Desires of a Baron (10 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Lucy scolded herself for wishing that Giles would join them for dinner.
Giles?
Since when had she started thinking of him as anything other than Lord Norcourt?
It’s because that’s what his mother calls him
, she reasoned with herself.

If only she believed that.

Seated on the red settee to her left, Seth asked Simon if he’d explain piquet or some other card game to him.

“
How about another time?” Simon suggested as he brushed some imaginary dirt or lint from the top of his brown trousers.

Seth shrugged and asked if Simon had ever read a certain book.

Thankfully Simon had and it gave the two of them something to talk about. Lucy, however, could think of nothing to add to the conversation and tried not to notice the way Simon’s eyes kept straying to her every few seconds.

“
My husband isn’t usually so late,” Mrs. Appleton commented. “He must have had an important matter come up, but I don’t think he’ll be too much longer.”

Lucy hoped she was right. Otherwise she might go mad.

Lucy was spared such a fate when not two minutes later the front door creaked open and heavy footfalls sounded in the hall. Trying not to appear too eager or nervous, Lucy kept her eyes trained on Seth until she was certain Mr. Appleton was in the room. Then she turned around and gasped.

She coughed quickly to recover her error, but it was too late and Mrs. Appleton watched her with an amused expression on her face. “I told you that my own scandals were more than enough to scare away certain patronage. Perhaps you believe me now?”

Lucy nodded but couldn’t take her eyes off of the solemn-looking Mr. Appleton. She’d thought Giles and Simon had a striking resemblance and just assumed they had to look like their maternal grandfather, but seeing Mr. Appleton, if she didn’t know better she’d say Giles looked identical—but with fewer wrinkles.

“
Lucy, I’d like you to meet my husband, Walter Appleton. Walter, this is Lucy Whitaker and her son, Seth. Lucy has agreed to help me down at the library.”

“
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucy,” Mr. Appleton greeted. He flashed a smile in Seth’s direction. “Seth.”

Lucy greeted Mr. Appleton and nudged Seth to do the same.

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, shall we go down to dinner?” Mrs. Appleton chirped, killing the tension in the room.

“
May I?” Simon murmured at Lucy’s elbow.

Lucy placed her hand on the crook of his elbow the way she’d witnessed other ladies doing. From the corner of her eye she noticed the set of his jaw. Was he upset? Did he have some sort of hostility for either of his parents? No. It wasn’t her place to ask.

The dining room was small compared to Giles’. Which was to be expected since Giles was a lord and was expected to have a bigger home. Their table had enough seating for eight rather than twelve. There was a large red runner that went down the center of the table and a large silver vase overflowing with tulips in the middle. Five place settings had been laid out. Mr. Appleton sat on the end with his wife on his right side and Lucy on his left. Mrs. Appleton had asked Seth to sit beside her leaving the chair to Lucy’s left free for Simon.

Dinner was tolerable, if not awkward. Simon eventually started to relax and carried on a conversation with his father about their business, using the words investments, recoup, gain, and other such words she only vaguely understood.

Across the table, Seth sent her fleeting glances. He was disinterested in the conversation. So was she, but he didn’t need to know that. She flashed him her best smile. Perhaps
this
was what it’d take for him to stop being so darn eager to spend time with every unattached gentleman.

Just then, the only male servant Lucy had seen since arriving excused himself from the room. When he came back a moment later, he set down a folded piece of paper at Mrs. Appleton’s elbow, then went back to serving.

Mrs. Appleton murmured an apology to the table then read the note to herself before passing it to Mr. Appleton. The two exchanged a look, then Mrs. Appleton made her excuses and left. That was the oddest exchange she’d ever seen. Both Simon and his father must have thought so, too, for neither spoke of business again after she left.

Of course that could have been because Seth pounced on the opportunity of momentary silence to engage Simon in another conversation. This time about what it’d be like if carriages had wings and could fly. Simon was clearly stupefied by the very thought, and relied on logic to explain why this could never work.

Lucy pretended to listen and from the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a distant look on Mr. Appleton’s face. She followed his line of vision to the window. Nothing seemed amiss at first glance; then she saw it. Along the far right side of the window, next to a tall wooden pole that supported the awning across the street was a carriage with the Norcourt crest emblazoned on the side. Though she hadn’t been told everything about this family’s history, she knew enough and while Mrs. Appleton was anything but subtle in her feelings for her eldest son, Mr. Appleton clearly felt the same way his wife did.

Her heart ached for him and without realizing it she reached forward and touched his arm comfortingly. She pulled her hand back before either Seth or Simon could see what she’d done, chastising herself for her foolishness.

Slowly, Mr. Appleton turned to look at her. Her face heated to what felt like one thousand degrees. He wouldn’t say anything about her informal action, would he?

He didn’t.

With glistening green eyes, he offered her a half-smile and whispered, “Thank you.”

***

Giles clenched his fists and exhaled. “I’m sorry.”

A small crease formed in the skin between his mother’s eyes. “For?”

He released another deep exhalation. Then another. “Being cruel.”

“I suppose I deserve some cruelty.” She blinked her eyes rapidly. “I—I want you to know that I never—” She broke off with a sniffle, then sank into the chair nearest her.

Giles remained standing. She appeared to be in need of a hug. But not from him. He’d spent the afternoon trying to form an apology. That was the best he could give. Not that he was too sure she’d want a hug from him anyway. Most didn’t. In fact, the Sisters had scolded him and told him to stop touching the others. That it was inappropriate and made others uncomfortable. He stiffened. He’d hugged Lucy. Had she minded? She didn’t pull away, but neither did she hug him back.

His mother’s voice pulled him from his fog. “Pardon?”

“
We’ve already had dinner, but would you care to join us for dessert?”

