Miranda set down her fork. “I am not sure what you are driving at, Lord Westhampton. If you think I am not the right woman for Lord Raven-car, then I am sorry you feel that way, because you really have nothing to say in the matter. On the other hand, if you are trying to ascertain whether I am the right woman for him, I can only say I do not know. I have found in life that we must wait and see what happens. I am not accustomed to turning aside from something because there are risks. I suppose there is a third thing you might be trying to say—that I must change if I am hoping to make Devin happy. That is not likely to happen. He is as he is, and I am as I am. Have I answered your concerns, my lord?”

Michael smiled. “Yes, Miss Upshaw. I would say that you have answered my concerns more than adequately. I always thought it would take a very special woman to match Devin. I think perhaps he has found her.”

Miranda smiled back. “I would like to think so.”

After that, they fell to talking of other things. Miranda found Lord Westhampton to be a very intelligent and well-read man, with a great deal of knowledge on a wide array of subjects. He was possessed of a dry and ironic wit, sometimes so subtle that it took a moment or two to realize exactly how well he had skewered a topic.

He was in the middle of describing how he had attacked the woodworm that had eaten into most of the railings and balustrades in his house when he looked up and suddenly broke off. Something flashed across his face, too quickly for Miranda to tell what it was.

“My dear,” he said and rose to his feet, his manner a trifle stiff and formal. “Good morning. Won’t you join us?”