Page 14 of Becoming Lady Dalton
“I…”
“A suitor, my dear?” beamed the baroness. “I’d hoped you might aim a bit higher, given Harper’s match, but anything to get you out of my home and into your own.”
Viola didn’t believe her grandmother’s cutting words for a second. The baroness thoroughly enjoyed the way the arrival of her estranged granddaughters had shaken up her life.
“An admiral is an excellent choice for an elderly widow like me,” Viola commented with an excess of vinegar in her tone. She swallowed her sourness. Lord Dalton’s reappearance the night before, combined with tiredness from staying out late and her headache—now thankfully resolved—had left her feeling old. Worse, the unexpected brush with Bow Street had been a harsh reminder of how precarious her situation still was, even with a baroness for a grandmother and a countess for a sister.
What if Samuel was still alive? It wasn’t as if she hadproofof her widowhood. Cold fear numbed the marrow of her bones.
Her new life—and her son’s future—would come crashing down.
“If you’re elderly, what does that make me?” asked her grandmother tartly, bringing Viola’s mind back to the present.
“Angelic.” Viola kissed her fingertips and waggled them at the baroness, who giggled like a schoolgirl.
“When you go out this afternoon, Viola, be sure to take a footman and bring back swatches of the fabrics you’re considering for the draperies,” the baroness said in an afterthought. “I am of the opinion the brocade will look better with the damask.”
“I remain partial to the satin,” Viola replied firmly, but at the sight of her grandmother’s sour expression she quickly backtracked. “Of course, I shall keep an open mind and bring home samples for comparison.”
Her grandmother’s affection had limits, and she didn’t quite allow for open disagreement. They’d butted heads on more than one occasion over the townhouse furnishings, as the baroness’ taste ran to vivid patterns and pale colors, whereas Viola preferred fewer, brighter patterns and solids to set them off.
“See that you do. It has only been a few months since you arrived. That is hardly enough time for any woman to learn every necessary consideration fitting a lady of distinction.”
Viola bristled internally, though she tried to suppress any outward expression of her frustration. Her grandmother’s well-meaning advice at times bordered on oppressive. This was one of them. It was part of the reason she’d chosen to stay with her sister in the countryside for a few weeks after her wedding. Briarcliff was large enough that her visit hadn’t intruded upon their post-marital bliss. In fact, it was so big that she’d gone entire days without meeting Harper and Edward.
As Viola turned to greet Admiral Saxon, her smile faded.
In between batting away Dalton’s attentions, pushing him into Lady Margaret’s arms, arranging for Matthew’s upcoming departure and making the townhouse ready for habitation, Viola had quite a busy two weeks before the Christmas holiday beckoned her back to Briarcliff. The admiral’s interest was one added burden Viola didn’t need. Still, she gritted her teeth, forced a smile and said, “Hello, Admiral Saxon. Are you here for our carriage ride?”
How the devil had she agreed to this?
9
The cool morningair brought a pink tinge to Lady Margaret and Miss Lowry’s cheeks. Both women had insisted upon squeezing into the curricle, though it was a tight fit indeed. His matched bays stepped high, eager to move at a faster pace than Piers would permit with two gentle ladies in the vehicle with him.
“Might we go a bit faster?” asked Miss Lowry after a short span of awkward silence. Whether she was here as chaperone or for her own purposes, Piers couldn’t fathom why she had felt it necessary to shoehorn herself into their perfectly unremarkable drive through Hyde Park, a custom better suited to spring or early fall but still acceptable in mid-December if the weather was fair, as it was this afternoon.
At least Miss Lowry deigned to speak to him.
A perfunctory visit to Evendaw this morning had evolved with astonishing speed into an impromptu carriage ride. The marquess had summarily dispatched his sister’s visitors and cornered him into agreement. Out of courtesy, Piers had been obligated to go along with the idea.
The faster they went out, the faster this spectacle could be over.
Piers snapped the reins, and the horses broke into a fast trot. Miss Lowry squealed. Lady Margaret’s petite form fell back against the squabs as she clutched her bonnet.
“Was that necessary, Antonia?” she demanded.
“Yes! You must admit this is more fun than plodding along.” Miss Lowry laughed gaily, but there was a mercenary gleam in her eye. Piers had the discordant sense that this wasn’t the first time the American had whipped horses into a frenzy.
As the horses settled into the quicker pace, Lady Margaret relaxed. Piers sat in the middle of the bench, sandwiched between the two women. Her elbow stopped digging into his rib cage after a quarter mile or so.
They nodded to a passing carriage. Traffic was thin, but opportunities for fresh air were rare this time of year, and they passed the occasional vehicle coming from the other direction.
“Oh, look, there’s the admiral we met at the ball the other night. The one where our jewels were stolen,” Miss Lowry said with an elegant gesture to the vehicle some distance ahead of theirs that stopped just short of pointing. “Can we catch them?”
“If we go faster,” Piers replied, glancing at Lady Margaret. The girl’s brow furrowed unhappily, but she nodded her permission. Her elbow wedged into his ribs again, and her other hand peeped out from the lap blanket to grip the side of the curricle, but otherwise, she didn’t complain.
Racing to catch another carriage was a foolish pastime for young bucks looking to impress the fairer sex. Piers had been too old to pass for a dandy ever since he’d been thirteen and the only one to survive the fever that had decimated his family, save his sister. There had never been a time of carefree adolescence for him. As there was no spare, he had an obligation to marry and produce one, or preferably several, in short order. He’d done so the instant he’d completed his education.
