The Heiress's Homecoming

If she noticed his lapse, she was wise enough not to comment on it. “I will come visit. I promise.”

“It won’t be the same.”

Will winced at the adolescent whine. With every movement, every word, his son proved how young he was. And Will didn’t want him any more attached to this woman.

“James,” he said, “the lady asked you to drop the subject. I suggest you comply.”

He regretted his suggestion immediately, for his son blanched. Jamie snapped Lady Everard a bow. “Never intended to hurt you. Sorry.”

Now she paled, and Will could not understand the reason. “There’s no need to apologize,” she replied. “I know you have my best interests at heart. Please tell Mrs. Dallsten Walcott I’m sorry I missed the party. I should go.” Her curtsey was a mere bob of her head before she fled.

“You didn’t need to berate me in front of her,” Jamie said in the silence that followed, his gaze on the floor. “She already considers me a child.”

Jamie’s actions spoke louder than Will’s chastisement, but Will didn’t think the boy would appreciate the fact. He kept his voice gentle. “Sometimes those who watch us grow up are the last to see us change.”

“I suppose so.” His deep sigh could have felled a forest.

Under other circumstances Will would have been hard-pressed not to smile at the dramatic performance, but now he could only wonder how far things had progressed between his son and their lovely neighbor. “I realize you’ve known her for years,” he ventured. “Your grandfather wrote me letters and told me about your antics as children.”

Jamie nodded, clearly avoiding Will’s gaze. “She was always there, as long as I can remember.”

When he hadn’t been. Will had run off with the diplomatic corps shortly after Jamie had been born, and only his brother’s death had brought Will home. He tried to ignore the guilt that tugged at him. “I suppose it’s natural that you’d come in contact with her. The Everards are our closest neighbors.”

Jamie shook his head, one corner of his mouth lifting. “She was more than a neighbor. She was my best friend. And she was always up for a lark. We used to ride together and play catch-me-who-can in the woods. Grandfather even had me take lessons from her governess when we were between tutors.” He sighed again, and another forest tumbled.

“But she’s been in London the past few years, hasn’t she?” Will asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. From what he knew of the Everard family, it would not have surprised him to learn that his son and the lady had been meeting in private.

“Eight years,” Jamie agreed so heavily he made the time sound like decades. He glanced up at his father, defiance shining in his eyes. “I wrote to her.”

Will leaned his hip against the sofa, trying not to overreact. Neither his son nor Will’s consequence would thank him for it. “And did she return your sentiments?”

Jamie gazed out the door. “She wrote back, but she never claimed anything more than friendship.”

Relief was palpable. He could only hope the lady would remain nothing more than a friend. “And may I ask your intentions now?”

Jamie shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I should have known better than to try, but I thought perhaps she might see me differently with her back against the wall.”

She felt trapped? Was that why she’d been crying? Despite his intentions, Will straightened and came around the sofa to join his son by the door. “What do you mean? What’s troubling her?”

Jamie flushed. “Apparently she doesn’t wish me to speak of it. I cannot abuse her trust, Father. I hope you understand.”

Will was afraid he understood all too well. Jamie was in love with Samantha Everard. He was tempted to put it down to calf-love—that tempestuous emotion that sometimes plagued the youth. But he had not forgotten the feelings he’d had for Jamie’s mother, and at an equally young age. He would never have claimed that was anything short of love.

“You need say no more,” Will promised him. Indeed, at the moment, he was less interested in hearing from his son and more interested in hearing from the lady herself. But he needed no audience save hers.

“Perhaps you should return to the party,” he suggested to Jamie. “You are the guest of honor, after all.”

Jamie nodded, but Will was certain his son would take little joy from the remainder of the evening.

He escorted Jamie back to the hall; introduced him to the wife of a local baronet, a lady who would in no way affect his emotions as they danced; ignored yet another imperious look from his hostess; and darted for the entryway. If Lady Everard was waiting for her carriage, he wanted to catch her before she departed.

