Page 51 of The Earl and His Lady

“There you are, my lady.” Louisa finished the last button on her glove. “Will there be anything else?”

“No, thank you. Fetch a porter and we can have these things packed.”

“Yes, my lady.” Louisa curtsied and left. Virginia went to the doorway and looked out into the hall. A woman and gentleman down the hall stood together, the woman lifting her chin, and the man tying her bonnet ribbons for her.

That lonely ache made itself felt again. Charles had helped her retie bonnets and adjust gloves. He’d buttoned a fair number of gowns for her, too. The easy intimacy between a husband and wife was something she had taken for granted. She had not even realized it until the night Lucas held her as she cried. A thousand little gestures and touches could take place between a husband a wife, just within the course of a day.

Would she ever have that again?

“Good morning, my lady.”

Virginia pulled her eyes away from the couple down the hall just as the woman began to straighten the man’s cravat.

Lucas stood behind her, in his own doorway, his hands busy with his gloves. “Nearly ready to begin again?” His easy smile helped ease her melancholy thoughts.

“I am, my lord.”

“Excellent. I think we ought to enjoy a short walk, take some exercise before we are confined to the coach again. What do you think?”

Virginia nodded and took his arm when he offered it. She glanced behind her once more, but the other couple had gone.

Lucas led her through the inn, where guests and servants alike buzzed about like bees in a hive. They stepped out into the courtyard, the dull gray of the skies softening the morning light. Virginia managed not to shiver when a crisp breeze snapped along at her heels.

“Will summer never settle in England?” she asked aloud, then bit the inside of her cheek. She hadn’t meant to complain. Bemoaning things neither of them could change, like the weather, would do little more than lead to more whining.

But Lucas’s response was made with a serious expression. “I have been thinking on the strange summer as well. I cannot remember it being this cold. In the summer, just a few years ago, it would be abominably hot. My brother and I used to swim in the lake at Annesbury Park. I cannot imagine plunging into that water now.”

“Every time Nurse Smythe asks about putting away the boys’ winter clothes, we determine their warm boots and coats might still be needed.” Virginia adjusted her hold on her skirt when they stepped onto a small dirt path leading away from the inn. She wore sensible half-boots and felt grateful for the exercise. Confinement to a coach or carriage had never been something she enjoyed. “How are the tenant farms faring?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the horizon and the tall, green grasses lining the path.

“Not as well as I’d wish. Fields have flooded, been cleared, and flooded again. The lack of sunlight is doing real harm to the plants. I fear the harvest will be late this year. I can only hope it yields well.” When Virginia glanced at him, she saw his head lowered and his eyes upon the ground. The burdens of thoughtful landowners were many indeed.

“If the harvest is late, and poor, what will we do?” she asked.

He raised his eyes, meeting hers, and his expression softened. “We will do our best for the people under our care. Thankfully, my father taught me to always set a portion of our income aside for difficult times. We will need to see what comes of the harvest to truly plan, but we would certainly see to the needs of our tenants before worrying over any profits the land could yield.”

Virginia realized, after he began talking, that she had included herself in his plans. But he had said “we” enough times to prove he didn’t mind.

“I confess, I don’t know what Charles did for the barony. I hope those lands have done well enough it will not be a concern, but will you show me how you determine what to set aside for such situations?”

“I will. And when Phillip grows older, I will teach him as well. We never know what the future will bring.” His walk slowed and his eyes drifted across the land before them. She watched as his expression relaxed and she waited, silently, her hand resting on his arm.

Lucas’s eyes were grayer today, like the sky above them, but where the clouds muted the sun his eyes were bright. The breeze flew by again, making the grass around them dip and ripple like water. He took in a deep breath and the faintest of smiles curved his lips upward. Any woman who saw him would find him handsome. That she knew him to be a kind man, an intelligent one too, gave her greater appreciation for what it meant to stand at his side as his wife.

Would he come to fill the empty places of her heart? Was it disloyal to think he might? He was not Charles, but his good qualities reminded her of her late husband. He was honest, generous, cared genuinely for those under his responsibility, treated her sons like they were his own, and appreciated the good things in his life.

And he looked at her, sometimes, like he could not have wished for another companion in her place.

As he did then, his gray eyes meeting hers, his smile growing.

“What are your thoughts at the moment, my lady? You are studying me closely enough, ought I to be concerned you’ve seen a fault to correct?” He was teasing her, but Virginia blushed to be caught staring.

She was worse than a girl fresh from the schoolroom. She couldn’t remember feeling this disconcerted around a man. Not since her courtship days.

“I was actually thinking quite the opposite,” she said, deciding on honesty. “I was thinking how fortunate I am to have been rescued by you. I think back on that day you proposed and I still cannot quite understand your motivations. You’ve accepted a great deal of responsibility with very little given in return.”

Eventually, she knew he would expect more from her. That was clear from the time he had solicited her for her hand. But he could’ve married nearly anyone and had an heir sooner. His position in society, his wealth, were enough in themselves to attract a throng of women eager to wed him. Why choose a widow with two sons? Why take upon himself a woman who came with her own burdens and griefs?

Lucas didn’t turn from her, nor did he tease this time, though his smile gentled.