And then there had been the shock of the will that must have shaken her to the core after the earl’s death. Her delight in thinking that she no longer had to have anything to do with Darius would have lasted as long as it had taken to read the old man’s wishes. In his wisdom, Darius had been left to administer the estate until Roddy was three and twenty, dispensing monies as he saw fit and keeping the extensive Allingham holdings running smoothly. Roddy was young and had much to learn about managing a large concern with multiple dependents and over a hundred tenants. Darius could well remember his stepmother’s incredulous anger as she had sat stiffly upright in her chair, draped in her widow’s black, her face as white as parchment as she had listened to her late husband’s final testament. Not only had the earl left his eldest son very generously provided for in his own right, but he had put her son’s inheritance into Darius’ hands.
‘No,’ Judith had breathed, upon hearing the words. She had surged to her feet. ‘No! I will not have it.’
Mr. Margate, the family’s man of business, had hesitated. ‘The terms of his lordship’s last testament are very specific, my lady. Kirkwood has governance of the financial dealings of the estate until Lord Allingham is three and twenty.’
Judith had turned, giving Darius a look of incandescent fury. ‘Are you satisfied now? He has finally given you the opportunity to ruin us and you will, won’t you? You will ruin us all!’
She had collapsed after that and the rest of the reading had been postponed. All things considered, Darius had understood Judith’s attitude. She felt as if she had played second fiddle to another woman since the day she had married the Earl of Allingham and nothing had ever changed her outlook. Her husband had felt a great deal of affection for his wife but he had made no bones about his love for his mistress or his eldest son. It must, Darius reflected, have been galling for a woman with as much pride as Judith, Countess of Allingham, to countenance such a public arrangement.
He had, of course, been exceedingly generous to both his stepmother and his half-siblings but it had not prevented Judith from venting her fury at the situation whenever she could. It wasn’t just because he was illegitimate and, it must be admitted, inclined to snub his nose at Society. Why not? Society certainly snubbed him for the most part, largely, he suspected, because of the Countess of Allingham’s influence. The only course of action that provided Judith with some satisfaction was that of revenge and she had taken pains to blacken his character for years, painting him as a scoundrel and a rogue. She had convinced quite a number of people that he had leached away a considerable portion of Roddy’s inheritance, despite the fact that the Allingham estates were obviously thriving. Never let the truth stand in the way of a good melodrama. Society would far prefer to hear that the illegitimate son of a nobleman was hell bent on persecuting a rightful heir. People did love a story and were more than happy to overlook truth in the search for one.
It was amusing in a way, for he had done quite the opposite of everybody’s expectations. Darius was very good at estate management. Under his stewardship, he had actually increased his brother’s holdings as well as improving farming methods on the estate itself, before he had handed over the reins to Roddy. Duty done, he had thought he would be eager to return to his leisurely, rather hedonistic lifestyle. And perhaps he would have been, if he had not met Audrey Hathaway.
That one event had thrown a fox into the henhouse.
Beautiful, bewildering, beguiling Audrey Hathaway.
It was strange how a single event could alter a man’s perception of his life. Generally, Darius did not care what people thought of him. Indeed, he had gone through life encouraging Society to think what they would for those who had so little time for the truth were not worth his time or his attention. He had learned to run his own race years ago and did not require the approbation of anybody. At least he hadn’t, up until four months ago when he had set eyes on Miss Hathaway. He had not wanted anything to change. Indeed, in the days after that meeting he had been convinced that the memory of that kiss would fade. Such experiences did, after all and he could honestly say that not one kiss before that moment had stayed in his mind for long. But weeks had passed and he was still caught up in the conversation they had shared, her voice echoing in his head. Or, he had caught the aroma of roses that reminded him of the girl for her scent had twined around his senses, subtle coils he had inhaled when he’d held her. But it was the memory of how it had felt to hold her in his arms that had been the worst of it, especially as his body had a tendency to recall the feel of her every morning upon waking. Those memories had the power to disturb him in ways that he had not experienced since he was a callow youth.
He had finally realized he had to find her if he were to have any relief.
And he had found her, here in Somerset. The question was, what was he going to do now?
For he was in deep trouble, of that there was no doubt. The sight of her collapsing onto the floor had produced such a fierce surge of protectiveness that neither Roddy nor Harry Carstairs had a hope in hell of reaching her before he had swept Audrey up into his arms. It had been pure instinct but it had been undeniable. And looking down at her face, as he had carried her upstairs under Lady Hathaway’s direction, Darius had understood the gravity of the situation.
Whatever it was that lay between himself and Audrey, it was no simple thing. Lust, he very much feared, played only a small part in it. Whatever peculiar enchantment had taken hold of him back in August still held sway over him. He had the uncomfortable feeling that, if anybody else had reached Audrey before he had, he would have pushed them aside without so much as a glance. He had spent the evening with her family – and his own – intensely conscious of the girl. He had tried to keep his eyes off her but he was sure he had only partially succeeded. Not that looking at her had been necessary for he had been conscious of every inconsequential move that she had made.
‘This is impossible!’ he muttered, throwing aside the covers.
Whatever he planned to do, it was time to get on with it. He would not achieve anything by lying abed half the morning and he was suddenly impatient to be moving. His future, for good or bad, lay before him and he had never shied away from it before. He wondered if Audrey was awake yet. He very much wanted to have a word with her alone, even though he had no idea what he would say. Speaking, he suspected, would hardly be uppermost in his mind. In fact, the very idea of being alone with her made his body tighten in a most uncomfortable way and he grimaced. Perhaps it would be better to push all thought of what he would like to do to the lovely Miss Hathaway to the back of his mind until after he had the opportunity to acclimatize to her, so to speak.
And if I do find her just as enchanting as I did yesterday? As enchanting as I did in August and September? What then? What the devil am I supposed to do then? Fall at her feet and beg her to take me on? Devil take it Kirkwood, you are destined to make an utter ass of yourself before this day is done! I’ve gone and fallen in love with a paragon that I haven’t a hope in hell of winning. Excellently done, old boy. Now let’s see how much more damage I can do…
He was only mildly disappointed to discover that the small breakfast room held only his half-brother, a decent fire and the makings of a workmanlike, but more than adequate, breakfast. Roddy was seated at the table, head bent over a plate of eggs and ham and sausages. He glanced up when Darius entered, face immediately taking on the shuttered look his older brother’s presence inevitably produced. He spoke civilly enough, however.