Part 19 (1/2)
The sound of a carriage arose outside, the jangle of a bridle and the crunch of wheels.
Bronwyn sat upright. ”Oh no! My stepmother and sisters!” She was on her feet in a trice. ”You said they wouldn't be back for hours!”
”So I thought.” With a great sigh, Alexsey stood. ”I must go.”
”But they will see your horse and know you've been here!”
”Do not worry; I tied the horse to the side of the drive. They will not see it in the dark.” He bent and kissed her soundly. ”I will go out the window.” He swiftly pulled on his coat.
Outside, Bronwyn heard the coachman's voice and the opening of the carriage door. ”Hurry!” she whispered.
He collected his hat and then bent to kiss her one last time, sweetly and insistently.
Despite the danger, she clung to him.
The sound of the carriage door closing made her release him. ”Go!”
”I will see you soon, little one.”
As he went to the window, she headed to the sitting room door, shutting it behind her and reaching the foyer just as her family entered.
”How are you feeling?” her mama asked.
”Much better, thank you. How was the dinner?”
Sorcha, rosy-cheeked from the wind, untied her bonnet. ”Oh, Bronwyn, I've never seen such wondrous food!”
”There were courses and courses and courses,” Mairi said. ”And the desserts-” She kissed her fingers to the air the way their French tutor did whenever he was pleased with something.
Bronwyn laughed and helped them remove their pelisses. ”Tell me all about it, for I couldn't help but think of your wonderful dinner when I wasn't napping.”
”It was lovely,” Sorcha said, her eyes sparkling. ”The dining hall was decorated with pine boughs and it smelled heavenly.”
”But Sorcha was forced to sit next to Viscount Strathmoor at dinner,” Mairi said.
”That was unfortunate,” Mama agreed, hanging her pelisse on a coat hook.
Bronwyn led the way into the sitting room, glancing at the windows, which were all closed. ”Was Strathmoor rude?”
Sorcha made a face as she sank onto the settee. ”He only spoke to me twice all through dinner, leaving me completely to the gentleman to my left, horrid Mr. MacInnis.”
”Who is a thousand years old and can't hear.” Mairi snickered. ”Sorcha had to yell for him to hear her.”
”He says the most inappropriate things, too,” Sorcha said in a huffy tone. ”He told me he liked 'younger women' like me, and he spent the entire dinner leering at me in a very disgraceful way.”
Bronwyn shook her head. ”A pity. I hope the two things Lord Strathmoor said to you during dinner were pleasant?”
”No. First he asked for the salt dish. Then, before the men retired for port, he told me he'd had the pleasantest dinner conversation of his life.” Sorcha's lips thinned.
Mama sniffed. ”He's not worth your time and he knows it.”
”The prince spoke to Sorcha,” Mairi added.
”He was most kind,” Sorcha said. ”He asked about you, Bronwyn, and said he hoped you would feel better soon. Then he told me which of the dishes he'd enjoyed most and asked me the same.” She absently smoothed out a pillow on the settee.
He is kind. And pa.s.sionate, too. The thought made her face warm.
”It's a pity he didn't stay after dinner,” Mama said, a dissatisfied look in her eyes.
”Oh. Where did he go?” A flutter of happiness arose despite her attempts to quell it.
”His grandmother said he had a headache,” Sorcha said. ”She seemed quite unhappy with him about it, although how he could avoid a headache, I don't know.”
”Her Grace talked to Sorcha, too,” Mairi said from the fireplace, turning so her back now benefited from the warmth. ”For nigh on a half hour.”
With obvious satisfaction, Mama said, ”Her Grace was quite kind to Sorcha.”
”Yes, but I felt like a horse at auction. She kept looking at me, as if she wished to pinch me and see if I were healthy enough.”
Mairi chortled. ”I thought the same thing! I expected her to ask to see your teeth.”
”I believe Her Grace is a Romany,” Bronwyn said. ”Perhaps that explains her behavior.”
Mairi said, ”She makes me s.h.i.+ver! When I laughed aloud, the look she sent me-I wouldn't be surprised to wake up and find myself turned into a toad!”
Sorcha laughed. ”If you turn into a toad, I shall claim all of your bonnets as my own.”
Mairi stuck her tongue out.
”Girls, please!” Mama did not look amused. ”You're talking about a grand d.u.c.h.ess of Oxenburg.”
Sorcha obediently lost her smile. ”I'm sorry, Mama, but Her Grace is an oddity.”
”She is still a very well-respected lady.”
”Yes, Mama.” Sorcha turned to Bronwyn, the twinkle in her eyes letting her sister know she wasn't entirely subdued.
Lady Malvinea hid a yawn. ”I suppose your father hasn't yet come home?”
”I haven't seen him since dinner,” Bronwyn said truthfully.
The clock chimed and Lady Malvinea stood. ”It's late and we should all be getting to bed.”
”I don't know why,” Mairi said in a grumpy tone. ”Sir Henry has planned three whole days of hunting, so there's nothing to get up early for.”
”We won't see anyone until Friday.” Sorcha looked as put out as Mairi.
Bronwyn's heart slid a bit, and she realized how much she was looking forward to seeing Alexsey again.
”Friday will be here before you know it,” Mama said calmly.