Lost Lords 6 - Not Quite a Wife (16 page)

Kirkland appeared beside her. “Time for more introductions. Though you had misgivings, you’re doing well, Lady Kirkland.”

“No one has scratched my eyes out yet.” She smiled wryly as her gaze scanned the group. “But the evening is young yet.”

W
ith Kirkland at one end of the dining room table and Laurel at the other, they couldn’t talk, but he could admire her smooth grace as a hostess. He knew that by nature she was reserved and rather shy, and she’d freely admitted that she was nervous about meeting so many of his friends. But she’d been raised as a lady, and in her Bristol years she’d dealt with people in all manner of different situations, including facing down a slave trader. As a result, she handled the dinner with aplomb.

When they’d finished eating, he gave Laurel a nod to convey that it was time for the ladies to withdraw and leave the gentlemen to their port. Instead, she asked the nearest footman to summon Mrs. Simond. When the cook appeared, looking wary, Laurel said warmly, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a finer meal, Mrs. Simond. My thanks to you and your staff for your exceptional skill.”

As Mrs. Simond beamed, other guests complimented dishes they’d particularly enjoyed. The cook was almost walking on air when she left the dining room.

Why had Kirkland never thought to summon Mrs. Simond to thank her? He considered himself as a fair-minded employer who paid good wages, but Laurel’s public appreciation had a personal dimension that went beyond being a good employer.

Laurel had also had the tables in the main dining room rearranged so that the room felt less like a cricket pitch. She thought of things that he didn’t—and that made life better for all concerned.

After Mrs. Simond retired to her kitchen, Laurel rose. “Ladies, it’s time for us to withdraw so the gentlemen can solve the ills of the nation over the port.”

After the wives left in a froth of bright silks and the men had reseated themselves, Mackenzie said with a grin, “I suspect the ladies’ conversation will be interesting. Females are better at talking about life’s more personal issues.”

“Their conversation will probably be hair raising.” Wyndham’s glance shifted to Kirkland. “You do like your secrets, James.”

“There are secrets, and there are also things one simply doesn’t talk about. I’d planned to tell the world of our marriage when we returned after our long honeymoon.” Kirkland poured a half glass of port, then passed the decanter to Randall on his left. “Then she left and there was no reason to mention that I had a wife.” Several arched brows suggested that his friends weren’t impressed with his explanation, but being friends, they wouldn’t argue the point.

Friends. He scanned the faces of the men around him. He’d known them all for over twenty years. All were intelligent, perceptive, widely experienced, had been tested in some of life’s more searing fires—and all were happily married.

Since that last wasn’t a state he’d achieved, maybe he should toss aside the English gentleman’s stoic code and invite comments. Perhaps he’d get useful guidance. “I expect you’re all keen to gossip about my situation, so feel free to speak up.”

Randall said, a glint of humor in his eyes, “Gentlemen don’t gossip about their friends’ marriages. They analyze situations in a mature and thoughtful fashion.”

Acute as always, Ashton must have sensed that Kirkland was hoping for insight. “Your wife isn’t the kind of woman I would have thought you’d choose, but she’s very lovely. Appealing. Enjoyable to be with.” The duke frowned. “There’s much more, but I’m having difficulty defining what makes her unique.”

Even though Laurel had made it clear that a husband was not essential to her life, Kirkland still enjoyed being with her. Unfortunately, he was no expert at defining what made her special, either. “What kind of woman would you have guessed I’d choose?”

“I would have thought someone more like Cassie,” Wyndham said. “A woman who has walked in dark places as you have. Though you can’t have her. She’s
mine
.”

“I’ve come to think that a man and a woman can be too much alike.” Rob Carmichael poured port and passed the decanter. “I don’t think anyone can predict the right kind of partner. I never would have predicted Sarah for me.” He grinned. “My imagination was nowhere near good enough.”

“You look besotted,” Ashton said with a smile.

“We’re newlyweds so it’s allowed,” Rob retorted. “Though I can’t imagine
not
being besotted with Sarah. She makes everything better by her mere presence.”

“I think of Sarah and Mariah as the sunshine twins. If one of them walks into a room, it becomes brighter,” Randall agreed. “When my uncle declared I needed a wife to secure the succession and all that nonsense, Mariah did her best to convince me that I must visit Hartley to become better acquainted with her sister.”

