Second Time Around (Runaway Brides Book 5) Page 5

  “Dear Tabitha,” Joshua said, his voice husky with emotion, “I pray that you will claim your own life and that you will give me the chance to live it with you.”

  The carriage stopped then in front of Tabitha’s home. Joshua helped her out and walked her to the door.

  “I thank you for a lovely evening,” Tabitha said, extending her hand.

  Joshua took it and, to her surprise, bent over to kiss it, his lips warm against her gloved fingers. “I hope that we shall enjoy many more such evenings,” he said, straightening again but not relinquishing her hand.

  “I would like that,” Tabitha said, her voice so quiet that he almost wondered if he had imagined her response. “I would like that very much.”

  FIVE

  It was not unknown for Joshua to visit the kitchen in his London establishment, but it was certainly not common. But this was a special day.

  “The basket, sir,” said his cook, spreading her arm in the direction of the picnic basket that she and the kitchen staff had assembled for Mr Hendrickson’s outing that day. A platter of cold meat offered enough variety in its venison, chicken and ham to please any palate, and the aroma of the bread which still felt warm from the bake oven circulated within the basket. Cook, upon learning that one of the picnicking company was a five year old boy, had baked her raspberry tarts. Slices of iced ginger cake were arranged on a plate and covered with cloth. A bowl of cherries, strawberries and blueberries promised a fresh and delicious accompaniment to the hearty fare. Another wrapped packet contained thick wedges of cheese. There was wine for Mr Hendrickson and his guest, and a flask of fresh lemonade for the boy.

  “Excellent,” Joshua said approvingly as he closed the lid on the basket. “I foresee a day of delicious eating ahead.”

  “What about supper, sir? Will you be dining at home?”

  “I shall, but please do not prepare anything. I am sure there will be something in the larder for me to stave off hunger, should I have any room for more food after this array. Thank you, Mrs Ross and please convey my appreciation to the staff. I am sure that the Viscountess will be most appreciative of your efforts.”

  Eschewing the opulent Hendrickson carriage, Joshua planned to drive his guests to the country in a simple wagon. In the back was a comfortable blanket where Micah could stretch out and enjoy the ride to the country as he viewed the splendid landscape of an English summer. One of the footmen had placed the heavy picnic basket in the back, wedging it in the corner beneath the seat so that it would stay in position, although it was so filled with food that Joshua doubted it would move.

  Tabitha and Micah were waiting for him when he drove up in the carriage. Tabitha wore a simple straw bonnet with a printed cotton dress, a light shawl thrown over her shoulders more for the sake of propriety than for warmth, as the sun was promising to give the day an excellent temperature. Micah wore his riding garb, but it was apparent that the attire was sturdy enough to suit the outdoor itinerary that Joshua had planned for the three of them.

  Micah, although shy, knew his manners and he put out his hand in greeting to Joshua, who shook his hand formally.

  “Good day to you, Lord Micah, and I hope that you are hungry, for my cook has packed a picnic basket with so much food that I am not at all sure that my horses will be able to pull the wagon.”

  “Oh, yes, sir,” Micah replied eagerly. “Mamma said that I must have a piece of toast this morning before we left but I will be hungry again by the time we arrive at the stables.”

  “Excellent, for I would be ashamed if I were to return to my kitchen with the basket still full. I shall rely on your appetite to see that it is emptied.”

  “I shall not disappoint you, sir,” Micah said eagerly, his deep grey eyes, so like his mother’s, alight with pleasure at the thought.

  He scrambled into the back of the wagon with alacrity as Joshua helped Tabitha into the front seat. As they rode, Joshua pointed out the streets they were passing and told them what shops were to be found there. Gradually, the crowded streets gave way to grassy stretches of land and, as they rode further, the city receded, and they were traveling on country roads lined on either side by wooded areas.

  “It’s like home, Mama!” Micah announced.

  “Yes, very like home,” Tabitha said. “He has missed the country,” she admitted to Joshua. “He has spoken of nothing but this outing for the past week.”

