Page 79 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock
That thought reminded him of Bones and the apology he’d tried to make to the man.
“Say no more, my lord.” Bones shook Cecil’s proffered hand and flushed to the roots of his hairline. “You’ve been good to me and I hope to join your household again once we have finished with the list.”
The list. Comprised of some 200 names, with at least ten individuals Cecil himself knew had been murdered by the RA during the last season. A few more were thought to have killed themselves after rumors of the list were leaked to the public: a drunken baron drowned in the Thames and a countess fell from a low cliff near Dover. There were no other members of the ton on the list.
Many members were found deceased, possibly loose ends the alliance had tied up. Every once in a while he and Leopold would cross paths with Bones and Henry. The men would discuss their progress but never in great detail. Very few RA members were turned over to the crown. Whether the criminals died fleeing from justice or by other means, Sidmouth asked few questions.
Cecil anticipated returning to London in a sennight, hopeful that Bones and Henry would have completed their list.
And then he would put away the anguish of the last few years and properly grieve for his brother. To take stock of what he’d lost and what he had yet to gain.
“I’m ready,” he whispered.
And he was, for he needn’t feel alone anymore. In addition to good friends, he was hopeful that there was a woman who loved him waiting in Kent and a bright future lay ahead.
* * * * *
Charlotte’s son was born on a Sunday morning in June, a day that was warm and bright, and full of possibility.
“He is perfect,” Edith said two days later as she watched Louisa holding the babe. “His eyes are as blue as his father’s.”
“Many babies have blue eyes when they are born,” Louisa replied softly, with none of her customary abruptness.
“I hope he does inherit Ashford’s dark blue eyes,” Charlotte rejoined from her place in bed. She sat up and groaned.
“You’re not to overdo it, Charlotte,” she told her friend.
Charlotte sighed deeply. “I want to get out of this bed.”
“You promised Ashford one more day,” Edith pointed out.
Louisa looked down into the sleeping face of the infant in her arms. She heard Edith giggle.
“What?” Looking up, she frowned at the other woman.
“I never expected you to be so maternal.”
Louisa glanced at Charlotte who was grinning. “You must admit that over the last several months you’ve changed quite a bit. When you arrived here in Kent I told Edith you’ve become softer.”
Instead of arguing or rolling her eyes, she simply asked Charlotte, “How do you think I’m softer?”
“You’re kinder,” the other girl replied immediately. “Less prickly.”
“And you seem content.” Edith smiled. “More comfortable with yourself.”
Louisa had to agree. A brief visit to her family’s estate last week had been bittersweet. She didn’t feel like a child anymore. She found herself desiring her own home, her own family. Did Lord Wycliffe want the same things? And with her?
“You’re in love,” her mother said out of the blue as the women took a turn around the rose garden. “It’s obvious. There is a glow about you, Louisa.”
“Yes, Mother, but I’m not sure he loves me.”
Her mother replied with a wink, “You are a lovely, bright young woman. I’m sure Lord Wycliffe had no choice.”
She’d been speechless. Her mother had guessed her feelings for Cecil and had no objection to a possible alliance. She’d hugged her parent, feeling closer to her mother than she had in years.
A knock at the open bedchamber door brought her back to the present.
“Where is my boy?” Ashford walked to Louisa and gently took his son from her arms. He moved to stand beside the bed and look down lovingly at Charlotte. “And my lovely wife, how are you?”