“Lucky for me that Mariah’s matchmaking failed,” Rob said fervently. “I can’t imagine why, when Sarah is so irresistible.”

“She is lovely, charming, and amazingly intrepid,” Randall agreed. “But from the moment I met Julia, I hadn’t a shred of interest in any other female. I decided to stop by Hartley, not to call on Sarah and her parents, but as an excuse to see Julia since Hartley was her home, too.”

“Mysterious are the ways of love.” Ashton swirled the ruby red port in his glass as he pondered. “Mariah just looked right to me. She filled a Mariah-shaped hole in my life that I hadn’t even known was there.”

Mackenzie laughed. “Whereas when I learned that Kiri was your sister, I knew immediately she was dead wrong for me. Not that the recognition did me much good.”

“My sister is descended from Hindu warrior queens,” Ashton pointed out with a hint of laughter in his voice. “You never had a chance to escape. Not that you seemed to have struggled very hard.”

“Actually, I did try to resist,” Mackenzie said seriously. “She deserved much better than a gambling house owner who was born on the wrong side of the blanket. But I’m so very glad that my resistance was futile!”

Ashton’s gaze shifted to Kirkland. “Even though Laurel isn’t what I would have predicted, you do seem right together. I think . . . I think it’s because she seems to have depths that go down and down and down. Like you.”

“You’re right about the depths. I visited Daniel Herbert’s home, discovered his little sister playing the piano, and was lost.” Kirkland thought acerbically that Rob wasn’t wrong to say that a man and a woman could be too much alike. But they could also be too different, as he and Laurel were.

“She’s Daniel Herbert’s sister?” Wyndham asked, startled. “We were good friends in school, but for obvious reasons, I lost track of him. What is he doing now?”

“He was ordained when he finished at Oxford,” Kirkland replied. “But he didn’t enter the church because his true passion was for medicine. By studying very hard and probably not sleeping for several years, he acquired credentials as both physician and surgeon. He and Laurel have been operating a free infirmary in Bristol. As a change of pace from saving lives, he preaches sometimes.”

Brows arched around the table. “Impressive,” Wyndham said. “Though not really surprising. What part does your wife play in the infirmary?”

“Anything that needs doing. She manages the place, is an excellent nurse, and her personal project is a sanctuary called Zion House, for women and children fleeing abusive males.”

“I wonder if Julia knows about Zion House,” Randall said thoughtfully.

“Your lady wife has obviously not been wearing the willow during your estrangement,” Ashton observed. “She’s a woman of ability as well as depth.”

“It sounds like she’ll be hard to replace in Bristol,” Rob said.

“Very true, so the current plan is for Laurel to spend part of her time in London and part in Bristol,” Kirkland said.

That produced a noisy silence. None of his friends would welcome the idea of being apart from their wives for substantial amounts of time, but they were too polite to say so. Wyndham broke the silence by saying, “Having a wife is wonderful but will complicate your life.”

“She will. She has,” Kirkland agreed. And he smiled ruefully.

 

 

After tea was served in the drawing room, the ladies relaxed on various chairs and sofas so they could converse casually while waiting for the gentlemen to finish their port. Lady Julia, petite, dark haired, and serene, sat on Laurel’s right. Kirkland had said she was a midwife, though she didn’t look like any midwife Laurel had ever seen.

The twins, equally petite but golden and laughing, shared a small sofa on the left. Lady Kiri, tall and with an exotic beauty that was different but equal to Violet’s, chose a chair opposite Laurel. As she settled in, she exchanged a few teasing words with Lady Wyndham, red haired and reserved, who sat in the chair beside Lady Kiri.

The wives were as impressive as their husbands, which was saying a great deal. If there was one obvious trait shared by Kirkland’s friends, male and female, it was intelligence. If Laurel knew them better, she’d doubtless add competence to the list.

Laurel’s long estrangement from Kirkland was the elephant in the room. The couples here tonight were Kirkland’s closest friends and she needed to be on civil terms with them even if she’d forever be outside their magical circle of longtime friendship.