He had never met any of the Everards personally, but what he suspected would be enough to give most men pause. He’d been in the process of marrying and mourning when Arthur, Lord Everard, had moved his wife and young daughter into Dallsten Manor, the estate to the south of the Kendrick seat.

While he was away trying to forget his lost love, Samantha Everard had grown into a beautiful woman, one who had gathered an offer of marriage from more than one gentleman, he’d heard. Yet despite her wealth, charm and beauty, she had accepted no man as husband. He wasn’t sure why and feared the reason would only hurt his son. He could understand Jamie’s infatuation, but he could not allow it to go any further.

As he had hoped, she was waiting in the entryway. One of his footmen must have retrieved her evening cloak, for the black velvet that draped her made her seem all too slender, almost ethereal, as if one of the fairies rumored to live in the forests nearby had come to visit.

She certainly had more energy than a mythical creature. Instead of standing regally as a lady normally would, she was striding back and forth in front of the white marble columns that separated the entry from the wood-paneled main corridor of the house. She moved so quickly, in fact, he wondered that her kid leather slippers didn’t wear out against the black-and-white marble tiles.

But at least her reflection in the gilt-framed mirror on the opposite wall proved she was the only guest waiting. With the late supper soon to be served, none of his other visitors were ready to depart. The only other people in the space were the footmen who stood at attention in their coats and breeches on either side of the wide-paneled door that fronted the drive, and Will knew he could count on their discretion.

“Lady Everard,” he said, approaching her, and she pulled herself up in obvious surprise, skirts swirling about her ankles like a gentle tide. The smile that brightened her face stopped his movement, his thoughts and very nearly his breath.

“Lord Kendrick,” she said. “You didn’t have to abandon your other guests for me. Your staff is wondrously efficient. I expect my carriage any moment.”

He thought the footmen stood a little taller at her praise. He wanted to stand a little taller as she gazed up at him. This was ridiculous! He wasn’t an eighteen-year-old lad on his first year in Society. And he feared something far darker lay beneath that pleasing smile.

“I wished a word with you before you left,” he said, lowering his voice. “I must ask your intentions concerning my son.”

Her golden brows shot up. “My intentions? Isn’t it generally the lady’s father who asks that question, of a suitor?”

She was right of course, and she could not know he’d just asked Jamie the same question.

“Generally,” he acknowledged. “But these are unusual circumstances. The gentleman is usually the elder and therefore more experienced.”

Now her brows came down, and he felt as if a thundercloud was gathering. “Are you implying I am too experienced for your son, my lord?”

In some matters, he very much feared that for the truth. Oh, he had no doubt she was still a lady; her three guardians would have horsewhipped any man who had tried to change that. But she had seen things Jamie had yet to discover, things Will hoped he never would.

And thank You, Lord, for that!

“I merely meant,” he said, “that you have had more time in Society than Lord Wentworth, and you must know he isn’t ready for a serious courtship.”

She cocked her head, curls falling against her creamy neck, and he had to pull his gaze away. “So you’d prefer he merely dally with me,” she mused, though her voice held an edge, “perhaps increase his reputation with the ladies while sullying mine. Heaven forbid that he actually marry me.”

This was getting worse by the minute! Will tugged down his waistcoat and raised his chin, trying to look every inch the Earl of Kendrick even while using his best diplomat’s voice. “Suggesting my son dally with you would be most ungentlemanly,” he assured her. “But if it’s a husband you’re seeking, I should point out that as a baroness in your own right you could do far better than Lord Wentworth.”

He thought that would appease her. It was the truth, after all. Jamie might be the heir to an earldom, but only Will and his steward knew how tight the purse strings had become. Unless Will was very careful, his son would inherit nothing but an empty title.

But Lady Everard did not appear appeased. “Your son,” she said, each word precise with tension, “is a paragon—clever, loyal and kind. I assure you, I could do far worse.”

Was she intent on capturing Jamie, then? He ought to feel protective of his son, annoyed by her presumption, aghast that she would parade her intentions before him like a challenge. But the emotion striding to the front of his mind was nothing short of jealousy.

He drew himself up, shoved his feelings down deep. “I must ask you to leave my son alone. I will not countenance a marriage between you.”

