Chapter Ten

 

Since his arrival at Redstone Estate, Colin had enjoyed his time spent with his cousins. Evelyn had remained in good form, causing his first memory of seeing her to fade. He, Evelyn, and Caroline spent many hours discussing a variety of topics, from who was courting whom to which members of the gentry were having affairs.

Or rather, that was what the women discussed. Colin found gossip boring. As long as it did not disrupt his life, who cared what others did with theirs?

Then the conversation turned to the vast number of Remingtons, all considered cousins regardless of how far back their roots went. Of course, with so many spread across England, Colin had not heard of, let alone met, many of them.

What fascinated him most was the strange feud his cousins had with the Silverstones., which stemmed from ownership of the river. From Colin’s limited understanding of the situation, the Silverstones had sold various parcels of their property to the Remingtons over the years. At some point, that included the land through which the river ran. Later, however, a disagreement about the terms of that agreement erupted, leading to the dispute between the families ever since.

Although he was a Remington, Colin felt no animosity toward the Silverstones, especially when it came to Anna. They were to meet soon, and he spent a great deal of his time with his cousins glancing at a clock whose hands moved far too slow to be correct. Yet when he checked it against his pocket watch, he realized it was nothing more than his anticipation slowing the time.

When Evelyn complained of a headache and Caroline excused herself to lie down, Colin went to his rooms to change into his riding clothes. Stopping at the mirror beside the front door, he studied his reflection. Dark tan knee-high leather riding boots, beige pantaloons, a crisp white shirt beneath his waistcoat, and matching riding coat made up the ensemble. He carried his coat draped over an arm.

It would have been near sacrilegious for any gentleman, let alone a duke, to ride without a coat, but he preferred the freeness of wearing only his waistcoat and shirtsleeves.

He chuckled. Dear Aunt Mabel would have cried at his “nakedness” and called for a vicar if she could see him now.

Anna had asked him to forgo the coat and considered deferring to her wise council. Yet acting upon a thought was far different from simply considering it.

He glanced down at his hand. The ducal ring mocked him. How could an insignificant coat cause him such turmoil? The truth was, as much as he complained about his life, he knew he had a role to fill. His title was one of honor, and he wished to keep it that way.

If he wished to be Colin rather than the Duke of Greystoke, even for a few days, he would need to take small steps. Seeing neither the butler nor his cousins, he hung the coat over the back of a nearby chair covered in red fabric and walked out the door.

“Colin?”

He stared. Evelyn sat beside Caroline at a small round table in the grassy area in the middle of the drive. “Well, hello,” he said, giving them a smile. “I thought the two of you had gone to lie down.”

“We did,” Caroline said as she closed her book, her finger acting as a placeholder. “But we don’t enjoy wasting away our days in bed.”

“And do you often spend time in front of the house?” Colin asked, amused. “You’ve such a lovely back garden.”

Caroline shrugged. “I don’t like bothering the gardeners while they’re working. They always believe they must leave if we decide to spend time outside, no matter how often we tell them that it’s unnecessary. So, we began coming out here.” She looked up. “Plus, we have more shade beneath this lovely laurel tree than we have at this time of day on the veranda.”

“Where are you off to, Colin?” Evelyn asked.

“I thought I mentioned that I was going riding this afternoon,” he said. “I’ll not be gone long.”

The door opened, and Davis emerged from the house, a silver tray with a large pitcher of what appeared to be cordial water and two glasses in his hands.

“His smile tells me that he’s meeting Anna Silverstone,” Caroline said. “And I think that’s wonderful. Perhaps it will be Colin who ends this silly ongoing feud between our families.” She gave him a mischievous grin. “Dare I say that this can be accomplished with a kiss?”

“Caroline!” Evelyn snapped. “My goodness, what’s come over you? I’m of a mind to have Davis burn every romantic novel in the house!”

Caroline raised her chin. “Evelyn just doesn’t understand that the stories I read are genuine. My dear friend Miss Sally Perkins told me that women sell their true accounts to writers in London. Who would print lies?”

“Miss Perkins also told you that removing your gloves in a married man’s presence is the same as adultery,” Evelyn retorted.

Fearing the two would drag him into their argument, Colin said, “Well, I’m off to enjoy this fine day. I’ll see you soon.”

“Wait, please,” Caroline said as she pushed back her chair. “It’s been three years since Miss Anna and I have spoken. Perhaps you can invite her to tea this afternoon.”

