Page 30 of An Accidental Romance

Chapter 6

Somehow, Rebecca survived watching Papaand Mama leave the next morning. She had stood, supported by her crutches, with Thomas and Isobel at the front entrance and had waved with the others until the carriage was out of sight, priding herself that she had rid herself of all her tears the day prior.

Mama had written to Lucas and Lavinia and had asked them to come stay at Alderwood for at least the next fortnight while she and Papa were gone. They had a little girl, Beatrice, affectionately called Bea, who was a year old and had recently learned to walk. Rebecca was looking forward to seeing what mischief the redheaded toddler would get into when they arrived. Their home, Primrose Farm, wasn’t far from Alderwood, about an hour’s journey, and Rebecca hoped they would arrive soon.

Yesterday’s ride in the phaeton with Ben had also put her own sorrows into perspective.

She could not imagine what it must have been like to lose a wife but gain a child. She could not imagine what had driven Ben’s grief even deeper than that, but she understood now that missing another Season, even if it were to be a historic one, was merely a disappointment, not a devastation.

Thankfully, Lucas and Lavinia arrived shortly before luncheon, and much to Rebecca’s delight and hope, Lucas and Lavinia were not alone with baby Beatrice. Lucas was riding his horse to leave room in their carriage for Lavinia, little Bea, and Lavinia’s “adopted” family: renowned actress Delia Weston, actor Arthur Drake, both now retired from the stage, and Hannah Broome, a costume maker who had also assumed the role of nurse to Beatrice.

Once again, Rebecca stood at the front entrance, although alone this time, watching as a carriage drove down the private lane to the house and waving to everyone as they got close enough to see and wave to her in return.

What could possibly create a better distraction for her than three former actors and another darling child here in the household? And having her brother here and sweet, doting Hannah as well, made the picture complete, and Rebecca relished the thought of the mayhem that would ensue with their arrival—bright, dramatic mayhem of the very best kind.

Lucas dismounted as several stablehands dashed over, one taking his reins from him and others helping with the carriage horses, and yet another who opened the carriage door. Lavinia was first to exit, if one didn’t count Bea, whom Lavinia had handed out to Lucas before descending the carriage steps. She was followed by Delia, Hannah, and, finally, Arthur, whom they all affectionately referred to as Artie.

“Quite the news, eh?” Lucas said to Rebecca, carefully embracing her as Lavinia reached to take Bea back. “No, my dear,” he said. “I shall hold her and let your arms rest. You had her on your lap for the past hour.”

“Thank you, Lucas,” Lavinia replied. Lavinia was one of the most strikingly beautiful women Rebecca had ever seen, and she doubted anyone would argue the point with her either. Lavinia had deep, fiery red hair and large gray eyes, and Rebecca had seen how Lucas gazed upon his wife of the past two years. But she also knew that Lavinia, who’d been known as Ruby Chadwick when she’d performed on the London stage, had needed to fend off too many eager men as a result of her looks, so when she’d inherited Primrose Farm, it had allowed her to leave acting behind and enjoy a “normal” existence for the first time in her life. She was also as lovely a person on the inside as she was in appearance. “How are you faring thus far, my dear little sister?” Lavinia asked Rebecca, giving her a kiss of greeting on the cheek, which Rebecca then returned.

“Much better now that all of you are here,” Rebecca said. “It is quite the news about Susan. I’m still in shock. The only letter we received from her prior to her announcement was one in which she had met a gentleman she painted in the most unflattering terms.”

Lucas chuckled. “Women frequently mistake the evidence right before their eyes when it comes to their male counterparts, except for my clever Lavinia, who knew clearly who her husband was the minute she set eyes on me.”

Lavinia laughed too. “I suppose, at the very least, I declared that you were, didn’t I?”

“Da!” Bea said and pulled Lucas’s hair, making all of them laugh.

“I daresay these old bones don’t remember how to ride in a carriage without complaining to me anymore,” Delia muttered as she approached the others already at the front entrance. “I should be ready for a nice, soothing tea and some of Cook’s tasty biscuits. Hello, my dear,” she said to Rebecca, kissing her on the cheek too. “Susan certainly doesn’t do things by halves, does she?”

“She never has,” Lucas said.

“Are you feeling well, Auntie Delia?” Rebecca asked. “I know a thing or two about bones these days.”

Delia chuckled and patted Rebecca’s cheek. “For someone who spent many an hour traveling by coach throughout the land and appearing on stage, one would think a short ride from Primrose Farm wouldn’t set my bones to aching.”

“We must walk more; I keep telling you,” Artie, who appeared at Delia’s side, said. “Fit as a fiddle, I am, and I daresay you’d be the same, my love, if you would join me for a stroll in the morning.”

“I enjoy sleeping late much more than walking,” Delia stated emphatically, both eyebrows arched highly. “You should know that about me by now, Arthur.”

“Oh, how I love you when your mood intensifies,” Artie, the old charmer, said to his wife of only two years. They’d known each other for ages but hadn’t shared their feelings with each other until Lucas had met Lavinia. “You should have seen the passion that poured out of her when she was Lady Macbeth,” he said with glowing eyes to the others gathered.

“Hmph,” Hannah Broome said as she stepped up beside them. “More of that sweet talk again. All day long, these two are cooing and whispering sweet nothings and quoting every soliloquy Shakespeare ever wrote at each other. It’s a good thing I have my own cottage.” She leaned in and pressed a kiss on Rebecca’s cheek, which hadn’t been kissed this much in ages. “Hello, dear child,” she said. “We wouldn’t leave you here with your ankle in such a state for the world!”

“Indeed not!” Delia exclaimed, making Lavinia’s eyes wrinkle with humor.

“Perhaps we can take this conversation inside,” Lucas said. “I imagine Rebecca would like to sit and put her foot up, even if the rest of us might prefer to stand for a minute or two or three.”

On cue, Hawkins, who, as a consummate butler, had been listening without eavesdropping, if such a thing were possible, opened the front door, gesturing for them all to enter. “I asked Mrs. Pugh to inform Cook to have tea sent to the dayroom, where Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jennings will join you. And Wynn has been informed that Miss Beatrice has arrived and will be down to collect her shortly. The other children, if you don’t mind my saying so, will be ecstatic to have their young cousin here to join them.”

“Thank you, Hawkins,” Lucas said.

“Yes, thank you, indeed, Hawkins,” Lavinia said. “You always anticipate our needs so perfectly.”

“Da!” Beatrice said. “Bea!”

“Did she say what I think she said?” Rebecca asked.

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