She blinked, then a laugh bubbled up, soft and lilting. Another time, he was certain he would have been enchanted.

“How funny,” she said, steepling her fingers in front of her lips. “I would have thought a gentleman who had seen so much of the world would have acquired more sense along the way.”

Will was prepared to take offense, but she leaned closer, and the scent of roses seemed far too soft for the hard feelings he was trying to muster.

“Ask yourself this,” she murmured, gaze on his. “If I truly wished to marry into your family, why would I pursue the cub instead of the lion?”

Will recoiled. Her gaze danced with laughter; her smile could only be called smug. She knew she’d shocked him. Even with his years of experience as a diplomat, he had no idea how to respond.

The clatter of horses’ hooves outside announced her carriage. She straightened. “Thank you for a most diverting evening, my lord,” she said, and she turned and followed one of his footmen toward the door as the other servant threw it wide for her.

Will could only stare after her. He should speak to Jamie, confess his concerns, forbid the boy to see anything more of the beautiful Lady Everard. But as he moved to return to his other guests, he passed the gilt-framed mirror, and he wasn’t entirely surprised by the smile lining his face.

* * *

Samantha cast a quick look over her shoulder before the door of Kendrick Hall shut behind her. Lord Kendrick was smiling, and she felt an answering warmth inside. She could imagine laughing over a game of chess, pacing him across the countryside on horseback, dancing with her hands on his, the admiration of his gaze filling her to overflowing.

Oh, no! This would never do. She simply could not entertain such thoughts about the Earl of Kendrick.

William Wentworth would never be in charity with her. At times she was amazed Jamie was still willing to speak to her. After all, she was the reason the previous Lord Wentworth, William’s brother, had been killed.

Surely he knew. Surely that was why he was so concerned that Jamie seemed to care for her. Lord Kendrick didn’t understand it was merely an abiding friendship she and his son shared. She’d watched young James grow up with only his grandfather to guide him, while his father was busy defending British interests in far off places like Constantinople and Alexandria. How Jamie had pined for a moment with his father, much as she had pined for more time with hers. Come to think of it, she had every right to be annoyed with Lord Kendrick!

How could he have abandoned his son on his wife’s death? Jamie had been an infant! William Wentworth had only returned after his brother’s death, she was sure, because tradition required him to take up his place as the new heir. Did he care nothing for family? Was he only concerned she was pursuing Jamie because of her own past?

She shook her head as she settled herself against the velvet-covered seat and the carriage headed down the drive for the road to Dallsten Manor. Her thoughts moved faster than the lacquered wheels. Jamie’s father, this new Lord Kendrick, was not what she had expected. He looked nothing like his son; he acted nothing like his father, who had always treated her with the utmost kindness, even after her connection to his older son’s death.

And as for any resemblance to his dead brother, she had refused to think about the former Lord Wentworth for a very long time. She’d only lost her composure tonight when Jamie had cut short his sentences, an annoying habit that had, alas, been his late uncle’s.

She needed no reminders of the mistakes she’d made, of the tragedies she’d inherited along with the Everard legacy. Those mistakes were the main reason she’d refused her suitors over the years. Each had had something to commend him: a pleasant disposition, a commanding presence, a devotion to duty. Her latest unintended conquest, Prentice Haygood, had followed her about so loyally she’d resorted to hiding in the ladies’ retiring room at balls to avoid hurting his feelings!

Some of her suitors had been handsome, and some had been wealthy and some had been both. Far too many, however, had been fortune hunters, and she’d come to the point where she could smell the breed at twenty paces. Those she had no trouble refusing.

But one other sort of follower had plagued her last days in London. Her home had been broken into, her rooms pawed through. Nothing had been taken, but she could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She’d made inquiries, even set a trap in her home to catch the villain, going so far as to leave a window open and waiting with her strongest footman in the dark, but to no avail. Only her impending birthday had forced her north to the one place she’d ever felt truly at home: Dallsten Manor.

