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“Most gracious,” Lucilla replied dryly, her tone telling Will she didn’t believe his explanation for an instant. “Now that you have returned, let’s move forward! We’ll be dining en famille and can start planning at once.”
“I’d be delighted to dine, but first I’d better warn you that, grateful as I am for your kindness in trying to make a respectable gentleman out of me, I…I must cry off our agreement. After attending a few ton gatherings, I’ve discovered, like Marcus, that I don’t much enjoy them.”
“Always said you were a man of sense, Will,” Domcaster inserted with a grin.
While Lucilla shushed her husband, Will continued, “More to the point, after meeting several eligible ladies, I find it increasingly difficult to imagine myself cozening some poor innocent into marrying me so I can relieve her of her fortune and use it to restore my estate.” He shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. “I can’t do it, Lucilla.”
For a long moment she studied him. Will hoped she could no longer read his thoughts as well as she’d been able when they were children.
“I see,” she said at last. “What do you mean to do, then? Go back to gaming and forfeit any chance of finding a wife and having a family?” Putting a hand on her husband’s arm, she added softly, “’Tis a blessing you cannot imagine, having never possessed one. Don’t throw away the opportunity too hastily, Will.”
“Oh, I’m not ruling it out altogether.” ’Twas rather Allegra who had ruled it out for him, Will thought, wincing as pain slashed across his heart. “But as inured to poverty as I’ve become over the years, upon reflection I realized I don’t want to bring a bride to the ruin Brookwillow has become and have her despise it upon sight. I’d rather try to bring it into some sort of order first.”
He held up a hand before Lucilla could reply. “You’re going to say I haven’t enough capital to effect significant repairs, nor have I any knowledge of estate management, and you’re correct. But I can learn. I want to learn. It will take years, I know, but I’m convinced that this is what I must do.”
Looking at her frowning face, he sighed. “I am sorry, Lucilla. I don’t expect you to understand why I’m turning down your offer—though Marcus might,” he added, nodding to Domcaster. “I intend to leave for Brookwillow as soon as I settle my accounts in London. So if you wish to abuse me as an ungrateful wretch and throw me out before dinner, you’ve my leave to proceed.”
Lucilla looked to her husband, as if asking whether she should argue further. After he gave her a minute, negative shake of the head, she turned back to Will.
“I am terribly disappointed. I had so been looking forward to watching you win the heart of some sweet-tempered maiden—and having her soften yours in return. I don’t suppose this decision has anything to do with the interesting on-dit I heard this morning?”
“On-dit?” Will echoed in what he hoped was an innocent tone, though he suspected he knew what she’d learned.
“That Miss Antinori has abandoned her Season and left London. Now, some malicious tongues, encouraged by that viper Lady Lynton, no doubt, speculate that she became so…friendly with one or another of the rakehells pursuing her that she was obliged to leave—”
“The devil they are!” Will interrupted, fury suffusing him as he leapt to his feet, hands curled into fists. “Tell me who is spreading such scurrilous falsehoods! I promise you, when I am done with them they won’t speak at all for a fortnight!”
Eyes going wide, Lucilla gasped at his vehemence while Domcaster put a restraining hand on his arm. “Sit down, Will,” he said mildly. “As always with scurrilous rumors, ’tis best to do nothing. Those who were acquainted with the girl will know them to be ridiculous. Defending her would only prolong the talk.”
Hard put to contain his anger, Will resumed his seat. “You are right, I suppose. Still…” Making his decision, he continued, “Probably many in the ton would consider what she really did as reprehensible as ruination by some scoundrel, but I would prefer you know the truth. Having decided that society was…not to her liking, she chose to take a position as governess with a family traveling to Italy. She wished to see her father’s homeland.”
“The ton probably would think succumbing to seduction less shocking than hiring herself out as a governess,” Domcaster agreed. “I admire her independence, though.”
“Do you know which family?” Lucilla asked.
“Sir Henry and Lady Malvern.”
