Bitter Oath (New Atlantis)(10)

Portia’s astute reading of Liv’s thoughts unsettled her. She had never shown serious interest in any man. But, here she was, feeling jealous that her engaged sister might draw the attention of a man she had only met for ten minutes.

After a suitable time, the ladies left the library, and made their way to the morning room at that back of the house. It was the warmest and brightest room at this time of day, and overlooked the rose garden, which was just starting to bud up for late summer and autumn.

The first sight of him standing there at the window drove the air from her body. How could just the sight of someone have such a profound effect? After the first reaction, she drank him in like a thirsty man downs water. He looked the same, but different. Still tall, dark and exotically handsome. But had he been that thin and dark the last time she saw him? His handsome features seemed haggard and older than she remembered. The lightness and youth was gone from him. How could he have aged years in a few weeks? Could he have been sick? Cholera was common for travellers, and could be recurrent. If he had experienced a bout of that disease, he would not look well after his recovery. But he wouldn’t be darker skinned, would he?

While she considered the possibility, Rene looked away from the view, and smiled a greeting. He strode quickly over to them and stopped just short of the polite distance for greeting a member of the opposite gender. Bowing stiffly to both sisters, he waited for their polite welcome.

‘My Lord, how delightful it is to see you again. I was half convinced you would not make the journey this far north is search of your giant earthworm,’ Liv said with a curtsey.

‘Miss Mulgrave, I have been counting the days.’

She didn’t need to look at Portia to know what she was making of such a remark. She hurried on to the introductions.

‘Lord L’Angley, may I introduce my sister, Portia. Portia, Rene L’Angley, late of the North American wilderness.’

‘I’m charmed,’ Rene said as Portia bobbed and gave him a demur smile.

‘You are very welcome to our home, my Lord. Father will be here shortly to greet you.’

They seated themselves while James, who had entered the room shortly after the ladies, hurried off to order tea.

‘I hope the journey north wasn’t too trying,’ Portia said, to fill the silence that was growing between them. Neither Rene nor Liv seemed able to find words, so intent were they on looking anywhere but at each other. But at last Rene gathered his wits to respond

‘No, not at all. The countryside was beautiful, and the weather pleasant. It is a more comfortable way to see the world than by ship. Although the Transatlantic crossing was surprisingly fast – only seven weeks.’

‘That was fast, my Lord. The winds were with you,’ Portia said.

‘Indeed. It was my first crossing, and I was expecting far worse.’

‘Your first trip to Europe? And you travel half of England in search of an earth worm? You would have made my grandfather and sister a fitting companion. Myself, if it was my first visit to London, I would be attending balls and other entertainments, for which that city is renown.’

‘I have never been one for society.’ Rene seemed unable to find anything else to say, and when Liv looked his way, she found that he was staring at her quite openly. She blushed.

At that moment, the door to the morning room opened, and their father bustled in. He looked somewhat in disarray, having been pulled from his accounts to greet his guest. But, after a cautious greeting, he seated himself on his favourite chair beside the unlit fireplace and seemed perfectly at ease.

‘Well, sir, I am told you have an interest in my father’s research. I must say, it has never been of interest to me. Since I could walk, my mother groomed me for my Gentry role, as father seemed disinclined to interest himself in the running of our estate. He would be gone for years at a time, leaving the estate to my mother and our manager to administer. I would not want such a husband for one of my daughters.’

Liv blushed with mortification. Her father was behaving as if L’Angley were here asking for her hand. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the young gentleman would be indignant at such an obvious slur.

‘I am lucky that my older brother inherited our estates. I have wealth enough that I can follow my interests wherever they lead. If I were to take a wife, she would have to share my interests, and be willing to travel with me. I would never leave her at home, waiting beside the fire for me. Such a lonely existence.’

Liv felt a frisson of excitement. For such a young man, L’Angley had handled her father perfectly. And he had left an opening there for her. Could he mean to court her because she shared his interests? To have a man to travel the world with, exploring nature like her grandfather had done, was her fondest daydream. Could this man possibly give it to her?’

‘I am not over-fond of Frenchmen,’ her father went on, this time a little more aggressively.

‘Then you will be pleased to know that I am only half French. My mother was an Obejwe. One of the First People of the North American continent.’

‘You are a halfbreed native?’ Hugo Mulgrave almost chocked on his shock. Liv felt her dream fade to nothing. There was no chance her father would ever consider a proposal from someone of mixed blood.

‘Not a term used in polite society at home, sir, but yes, it describes me accurately. There are many like myself in the Americas. My father’s first wife, whom he brought with him from France before the revolution, died at the birth of her second son. My father then married my mother. I am her eldest. I have two siblings younger than myself.’

Her father harrumphed at the easy way the young man handled his barbs. Although he would not condone a marriage now, he might consider the man a suitable guest in his home. After all, he could hardly rescind his daughter’s invitation without being taken for a boorish yokel.

‘Well, young man, I will leave you in the gentle hands of my daughters while I return to my accounts. I will see you at luncheon, I expect.’

‘I look forward to it,’ Rene replied politely, rising to his feet as Hugo did, and giving him a little bow. After their father left, and the footman entered with the tea, silence fell. Liv could not have imagined a more tense and uncomfortable moment.

Portia stepped in once again, pouring each of them a cup of tea, and handing them over. She indicated the plate of iced biscuits on the silver service with a gracious sweep of her hand. ‘You must excuse our father. He has many pressures on him and he, like you sir, has never had much time for society. How long do you plan on staying in England?’

‘I will see out the summer and autumn here, and then go to the continent for my own version of the grand tour. I will return home next May.’

‘So your father settled in New France before the revolution, and your mother is an Indian? Did you have any French ancestors who made their way to the New World before your father?’ Portia asked. Liv immediately knew where she was going with this query.

‘No. My ancestors all remained firmly in France. My father was the first adventurer, and as a younger son, it was never expected that he would be in line for the Duchy. Of course, when Madame Guillotine made their acquaintance, my father inherited the title, if not the wealth that went with it. But he had done well for himself. In the New World titles mean nothing. It embarrasses me to be called Lord L’Angley, even though the title is honorary.’

‘What would you prefer us to call you then, my Lord?’

‘We do not stand on ceremony at home. Would it be inappropriate if I asked you both to call me Rene?’

‘We tend to be rather informal ourselves. We would happily call you Rene, if you would do us the courtesy of calling us by our given names. I am Portia, the baby of the family. Livianna is our spinster, and goes by Liv or Livy.’

Liv blushed at her sister’s lack of manners. But at the same time, it appealed to her to be allowed to call him Rene, as this was how she thought of him in her imagination.

‘Then it will be Portia and Liv, then. Is that acceptable, Miss Mulgrave?’

This was the first time Rene had directly addressed her, and she blushed again. ‘Yes, Rene, it is perfectly acceptable to me. Although it might be wiser, when father is present, to remain on more formal terms. He can be quite prickly, as you have already witnessed.’

Rene laughed softly and, for the first time, Liv saw the young man she had met at the British Museum. She couldn’t help joining in with his mirth.





CHAPTER SIX





‘Who is he?’ Liv demanded of her sister, when she finally got her alone some hours later. Rene was ensconced in the library with the Journals, and the ladies had gone to their rooms to rest.

‘He is Rene L’Angley, it would seem. And you did not do him justice by your description. That hair and those eyes! And though his skin is overly dark for my taste, it is a beautiful colour. Makes our English gentlemen look quite insipid, beside him. When he looks at one, all I can think of is what it would feel like to kiss those beautifully shaped lips….’