“You know how to play cricket?” He appeared thunderstruck.
“Oh yes! We play cricket and croquet and all manner of games at home. When you have that many children cluttering up a house, there is a great deal of energy to be burned off. Outdoor games are a way to do that.”
“Yes, I suppose so. We have the reverse pattern of gender to age in our family. The three boys are the eldest and followed by the three girls. Ingrid is the youngest—she is thirteen. Ava, the eldest, is about to make her debut. You’ll no doubt meet her. I’m expecting her and Mama to arrive on my doorstep any day. They were supposed to be here three weeks ago, but Ingrid developed a fever and Mama would not leave her until she was better.”
They had completed a full circuit of the park by now, and as they had progressed, she noted that the duke was hailed by a number of persons. He acknowledged them with a wave but did not stop. His attention, very flatteringly, was wholly fixed on her.
*
Robert returned hometo find that in fact his mother and sister had arrived, as the hallway was full of luggage. The duchess, who was a notoriously bad traveler, had retired to bed already, but Ava was in the sitting room eating afternoon tea with their brother Hereward who had been their escort.
Ava, who was a replica of their mother, being tiny, blonde, and beautiful, bounced up out of her seat at the sight of him and flung herself into his arms.
“We’re here at last!” she said, her blue eyes sparkling. “I lived in dread that one of the girls would throw out a rash before we could leave! The journey took forever.” Ava’s come out had been delayed by a year due to their father’s passing last year, and she had been waiting impatiently for this day to arrive. And patience was not one of Ava’s strong suits.
“Mamawoulddawdle on the road. I should think, since she hates it so much, she would want it over with quickly. Instead, it took us three days to get here. Herey has the patience of a saint. I was about to tear my hair out!” She threw Hereward a beatific smile.
Hereward was the biggest of the Layne men, being an inch taller than Robert and broader through the shoulders and chest. He had brown hair and soft brown eyes and the most phlegmatic temperament.
He shook Robert’s hand in greeting and slapped him on the back in a brotherly hug. “Thank you for bearing the brunt, old chap,” said Robert.
Hereward shrugged. “I was coming to town anyway; I know Mama doesn’t like to travel unescorted.”
Ava broke in on this. “Creighton was complaining you have a cat, Rob?”
“Hm? Oh yes, her name’s Emerald, Em for short. She was a stray and adopted me.”
“And now, according to Creighton, runs the whole house. Where is she? I can’t wait to meet her.”
He smiled. “She’ll come out when she’s ready, all the kerfuffle of your arrival probably scared her.”
“Is it true she sleeps on your bed?”
He nodded and Ava crowed, “You old softie!” Robert shrugged and turned back to Hereward, slightly embarrassed to be teased about his cat.
“Perhaps you can keep your eye on Kenrick for me, now you’re here?”
Hereward snorted. “If you think he’ll pay a blind bit of notice to anything I say—”
“I know, but at least you can give me some warning if he’s about to do something harebrained?” Robert didn’t mention the five-hundred-pound debt in front of Ava.
“I’ll do my best,” said Hereward, sitting down again and resuming working his way through the tray of cakes and sandwiches.
“So tell me, brother dearest, what have I missed?” asked Ava, resuming her seat.
Robert joined them and gave Ava an expurgated version of the start of the season. He did not, for example, mention Miss Sarah Watson at all. On the basis of today’s drive around the park, he was ready to commit to a course that would see him end at the altar with Sarah, but he was miserably aware that she was far from sharing his view.
She may not be the woman he had once envisioned marrying, but with five-hundred-pound debts, the cost of his sister’s debut, and all the expenses of maintaining multiple households, he needed money and fast. Sarah was acceptable on several levels for his purpose outside of her fortune—he liked her, he respected her, and he wanted her. Love would, he hoped, come in time. But not if he couldn’t persuade her to accept him.
And what of his family? How would she appear to them? Would they like her? Would she like them?
Two days later, returned from his early morning ride, he found that the duchess had graduated from the couch and, accompanied by Ava, was busily penning notes to her acquaintance to inform them that she and Ava were in residence and at home to visitors.
“Mama,” he said, entering the parlor and going to the desk at which she sat to kiss her cheek. “I am glad to see you restored to health!”
His mother was a diminutive woman whose pretty, blonde good looks had faded somewhat. He took after his father’s side of the family as to height, build, hair coloring, and features, but he had inherited her blue eyes. She smiled up at him. “Yes, I am much recovered, love. You were up early. Riding in thepark?” But she didn’t pause long enough for him to answer that question. “You must take Ava the next time. You haven’t forgotten that we will be hosting a ball for her in three weeks, have you?”
“No, Mama.” He smiled at Ava, who rolled her eyes, and kissed her cheek. “I shall escort you to all manner of frivolities. Never fear.”
