Twice Upon a Time (A Danby Family Novella) (4 page)

“I believe there has been some mistake, sir,” she said to the black-haired gentleman lingering in the threshold. “You have the wrong room.”

His full lips thinned as he stepped inside and closed the door.

Felicity’s heart leapt, and she scrambled to her feet in an ungraceful effort. She lifted one knee up on the bed with the intent of climbing to the other side to create a barrier between them when the door swung open.
 

Lord Penlow entered. “Colin, what are you doing here?”

The gentleman kept his green-eyed gaze on her. “
This
is the girl?” There was an odd quality to his tone that Felicity couldn’t ferret out. Was there a hint of despair?
 

Lord Penlow moved closer to her with a pleased grin. “She rather looks the part when she is cleaned up.”

Felicity wished to ask how this stranger knew about her or their charade. Lord Penlow had sworn her to silence, and she had expected the same of him. Yet she wouldn’t dare to challenge the baron in the other man’s presence. The gentleman’s impeccable dress and bearing indicated his elevated station, and she had been taught to respect her betters, even if she didn’t always follow the doctrine to the letter.

“Come off the bed, Miss Halliday, and allow me to make introductions.”

Felicity did as Lord Penlow ordered, but kept her distance. She clasped her hands in front of her.

“Lord Keswick, may I present Lady Penlow?” He waved her forward. “Step this way so the earl may offer his opinion. What say you, Colin? Julian hit the mark with Miss Halliday, did he not?”

She held her position when the earl’s grim frown deepened. “This girl is to be your wife. I believe you know my opinion on the matter.”

If she were bolder, she would correct Lord Keswick. At two-and-twenty, she was a woman, not a girl.

“Our arrangement shall last but two weeks,” Lord Penlow said. “Then Miss Halliday will return to London a bit wealthier and very happy, I daresay.”

“Can you truly be so blind, Lee? Once Danby discovers your deception, he will force you to marry her. There will be no returning to London for Miss Halliday, for she will have been elevated to the station of baroness.”

Felicity couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. “I would never marry Lord Penlow. We would not suit.”

The gentleman’s eyebrows shot up. “No? You would refuse the offer of a nobleman. I doubt your sincerity.”

“Then your ability to judge others is not one of your strengths, my lord.”

The man’s jaw dropped and Lord Penlow laughed.
 

“She is too cheeky by half,” the baron said, “which is the reason we wouldn’t suit. Now do be a good girl and run along to the private dining quarters below stairs. Julian will entertain you while I take a moment with Lord Keswick.”

Felicity glowered at him. The baron couldn’t be any more degrading if he patted her head and offered her a bone. “Gladly,” she mumbled as she passed between the men and left them to sort out whatever is was that required sorting.

Her ill temper only started to fade as she reached the ground floor and realized she would have her own moment alone with Mr. Beckford, an ample reward for tolerating Lord Penlow’s nonsense.

~6~

JULIAN stood as Miss Halliday entered the private dining room. Her breathtaking appearance almost made her arrival without an escort go unnoticed.
Almost.
“Where is Penlow? He went upstairs to bring you down to dinner.”

Miss Halliday’s smile thinned as she moved toward the seat he held out for her. “Lord Penlow is speaking with an acquaintance, Lord Keswick. He said he will join us in a moment.”

Under different circumstances, Julian would welcome a stolen moment alone with her, but he didn’t like her wandering the inn alone. He must have a talk with his cousin. If Pen refused to take his duties as Miss Halliday’s protector seriously, Julian would step into the role.
Thoughts of her in
his
bed prompted a tightness to spread from his lower belly down. His damned cock was an eager fellow today, taking a stand at the most inopportune moments.
 

Miss Halliday lowered onto the seat, fluffing her skirts around her. Julian’s hands gripped the back of her chair as he struggled against the urge to place his lips to the elegant curve of her neck.
 

Where the hell was his cousin? Julian would fight any man who wished to harm Miss Halliday, but he was at a loss as to how to protect her from himself.

Tugging down the sleeves of his jacket, he cleared his throat. He assumed the seat beside her and tossed a napkin across his lap. The action proved ineffective at hiding his desire because it only formed a tent for his soldier.
 