Unfortunately she had found an entirely different problem awaiting her in Lord Kendrick. She wasn’t surprised to be attracted to him. Both Jamie and his grandfather had delighted to tell her about his adventures. The stories had circled the valley when she was a girl—his insistent courtship of Peggy Demesne, who was only the miller’s daughter; their eloping to Gretna Green to marry despite his father’s wishes; her death a year later birthing Jamie; and his journeys throughout the world to forget his heartbreak. William Wentworth was the stuff of legend in the Evendale valley.

Or had been, until her family’s scandals eclipsed his.

She hugged her velvet cloak closer as the carriage trundled through the night. Emotions fired too easily in her family, for good and ill. Emotions, she was convinced, lay at the heart of her family’s past problems. She would not trust her feelings with her future. Though it cost her everything, she would not marry on a whim, not even to save her fortune.

Chapter Three

Will would have preferred to have put the lovely Lady Everard from his mind. Unfortunately, Jamie’s attitude at breakfast the next morning prevented that. The lad’s cheeks and mouth sagged, his shoulders slumped over his coddled eggs and salmon. His responses to Will’s attempts at conversation consisted of grunts and questionable movements of his head.

“Oxford,” Will announced, keeping his gaze on the freshly baked bread he was slathering with butter. “Fine school. I think it will do very well for you.”

“Oxford?” The silver-rimmed china clattered as Jamie set down his cup.

Will glanced up to see that he had his son’s attention at last. “Oxford. Divinity school. With all these martyred sighs I thought perhaps you were planning on being a man of the cloth.”

Jamie’s mouth turned up as he shook his head. “I don’t think I’m cut out for Holy Orders, thank you, Father. And you said I didn’t have to return to school if I didn’t wish it. You never attended Oxford.”

He hadn’t, and now that the title had come to him, he wondered if his earlier choices had been wise. But at eighteen, he could not have imagined the road he would travel. “So you still plan to stay here with me, learn more about managing our estate, our holdings.”

Jamie nodded, hands braced on the damask tablecloth. “I’d like to understand my duty better, yes. But I intend to take a little holiday before jumping in.”

Will raised his brows. “Planning to go on a Grand Tour of Europe, are you?”

Jamie grinned, pulling back his hands. “Nothing so elaborate. I’d just like to fish, ride, visit neighbors. That sort of thing.”

Will set down his butter knife. “Neighbors like the Everards.”

Jamie colored as if he’d been caught with his fingers in the sugar bowl. “Lady Everard is our neighbor, so yes, I planned to visit her as well as the Gileses, Mr. Ramsey our old vicar and others who knew me before I went away to Eton.”

“Very...neighborly of you,” Will managed.

Jamie raised his chin. “I thought so.”

Will watched as the boy attacked his eggs. Jamie might protest all he liked, but Will was certain more than a friendly nature motivated him to pursue Lady Everard. He had to find a way to break through to his son.

“Perhaps I’ll come with you,” Will ventured. “I feel in an uncommonly neighborly mood as well.”

For some reason his son did not seem amused by the prospect. But he finished breakfast and excused himself, promising to rejoin his father after Will’s morning ride.

Will hoped that ride would at least clear his mind of his concerns. Nothing like pounding across the turf to remind him of the reason he was born. He was a Wentworth, and this estate had belonged to his family for ten generations. He glanced back at the hall as he wended his way through the boxed hedges for the stables behind the house.

A sturdy brick edifice four stories tall, with squat wings clinging to the center, Kendrick Hall had been built for his great-grandfather. The numerous high-arched windows capped in white, and white stone columns marking the center block, managed to give the place a look of elegance in keeping with the current age. But though the house was newer than its neighbors, Wentworth blood had defended the grounds from Scottish tribes over four hundred years ago.

And now it was Will’s turn to defend it from the rising debts. He nodded to his head groom as he mounted Arrow, his favorite horse. He knew others whose heritage had been stolen by a father who gambled, a brother who invested unwisely. That was not the case with the Kendrick estate. His father had been a good if unenlightened manager. But times were changing, and the Evendale valley, so close to the fells of Cumberland, was struggling to keep pace.