Giles studied the tops of his black leather boots. Simon wouldn’t like that. Simon didn’t like
him
. He shook his head. “No.”

“
It’s custard,” she said, smiling.

His mouth watered. He loved custard. Always had. Some of his fondest memories with his mother were when they’d picnic together on the grassy hill by their country estate. She’d always let him eat his bowl of custard before the main meal—so it wouldn’t get warm—then she’d complain of being too full after their meal and insist Giles eat her portion.

“Come,” she urged. “Seth said he could eat three bowls—perhaps the two of you could have a race?”

“
Seth?” Did that mean Lucy was here, too?

“
I invited him and his mother over for dinner. They’re here with Simon and…er—” she cleared her throat— “Mr. Appleton.”

Giles pulled back. “No.”

“Can you give him a chance?”

Not if it meant he had to witness the man paying attention to Lucy.

“Please? If not for me at least for the sake of Seth. The poor boy looks like he’s on the verge of going mad with tedium at any moment.”

Giles cracked a smile. He liked Seth. He was smart, but still needed to have fun. Not to mention, a firm hand. Giles still didn’t like how those men in Shrewsbury had handled Seth, but it hadn’t escaped his notice that the boy could get unruly without boundaries. “All right.”

As soon as he agreed, he wished he could take it back, but couldn’t when his mother clapped her hands, then reached for the blue sleeve of his coat and chirped, “Come along.”

Reminding himself to breathe, Giles followed his mother to the dining room. He could do this. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. At the door to the dining room he halted.

“It’ll be all right,” his mother whispered, giving his sleeve a gentle tug. She stepped into the threshold. “I wanted to say that I appreciate Lucy and Seth for coming to be our dinner guests, and now we’ll be joined by a dessert guest.”

***

Even before Mrs. Appleton had finished her statement, Lucy’s heart was hammering out of control. It must have been the older woman’s smile that had given her away to Lucy. Giles was about to join them. Lucy fidgeted, praying that her face didn’t betray her.

Beside her, Simon grew as rigid as a church steeple as he just stared at his mother while Giles lowered himself into the empty chair beside Seth.

“We’re ready for our custard now, Daniel, please bring enough for both Seth and Lord Norcourt to each have three bowls.”

“
Whatever for, Mother?” Simon burst out.

“
They’re to have a race.” She looked at Lucy and playfully wagged her finger. “He might be eight-and-twenty, but I still have faith my boy can out eat yours when it comes to custard.”

“
And what of your boy who is eight-and-forty?” Mr. Appleton asked, a hint of a smile pulling on the corner of his lips. “Does he not get a chance?”

Mrs. Appleton’s sparkling blue eyes widened. “I didn’t think—” She closed her mouth with an audible snap. “Of course.” Looking to Simon, she asked, “Would you like to compete, too?”

Lucy thought he might decline and was shocked when he agreed.

A moment later, the four of them each had three generous bowls of custard in front of them.

“You’ll all be sick tonight,” Mrs. Appleton commented.

“
But it’ll be worth it,” Mr. Appleton remarked.

Lucy had a feeling he wasn’t just talking about the sweet taste of the custard, but rather the company.

“All right, gentlemen, the rules state—”

“
There are rules posted about this sort of thing?” Simon asked in a stilted tone.

Lucy immediately recognized that was his best attempt at humor for an uncomfortable situation and flashed him an encouraging smile. This was by far, the strangest family she’d ever encountered, and the more she was around them all, the more she realized how unusual it all was and the tension there must be between them all.

“The rules have never actually been penned, no,” Mrs. Appleton allowed. “But they were passed down to me from my mother who heard them from her mother and so forth, so they are just as good as being etched in stone, wouldn’t you say?”

“
Oh, but of course, nobody would dare argue with Great Grandmama Beatrix,” Mr. Appleton muttered, garnering him a little swat on the shoulder from his wife.

“
All right, every bit of custard must be consumed,” Mrs. Appleton said. “The first to do so will be declared the winner.”

“
Is there a prize?” Seth asked.

“’
Course there is,” Mr. Appleton said without hesitation. “But you needn’t worry about it, boy, I don’t plan to lose.”

Seth grinned and shook his head. “We’ll see about that.”

Mr. Appleton laughed and winked at Seth then poked his lower lip out. “What of a boon for the winner, boys?”

Simon pursed his lips, but nodded. Giles gave a single nod, his expression impossible to interpret. Seth looked a little disappointed at first, but then just shrugged. Likely, if he were to win, he’d ask for what he would have wanted the prize to be anyway.

“All right, gentlemen, now that that’s settled,” Mrs. Appleton started. “Put your hands in your laps.” She lifted three fingers into the air. “Ready? Three. Two. One. Go!”

Seth was the first to grab his bowl and spoon and start shoveling spoonfuls of the yellow fluff into his mouth. Simon used a similar tactic then used the edge of his spoon to scrape every last glob off the edge of his bowl. Giles had a different approach entirely and lifted the bowl to his lips and scraped its contents into his mouth. Oddly enough Mr. Appleton was doing the same thing and was the first to put his empty bowl down with a loud thud and lift the next.

Giles and Simon each finished their first bowl at the same time with Seth only a second behind.

Lucy couldn’t help herself and laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“Is something funny?” Simon asked her between bites.

“
Yes.”

With that, Simon lowered his half-eaten bowl of custard to the table and for what must have been the first time since they’d met, grinned at her. A full, uninhibited grin that made him look exceedingly handsome. She turned her attention away before she inadvertently gave him the wrong idea. His father finished his second bowl and set it down with a much softer tap than the first. The look in his green eyes said he wanted to win in the worst way, but the way his face was turning green to match his eyes, said he was on the verge of being ill from so much sugar.