AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Fifteen
James wanted to give his head a shake. He was supposed to be distancing himself from the woman, not offering to take her to see the sites. But her forlorn tone as she explained why she had never seen a lion or other wild animal was the saddest thing he had heard, and he hadn’t been able to stop the words from uttering themselves. His impulse to argue against her refusal was swiftly suppressed. They couldn’t get back to Town soon enough to suit him.
He needed to get the Prescott matter sorted before he could concentrate on anything else. In that moment, he wished he had cultivated more close friendships than just with Crossley. With Crossley off on his marriage trip, there was no one to discuss matters with. Except maybe his valet.Just as Lady Rosabel confides in her maid, perhaps,James thought,I could muse aloud with my own servant. Or even his secretary. He would trust that man with his life. Brightening, he urged his horses to a swifter pace.
Realizing that he had allowed the silence to begin to stretch after her comment about her mother, James tried to think of something to talk about. The only thing he could think of was what he discussed with all debutantes, but he wasn’t sure it would go over too well with her.
“Have there been any aspects of the Season that have been to your liking?”
“There have, as a matter of fact. For one thing, I do love to dance. And the theatre is a pleasure. We do, of course, have some travelling performances that come through our village, but nothing on par with what we can see in Town.”
“Which has been your favorite performance?”
“Oh, that’s a difficult question,” she replied with a grin. “But I might have to say, Cymbeline with Mr. Kemble. I saw it my first Season and have never quite been able to forget it.” She paused for a moment. “Are you a regular at the theatre? Or do you find you are too busy?”
“I make the time upon occasion. But I cannot say that I am an enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare. Cymbeline wasn’t too bad, but I’m most certainly not enamoured of his tragedies.”
“No, I suppose not. You probably see enough trials and tragedy in real life. But what about Twelfth Night?” Rosabel asked.
“Well, if you can get past all the mistaken identities, I suppose it is a good bit of entertainment.”
Rosabel’s tinkling laugh warmed his heart, but James made every effort to ignore the sensation.
“I see that the theatre is not your favourite. Very well, Your Grace, tell me, what do you enjoy about the Season?”
James shrugged. “It is my duty, not really something I do for pleasure.”
He couldn’t quite tell what was going through her mind as she stared at him for a moment. With her head tilted as though she were an inquisitive little bird, she looked as though she were trying to read his mind. As they drew closer to Town, James’ attention was required more on the horses since there were more distractions for the horses and traffic to avoid.
“Do you enjoy helping to run the government?”
Her question was voiced so low he almost missed it.
“Why are you hesitant to ask me that?”
“Why are you once more countering my question with one of your own?” Her smiling face was without rancor, but James felt badly for doing that once more.
“My apologies, my lady. To answer your question, I do enjoy being involved in the decisions being made by the government. Or rather, I trust my own judgment far more than my fellow lords, so I feel obliged to be involved.”
“I suppose that’s the true fulfillment of the title noble, is it not? It’s noble of you to put the needs of others ahead of your own preferences and enjoyments.”
“Thank you for saying so, but I’m not sure if it’s entirely noble. I benefit from the power I garner. And I’m in a position to ensure my family members benefit as well.”
“There should be some sort of recompense for your time, don’t you think? That doesn’t eliminate the nobility of your actions.”
James shrugged, feeling bashful under her praise.
“Why were you hesitant to ask about it?”
Now Rosabel shrugged. “My father doesn’t like to talk about his work at home. I’m not sure if it’s because he doesn’t want to trouble us with it, or if he thinks we won’t understand, or if he just doesn’t want to be bothered with it when he’s at home.” She paused for a moment, a rueful expression flitting across her face. “I wasn’t sure if you would appreciate the question.”
“You can ask me anything,” James vowed.
Rosabel laughed. “You just might not answer me, right?”
James joined her in laughter. “I suppose that’s true.” He slowed the horses further as they were now getting into much heavier traffic. “But you could still ask,” he added with a smile. “No one ever really asks me about whether or not I enjoy something. Especially not something that I consider my duty to do. It’s a good question. I don’t think I thoroughly answered your question, as I’ve never really thought about it before. I am involved with the running of the country because it is my duty that I have inherited from my father, and his father before him, and so on. We received our position within Society because of service to the Crown for generations.”
Rosabel nodded but appeared thoughtful. “So did all the nobles, or as bribes not to go against the Crown, I suppose. But not all the noblemen take it so seriously. Some seem to consider that it was their grandfather’s commitment, not their own, and they cannot be bothered with it.”
