Page 13 of A Sister to Beguile (Sherton Sisters 5)

Chapter Six

He had been invited for dinner at Rathnelly. Surely, this could only mean the duke was ready to consider allowing him to invest in his breeding enterprise. His Grace hadn’t seemed too receptive to his interest when last he had called, turning the subject immediately. But Alex had tried to be clear about his desire, so surely the invitation could only mean His Grace had changed his mind.

Alex shook his head at himself in the mirror. Truly, he was acting like a dog on a scent. He ought to have the intelligence to be able to shift his attention elsewhere. If Rathnelly didn’t wish to allow outside investors, that was, of course, his right. Alex should be able to find some other venture to invest in. Really, he ought to have the mental agility to be able to figure out an enterprise of his own rather than trying to catch a ride on someone else’s efforts.

With a shake of his head, Alex attempted to shift the negative direction of his thoughts. He didn’t want to talk to himself the way his father had always spoken. It was one of the reasons he was quite determined not to take a wife. Alex doubted he would know how treat a child the way he was certain a child ought to be treated. If he couldn’t rid himself of the scars of his childhood, even now, there was no way he was going to take a chance on continuing the dreadful dynasty.

But he still needed to keep himself occupied and care for his inheritance, even if he didn’t intend to pass it on to anyone closely related to him. It wasn’t his lands’ fault that his father had been a dreadful occupant and father.

Without another word to his valet, Alex headed toward the stairs, accepting his hat and cloak from Rigsby as he passed by.

He was sufficiently intelligent, wasn’t he? He would figure things out as he went, including that very evening. However the dinner and evening progressed, he was Lord Sterling. As such, he had little choice but to prevail.

He kept repeating such encouraging words all the way to the duke’s estate and up the long, unending lane to the house, refusing to be intimidated by the landscape or the austere façade of the ducal residence.

Alex smiled as a groom stepped forward to take his horse and carriage. He trusted the beast would be in good hands on such a horse-mad property.

Another servant stepped forward to receive his hat and cloak just as he stepped into the foyer.

“Good evening, my lord. Welcome to Rathnelly.” The butler greeted him with a bow before gesturing for Alex to follow him deeper into the large house.

“Lord Sterling has arrived, Your Grace,” the butler announced with another bow, leaving Alex to face the occupants of the room.

“Good evening,” Rathnelly called in the most jovial tone Alex had ever heard from the normally very serious duke. He wondered if it was the presence of the Barrington children that were putting the man in a more relaxed frame of mind.

Alex stepped forward to bow over the duchess’s hand and was surprised to see her sister was present. He almost blurted out his greeting to her before recalling himself to required proprieties.

“It’s a pleasure to see you once more, Your Grace. And how nice to see that your sister has joined your household.” Alex thought he had struck exactly the right note but then wasn’t sure, as he saw the two women exchange expressions that he couldn’t interpret.

“We are glad you could join us, my lord,” the duchess stated in her matter-of-fact way that never ceased to surprise Alex. He had never met a woman who seemed so determined to be straightforward. He wondered if it was just an impression he got from her, or if she really were as open as she tried to portray. It was far different than the impression he had of her sister, who struck Alex as one who wished to keep her own counsel in all things. Perhaps, it was the duchess’s exposure to the children that had influenced her to be so open.

“Won’t you have a seat?” the duchess invited, interrupting his conflicted thoughts. “The butler won’t be calling us for dinner for a little while yet. Perhaps, we could offer you some sort of refreshment.”

“Some port or claret would be pleasant, thank you.” Alex hoped his nerves didn’t betray him as he almost stammered over his response. To his surprise, the children saved him from awkwardness when they stepped forward to be introduced.

“I do hope you don’t mind that we shan’t be standing on ceremony, my lord. The youngsters join us for our evening meal nearly every night.”

Alex was surprised but thought it might be more interesting that way. He hadn’t dined with children since he was one himself. But at least these children weren’t the sort that would be eating with their fingers or throwing their food around. He offered a smile and a nod in place of a response. Really, how else was he supposed to answer? Surely, the duchess couldn’t be expecting he might object, even if he thought her words to be objectionable.

Rathnelly’s heir, Lord Wickham, stepped forward and engaged Alex in a rousing debate about the various merits of fencing and archery. Much to his surprise, Alex had never given thought to many of the boy’s points. The younger brother was equally engaged on the topic, as evidenced by the way his face bobbed back and forth between Wickham and Alex.

“Never mind about such silly topics, Gardner,” Lady Adelina, the duke’s only daughter, finally interrupted. “I’d like a chance to speak with our guest, and you are rudely monopolizing him.”

Stifling the laughter that threatened to follow the girl’s complaint, Alex bowed to her and offered his apologies. “I do apologize, my lady, for my rudeness. I allowed myself to become too engrossed.”

“You needn’t apologize, my lord. You are our guest. It’s my brother who ought to have known better.”

The glowers the children shot toward each other made more amusement bubble up within him, but he managed to keep his expression contained, or so he hoped. Alex would hate to think he had been one to shatter a child’s self esteem.

His flicked his gaze around the room and was surprised to encounter a variety of reactions from the other adults in the room. Both the duke and duchess were watching the children with almost twin expressions of indulgence upon their faces. The duchess, in particular, appeared to be quite approving of the byplay amongst her brood. On the other end of the spectrum was Lady Grace, who appeared fascinated but also somewhat horrified by the scene she was watching, as though she thought she shouldn’t be witness to such displays. He suspected she had been raised in a household where the children were kept to the nursery more than those in her sister’s household seemed to be.

Alex pulled his attention back to his host’s daughter. “Was there something in particular you wished to discuss with me, my lady?”

The girl cast a furtive glance at her stepmother before declaring, “I’ve heard you are the best dancer in theton. Is that true?”

Heat climbed Alex’s cheeks as he sensed the discomfort of the other adults, but he kept his gaze affixed to the child.

“I think that might just be a rumour, my lady,” he managed to say without choking on the words. “Have you been to any balls lately?”

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