“I’m acquainted with Elizabeth,” Lucilla said. “She has a darling little girl. Very well, when the subject arises, I shall inform everyone that Miss Antinori was invited to accompany the Malverns to the continent.”
Smiling with real gratitude, Will said, “I would appreciate that.”
“Putting that version of her story about may be easier than you imagine,” Lucilla replied. “As I’m sure you will be pleased to know, Lady Lynton is soon to leave London. It seems Lynton departed the city right after Miss Antinori, telling Sapphira to vacate Lynton House as soon as possible since he meant to bring home a bride in the fall. I believe I heard something about Lady Lynton retiring to an estate in Cumbria…”
Leaning over to squeeze Will’s hand, she added softy, “You mustn’t despair, Will. Miss Antinori will return to England one day. Now, shall we dine?”
AFTER DINNER, Domcaster invited Will to share a brandy while his wife went up to freshen herself before the rout-party to which she was dragging her reluctant spouse.
“So you really intend to become a farmer?” Domcaster asked, handing him a snifter.
“Being one seems to agree with you.”
Domcaster nodded. “I never had any interest in cutting a figure in society or in gaming and drinking away my nights. To me, nothing can equal the satisfaction of walking my fields in the morning mist. Watching seeds planted in spring sprout into tender shoots that turn to green waves of summer grain and then to the gold of harvest. Give me that, the laughter of my wife and children, and I ask no more of life.”
It sounded good to Will as well—though he doubted he’d ever experience the bit about a wife and children’s laughter. “I look forward to it.”
“Whilst in town, I’ve consulted my man of business. I’ve been considering investing in additional acreage.”
“Is there any suitable land adjacent to Waverley?”
“I’ve enough of my own to manage already. I was thinking not so much of purchasing more, but rather of acquiring an interest in other properties.”
“With your expertise, I’m sure you’ll soon discover something suitable.”
“Especially if I’m assured of the honesty and good character of the estate manager. I’m thinking that for a property about the size of Brookwillow, ten thousand pounds should be sufficient to effect the most essential repairs and plant enough acreage to earn a profit.”
Ten thousand pounds, the size of Allegra’s supposed dowry—when she had one, Will thought, his attention so ensnared by bittersweet memory that at first he didn’t fully comprehend what Domcaster had just said. Suddenly realizing it, he almost dropped his glass.
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
Domcaster smiled. “Why don’t we say that before you leave London, I’ll give you a draft on my bank for that amount? With interest at the going rate and flexible repayment terms, depending on the yields at harvest.”
“But as yet I know nothing of managing a farm. Why would you take a chance investing in Brookwillow?”
“I’ve always liked you, you know. Even more so now that you’re determined to eschew the easy path of wedding an heiress and work to restore the property yourself. Lucilla’s always said that Brookwillow is a fine piece of land that only needs sufficient cash and attentive management to set it to rights. You provide the oversight and I’ll supply the cash. You’ll need a competent estate agent to advise you. I’ll send over my manager’s eldest son. He’s a good lad and has been well-trained. I expect a handsome return on this investment, by the way.”
Awed and humbled by Domcaster’s generosity, Will said, “I hardly know what to reply.”
Domcaster shrugged. “Needn’t say anything. Family and all, you know. Just give me your hand on it and ’tis done. Then you can be off to Brookwillow to learn what your guardian should have made it his business to teach you years ago—how to profitably manage your birthright.”
His mind still muddled with surprise, Will shook Domcaster’s hand. From the turmoil of his thoughts, though, two sharply defined ideas emerged.
With such an influx of capital, he might accomplish at Brookwillow in a few years what would otherwise have required a decade. And once he’d made a good beginning, he would have the funds to pursue Allegra.
CHAPTER TWENTY
LAUGHTER AND THE MUSICAL babble of Italian conversation drifted on the night air from the ballroom into the garden where Allegra strolled with her cousin Alessandro, her duenna trailing a discreet distance behind. Breathing deeply of the blossom-scented air, she sighed. After three months in residence at her grandfather’s estate crowning the summit of a Tuscan hill, the beauty of the palazzo and the gardens around it still enchanted her.
