The Nightingale Legacy Read Free Page A

he is young and has no discrimination in such matters. Now, I should say, from my own experience, that young ladies don’t have the stamina or the, er, vigor, to remain up at all hours as you were last night.”
    “I retired at nine-thirty, sir.”
    “Did you, now? But I thought you and Owen were strolling in the gardens and—”
    “Perhaps Owen was strolling, sir. Perhaps he was comparing the roses to crimson velvet draperies or to red blood drops from a cut finger, though I don’t see how he could have done that since it was quite dark last night and drizzling most of the time. Ah, you don’t recall, do you? You were busily drinking my father’s brandy, toasting yourself in front of the only fireplace that was lit, Mrs. Tailstrop hovering over you offering crumpets. No, last night, sir, there wasn’t a single star to be rhapsodized over. Actually, Owen doesn’t care for flowers at all. They make him sneeze. As for myself, I was in my bed dreaming birthday dreams. I have been dreaming them for some time now.”
    “Oh,” he said, confounded and, she knew, doubtless angry at his son for letting her escape his net, also doubtless angry because it was true, he had been swilling her father’s brandy with Mrs. Tailstrop nodding agreeably at whatever came out of his mouth. That, she’d told Caroline many times, was one of a lady’s prime duties—to listen and nod and smile and offer food and drink. It was a litany that always drove Caroline quite mad.
    She looked at Mr. Ffalkes from beneath her lashes. He still looked on the angry side, and also a bit uncertain of how to proceed. Oh yes, Caroline could just imagine the detailed instructions he’d forced down his son’s skinny throat to seduce her, and Owen had let his sire down. Hecleared his throat and said, all calm and charm, “As for your birthday, dear Miss Derwent-Jones, I had thought to have just the immediate family here for a luncheon for you.”
    She didn’t care if she spent her birthday on the moon. She nodded. “That’s fine, sir. It’s a pity that I have no more immediate family in the area.”
    “Owen and I will be most attentive to you. I believe Owen has bought you a birthday present that—dare I say it?—could perhaps also double as an engagement present?”
    He’d come out into the open at last. She was nonplussed for a moment, but just for a moment. She smiled widely at him. “How very kind of Owen, but I believe it’s too soon for that, sir. Mr. Duncan has, of course, proposed, but we decided to wait until next month to announce our betrothal. We will wed at Christmas. No, I couldn’t possibly accept a present from Owen until Mr. Duncan and I have announced our engagement formally.”
    “ Mr. Duncan! Who the devil is this Mr. Duncan?”
    He looked as if he would expire from apoplexy, his face all red and puffy. It pleased her enormously. She could practically see him falling down the front steps of the manor, flailing and foaming at the mouth in his rage. “Why, sir, he’s a neighbor. I call him my own dear squire. Duncan is a local name, here for hundreds of years. We have been close for the past three years. Such a handsome gentleman he is, a very strong chin and ears that lie flat to his head. Yes, sir, we plan to marry and join our properties.”
    “You have never mentioned this man to me, dear Miss Derwent-Jones. Indeed, I have never heard of a Mr. Duncan. This is not what I want and you well know it. I will speak to Mrs. Tailstrop about this. I will tell her what I think of her wardenship.”
    “You were not often here, sir, until two years ago whenyou came so very often Mrs. Tailstrop thought we should keep fresh sheets on your bed. I hadn’t thought of Mrs. Tailstrop as a warden. Still, what does it really matter now? To be honest, when you were here all the time, I tended to keep dear Mr. Duncan away.”
    “Owen was nearly always with me. You were with him a great deal of the time.”
    “Fresh sheets for Owen as