“To getting rid of everything that stands in our way,” Evan replied, an irreverent gleam in his eyes.
Daniel frowned. “How about, to getting rid of bad seeds?”
“No, no, no, that is much too angry, and I have long ceased being angry,” Nathaniel interjected, shaking his head. “Let us toast to… unfettered happiness, for all of us.”
Daniel shrugged. “To unfettered happiness, for all of us.”
Evan grinned and downed his drink, before adding, “Especially for those who have not found it yet… or have yet to see what is right in front of them.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Daniel raised an eyebrow at his cousin as he sipped his port more politely. He had already had enough wine in the dining room, adding a vast quantity of port to the mix would be a recipe for disaster when they reconvened with the ladies later.
Evan poured a fresh glass for himself. “It means whatever you wish it to mean. It is a toast for everyone here, not just us three.”
Daniel did not believe a word. “Are you referring to Miss Wilson?”
“Perhaps. One of them, anyway.” Evan swirled the deep red liquid around in the glass, his smile unnerving Daniel.
Fortunately, Nathaniel came to the rescue, oblivious to whatever was going on between the cousins. “Have you proposed courtship to Miss Wilson yet? Leah informed me that you were considering it, and after all these years of insisting you were never going to marry, too! I suppose Evan and I have been a rather good influence on you, have we not?”
“Nothing is set in stone,” Daniel replied, wishing he had feigned a stomachache and retired to his chambers instead of continuing the evening.
Clearly, Evan suspected something, but there was nothing to suspect. And if he wanted an interrogation, he had his mother and sister for that.
Nathaniel nodded. “Well, she seems delightful. Somewhat young, it must be said, but certainly pleasant, and if she is anything like Phoebe, she will be far more mature than her years.” He paused. “I am surprised you have not considered Phoebe. She is older, wiser, and a rare gem of a woman, if my wife’s opinion is any judge of character—which I am hoping it is, for my sake. Indeed, Phoebe was instrumental in Leah and I falling in love, so perhaps there is part of me that feels I should return the favor.”
“He cannot get her to like him,” Evan teased.
Nathaniel arched a curious eyebrow. “They seemed rather companionable at dinner.”
“Yes,” Evan agreed slyly, “they did, did they not? Has something changed? Have you finally won her good opinion?”
Daniel finished what was left in his glass and poured another, despite his better judgment. “I am the host. It is my duty to be companionable, and considering she is the sister of the lady I have hopes of courting, it serves me well to be pleasant to her.”
“And that is all?” Evan probed.
“What else would there be?” Daniel replied coolly, struggling to quell his temper.
Those awful gentlemen at the dinner table had already annoyed him. He did not need his cousin, a man he viewed as a brother, riling him up, too.
Evan’s demeanor softened. “I have imbibed too much. I am making a nuisance of myself. Dear cousin, I urge you to ignore me.” He smiled. “All I want is for you to be as happy as I am. If the younger Miss Joanna Wilson is the lady who can fulfill that task, I am entirely in support of your decision.”
“Do you believe she is?” Nathaniel asked, his eyes dreamy, as though he was thinking of his own wife and how happy she made him.
Daniel could not conjure up an answer. If he told them the truth about his decision-making, they might consider him cold and unfeeling, or try to dissuade him. But he could not lie to them either, declaring that hedidbelieve Joanna could make him happy, for he did not know yet if she could. He had not gotten to know her well enough.
“I like to think of Uncle Lionel when I make decisions,” Evan said. “I think of what he would do in my situation, and when I was struggling with my feelings for Olivia, I used him as my compass. I remember wondering if he would approve of her, and I knew, right away, that he would have adored her. It certainly helped me know that I was on the path I was meant to be on.”
Daniel sat back and closed his eyes for a moment, picturing his father sitting in the big leather armchair in his study, reading a newspaper with a pipe hanging out of his mouth, the scent of tobacco and cedarwood ripe in the air. And he asked himself what his father would have said if he were there now. But in his mind, his father just smiled and shrugged his shoulders, saying nothing at all.
What does that mean?
Daniel had no idea.
* * *
The gentlemen were on their way to join the ladies in the drawing room when Daniel spotted a lone figure standing just outside the open door of the manor’s front entrance.
Even though she had her back turned to him, her gaze fixed on something in the distance, he would have known her anywhere.
