Page 10 of Captivating the Countess
Alicia snickered. “I don’t do the things the diva does after dark. I’m not married.”
“And you shouldn’t know what married people do. Your sisters should be ashamed of themselves. Where are they, anyway?”
“Watching from the gallery above and laying wagers on what you and Teddy did to drive away your lady friends.”
To Rain’s surprise, Araminta’s mother trailed down after the parade of footmen, wearing her travel clothes and accompanied by her personal maid. She stopped and held out her gloved hand to him.
“I am so very sorry, my lord. I truly had no idea.... I think it best to accept Mrs. Bianco’s offer of her company into York. I’ll hope my daughter will have the sense to look for me in our home. Your hospitality has been all that is generous. Please, give Lady Craigmore my gratitude for her aid.”
“Lady...” Alicia shut up when Rain squeezed her elbow.
“If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to let me know.” He bowed over her hand. One of the reasons he’d decided on Araminta had been her sensible mother. He’d hopedlike mother, like daughter. Obviously, he knew nothing of women. He’d lost his own mother at an early age.
As if he’d willed her into being, the lady whom Alicia was longing to hear about appeared at the top of the stairs. The countess still wore her travel costume but had not donned hat or gloves, so Rain assumed she hadn’t decided to run away, too. Seeing him, she hesitated, then caught the banister in a death grip as she descended.
“You have decided to banish all our guests as a money-saving endeavor?” Rain asked once she came to a halt in front of them.
“More of a sanity-saving endeavor,” she admitted. “I feared your ghosts would smash through the veil and wreak havoc if the emotional outbursts continued, so I suggested the lady be a little more quiet. She objected. If I have overstepped my bounds, I do not apologize. You may send me away at any time.”
“Youwantme to send you away,” he accused.
She tilted her head and considered her reply. “No, I would like the position, I believe. But I am tired of living in unpleasant circumstances, and thought perhaps others might be, too, especially your father.”
Rain wasn’t given to expressing himself, but her bland tale of routing a monster almost surprised him into a laugh. “Your frankness is refreshing. Does everyone in your rural hamlet speak in the same way?”
She spoiled her smooth brow by thinking about it. Underneath a wispy fringe, her hairline formed a widow’s peak. So many Malcolms had one, including himself, that he wondered if they’d not once been called awitch’speak.
“Mostly, the villagers did not speak at all, but yes, if I ordered a shepherd to move his sheep, he would tell me why he could not. Clear communication seems sensible.” She turned to Alicia. “May I be introduced? It’s rather tiresome not knowing anyone’s names.”
Alicia elbowed Rain aside and held out her hand. “You must be Lady Craigmore. I’m Alicia Winchester, Rain’s sister. I’m writing a musical. Do you sing?”
“An occasional hymn or two. It’s not an art I’ve developed, my lady. Does the music room have doors?”
Rain couldn’t hold back his snigger this time. “She’s telling you to close the damned doors, dear sister.”
Alicia glared at him.
Lady Craigmore corrected him. “Actually, it’s the spirit trying to tell you by slamming doors. Since she is also sayingSave my son, and names the duke, I will assume your grandmother is a very strong presence in this house.”
“Mygrandmother—”
Alicia squealed in delight before Rain could express his dismay at this insanity.
“We can hold arealséance!”
Maybe it was time to catch a train to anywhere but here.
Bell distracted Lady Aliciafrom any disappointment at the refusal of a séance by enlisting help with her meager wardrobe. Before she knew it, she had all four of Rain’s sisters crowded into her chamber, along with a lady’s maid and a seamstress and apparently every discarded gown they’d ever owned.
She had not specified that the terms of her employment include a new wardrobe. The ladies were obviously bored.
All four sisters were varying shades of blond, of average height, and opinionated.
“If we bunch up the silk in the back, we can make a train and reduce the front of the gown to the current style.” Victoria, Lady Delahey, the eldest sister, held up a midnight blue gown of last decade’s fashion. “I’ll never fit that waist again.”
“Brighter colors,” Lady Estelle declared, holding up a gold-and-white-striped confection. She’d apparently married someone of a lesser title and kept her courtesy one.
Bewildered by the choices, Bell simply did her best to keep up with who was whom. The quietest sister, Mrs. Salina Lombard, appeared to be only a few years older than Lady Alicia, and had abandoned her courtesy title to take her solicitor husband’s name. She merely made notes and attached them to the gowns to pass on to the seamstress.
