Page 53 of Counting on Love

Chapter Fifteen

“And here,” Lord Taverston said, pushing open a door on the second floor, “is the ballroom. Not as grand as the Atherton’s, but it serves the purpose.”

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Alice exclaimed.

Georgiana agreed. The delicate appearance of the floor’s mosaic tilework made her want to tiptoe across. She said, “The chandeliers are exquisite. And the color of the walls? Like daffodils.”

“Those glass doors on the far side lead to our large terrace,” Lord Taverston said. “We can go out and look if you’d like.”

“It’s the same view, Georgiana,” Crispin said, “that you can see from the library. We’re just above the music room now.”

“And where would the billiard room be, Crispin?” Alice asked. “Relative to this.”

“We’ll see that next, Alice. There are retiring rooms just down the hall.”

Lord Taverston frowned but didn’t seem annoyed. Maybe puzzled. “One room at a time, please. The ladies have already seen most of the house. I’m trying to stretch out the rest of this tour.”

Georgiana said, “Let’s do go out onto the terrace, Lord Taverston. Just for a moment. I don’t believe the rain is coming down too strongly.”

He linked his arm through hers and led her to the glass doors, opened one, and ushered her through, beckoning the others to follow.

“If you look that way…ha! And imagine it without the fog, you’ll see where we were riding. The lake is over there. And just at the south end of the lake, there is a folly. We’ll go out that way the next time there is sunshine.”

“It’s quite pretty, even with the fog,” Georgiana said. It was pretty; she was not simply being agreeable. The fog sat lightly upon gently rolling grounds that retained a hint of what would be lush summer verdancy despite the winter’s brown. The lake in the distance was just discernible as a splash of gray-blue rimmed by a blur of trees. She turned to Reginald, who had been trailing along behind, not saying a word.

“Why do you keep the curtains closed all the time in the library? They block the view!”

He chuckled. “Not my view. And no one uses the library except me.”

“She has a point though,” Lord Taverston said. “You go in there and block out the world.”

“I look out at the world. I block out my brothers.”

His brothers both laughed. Georgiana fidgeted. She should not have mentioned seeing Reginald in the library. What if Lord Taverston wondered when that had been?

Alice said, “Lord Taverston, have you held many balls here?”

“My parents used to. Twice a year. Once in the summer when they would have house parties, and once at Christmastime for the locals. It was a nice tradition. I’d like to reinstate it someday. Mother stopped holding the ball about five years ago when Crispin marched off with his regiment.”

Neither Georgiana nor Alice knew what to say to that. It seemed there might be something painful, or accusatory, in the statement. But Olivia laughed.

“Crispin was the piano player.”

“You could have hired someone!” Crispin protested.

Lord Taverston smiled and said quietly, “There were professional musicians. Not Crispin. I think Mother was looking for an excuse. It was a lot of work. Come, let’s go back inside. It’s a bit drizzly.” They all stepped back inside. “Where should we go next? The portrait gallery?”

“Show Georgiana the retiring rooms while we are up here,” Crispin suggested.

“They are not much to look at. And we still have the Conservatory. That’s Olivia’s domain.”

“Which is closer, Lord Taverston?” Alice asked.

Georgiana could not help smirking. Alice was having too much fun with the game.

“The portrait gallery. It’s on this floor, but the west wing.”

“Crispin,” Georgiana said, joining in, turning her head to see the Lieutenant. “If the Conservatory is Olivia’s domain and the library is Reginald’s, what is yours?”