Danby Castle, December 21, 1817
Tabitha glanced around the drawing room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Straffan, but he wasn’t among those gathered for dinner.
Her heart sank. What if he’d left already? What if he wasn’t a guest but had simply called on her great-uncle for another reason? Yet, what other reason would he have to be in Yorkshire when he owned an estate in Suffolk and his family lived in Ireland?
“Remember girls, do not encourage anyone who resides outside of York. I don’t know who Danby plans for you, but we will not succumb willingly.
It was all Tabitha could do not to roll her eyes. But as she didn’t want any other gentleman until she’d actually been introduced to Lord Straffan, she went along as Mother led them to a far corner to await supper. However, Tabitha quickly amended her plans when Lord Straffan stepped through the entrance and paused to take in the room.
She started forward but was stopped by her mother’s steel grip on her arm.
“He is not for you,” she hissed.
Tabitha blew out a sigh. Meeting Straffan might be the most difficult task yet. Somehow and someway she must succeed!
A moment later, her older brother Peter entered and stopped beside Lord Straffan. The two exchanged pleasantries, or so she assumed, as she couldn’t hear them, then they made their way to the cart where a footman was serving beverages.
They seemed to know each other already, and were not merely acquaintances.
Peter said something and Lord Straffan laughed. A natural, relaxed smile remained as well as crinkles at the corners of his eyes as if he smiled often. Tabitha muffled a sigh. Oh, he was handsome indeed. It was no different than how he’d appeared in London. Though he didn’t laugh when he rode, his face had been relaxed as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and yes, she’d seen him smile then as well.
She simply must gain an introduction!
“Excuse me, I must speak with Peter.” Tabitha practically yanked her arm from her mother’s grasp and glided across the room. Oh, she’d be in trouble later, but her mother wasn’t about to make a scene at Danby Castle. As much as Mother wished to avoid Danby, she feared him even more.
As Tabitha crossed the room, Peter turned, glass of wine in his hand and noted Tabitha.
“Mother let you away from her side?” he asked with a slight chuckle.
Oh, she’d like to kick him for making such a comment. It was embarrassing how their mother kept her daughters close.
“She is across the room.”
“And keeping an eye on you as I can see.” He nodded to someone behind her, which Tabitha assumed was the woman who had birthed them.
“She’s wishing I return you to her side if that’s what the shaking of her fan in our direction means.”
Mother always carried a fan, except she had an entirely different language than any other lady when engaging its use.
“Shall I return you?” Peter stuck out his arm to offer escort.
Heat stole into Tabitha’s cheeks at being treated as a child. Instead, she ignored her brother and glanced at his companion, who was watching her with curiosity and a bit of humor in his light blue eyes.
“We’ve not yet met?” he asked as if he should know her, but couldn’t recall her name. Was it possible that he remembered her from the times she spied him in Hyde Park?
“I have not had the pleasure.”
“Viscount Straffan, please allow me to introduce my sister, Lady Tabitha Storm,” Peter said after a moment.
She lifted her gloved hand, which Straffan took and lifted to his lips. “My pleasure.” His blue eyes darkened with what Tabitha interpreted as pleasure.
Oh, her mother was going to be very angry, but in that moment, Tabitha couldn’t find it in herself to care.
Andrew had never met her, yet Lady Tabitha with her dark curls and green eyes, sparkling with mischief, was as familiar to him as any friend. “Hyde Park,” he muttered. His visits to Hyde Park had always been in the morning and never at the fashionable hour, but that is where Andrew had seen her.
“I often strolled Hyde Park in the early hours,” she answered. “You rode Rotten Row on a black Arabian, if I’m not mistaken.”
It was just as he remembered. No matter what the day or the weather, Lady Tabitha would take a solitary walk with her maid trailing not far behind. Several times Andrew thought to stop, but as there wasn’t anyone about to introduce them, he thought it better to keep riding. He had looked for her at the few entertainments he’d attended, but Lady Tabitha had never been present.
“You walked in Hyde Park before the fashionable hour?” Peter asked with alarm. “Alone?”
Lady Tabitha glanced around. “Keep your voice down. Mother can never know and I always took my maid.”
“How did you sneak away?” her brother asked a little quieter.
“You know Mother never rises before noon.” Lady Tabitha shrugged.
“Tabitha, come away with me now,” an older woman stopped beside her. “You shouldn’t be bothering your brother and Lord Straffan.”
At that, Lady Tabitha’s face brightened to a lovely shade of rose.
“Tabitha isn’t bothering me, Mother,” Mr. Storm condescended as he slipped Lady Tabitha’s hand onto the crook of his arm.
Alarm shot through Andrew. Was Lady Tabitha a simpleton or in need of protection? Could she be younger than he realized? Though he was here for land, a bit of disappointment settled into his stomach to learn that the lady who had captured his attention last spring was not in a position to be courted by a gentleman.