Page 10 of The Earl Next Door
“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll remember that whenever I walk outside, my lord. And again, I’m perfectly fine and need no one checking on me when I’m in the garden enjoying the day.”
She’d had enough of being watched almost every moment of the day the two years she was married.
“Good. I’m glad to know it wasn’t a snake or a spider in a web that stopped you for so long,” he said with a twitch of a grin.
After a shiver at the thought of such creatures being in her path, and much to her consternation, Adeline gave a hint of a smile, too. That seemed to satisfy him.
“I’ll leave you to enjoy your morning in the fresh air.” He nodded and turned away. Adeline looked down at the pathway and then scoured the air space in front of her for any telltale signs of a web.
Maybe the earl was a beast after all, and he was certainly one who knew her fears.
Chapter 5
With a deep sigh of vexation Adeline looked up at the trellis she stood beneath. She had to admit that she hadn’t had the opportunity to be alone with very many men, but the earl had to be the most intriguing of that lot. He was a menace to her peace of mind. She must keep her intimate thoughts and feelings for Lyon under control. And she would. Just as soon as she figured out how.
The last of the brown leaves of winter had fallen away, and buds of greenery were showing in patches all over the archway. Several vines were woven in between the ivy, but not enough of the plants had grown out for her to know what type of flower would adorn the structure in the next few weeks. Glancing down at her heavy dark blue widow’s skirt and matching velvet pelisse, she found herself hoping the blooms would be bright, cheerful colors. Light shades of pinks, vivid blues, deep purples, sunny yellows, and brilliant reds.
Any color that wouldn’t remind her of the drab gloominess Society expected her to wear.
Shaking her head, and blaming even her complaints about her clothing on the disturbing Lord Lyonwood, Adeline stared back at the school building determined to focus on the girls. The boarding school deserved her complete attention. She was eager to meet the girls, eager for their time at the school to begin.
The back door of her house opened. Adeline turned to see Brina coming out.
“I’m sorry we’re late,” she called and waved.
A smile stretched across Adeline’s face. She suddenly felt uplifted. “It’s about time you two got here.”
“It’s my fault we’re tardy, as usual,” Julia called, gliding up beside Brina and waving, too. “I hope you didn’t give up on us and meet the girls without us?”
“Of course not,” Adeline answered, squinting against the glare of sun that hung above the roofline of her house, and motioned for them to join her. “I’ve been waiting for you out here because it’s such a beautiful day. Come on.”
Brina, the youngest of the three friends and benefactors of the school, was tall, willowy, and a natural beauty. Even in her widow weeds and with her gorgeous silvery blonde hair covered by a wide-brimmed straw hat, as it was today, everyone took notice when Brina walked by. To most of Society she was the epitome of all a widowed lady should be. Devoted to the memory of her husband, and kind to a fault. There wasan enticing grace about her that most ladies envied but never attained. Everything about Mrs. Brina Feld spoke of loveliness and goodness.
Adeline knew Brina’s countenance was held together by an enormous, fearless inner strength. Though not much past the age of nineteen when asked, she’d had no reservations about helping fund and plan the boarding school from the moment Adeline suggested it. Brina’s round face and almond-shaped blue eyes always held a smile for everyone be they friend or stranger. Her words were always carefully chosen and gentle. Only Adeline and Julia knew how deeply Brina still mourned her husband. She’d been married less than three months when the ship went down. Her husband had been heralded as a hero, saving the lives of a few but losing his own. Brina’s sorrow for the loss of her beloved ran deep as the sea.
Julia came hurrying down the steps behind Brina. Known in Society as Lady Kitson Fairbright, Julia was the opposite of their dear friend Brina in appearance and deportment. Julia’s shiny chestnut-colored hair always seemed to be falling out of her chignon whether or not she’d donned a bonnet that day. She had rare dark violet eyes and the fairest complexion Adeline had ever seen.
While Brina always said and did the right thing in every situation, Julia couldn’t seem to, at all times, manage the strict rules of propriety. Her carefree spirit was difficult to harness. Never intentionally, but she had been known to walk to Town without a proper bonnet or hat covering her head and, according to gossip, unthinkingly lift her skirts a little too high when stepping over a puddle crossing the street. Sometimes her venturesome, impulsive nature led to unexpected incidents that were difficult for a lady to explain. But Lady Kitson Fairbright had been irreplaceable when it came to helping start the school even though she’d struggled with her own troubles since her husband’s death.
“I’ve missed you two,” Adeline said after hugging first Julia and then Brina. “I hope both of you are never out of Town at the same time again. I had no one to talk to while you were gone.”
“We were not together, remember,” Brina reminded her teasingly. “We had no one to confide in either.”
“I’m not trying to scold you,” Adeline smiled impishly. “Only let you know how wonderful it is to see you. What made you so late? Did you have to stop for Julia to rescue a cat from a tree or to make sure a stray dog had clean water to drink today?”
“No,” Brina answered with a slight roll of her eyes. “Not this time, but Julia told the driver not to go fast. She didn’t want to tire the horses so early because she knew they’d have a long day.”
Julia smiled sweetly. “You two cannot shame me for making us late. I only wish everyone had the affection for animals that I do.”
“We do,” Adeline insisted lightly. “We simply don’t always show it in the many ways you do. You are a good example for us all. Tell me how Chatwyn is doing. Did he love the coast?”
“Oh yes, very much so, and I did too, of course,”Julia answered. “He didn’t want to leave. What’s not to love about running barefoot along the water’s edge when you’re two years old? He was delighted.”
“Wasn’t the water freezing cold?” Brina asked.
“And rocky?” Adeline added with surprise.
“Yes, but he didn’t care. He ran right over every pebble, shard, and broken shell as if skipping through a soft bed of grass. Every morning he would beg to go to the shore and play. The duke was very attentive. He would have let him go every day had I not insisted that if it continued, Chatwyn could catch a chill and become a weak, sickly child in the future.”