The butler, who stood beside one of the portico columns, grunted as if someone had struck him in the stomach, but his stoic stance returned within moments.

“Are we not a peaceful family?” Caroline asked, that mischievous grin deepening. “No Silverstone has been at Redstone Estate for a very long time. Is that not right, Davis?”

“Forgive my boldness, Miss Caroline, but I cannot in good conscience remain silent. Your dear father would never have allowed a Silverstone to come for tea.”

“But Father is no longer here,” Caroline pointed out. “What would you suggest?”

“Perhaps a nice letter would suffice, Miss Caroline,” the butler said. Poor Davis had gone so red, Colin worried the man was having an apoplectic fit.

Caroline, who seemed to find Davis’s discomfort amusing, shook her head. “No. I believe tea would be far more pleasant.” She turned to Evelyn. “What harm can it do? We can have it on the back veranda. It’s not as if I’m inviting her to stay in one of the rooms.”

Colin was uncertain if this was a good idea. He did not believe Anna unworthy of sharing a cup of tea with a Remington nor being invited inside the house. The differences in positions, however, made him fret. It simply was not done. If Evelyn, or even the old butler, were to gossip about it, the rumors would send Colin’s head to aching.

But was his time here not meant to allow him the opportunity to do many of those things a duke would likely never do?

“I must go,” Colin said. “Perhaps we can discuss this at another time.”

Caroline went to say something, but Evelyn spoke first. “Bring her here for tea if you would like. Do what you wish, Colin. There will be no judgment from either of us. But if you choose to invite her, it must be today. Remember, Markus arrives tomorrow afternoon, and he’ll not be as receptive as we.”

“I’ll give it some thought,” Colin replied, although he was still uncertain if he should broach the subject with Anna. To not offer sent a pang to his heart, but he simply could not abandon everything he had been taught. He had already moved well beyond what was appropriate by spending as much time with her as he did.

A stable hand waited with a chocolate brown stallion with a beautiful glossy coat and finely brushed mane. The boy bowed to him and said, “This’s the finest ‘orse in the stable, Your Grace.”

“Thank you,” Colin said, placing his foot in the stirrup and swinging his other leg over. Then he took the reins from the boy and heeled the horse’s flanks.

Once his cousins were out of sight, Colin let out a sigh of relief. He had been unsure how Evelyn would handle the fact he was accompanying Anna on this ride, but her assurance of doing what he could before Markus arrived had eased his worries.

A laugh erupted from deep inside him. A duke having tea with a woman as poor as Anna? His mother would have had a fit. The newspapers in London would fill their pages with all sorts of wild speculations. He had family members who would shun him for consorting with someone like her. To them, it was one thing to bed a woman of her station and quite another to treat her as if he had designs of marrying her.

Yet, as Anna came to view at the crest of the hill, Colin found he did not care about any of that. She had pinned back her hair, and her posture was graceful and alluring as she stood beside her horse in the same blue dress she had worn before. In her raised hand, she held a blade of grass, and as she had done during their initial meeting, she released it and allowed it to float away on the light breeze.

His gaze returned to her dress, and his heart clenched. If anyone deserved a new dress, it was she. He suspected that she owned no more than two, and it had not escaped his notice how she admired the food packed by Mrs. Montgomery for their last meeting. She had even said as much.

Despite her need, he had seen the universe in her eyes that day— dreams, hopes, and an appreciation for something as basic as simple food. All was pure without a hint of greed.

Transfixed on her feminine form, a strange feeling came over him, one he could not explain. It was not that same primal urge he had felt when they had wrestled on the ground during that first encounter. No, this was far different. He felt an overwhelming duty to protect her. To fulfill her every need in life. To hold her and tell her how her beauty humbled him. Where had these unusual thoughts come from?

Well, he would dwell on that another time. Now he wanted to go to her lest he lost even one precious moment in her presence.

The top of the knoll offered a fantastic view of luxurious rolling hills of green dotted with blue and yellow wildflowers, a spattering of thatched cottages, and white clouds touching the horizon. He doubted he had ever seen anything so spectacular.

Except when he looked at Anna.

“How kind of you to come,” Anna said as she looked up at him, a twinkle in her eye. “I was just considering leaving. I see you left behind your coat. Was it difficult?”

“Of course not,” Collin lied. Then he chuckled. “I suppose it was. It feels unnatural to be in such a state of undress. But if I’m to be Colin this week rather than the Duke of Greystoke, then I should be willing to set aside such restrictions.”

