“Yes, the very familiar can lose some of its wonder.”
He listened to everything she said with an attentive air, his eyes focused on her face. “And you don’t think I should change it—flatten those hills over there and make a formal garden?” He pointed to the hill nearest them on the west side, just north of the road leading up to the front of the castle.
“Oh no. Certainly not. To change the natural landscape would be to take away the wild beauty of the place. Plant a few flowers if you like, but it would be a sin to change the wildness or the freedom of it.”
He smiled thoughtfully, still gazing into her eyes.
Father asked Lord Withinghall a question about what he was able to shoot there—pheasants or grouse—drawing his attention away from Leorah.
Soon they all joined the ladies inside, then proceeded downstairs to the drawing room. When the butler announced, “Dinner is served,” Leorah was glad, as she was quite hungry.
Once everyone was seated, Lord Withinghall said a simple but sincere grace to begin the meal, which progressed quite pleasantly. The viscount’s aunt, Mrs. Dixon, acted as hostess, and the older lady was quite witty and jovial. Leorah was seated near enough to Lord Withinghall that they were able to converse for short amounts of time, and she found his conversation to be intelligent but not arrogant, and as often as he could break away from talking to her loud, strident father, he listened attentively to whatever Leorah said.
After dinner, the men did not stay long in the dining room before joining the ladies. They were all sitting together when Mrs. Dixon asked Leorah, “Won’t you play something for us? Edward says you play very well.”
“I will play for you, if you wish, but I would not say I play very well.” She might have suggested that Julia was the one who played very well, but Julia did not look any too energetic, poor dear. She was still sick from her pregnancy and was even more quiet than usual.
Leorah had not been practicing lately, and she was very aware that Lord Withinghall and the rest of the guests were her captive audience, everyone too polite to talk while she was playing. Had the viscount moved away from her father so he wouldn’t keep him from listening? She hoped he was not disappointed in her playing. Julia was the virtuoso, the one who played for the joy of it and when the family wanted a bit of music.
When she finished her song, everyone clapped politely, and Lord Withinghall smiled, making her heart skip a beat. But why did her heart react that way? And why was she noticing more and more how truly handsome he was? He still dressed very conservatively, but his simply tied neckcloth and plain black coat could not disguise the intelligence of his blue eyes or the perfection of his straight nose and high cheekbones and strong jaw—not to mention his perfect mouth and dark hair.
She would have to sort through the reasons why she seemed to be thinking of him so differently now, later when she was alone in her room. She did not like these complicated feelings, which made it seem as if she did not know herself.
Leorah played one more song, then went back to sit with Felicity and Elizabeth.
Her father managed to find a seat near Lord Withinghall and asked in a loud voice, even louder than normal, since he had been drinking, “I suppose you will be traveling back to London soon.”
“Yes, I have to be there before November fourth, so I shall depart in a few days.”
His leg must have healed, as he was no longer using his cane. Leorah’s wrist was healed as well, and she’d taken her first ride on Bucky just a few days before.
They all talked for a while longer, until Nicholas suggested it was time for their party to depart and travel back to Glyncove Abbey. No doubt he was worried about Julia, who was beginning to look tired.
Lord Withinghall himself followed them out to their carriage. As Leorah held on to his hand to step into the carriage, he said softly, “May God keep you safe.”
She gazed into his eyes. What was he thinking, with that intense look?
She sat down inside the carriage beside Felicity. The curtain was pulled back, and Lord Withinghall’s dark-blue eyes flashed in the light of the lantern he was holding as he stared back at her. Then the horses started forward, and he was gone.
“How strange,” Mother said, “that Lord Withinghall has never invited us to dinner before and that he should invite us now.”
Leorah couldn’t quite see her mother’s face in the dark carriage, but she imagined a tiny smile on her lips.
“After all, we have lived near him for all these years.”
Leorah huffed. “Cannot a man invite his neighbors for dinner without everyone speculating on his motives?” She should not snap at Mother, but it was disconcerting to hear her repeat the exact thing that was gnawing at her.
Mother laughed, a small, quiet sound. “I am not speculating. I am merely noting that it is strange.”
Truthfully, the possibilities made Leorah’s heart flutter like bird’s wings. Her feelings for the viscount had changed, and it seemed his had changed as well. But to what extent?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Two weeks after their dinner at Grimswood Castle, Felicity and Elizabeth traveled back home to London with a promise from Leorah—with permission from her mother—to come to them in January. Leorah would stay with them until her mother came back to their town house in March.
By December, Leorah’s brother Jonathan and his wife, Isabella, had come back to Glyncove Abbey with their little cherub baby Marianne, and Nicholas and Julia still had not found an estate to purchase. But Julia was feeling better, with no more sickness, and her pregnancy was beginning to show. She smiled more but also cried at every sentimental thing, no matter how slight, that anyone said.
What would it be like to carry a baby for nine months? It was something Leorah had never thought of, or if she had, had put it out of her mind quickly after a momentary feeling of horror. But she could not imagine that either Julia or Isabella had felt the least bit of horror at finding out they were pregnant. And now, as Leorah stood in the drawing room and stared out the window, she placed her hand on her stomach. The most subtle and gradual feeling came over her, a feeling of overwhelming tenderness. She could imagine a tiny baby growing and developing, loved and wanted and anticipated.
Oh dear. She might actually want to have a baby someday.
Leorah needed to take her mind off marriage and babies. She walked to where Nicholas had left the newspaper and picked it up. She quickly found the section that spoke of Parliament. The members of the House of Lords were sitting in Parliament December first and third and were expected to sit much of the month of December. Would Lord Withinghall come home for Christmas? Surely he would not stay in London. Surely he would get at least a month in Lincolnshire before he had to go back.