A telling blush colored Miss Halliday’s cheeks when she glanced down then quickly returned her attention to the plate in front of her.
 

Gads.
What did one say in a situation like this, or did one hold one’s tongue? Miss Halliday was no whore, but neither was she a lady. He had ventured into unfamiliar territory.

“My apologies,” he mumbled, feeling he should say
something
.

“It’s all right, Mr. Beckford. I am well versed in human anatomy.” She smiled kindly at him then squared her shoulders as if warming up to deliver a lecture before an assembly. “An erection is simply an involuntary response causing the penis to become engorged in preparation for copulation. It is all perfectly natural.”

He must say, he had never attended any lecture as stimulating as Miss Halliday’s. “Anatomy is a fascinating topic, but perhaps you could finish your teachings at a different time.”

“I wasn’t teaching—” She chuckled softly. “Forgive me, Mr. Beckford. I have a tendency to forget myself when discussing certain topics. I didn’t mean to sound condescending or tedious.”

“Not at all, Miss Halliday. I could listen to you speak of male anatomy and copulation for hours.”
 

She laughed fully, the tension in her posture melting away.
 

He could never imagine having a similar discourse with any other female. There was something so familiar about Miss Halliday, not necessarily her features, but how she made him feel. He was comfortable in her presence, like they had known one another in a previous lifetime.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked.

“That would be lovely. Thank you.”

Julian filled her goblet then reached for his own glass.

She sipped quietly for a moment. Returning her glass to the proper position, she turned to look at him. “May I ask a question, Mr. Beckford?”

“Yes.” His heart sped up in anticipation of what she might ask. He hoped she wasn’t like most females who tended to inquire into what was on a gent’s mind. Particularly since all he could think about was pulling her onto his lap and ravishing her wine-tinted mouth.

“Will your grandfather force Lord Penlow to marry me if he discovers our deception?”

Julian studied her to see if he detected any interest in marrying Pen. His cousin was destined to inherit an earldom and land that generated a good yearly income. He was sought after by marriage-minded mothers seeking a solid place in society for their daughters. A woman in Miss Halliday’s position would have to be daft not to hope for a match with Pen.

“Danby would never allow a marriage with someone from a lower class,” he said with more callousness than required.
 

She dropped her gaze and nodded slowly. “Of course, you are correct, sir.”
 

A painful squeezing began beneath his ribs. Julian wished to retract his words. He hadn’t intended to hurt her, but rather to discourage any budding thoughts of a romantic entanglement with his cousin. Julian was too selfish by half, for he wanted Miss Halliday for himself.

“Forgive me, Miss Halliday. I didn’t mean to—”

Pen swept into the dining room with a smile as wide as the Thames. “I’m famished. What say you? Shall we feast until we burst and drink our fill until wine flows through our veins?”
 

Somewhere between the first and second floors, Pen had recovered his good humor. Before he reached his seat, the door to the private room swung open and a gentleman entered with a rather plain woman on his arm.

Julian stood as Pen waved them inside. “Come on. Join us, and I shall make introductions.”

The woman hugged a book to her side. Her thin fingers were wrapped around the spine and held tightly to it as if she couldn’t dare to be parted from it, even for a meal.
 

“Lord Keswick, may I present my cousin, Julian Beckford. And you have met Miss Halliday, my
bride
.” Pen winked at Miss Halliday as though they shared a private jest. She regarded him blankly, revealing nothing of what she was thinking. “Julian, this is Colin Barclay, Earl of Keswick. He and I were in the same class at Oxford. Perhaps you remember him?”

“Vaguely. How nice to make your acquaintance again, my lord.”

“Likewise.” Keswick’s manner was cool as he acknowledged Julian and ignored Miss Halliday’s presence completely.
 

Julian felt the slight on her behalf and his fingers coiled into fists at his sides.
 

“And lest I forget,” Pen said, “allow me to introduce the ever-enchanting Miss Nibbs, the late Lady Keswick’s sister.”
 

