The following morning, I decided to grab the bull by the horns after all and confront my mother before she had a chance to call me. After my father died, Mum had moved to a separate residence so Darcie and I could have our independence in the main family property. My mother’s house, on the other side of Westfordshire, was nearly as large, with a staff of its own.
“Hello, Mother,” I said as I met her out in the garden.
I could see from her stark expression that she was seething.
“What’s this about some American girl showing up out of nowhere? Who is she?”
There was no point in skirting anything now. I told her the full story, holding nothing back. My mother’s reaction was everything I’d always imagined it to be.
She was practically shaking. “You would’ve given up everything, Leo. Thank the gods for intervening and making it impossible for you to wreck your life!”
“And you wonder why I’ve never told you anything over the years...”
“Your father is likely rolling around in his grave right now.”
“I highly doubt that. For all he knew, I did right by him.” I lifted my brow. “Anyway, what’s the point of this lifestyle without a little scandal to shake things up from time to time, right? Like father, like son?”
Immediately I knew alluding to my father’s rumored infidelities was uncalled for. “I’m sorry, Mother. Just trying to point out that I’m hardly the first imperfect person in this family.”
My mother took a long sip of her mimosa and slammed the champagne flute down. “What are you going to do about this problem? Is she still here?”
“She’s not a problem. She’s a person. One who had no idea what she was walking into. And I think what I’m doing at this point is none of your concern. I don’t owe any explanations from this point forward to anyone but Darcie.”
“Why did you run over here this morning to talk to me if you don’t value my opinion?”
“Because I knew your head was likely ready to explode, and I wanted to put you out of your misery.”
My mother screamed in frustration. “If your nan wasn’t already on her deathbed, this might just put her there.”
That was almost laughable.
“That goes to show how much you know about Nan…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nan knew about Felicity from the beginning. She was the only person besides Sigmund who knew about our relationship back then. Nan knows more about me than anyone, actually.”
That should leave my mother’s knickers in a knot.
As her jaw dropped, I chose that moment to walk away.
A few hours later, I picked up Felicity and Sigmund at the Bainbridge Inn. They hadn’t killed each other yet, so that was good news. The sweet, old woman who owned the place stood outside and waved us off.
Felicity fastened her seatbelt. “Where are we going?”
While she was next to me in the passenger seat, my cousin sat in the back.
“There’s something I want to show you,” I said.
“I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve said that to her,” Sigmund cracked.
I glared at him in the rearview mirror. “Why am I taking you along again?”
“Oh, I don’t know…because your wife will have your arse if you don’t? Because you think I’ll drink myself into oblivion if left alone? Because you can’t get enough of my charming personality? Because you don’t trust yourself to be alone with Felicity? There are multiple answers to that question.”
Ignoring him, I turned to her. “We’re taking a ride out to one of my properties, actually.”
My stomach churned with excitement and nerves for what lay ahead. I tried to limit my looking over at Felicity because it was painful. I knew I wouldn’t cross any lines, but my unwavering attraction to her was unnerving. As a married man, I shouldn’t ache to kiss another woman. I shouldn’t so instantly remember what she tasted like and yearn to taste her again. But nothing ever went as it should when it came to Felicity Dunleavy.
Her eyes widened when we arrived at the property known as Brighton House. My father’s widowed sister lived here most of the year, but she was currently in France on holiday. My aunt Mildred loved animals and kept a large farm on the estate. Her house manager, Nathaniel, happened to be a longtime friend of Sigmund’s. I knew my cousin would likely head inside to have a drink with him, and that would allow me some alone time with Felicity.
Sure enough, Nathaniel came out to greet us, and Sigmund disappeared inside. I’d introduced Felicity as a friend I’d be showing around the farm. Although Nathaniel looked confused, I was certain Sigmund would have a field day filling him in on the soap opera my life had become.
“Let’s take a tour of the farm, shall we?”
“I’d love that.” She smiled.
It was a relief to see her at least momentarily happy.
“My aunt is an animal lover, like you, and this is her farm. She’s away on holiday right now, so her staff tends to the animals. Mildred lost her husband when she was in her thirties. He died in a car accident.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“She never remarried and never had children. The animals are like her kids.”
As we walked toward the barn, excitement built in my veins.
Several ponies congregated behind a wooden partition.
As she looked over at them, Felicity beamed. “Oh my God. Is that a Shetland?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t contain my smile.
“He looks just like Ludicrous.”
I arched my brow. “Just like him, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Look closer.”
There was nothing better than the look on her face when she realized it.
She pointed in disbelief. “That’s not him…”
“It is, Felicity.”
“What?”
I opened the gate, and she ran toward him. Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Honestly, few things in life had brought me greater joy than witnessing this moment. I could certainly relate to the feeling of seeing someone after believing you’d never see them again in this lifetime—because that’s what I was experiencing right now.
Leaning her head against him, she said, “I don’t understand. I thought you found a farm in Rhode Island to take him? I told you to let me know if you couldn’t find a place for him. You didn’t say anything, so I assumed that was all set. How did he end up here?”
“No way was I going to leave you with that responsibility. I just never got back to you before I left. I did get that farm in Rhode Island to agree to keep him until I could transport him back to England. But that was all they were willing to do, since they didn’t have the space for him. About a month later, he was here. And he’s been here ever since.”
Ludicrous neighed.
She began to tear up as she petted him. “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry today.”
“As long as I’m not the one causing your tears, I’m good.”
“I’d considered trying to find him,” she said, running her fingers through his mane.