  “Hodges runs a working farm with livestock, chickens, all the trappings of the country, so Micah should be well pleased. The stables for the children to ride are the chief feature, however, and I sent word to Hodges ahead of time so to be sure that he will have a fine pony waiting.”

  “I suppose that if we are to stay often in London, I ought to see about getting a pony for him. Arthur kept horses in the stables, but when so much time passed without coming to the city, I sold the horses. Perhaps I ought not to have done so,” Tabitha said with a slight frown.

  “It was a sensible decision for the time,” Joshua said, troubled that she was so quick to criticize her own decisions even though they had been based upon logic. Why keep horses when, for the four years of her husband’s absence, she had not travelled to London? “Perhaps, if you decide to spend some time each season in London, you will reconsider.”

  She smiled. “I am not much of a rider myself, but I want Micah to be comfortable in the saddle, as his father was. I do not want him to sacrifice any of the customary practices of a young boy, even though his father is not here to instruct him.”

  “I shall be pleased to assist in any way that I may be of use,” Joshua said. “He is still quite young, but the time will soon be upon him when it is time to learn swordplay and the other training which is expected of a gentleman’s son.”

  “Arthur, of course, had secured him a place at Eton when he is of an age to go. For now, Miss Allen is his governess and she is an excellent teacher. He is a very bright boy . . . I shall miss him terribly when he is old enough to be sent to school.”

  “If he is well prepared, he will do well,” Joshua assured her. “I enjoyed my years at Eton, but I cherished coming home for the summers. I am sure that Micah will feel the same way.”

  “I want him to. I do not want to mollycoddle him, which I suppose is a tendency when a woman is raising a son alone.”

  “He is a lively, active young boy and you have no fears that he is coddled,” Joshua said firmly. “I would be proud if I were the father of such a boy.”

  Tabitha did not reply. Joshua wondered if his remark, sincerely meant, had been interpreted as presumptuous, as if he thought himself a likely candidate for a stepfather. “I apologise,” he said quickly. “I did not mean—”

  Tabitha placed a gloved hand upon his arm. “There was no offense in your words,” she said. “I was thinking of Arthur. He was so proud to have a son . . . it is very sad to think that he will never see his son grow to manhood.”

  Joshua was glad to see the stables coming into sight. He did not like to own the feeling of jealousy that seemed to engulf him when Tabitha expressed sadness at her husband’s death, even though he realised that, of course, she was sad for her son’s loss of a father. He hoped that he would be given the opportunity to one day become a father to Micah and to have other children as well. But that topic was not one which could be broached this early in their courtship and certainly not with Micah within earshot.

  Micah bounded down from the wagon when Joshua stopped at a shady spot in an orchard across from the pasture where horses grazed at leisure. The rich fragrance of the fruit growing on the trees was a heady aroma and one, Joshua knew, that was intended to effectively overcome the typical odours of a farm. Raised as he was in the country, Micah was unlikely to object to the strong smell of nature which was as much a part of a farm as the animals themselves which were responsible for the scent.

  Tabitha spread out the blanket upon the ground and Joshua carried the basket. They sat down on the blanket and Joshua brought the meal items forth wh
ile Tabitha placed them in the centre of the basket. Micah was delighted with his flask of lemonade and took a generous swig from it.

  “Do not drink it all or you will have no appetite,” his mother cautioned him.

  “Oh, yes I shall,” he declared. “I’m hungry enough to eat everything in the basket!”

  He was not quite that hungry, but Joshua was pleased to see that the boy’s appetite would do justice to the plentiful supply of food that his staff had provided. Tabitha praised the meal and, while Micah chewed eagerly and watched the horses across the field, she and Joshua talked about her efforts to build her own domestic staff, which, she said, was going very well, thanks to Lady Atelia’s familiarity with London.