That, of course, made little sense. Even poor men wore coats out of doors. Then again, Colin had seen many working with the sleeves of their shirts rolled up and their coats tossed aside. It was nice to learn that it was as freeing as he had suspected.

“You really should be careful,” Anna said. “If you get too carried away, you may begin wearing clothes made outside of London. How could you ever continue on such a shameful path?” She gave him a wink, placed a booted foot in a stirrup, and threw her leg over the saddle, unabashed by showing her stockinged legs.

“Can you imagine?” Colin asked, unable to keep from grinning at her good-natured banter. “I think I would fall over in shock and never recover.”

When Anna laughed at this, Colin realized no sound on earth could match its heavenly tone. “I don’t wish to spend another day listening to you complain,” Anna said with a defiant jut to her chin. “Now, show me what an accomplished rider you are, duke.”

Before he could respond, she snapped her reins, and the horse galloped down the hill.

Accepting the challenge, Colin dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and followed after her.

“I assume a man of your standing has had training by expert riders,” she called with a quick glance over her shoulder.

“I’ve had the finest instructors who serve only those wealthy enough to pay their fees. Why? Are you jealous of my skills?”

She snorted. “Skills? Do you mean your rigid and slow riding? Those are not skills. Henry rides the same, and he’s just seven.”

Drawing his horse beside her, Colin pointed ahead of them. “If you are so good a rider, then I say we compete. That lone tree there. I’ll race you to it.”

“Don’t hurt yourself just to try to impress me,” Anna said. She glanced down. “And do mind your saddle. It’s not secured properly. I’d hate to see you fall.”

Colin leaned over, looked up, and roared with laughter when he noticed she had taken off without him. “You’ll pay for your trickery!” he shouted, heeling the horse and lying low over its neck.

It was too late. Her distraction had the effect she wanted, for she had already circled around the tree and was riding past him back to their starting point long before he reached the tree.

Dismounting beside the tree, Colin tied the reins to one of the branches.

Anna returned, laughing. “Do you find losing so distasteful that you refuse to complete the course?”

“Not at all. I simply see no reason to continue with a lost cause.”

“I find that very unlikely,” Anna said with a sniff. “Only those upset about losing refuse to help a lady dismount.”

“I would never refuse you anything.” Colin placed his hands around Anna’s waist and lowered her to the ground in front of him, and that overwhelming desire of wanting to hold her returned.

“Forgive my forwardness,” he said, forcing his breathing to remain calm when she placed her hands on his arms. “Yet, I cannot help but wonder why a woman as beautiful as you is not spoken for.”

“Because men see me as an object they wish to conquer,” came her reply. “You’re the first man to see me as something more.”

How pleasing to know that he was better than most men she had encountered. Not because of his station, but because of who he was as a man.

He searched her face. If he never released her, he would be happy the rest of his life. “You’re an enigma, Anna. You’re beautiful, intelligent, and have the ability to do anything. Surely there is nothing you cannot achieve. But I cannot help but wonder if there is more about you to discover.”

Her smile faded. Had he offended her in some way?

That thought faded when her smile returned. “Enough about me,” she said, pulling out of his embrace. He would have preferred she remain there forever. “I wish to know more about you.” She walked over to the tree and leaned her back against it. “How long have you been a duke?”

“Six years,” he replied, glancing down at the ring. “My father fell ill and never recovered. He remained strong, even in the face of death.”

“So, that is where your strength comes from,” she said with a smile. “Besides your resounding propensity to tell everyone that you’re a duke, what else do you enjoy?” The laughter that followed was a melodious sound. “Your expression was well worth me offending you.”

Colin squared his shoulders. “I was not offended. Well, perhaps slightly.” He gave her a wink, causing her to laugh again. “But to your question, I’ve not had time to do much else. Of course, there is the odd hunt and parties, which I’ve mentioned before. And I do enjoy a bit of reading from time to time, but otherwise, my days are filled with meetings followed by more meetings.” He approached her at the tree. “And what of you, Miss Silverstone? What do you enjoy?”

“Everything in life that I can. Cooking breakfast for my brothers to admiring the stars at night, I find that it’s the things we cannot purchase that should be cherished most. Those moments are what bring me enjoyment.”

“Once again, you’ve amazed me,” he said.

Desire took hold of him and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms. She had indeed amazed him.

Oh, why could you not have been born to a different family? he thought. For the first time, he found someone whose face he could have looked into for eternity if given the opportunity.