Chapter Four
Patience had been determined to discover the reason for Lord Stanford’s hesitation in putting his name down on her card. And, she had discovered it. He’d wished to dance with Lady Alice.Peoplehad recommended it. He’d only put himself down for Patience because he’d not been able to refuse the Duchess of Devonshire.
She would really like to despise him for that. However, she could not do it. He was fascinating to look at, for one. For another, his taking her hand in the dance had set something off in her. Her hands had touched various gentlemen this evening, but she’d not felt this particular feeling she could not put a name to. And for another, there was something of a challenge in him that got her blood up.
She’d been struck by him the moment she’d set eyes on him. Was she to be defeated by this Lady Alice individual? Or thepeoplewho pushed that lady forward? No, that did not sound very like Patience Nicolet.
La Boulangere had come to an end and Lord Stanford led her into the supper room to two empty chairs. He signaled to a footman and they were brought tea and dry cake.
“This is the extent of the offerings, unless you care for sour lemonade or stale bread,” Lord Stanford said.
“My father warned me sufficiently,” Patience said. “I ate a whopping big dinner before I came.”
This seemed to catch Lord Stanford off guard. He laughed and said, “Most ladies would not admit to ever in their lives eating a whopping big dinner.”
“Would they not?” Patience asked. “Well, I suppose I do not know such things as my mother died when I was young and our estate is very remote. We do not have close neighbors with the exception of a few farmers, and they are known for their whopping dinners.”
“I am very sorry to hear that you lost your mother young.”
Patience nodded. “Though, my papa did a marvelous job of it raising us. Just think, he was more wrecked over losing my mama than anybody and he was left to face seven motherless daughters, one of them an infant.”
“Oh, well, I assume he had the help of nurses and a governess,” Lord Stanford said.
“Nurses came and went, our housekeeper was, and still is, the steady presence. We only had a governess for a short time, actually. Miss Pynchon was not very suited to us; she did not understand us. For instance, I kept my mother’s sable coat in my room and put it on sometimes to smell her perfume. Miss Pynchon was against it and took it from me. My papa raised the roof over it and I got it back.”
“I see, so the governess thought you ought not wallow in grief.”
“I do not know what she thought, but she did notfeelvery much as far as I could tell. She had no sentimentality. She departed one early morning, leaving behind a note.” Patience laughed and said, “It only said one word—goodbye. She scrawled it across a sheet of paper. We still laugh about that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes, of course we do. Who leaves their employment with such a note? We think she must have been overwhelmed, at there were so many of us. At least, she often mentioned that she did not understand why there were so many of us. In any case, the duke is an absolute dear of a father. It is just that so many seem not to understand him.”
“He strikes one as an interesting personality,” the lord said.
“That is a very good word for it,” Patience said, pleased. “You see, he does not care a whit for societies’ constraints. He tells the truth as he sees it. He is also very funny. He always teases us that he cannot wait to get us all out of the house. Mind you, I don’t believe him and if anybody attempts to hurt one of his family, he is a beast about it. I really cannot imagine anybody better.”
Lord Stanford seemed to take on a pensive expression. Patience thought perhaps hecouldimagine better.
She said, “Of course, it is only what I know. I suppose your parents were cracking good.”
This seemed to strike the lord even harder.
Perhaps they were not cracking good? Or good at all?
“May I enquire into your hobbies, Lady Patience?”
As he had changed the subject of the conversation so abruptly, Patience suspected that his home life as a child had not in fact been cracking good. She should have known not to drift into such personal territory. One never knew what another’s situation was. She was determined to turn to more usual topics of conversation.
As the lord had asked about her hobbies, she said, “Well, I love my horse. Her name is Penny and she is a Dales pony. You would have seen her in the park.”
“Indeed, I did. Along with some others.”
“Yes, those were my sisters—Winsome, Verity, and Serenity. We all have ponies from the same breeder. Penny has given me some lovely rides across the moors. She is very surefooted, as they all are. And then I like to sketch, I sketched out all my dresses for the season well ahead of time. I do like to be organized and prepared and do a thing the most efficient way possible. Quite the challenge with my sisters holding things up all the time.”
“They are not as organized?”
Patience laughed. “They are not at all organized. They cannot seem to ever come to a quick decision. They are not decisive.”