  “She seems to know everyone whose servants might have a reliable relative looking to go into service. This is all very new to me. I brought our housekeeper and butler with us to London, but there was no staff at the London house, so we’ve been assembling servants here and there. It’s coming together, though, and we’re actually quite comfortable.”

  “I’ve lived in London all my life except when I was at school, so country life is something I’ve only experienced when visiting friends. Do you miss it?”

  “I do,” she admitted. “London is very noisy. And of course, the scenery is quite different. Randstand is located near a lake and Micah and I often go fishing in the pleasant weather. We visit the tenants, and he knows them all by name,” she said proudly. “He is quite young, I know, but I want him to grow up understanding that his responsibilities as a landowner are connected to people, not only the profits that Randstand receives from them. Arthur was very attentive to the people on his land; he knew if a bad storm had blown thatch off a roofing or if someone was ill and could not pay his rent. I want Micah to have that same link to the people. They may be common folk, but they are good people and very loyal.”

  “It is a pity that more landowners do not think as you do.”

  “I confess that the beau monde frightens me a bit,” she said abashedly. “They are all very fashionable and witty, but I do wonder whether there is anything beneath the quips and extravagance.”

  “All too often, there is not,” was his sober answer. “Many are so addicted to a life of – well, not to put too fine a point on it—depravity, that they cannot think of anyone but themselves and their own pleasure.”

  “Mamma, when may I go riding?” Micah, his appetite sated, was eager to commence with the real allure of the day, his opportunity to ride a pony.

  “As soon as we put the basket away,” Joshua said, rising to his feet in order to help cleaning up.

  In no time at all, the basket was back in the wagon and Micah, his face alight with pure joy, was astride a pony named Dandelion.

  “I’ll keep a close eye on him, sir,” said the groom who was leading Dandelion around the paddock so that Micah and his mount could become acquainted with one another. “Dandelion, she’s a patient one.”

  “I believe that is the groom’s way of assuring you that Micah will come to no harm from his ride,” Joshua said as they left the paddock, Tabitha turning around to make sure that her son was all right.

  “I know,” she laughed. “I should not fret over him; he rides very well, and I do not wish to seem overly concerned.”

  “Shall we sit here on this bench where we can watch him and yet not seem as if we are doing so?” Joshua asked.

  “That is a capital idea! Thank you for humouring me.”

  “Not at all. It is to your credit that you are occupied with his welfare and safety.”

  “He is having a marvellous time. Thank you so much for inviting us.”

  “We shall do it again,” Joshua assured her. “I should like to extend another invitation to the theatre, if you are willing?”

  “Very much so,” Tabitha said with alacrity. “I had such a delightful evening at the last one.”

  “Excellent. Do you like music?”

  “I love it.”

  “Splendid. There is a concert in Hyde Park this week. Should you like to attend with me?”

  “I should, but . . .”

  “But?”

  “I am fearful that gossips will set their tongues to wagging if I am seen in your company so often.”

  “Does it matter?”

  The groom had released Dandelion from the lead and Micah was riding on his own. He did not notice his mother’s rapt attention as he circled the paddock, but she sat back with a contented sigh as he continued on his ride.

  “I don’t know. Arthur is dead and has been gone for four years. I suppose that people will think me frivolous, and perhaps even scandalous, for taking pleasure in a gentleman’s company since it is so recent that he was declared dead.”

  “A husband who has been gone for that long should not be an impediment to your pleasure. You have four years of pleasure to make up for and there is no harm in going to a concert or a play. I thought of inviting some friends to Bath for the waters; would you and Lady Atelia and her husband care to join us?”

  “I am sure Atelia would agree,” Tabitha said, knowing that her friend’s fondness for gossip would be an incentive for a sojourn in the fashionable city. Also, having friends with her would make the trip less significant in the eyes of any gossips who were paying attention to Tabitha’s activities. In the country, where she had lived in such isolation, she had not been a focal point for sharp eyes and tongues, but London was very different.

  “Splendid. I shall send an invitation to them.”