 
“Thank you for graciously allowing us to dine with you this evening,” Miss Nibbs said as she lowered to a chair at the far end of the table. She possessed a genuine, albeit shy, smile. Her spectacles magnified her pale, blue eyes ringed with nearly translucent lashes.
 

Julian resumed his seat. “Miss Nibbs, please allow me to complete introductions. This is Miss Halliday, a guest traveling to Danby Castle for the holidays.”

When she met Miss Halliday’s gaze, her smile widened. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Julian appreciated the woman’s graciousness. So far, she was the only person in the room to treat Miss Halliday with any respect. He included himself among the group of pompous arses gathered around the table.
 

Pen and Keswick sat across from Julian and Miss Halliday.

Moments later, a serving girl carried in a platter of lamb chops and a steaming bowl of parsley potatoes followed by a loaf of bread and butter. The fare was rather decent for a meal on the road.

The women ate in silence while Pen dominated the mealtime conversation. His chatter filled the room like the early morning discourse of a barn swallow until Julian wished to shove the entire loaf of bread in his mouth to quiet him.
 

Keswick was a somber gent not given to displays of levity, but occasionally he chuckled under his breath when Pen’s animated storytelling accompanied grand arm gestures that nearly took off the earl’s head.

“Watch yourself, Lee,” he said after a close call, but there was no censorship in his tone. They seemed to be rather good friends. Julian wondered at his cousin’s failure to ever mention Keswick. At one time, Pen had shared everything with Julian.

Miss Halliday politely excused herself at the conclusion of the meal, claiming fatigue. Julian had wished for a moment to apologize for his harsh manner and would have offered to escort her to the room, but Pen claimed her.
 

Julian stayed below stairs in the sitting room a couple of hours with his cousin, Lord Keswick, and Miss Nibbs, who had found a comfortable seat beside the fire and was immersed in her book. He couldn’t concentrate on the conversation, however, and eventually retired to his room with the intention of sleeping. He was still staring into the darkness after the inn had quieted and everyone else had found the rest that was evading him.
 

Would Danby really forbid a marriage to Miss Halliday? Her weathered attire and need to earn a living marked her as a woman with nothing to bring to a union. No dowry, anyway. But she possessed value that could not be measured by pound notes. She was intelligent, gracious, and exceedingly beautiful.
 

She might not have received the type of instruction most ladies of Quality did, but Julian found sewing together flesh to be more useful than creating frivolous bits of lace and embroidery. If Julian were in Pen’s position, he would marry her at once without any regard for what Grandfather thought. He sure wouldn’t have her pretending to be his wife without the benefit of
copulation
.

A knock at his door cut short his soft chuckle. Climbing from bed, he lit a candle then slipped on the breeches tossed on the chair and hurried to the door before his cousin woke everyone. Julian tugged the door open, ready to scold Pen for bothering him, but his breath stuck in his throat.

Miss Halliday stood in the corridor with a blanket pulled over her head like a cape. Wide, honey-colored eyes peered out from her pale face. Her gaze seemed frozen on his bare chest. Her lips parted in surprise.

“Miss Halliday, is something wrong?” he whispered.

She snapped from her trance and stopped ogling his body, not that he had minded. “Lord Penlow snores like a hound. I can’t sleep.”

Julian’s grin widened. “Then by all means, please come inside.”

~7~

FELICITY stole another peek at Mr. Beckford’s muscled chest and forgot the lesson her father had ingrained in her during her medical training.
No matter how foul the air, no matter how ghastly the sight, a doctor hides his reaction behind a mask of professionalism.
 

Well, that was fine and good for Papa to say, but Felicity had never seen anything quite like Mr. Beckford’s physique in all of her years of practice. He was neither foul nor ghastly. He was breathtaking.
 

Literally.
 

Felicity struggled to draw in each breath. They came faster, grew more ragged. Her pulse hammered in her ears at a deafening rate. Coming to his room was a mistake.

She backed away slowly. “I will put the pillow over my head. Then I won’t hear Lord Penlow’s snores. Sorry to have disturbed you.”

“Come here, woman.” Mr. Beckford’s strong fingers encircled her wrist and urged her into his room. “You’ve done nothing but disturb me since the night we met.”