Page 21 of Second Chance Prince
Niki cleared his throat and tried again. “I would very much like to visit Grantham. I will do my best to rearrange my schedule…if I am able. Some of the councillors have come to London to speak with me, so I will need to give them at least a little of my time.”
Was that better? He gave Roberta a hopeful look and saw her reluctant smile.
“I’m sure you can cancel some of those meetings you are having with the Holtswig council,” Matilda said in an uncharacteristically reproving voice. “They are a lot of dithering old men who lost touch with the people years ago. I don’t know why you don’t replace them. A weekend away would do you the world of good, Niki. You are still pale after that awful incident—”
Her voice trailed off, but Niki knew she meant the attempt to kill him. Roberta was looking worried now, but thankfully, Matilda had already changed the subject to something far more pleasant.
“Let us eat,” she said, and clapped her hands.
Chapter Ten
The meal was as delicious as promised, and conversation flowed reasonably easily, although his twin cousins seemed to be in the middle of an argument, with glares at each other and sulky responses to their mother’s efforts to settle whatever was bothering them. Their brother, Tomas, was quiet, picking at the food on his plate and refusing to take part. After their encounter the night of the package delivery, Niki had thought a great deal about Tomas, but as he reminded himself, the boywassixteen, after all, so that may explain it. Sixteen was always a difficult age.
Tomas reminded Niki uncomfortably of a period a few years ago when Ernesthadbeen grumpy and uncommunicative, but that was because of a dragon of a woman their father had employed to teach Ernest how to comport himself in society. Remembering a similar incident in his own childhood, Niki had sent her packing.
Their father had been too ill at the time to make a fuss, and once Ernest’s good nature was restored, they put it behind them. It was yet another link between himself and Roberta. He remembered the story she had told of an unpleasant governess and how her brother had sent her off on an extended “holiday” to Scotland.
Niki looked across the table to where Roberta was sitting beside Antonia and Ernest. The two younger people were chatting, and he could see Roberta listening and trying not to laugh. No doubt his brother was telling them about the antics of his new puppy, a gift from Karl. He told anyone who would listen. The animal had been meant as a hunting dog, but somehow it was now sleeping on Ernest’s bed.
He turned to speak with his aunt, only to find she was listening closely to Freddie Hart, who was seated on her other side. They were conversing together in low voices, and Freddie’s hazel eyes were focused on her to the exclusion of all else. Which seemed out of character—the man usually had eyes everywhere. Niki wondered how old he was. In his mid-thirties or a little older? Matilda was nearly forty—she was the much-younger sister of his father and the child his grandfather had produced in his old age. She had never quite fit into the Holtswig royal family, preferring to marry an Englishman and live abroad, and now she seemed to be finding common ground with Freddie Hart.
Niki decided not to borrow trouble—it was probably nothing—even when he saw the two of them smiling at each other as if they had just found the elixir of life.
Once luncheon was out of the way, Niki offered Roberta his arm, and they set off for their stroll in the gardens. Antonia and Ernest followed, with Ernest’s puppy, while the warring twins trailed behind and their sullen brother vanished entirely. Matilda and her other guests remained in the house, but Niki noticed a gentleman he had not observed before lingering about the garden and keeping a watchful eye on him. So Freddie wasn’t as distracted as he had thought him.
They walked in silence for a time, Roberta looking about her at the lush flowers and the bees gathering pollen. Everything in the garden was at its zenith. It felt as if the whole world was enjoying the English sunshine, and Niki wished he could turn off his inner thoughts and enjoy it too.
Antonia let out a shriek, which had Roberta turning in surprise. “My sister is the quiet one,” she said. “Usually.”
“Ernest isnotthe quiet one in my family. He and Karl are alike in many ways. They have the gift of making many friends, and they could charm the birds down from the trees. Unlike me.”
It was meant to amuse her, but Roberta did not smile. For a long, uncomfortable moment, her blue eyes searched his expression, and he wondered what she was looking for, but when she spoke at last it was only to say, “I expect you have more important matters to deal with than Ernest does.”
That was true enough, but Niki did not want to talk about the pressures he was experiencing: the heavy burden of Holtswig and the threats against his life. It would sour what was proving to be a pleasant day.
“Do you remember earlier we spoke of Grantham and your grandmother’s invitation? I will be able to travel there sooner than I thought. There is a meeting on Friday, which I am going to cancel, and Saturday and Sunday will be free. If the invitation is still open, I will write and tell the dowager.”
Roberta was silent, and his heart sank. Did she not want him there? Before he could assure her he did not have to come if it was inconvenient, she spoke. “I know Grandmama is fond of you, of course she is, but she is sure to mention the east wing. Grantham has always been very important to her, and she worries about it.My grandfather and my father both contributed to its demise, and Gabriel can only do so much—”
Niki interrupted her. “Please don’t concern yourself. I understand. Your grandmother’s love for Grantham is well known. She turned down my grandfather’s offer to elope, remember, because she loved Grantham more. When she speaks, I will listen to her with polite attention.”
“But you don’t understand,” Roberta said quickly. “She believes that if we marry,youwill pay for the repairs to the east wing and everything else that needs doing. She doesn’t know Gabriel has already turned down your—your offer.”
“Oh. I see.” He looked away. He felt a twinge of disappointment that the dowager was conniving to use his money for her house and wanted him to visit for that reason rather than because she was fond of him. But then he told himself not to be a sentimental fool. In his experience, very few people didnothave ulterior motives when it came to asking him to visit them. And really, why should he not help? He was wealthy enough to rebuild Grantham ten times over.
Niki took a breath and found Roberta watching him anxiously. “I would be happy to discuss—”
She looked horrified. “Goodness me, no, Niki! Apart from the unfairness of asking such a thing of you, Gabriel would be furious. He has plans to raise the money, and he is too proud to ask for help.”
There seemed to be nothing to say to that, so he moved on. “Will your entire family be there? Last time I visited, there were rather a lot of them.”
She smiled. “It just seems that way, but yes, I imagine theywill be there. Oh, and there are more of them now. But I will make sure you do not become overwhelmed by it all.”
He was curious to know why she thought him so easily knocked off-kilter by things he dealt with every day. Could she see inside him to the shy, awkward boy who still resided beneath his unsociable exterior? Those watchful blue eyes of hers saw a great deal.
“I am sure I can cope,” he said stiffly, embarrassed that his feelings were so accessible to her.
She was staring into the distance. “You know, Niki, I have just realized that my family will be much harder to convince that we are in love than anyone we have met so far. Gabriel still says we cannot tell them the truth in case word gets out. And they will be watching us like hawks. You do know that, don’t you?”