  And so, it began, a summer of excursions and entertainments for Tabitha, such as she had never known.

  Her father had pursued social engagements with an eye for his professional profile and had seldom included his wife and daughter unless it was to his advantage to do so. During her marriage, while Arthur had been with her, they had attended events which were of interest and purpose to him.

  This summer was quite different, as she accepted Joshua’s frequent invitations; if London society disapproved, Tabitha did not know and gradually, ceased to care. Atelia was supportive of her friend’s entry into the bustling calendar of social activities and they all had a marvellous time in Bath.

  Joshua knew that he ought to proceed more slowly, but he could not do so, for every moment that he spent with Tabitha only reminded him that his initial impression had been the correct one. He knew then that he was going to fall in love with her and his intuition had proven correct. He did not press his suit or make any effort to woo her, preferring to nurture the growing affection between them so that it would grow into something so strong that Tabitha would come to share his affection.

  Perhaps she already did. The hesitancy that had marked her personality was fading and she no longer seemed to be haunted by her fears of what others might be saying or thinking. As for London society, the pairing of the rich and compassionate young man with the lovely, well-mannered young widow was accepted as a fait accompli and would, people were confident, result in an engagement before the end of the year, if not sooner.

  Joshua was well aware of the speculation among the members of the ton and while he divulged nothing of his plans, it was plain that he enjoyed Lady Randstand’ company and that she reciprocated the feeling. As they were leaving Lady Endicott’s ball in the Hendrickson carriage, a cold rain began to fall. They hurried to the carriage but even with haste, their garments were wet.

  “Would you like to come in?” Tabitha invited him as the carriage stopped in front of her house, “For a cup of tea? You could stand by the fire to warm yourself and perhaps your clothes will dry. At least you would not be quite so drenched.”

  Joshua did not hesitate. “I would like that,” he said, “if you are sure that you do not mind the possibility of gossip.”

  A month ago, Tabitha would have cringed at the thought of her reputation being impugned by idle scandalmongers. Now, she merely shrugged. “If I know that there is nothing untoward in a cup of tea by the fireplace, it is of no consequence what others
may think.”

  Her butler, Sutherland, opened the door upon their arrival, showing no reaction at the presence of her companion. Instead, he inquired whether he ought to prepare a room for Mr Hendrickson.

  “Thank you, Sutherland, but no,” Joshua responded swiftly. “I am only here to take advantage of your warm fireplace and a cup of tea before I return to the carriage. However, if you would be so kind as to invite my driver in, so that he could warm himself in your kitchen, I would be much obliged.”

  Such a task was too lowly for a butler but was perfectly suited for the newly hired footman who went out on his errand obediently, albeit without enthusiasm.

  Once in the drawing room, Joshua went to stand by the fireplace as the warmth of the flames eased into his damp trousers and tailcoat. “It’s odd to have such a cold rain in summer,” he commented. “It’s been perfect weather so far.”

  “I hope it does not mean a shift in the climate,” Tabitha said. “The forecast for the harvest is good so far, from what I have heard, and the tenants at home would benefit from a profitable crop. Oh, thank you, Mrs Burton,” she greeted the housekeeper who was bringing in a tray with a pot of tea, two cups, and a plate of little cakes. “I do not mean to keep you up late.”

  Mrs Burton waved away the apology. “’Tis no trouble, milady. I heard the rain coming down like the skies were in a foul humour and I had just boiled hot water for tea. There’s nothing that takes the damp out of the night like a nice, hot cup of tea. You’ll ring when you’re finished, milady and I’ll take the tray. Mr Hendrickson, please let me know when you’re ready to leave and Sutherland will be handy with an umbrella.”

  Tabitha smiled. “Thank you, Mrs Burton.”

  Joshua was also smiling as he watched the housekeeper depart. “I believe your housekeeper is safeguarding your virtue,” he commented as he took the cup of tea from Tabitha’s hand.

  “She is very protective,” Tabitha agreed. “She has been so ever since Arthur vanished.”