Mona tiptoed behind and playfully clasped the eyes of Lawrence Robert Emerton Dagobert Farley, now Duke of Brynelleth, as he napped in a lounge chair alongside Chloe, her poodle.
Robert caught her hands and kissed the inside of her palms. “You even taste delicious.”
Mona swung around the chair and strutted back and forth. “How do you like my new bathing suit?”
“Va-va-va-voom!” Robert sat up and howled, which caused Chloe to jump off the chair and look about in confusion.
“I guess it meets with your approval.”
“I’d like it better if you were wearing nothing at all.”
Both Mona and Robert heard the clearing of a throat. They turned to see Thomas, standing nearby with a tray of sandwiches and a large pitcher of sweet iced tea. Keeping a neutral expression, Thomas asked, “Shall I put the tray on the table, Miss Mona?”
Embarrassed, Mona said, “Yes, thank you, Thomas. That will be all. I’ll call if I need you.”
“Very good, Miss.”
As soon as Thomas was out of sight, Robert burst into laughter. “Mona, you should see your face. You’re as red as a beet.”
“It’s not funny. We never have any privacy. There is always someone lurking about.”
“Get used to it, pet. We are basically public people.”
“I don’t know if I want to get used to it.”
Robert asked sharply, “What does that mean?”
Mona wrung her hands. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it, but I never have any time to myself. Everywhere I go, there are people with expectations and guards following me about. I’m beginning to resent it.”
“I take it today didn’t go well with the solicitors,” Robert said, picking up a roast beef sandwich.
“Robert, I loathe your lawyers.”
“They are not my lawyers, darling. They are Brynelleth’s men. They don’t work for me, but the estate.”
“But Robert, you are the estate, aren’t you? Can’t you tell them to compromise? They were so recalcitrant today.”
Robert put down his sandwich, stood and put his arms around Mona, squeezing tight. “Tell me all about it. What happened today?”
Mona leaned into Robert’s chest, deeply inhaling his scent of horses, tobacco, and musk. “I feel so . . . I don’t know even how I feel. I’m just tired. Exhausted.” Despairingly, she thrust her head in her hands. “It’s all too much at times.”
“Mona! Mona! Dearest. What’s the matter? Tell me.” Robert sat down in a metal lawn chair and pulled Mona on his lap, cradling her like a small child.
“I don’t know what’s the matter with me, Robert. I feel ashamed to break down so.”
“I know what’s the matter. You’ve worked nonstop for almost two years without a break. That’s on top of betrayal, kidnapping, suicide, and murder. That would be enough to send anyone to the booby hatch,” Robert teased.
Mona broke into laughter which quickly dissolved into tears.
“Aww, Mona,” Robert said, pulling her closer. “I didn’t mean to make you weep. It was meant to be a joke.”
“I know, but it’s not funny.”
“You keep everything bottled up inside. I say cut loose and have a good cry. Get it all out of your system. Go on, cry to your heart’s content,” Robert whispered into her ear. “I won’t tell a soul that you’re not superhuman.”
Mona wrapped her arms around Robert’s neck and wept until she began hiccuping. Once the hiccups stopped, Robert made Mona eat a turkey sandwich and take a swim in the heated pool. Afterward, Robert wrapped Mona in a warm, fluffy bathrobe. “Is the crying jag over?”
Mona nodded, nibbling on another sandwich. “I’ve been holding those tears in for a long time. It was good to get them out. You know, you can cry anytime with me as well.”
“I didn’t cry when my father died. Not a single tear. I don’t think I liked the man. I know I didn’t love him. He was so stern and stubborn. But when my brother and mother died, I cried. I think my brother’s death hit me the hardest.”
“I know what you mean.”
“You need a vacation, Mona.”
“I do need some downtime. I think you’re right.”
“When can we get away?”
“We can’t. Your solicitors are breathing down my neck, making demands. Essentially they are asking me to relinquish control of Moon Enterprises, the largest copper mining company in the United States, so I can host dinner parties for you at Brynelleth.”
Robert asked, “Would that be so bad?”
“I’ve made my mark in the world. I’m not going to give it up for marriage.”
If Robert was disappointed with Mona’s reply, he didn’t show it. “It’s too bad we can’t run off to Italy and live in a palazzo on a mountain top. I’ll grow a beard and we’ll make money selling our own wine. You can sketch for the tourists in the market place.”
“Have you seen my artistic ability? I can barely draw stick people. We’d starve.”
“I guess that is that. We’ll have to stick with the current plan.” Robert dried off with a towel. “What is the current plan?”
“Your people are coming to brunch on Sunday, along with Dexter and Willie. You are to be gallant, but firm in telling them that they have to compromise. I am not going to live in England full time, I will carry the Moon name, and I will still be the head of Moon Enterprises.”
“What about being a wife?”
“What about being a partner in life? The term wife means subservience to me. I have never liked that marriage phrase—man and wife.”
“Mona, we need to be realistic about this. I can’t stay in the United States for long periods of time. I need to be at Brynelleth. Things are different now that Father is dead. I have responsibilities.”
“You can hire a manager.”
“So can you.”
“I need to be here as well, Robert. Moon Manor is my home.”
“Brynelleth will become your home.”
“I told you how I felt even before you proposed. You should never have pursued me if you just wanted a hostess for Brynelleth. I will not budge on this matter.”
Robert looked sorrowful as though he had come to some uncomfortable realization. “I guess I better make the lads understand on Sunday.”
Mona clasped Robert, “Please, Robert, understand. I can’t just be your wife. I must be me as well—Mona Moon, head of Moon Enterprises. Don’t ask me to make a choice.”
“You would choose Moon Enterprises over me?”
“See how this is turning out? No one is asking you to choose between being a duke and marrying. It’s always the woman who has to sacrifice, and I won’t do it. If we can’t compromise, I will give back your ring.”
“Mona, I know you love me. I’ll see if I can remove that burr from under your saddle on Sunday.”
Mona pushed Robert. “I’m not the one with a problem. You make your men understand that they must come around—not me!”
Robert laughed and swept Mona up in his arms. “Okay. Okay. You don’t need to resort to violence.”
“If I were going to be violent, I’d crack a vase over your head.”
“Which you will probably do one day after we’re married. I pity us with our foul tempers.”
“Put me down, Robert. The servants will see.”
“I’ve got a better idea, old girl. No one is at my house. Let’s play hooky and enjoy ourselves.”
“No four course dinner tonight?” Mona’s servants, especially Monsieur Bisaillon, insisted Mona dine formally, which included Mona dressing to the nines. Mona considered dinner time a huge time suck and hated its formality.
“How about I fry some good old American hamburgers on the grill?”
“Sounds divine, but Monsieur Bisaillon has been hard at work for tonight’s dinner.”
“Blast him. Let’s do what we want for a change. Were you not just giving me heck about being your own woman and now you cower to your chef’s demands? Please, Mona, make up your mind. You’re getting heavy.”
“Hamburgers sound divine, Lord Bob. Whisk me away.”
Delighted, Robert carried Mona through her garden and over to his house, which was next door. Mona clung to his neck, laying her head on his shoulder.
Little did they know the servants were watching from the upstairs windows. They looked at each other and grinned.
Miss Mona would not be coming home tonight.