There would never be a better time to push the elephant into the middle of the circle. Laurel took a deep breath, then set aside her untouched tea cup. “All of you Westerfield wives are friends of my husband. You must be wondering about our separation and reconciliation, so ask any questions you like, no matter how blunt. I promise to answer honestly, with the understanding that what I say will remain private.”

After a moment of startled silence, Lady Kiri said with amusement, “I begin to understand why Kirkland married you. If we are to be ruthlessly direct, we should set aside formality, I think. I’m Kiri, this dangerous redhead is Cassie, Lady Julia’s personal name is obvious, and the twins are Mariah and Sarah. What is your Christian name?”

“Laurel.” Despite her nerves, Laurel managed a smile. “I see that directness comes naturally to you, Kiri.”

“It’s a trait that has often been mentioned, and seldom in a complimentary way,” Kiri said drolly. Turning serious, she continued, “Very well, tell us why you separated. You seem a rational woman, so I presume you had your reasons.”

Julia held up a restraining hand. “A story begins well before the crisis. It might be more useful to start with how you met and married. And I’d like to learn what you were doing in the years of your separation so I’ll know more of who you are now.”

“We met in the usual sort of way. Kirkland and my brother Daniel were good friends from the Westerfield Academy and Oxford. My brother brought Kirkland home for a visit and Kirkland discovered me playing the piano, which entranced him because of his passion for music.” Laurel’s mouth twisted. “If I’d been doing anything else, such as embroidering or working in the garden, he’d probably not have noticed me.”

Cassie’s brows arched. “Kirkland has a passion for music? I had no idea and I’ve known him longer than anyone else here.”

A little surprised, Laurel said, “Music is his greatest pleasure, I think. He loves listening, and he plays the piano extremely well himself. We often played four handed.”

“He kept both you and the music secret.” Kiri’s green eyes narrowed. “One can only wonder what other large secrets he has.”

Anything to do with his work would be a secret, but Laurel wouldn’t mention that, since she was unsure what the other women knew. “To return to the tale, he liked my piano playing, we were both young, and it was . . . love at first sight.”

“So often that means lust as first sight,” Mariah remarked. “But they can end up being the same thing. How old were you?”

“Seventeen. We married a few weeks later.”

“Your parents didn’t think you should wait longer?” Sarah said, startled. “I admit that Rob and I had a very short courtship, but I was twenty-six and he’s thirty-one and the courtship was . . . intense. Surely it would have been advisable to take the time to become better acquainted?”

“My parents were not the sort to risk losing a wealthy earl as a son-in-law,” Laurel said dryly. She could see from her guests’ expressions that they understood the implications of that remark. “But to be fair, we were both mad to marry. After the wedding, we had a wonderful long honeymoon in Scotland and the West Indies. Then we came to London to settle into normal life.” She swallowed hard as she thought about what had happened next.

Seeing Laurel’s discomfort, Mariah said, “We can return to the subject of the separation later. What have you been doing more recently? Not, I think, embroidering in your parents’ parlor.”

The duchess was observant. Laurel replied, “I’ve been working with my brother at his free infirmary in Bristol. I also created a refuge for women and children who have fled violent husbands.” Laurel looked around the circle with a touch of defiance. “It has not been a ladylike existence.”

Julia blinked. “Is your sanctuary Zion House?”

“You’ve heard of us?” Laurel asked with surprise.

An odd smile played around Julia’s lips. “Last year, you were visited by a pair of women who asked to study what you have achieved because they wished to establish similar refuges in other cities.”

“Yes, they were directors of the Sisters Foundation and they’ve been working with the Methodists,” Laurel said. “Since then, they’ve started refuges in three other cities, and are planning more in the future. I’m surprised you’ve heard of Zion House.”

Julia chuckled. “I’m the founder of the Sisters Foundation.”

“And I’m a patroness,” Mariah added. “We chose to work with the Methodists because they were already involved in social welfare and improving the lot of women.”

“I had no idea that the founders were from the highest ranks of society,” Laurel said, fascinated.

“Being a duke’s daughter doesn’t mean one is always safe from abusive men,” Julia said with desert dryness. “My directors said they offered you a grant to help your work, but you told them you were sufficiently well funded and they should use the money to start new refuges.”