Will set Arrow to a canter and guided him out around the house for the front. There he could see snatches of the oak woods to the north and the lone line of oaks flanking the long drive to the road. He had only to move beyond them, and he could see all the way to Dallsten Manor.

So he could not fail to notice the other rider pelting across the green pastures between the two houses. Even if he had doubted the identity, the flash of sunlight on golden hair would have given her away.

The gelding beneath him tossed his head as if wishing to follow. Will felt a similar desire to give chase. He knew Arrow was swift enough to catch her. But he wasn’t sure he wanted the conversation that would follow. Neighbors or not, the less time he spent in Lady Everard’s company, the safer he’d feel.

But would Jamie be any safer if Will let her be? Jamie had no understanding of the female mind; Will had met enough ladies on his travels to have some familiarity. Lady Everard had implied last night that she would be more interested in him than in his son, a fact that had refused to leave his thoughts for much of the night.

Should I keep an eye on her, Father? Try to understand why she’s here, what she hopes to gain?

Something inside him jumped at the idea. Still, Will hesitated, watching her. She certainly had no concerns about her own safety. Though she had crossed onto his lands, she had forsaken a groom or lady to attend her. Her horse galloped across the field, sheep scattering before them, and approached a low hedge that separated the patches of grass so the flocks could be rotated among the pastures.

Surely she’d slow; surely she’d stop. He found himself rising in the stirrup irons as if he could hold her up by sheer force of character.

The horse sailed up and over the hedge, and Lady Everard flew up and out of the saddle to land on the ground.

Will felt as if his breath had been knocked from him as well. Arrow was moving before he realized he’d directed the dappled gelding. Down they went, through the trees, over a stream. Every length Will sent up a prayer that he would find her unharmed. He galloped to the hedge and leaped from the saddle.

She had managed to raise herself into a sitting position and was gazing about her as if dazed. Will crouched beside her. Her tall-crowned hat had fallen, her curls hung free about her shoulders, and her cheeks were bright. She blinked at him as if surprised to find him there.

“Lady Everard,” he murmured, tightening his fist on the reins to keep from touching her. “Are you all right?”

She wrinkled her nose and puffed out a sigh. “I am remarkably disappointed. I’ve taken that hedge any number of times. Why was today any different?”

He wasn’t sure whether to hug her to him in relief or shout at her for risking her life. He settled for rising and going to fetch her horse, which was waiting for her a few yards away. When he returned with the black-coated mare, Lady Everard had retrieved her hat and was struggling to take another step, the skirts of her blue riding habit heavy with the mud of the field.

“Easy!” He dropped both reins and reached for her, but she held out her free hand to prevent his touch.

“I’m fine,” she said, straightening to her full height, which still put her under his chin. She took a hesitant couple of steps and nodded. “Yes, quite fine.” She dimpled up at him. “But thank you for your concern.”

Will shook his head at her cavalier attitude. Didn’t she know she could have broken her neck? “You’re certain?”

“Reasonably. Though I could use your help to mount.”

That was it? He couldn’t think of a lady of his acquaintance who would take such a fall so calmly. His Peg had refused to ride, saying the great beasts frightened her, and he’d felt distinctly manly at the time that he was so comfortable in the saddle. In his travels he’d met any number of women who rode or drove wagons pulled by horses, donkeys or oxen, but those women had never been among the aristocracy.

“Your servant, Lady Everard,” he said, bemused. Knowing his horse was well trained enough not to wander off, he handed her her horse’s reins and bent to cup his fingers.

Hat back on her head, Samantha Everard put her foot in his hands. For all her bravado, it was a surprisingly small foot. Even encased in a sturdy brown leather half-boot, it fit easily in his grip, and she seemed to weigh next to nothing as he lifted her into the saddle.

She spread her sodden skirts as she settled into place. “Thank you, my lord. I appreciate your kindness.”

But not necessarily his presence. Already she was gathering the reins, preparing to ride off. He should let her go, hurry back to Kendrick Hall and all those tedious estate duties. But those duties would not help him understand her, or protect his son.