“Really?” It was Hestony’s turn to be amazed. Imagining Hal as a dandy was somewhat of a stretch. He still had a few affectations, but they were so loveable it was hard to imagine them as anything other than part of who he was.
“Not too badly,” the baron allowed, crunching into his biscuit. “I mean, he wasn’t wandering about, smoking cigars with a powdered wig or anything.” He chuckled at the thought. “But he did seem rather determined not to be serious about anything. Except having good shoes.”
“I can almost imagine it,” Hestony replied, reaching for her coffee. It was rich and fragrant and she sipped it, still trying to let her mind grasp what he had told her.
He loves me. He wanted to marry me from the beginning, since before he asked Mama.
The baron chuckled. “I know now that he was hiding his hurt. Hal is different to the rest of us – the merrier he seems, sometimes, the more you can be sure there’s some pain hiding at the core of him. He seems to think that by putting on a flippant, cheery front, he can convince the sorrow to leave.”
“That’s so typical of Henry,” Hestony agreed.
“It is. You must know him well to have seen that so early on.”
“We have known each other a year,” Hestony reminded him.
“I know,” his father agreed mildly. “And I’m glad for it. It’s changed him for the better.”
“Thank you.”
Hestony reached for her coffee and sipped it slowly, letting the warmth spiral down to her toes. She felt comforted by her father-in-law’s words – not just because they were kind, but because she sensed that they were true. She thought back to when she’d first met Hal, smiling at her first impression of him. She had thought him very proper and typical of London society. Not quite a dandy, but she could see how his father concluded that.
“I suppose I should get back to my work,” Lord Carisbrooke said, tipping his coffee back and drinking it in a big gulp. “I can have Hurst ride to the manor and fetch something, if you like? More clothes, perhaps? Your writing-case?”
“Thank you, My Lord,” Hestony stood too, and curtseyed. “I would like Hurst to dispatch a letter for me. Mayhap he could fetch a packing-case of things for me too?”
“Of course, my daughter,” he replied.
He and Hestony looked at each other, startled. It was the first time that either of them had acknowledged the relationship openly. They both went quiet, seeming suddenly awkward. Hestony looked at the carpet. When she looked up, she noticed Baron Carisbrooke was blushing crimson.
“It’s nice, having a daughter,” he murmured.
“Thank you, Father.”
They were both damp-eyed when they left the room.
Upstairs, Hestony finished her letter to Emilia.
And I have settled in well, she wrote, and am so, very happy.
She signed it. Reaching for another piece of parchment, she jotted down a short letter to her mother. She filled in only the barest outline, providing her with the most-basic of facts. In the deepest roots of her heart, she was sure her mother didn’t care about her.
“She wished me to wed that black-hearted devil,” she murmured, scattering sand over the ink, to dry it. She waited, blew the sand away, then folded and sealed the letter. There was no reason to believe her mother would be more than peripherally alarmed. Then she pulled the bell-rope and handed the paper to Mr. Hall.
“Please ask Mr. Hurst to deliver these. And if he could ask Judy to pack a traveling-case for me? Thank you.”
“Of course, Madam.”
When the letters were sent, she went upstairs to the parlor. It was a start. She sat back in the chair and realized that she felt happier and more contented than she had for months. When Hal returned, she would be ready to receive him with utmost trust again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Back Again
Hal stood in the dining-room, feeling awkward. He could hear footsteps upstairs and he had no idea how he would be received. He felt guilty, having headed off to Westmore to talk to Luke with little warning. He had no idea how Hestony and his father might have rubbed along in his absence and he was prepared for anything.
“Give me a moment…” he heard Hestony’s voice upstairs in the drawing-room. “I’ll be down directly. Thank you.”
“Yes, My Lady.” A lady’s voice replied. A male voice murmured something and Hal felt his brow tighten with worry. If his father had been difficult with Hestony, he swore he would…
“Hal!” Hestony burst in through the door, running lightly over the parquet and kissing him on the lips. Hal felt his heart soar.
“My beautiful lady!” He lifted her and swung her off her feet. She shrieked with mirth and he set her back down. “How are you?”
“Well,” Hestony said, smiling. “Do you notice something different?”
“You have your dress with you!” Hal noticed at once that she was wearing a beautiful cream dress, which was tightly-fitted at the waist, with an empire waistline and a long skirt that grazed the tops of her shoes. He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked.
“I have three of my dresses with me now,” Hestony said, giving him a big smile. “We can have a ball now, if you please.”
“A fine idea!” Hal chuckled. He felt his heart temporarily go through the floor. He had to travel to London for business, immediately. That, he and Luke both agreed on. Which meant he would have to go tomorrow, unless…
“What is it?” Hestony asked, frowning.
“My dearest…would you fancy a trip to London? Mayhap, we can have the ball there, at Ellington House? It would be the best way to get to know London society as, well…as we are now.”
“What a marvelous idea!” Hestony replied. “My dear Hal! That would be terrific!”
Hal blushed. “I’m so glad you’d like it.”
“It’s wonderful! It shall be a small ball, of course, but so much the better, for we can invite our close friends only. I can already hear the music – Emilia mentioned a particularly good quintet we could contact to play for it.”
Hal smiled. He had never imagined Hestony as an industrious housewife. He bent to kiss her hand.
“My dearest, I am sure you’ll organize a ball that will be the toast of London. Shall we leave tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” she murmured, staring. “Hal! It would be…why not?” A slow smile spread across her face.
“Thank you for always agreeing to these wild plans of mine,” he said, feeling humble. “It is very dear of you.”