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Meanwhile, the men had retired to the billiards room and spent the morning playing and conversing over country matters. Felicity missed Phineas’s presence and his constant gaze, which seemed to follow her around. She was getting too used to being part of the family and to Phineas’s too charming attentions.
Felicity reminded herself every so often that it was all a pretense. The only thing that seemed real was the burning heat that simmered between her and the earl, and even that was meant to be fleeting. The gentlemen returned to say that the picnic was now ready and offered their escort. Most of the men had been riding before breakfast and were still dressed in riding boots, breeches, and their jackets, which were in shades of dull green, brown and, in Phineas’s case, a rather nice purple and moss green tweed. They looked like prosperous country gentlemen on a jaunt, rather than the pinks of theton, as they would dress in Town.
Nanna had been ensconced in a Bath chair, with a light blanket tucked over her lap. She was beaming as her grandson took over the pushing of the chair from the footman that Carson had assigned to that duty. The ladies fetched straw bonnets to avoid the sun damaging their complexions, but no coats or shawls were required in the heat of a summer’s day. Then everyone proceeded behind Phineas and his grandmother, who was chatting away about the glories of the rose garden and expressing satisfaction with the new plantings of the formal gardens as they passed through them to a lawn that was velvety smooth.
Chairs had been brought out and blankets strewn, and a trestle table, with white linen tablecloth, had been arranged with an abundance of dishes under silver covers. Phineas pushed the dowager countess into position beside the center of the table, where a jolly awning had been arranged for her comfort. A slight breeze rustled the tablecloth and stirred Felicity’s hair. Wine was in the cooler, and the finest crystal glasses were formally arranged.
Felicity thought it was a bit excessive for a simple picnic but found she was getting used to the pomp that accompanied the earl. She realized that although the cost of such a meal would feed several poor families, it would also ensure that the staff was employed and they, in their turn, would succor their families.
Nanna intoned a very brief grace, and then the meal was served. The gentlemen helped the ladies with servings of whatever they fancied before serving themselves, although footmen stood by to serve wine and iced lemonade. The fresh air had given them all a good appetite, and they tucked into the feast that the cooks had prepared. When no one could eat any more, silent footmen ferried everything away, leaving only the glasses and drinks to be consumed. Felicity sat down on one of the blankets and was soon joined by Phineas’s sisters. Mary, the oldest of his sisters, who was some years younger than him, was beginning to show that she would be presenting her husband with another child. They already had one boy in leading-strings, but he had been left at home with his nursemaid as young Georgie had a nasty tendency to be sick on long carriage journeys. A tendency they hoped he would grow out of.
Sarah started up a conversation. “Are you planning to honeymoon abroad?” she asked Felicity. “I have always wanted to go shopping in Paris and visit some of the sights that Phineas saw when he was on the Grand Tour.”
“I have no idea what Phineas’s plans are. We have not got as far as discussing honeymoon plans. I expect Phineas will make it a surprise,” Felicity invented awkwardly and then wondered aloud if they could play bowls as it was a gentle game.
A footman was summoned by the countess, and balls and some skittles were soon found and set up. Felicity was paired by Phineas, who winked at her, bringing a blush to her cheeks. Mary chose to stay with nanna and watch while her younger sister took her place with her husband. The men took the game far more seriously than the girls, who were enjoying the gentle exercise and giggling together. Sarah and her husband, Viscount Basil, won the first game, although Phineas and Felicity had been winning until she missed the last pin. They resolved to play a second game which this time they won resoundingly, but Mary’s husband, Viscount Darling, was demanding a best of three to confirm his superiority. It was then that the countess let out a scream as the dowager countess flopped in a dead faint, falling dramatically from her Bath chair.
“Nanna,” Phineas cried, rushing forward.
Anxiety cramped Felicity’s belly, and she hastened forward with everyone who rushed to check on the dowager countess. Phineas gently lifted her back into the chair as his mother chafed her hands, and Annabelle waved a vinaigrette under her grandmother’s aristocratic nose.
Nanna was soon conscious, although looking very pale and vapid. She seemed a little confused about what had happened, and Phineas pushed the Bath chair at speed back into the house, calling for the doctor to be sent for. He swept her from the Bath chair and gently carried his grandmother upstairs to her room. He called for her maid as he ascended the stairs, and the door to the dowager countess’s bedroom was held open for him as he laid her on her bed.
Felicity hurried downstairs and called for tea, waiting and watching for the physician to arrive. She sent up several prayers hoping that he would arrive soon, and there was nothing seriously wrong with the dowager countess.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Phineas paced along the hallway, a heavy feeling pressed upon his heart. How frail and listless his nanna had appeared. He loathed seeing her like that and similarly hated the helpless feeling surging through him. He stilled when the door opened. Dr. Greaves exited the bedchamber, looking far grimmer than Phineas would have liked. “Was it the sun?” he demanded gruffly.
“Amongst other things,” he said mysteriously.
“Allow me to check on her, and then we shall speak,” he said, heading into his grandmother’s room.
She reposed against her pillows, looking far too pale to reassure him.
“Assist me up, Phin, my boy.”
Having gently arranged the pillows for his grandmother on her bed, Phineas turned to exit the room so her maid could attend her. The physician had not stayed with her long, and he needed to hear his report right away.
Cold fingers caught his wrist in a delicate grip, “Phin my boy.” She spoke in a frail voice not befitting the powerful figure he knew her to be. “You’ve made me so happy these past weeks. All I have ever wanted for you is to see you contentedly settled and taken care of by a good wife. I believe Miss Harrington, your Jane, will make a good wife.”
She released a sigh and coughed lightly, shrinking into her pillows.
He rested his hand on hers reassuringly. “I know, Nanna; reserve your strength, rest. I shall confer with Dr. Greaves shortly to better understand the path forward. Perhaps I could send you to even take the waters in Bath. They are believed to be very restorative.”
“No, boy, I feel it now. I don’t believe I have much longer,” she breathed in a whisper.
A dark heaviness sat upon his shoulders, and he resolutely shook it off. Though he was not ready to lose her, he knew death was an inevitable part of existence. “Nanna, don’t say that. You were doing much better, and I witnessed an improvement in your condition these past weeks. It must have been the sun why you collapsed.”
She took a deep breath and stared at him. “This is just the way of things, Phin. The old must wilt away so the young can flourish. My only wish is to see that flourish on your wedding day. To witness with my own eyes the joy you will glow with as you watch your bride stroll toward you on the aisle.” She smiled and stared past him as if she imagined the scene she spoke of. “Yes, that is my dying wish.”
Phineas stilled.Her dying wish? His grandmother was ruthless in her machinations, even now. She’d been trying to get him to pin down a wedding date with ‘Jane’ since he’d brought Felicity to his manor. But he had so far managed to put her off. His mind raced; how could he fulfill such a wish? No ploy existed or could be created to fake a wedding to an earl.Hell.He could deny her wish, but that may make her expire this very instant.
As if seeing the wheels turning in his head, she said, “Jane is a lovely choice, my boy. She is kind-hearted, good-natured, andbona fide. She will make an excellent countess and even better mother. And the way she so seamlessly integrates with us Wyndham ladies is icing on the cake.”
She reached across her body and gently patted the hand he had atop hers. “And most important of all, Phin, you wear your affections for her on your sleeve. You are so enamored you can scarcely conceal it. I have never seen you so affected before. I could not have found a more suitable match for you myself.”
She held his gaze, hope brimming in her eyes.
