“You do not need my permission, but I do grant you my best wishes.”
* * *
After Harold accepted the Duke’s offer, he and Lucy decided, if they were to remain living at Grayson for the foreseeable future, it would be necessary for them to come out of hiding in their suite and join the family for tea that very afternoon.
Much to Lucy’s surprise, when they entered the drawing room for tea, she found unexpected welcoming smiles from Ann and Charlotte. Her Grace, however, looked much less happy, turning instead to her new puppy, Princess, and lavishing it with kisses and totally ignoring Lucy’s entrance.
Betsy’s face lit up when she saw Harold, but she quickly became shy and could not look at him.
* * *
Harold went to the Duchess and greeted her. “Your Grace, what a pleasure to see you again.”
“Mr. Brighton,” she said curtly.
But Harold was not to be put off by her coldness. “Your husband and I have come to an agreement. I am to co-manage the estate with him for the foreseeable future. I am happy to be of service to your family, and I trust that my sister’s and my continued presence will not disrupt you and your family’s established tranquility.”
The Duchess looked up at him. “Yes, he has spoken to me about this new arrangement. I see no reason for it, but he seems to think it is necessary.”
“Your Grace, it looks to me like you need a refill of your tea. Might I assist you in that?”
Judith turned to Flossy and jerked her head at the girl who sprang up to fetch her Grace more tea.
“Thank you, but I am taken care of.”
Harold nodded and stepped away. He obtained a cup of tea for himself and then surveyed the room. He saw Betsy sitting alone and went over to her and sat in a nearby chair.
“Miss Betsy, it seems we will be seeing a lot of each other from now on, as I am to assist your father with the estate.”
She looked over at him shyly. “That is what I understand,” she replied holding her book tightly in her lap.
Harold laughed. “It seems news travels fast in this house. I only agreed to the arrangement less than an hour ago.”
“You might as well have stood on the roof and shouted it out. There seem to be few secrets in this household. But I am happy you will be with us a while longer.” It appeared that she was conquering her nervousness with him.
“Miss Betsy, I saw you were reading when I came. What is the book?”
She showed him the novel and became animated. “Do you like to read, Mr. Harold?
“I do, but alas, I rarely find the time to do so.”
“Then let me tell you about this amazing story.” She leaned in toward him and then began to tell him about the adventures of Miss Wilhelmina Evens, the heroine of the book.
* * *
After Lucy was served her tea, she was planning to find a comfortable chair and relax from her afternoon of writing, but Ann was waving at her to come over to where she and Charlotte were seated.
Ann was all smiles—a most unusual event.
“Ann… Charlotte, I hope you do not mind me having tea with you this afternoon. But it seems Harold and I are to be staying here for some time, and I think we should try to be friends. Or, at least, that is my wish.”
“Yes, yes,” Ann said dismissively. “But there is something we need to ask you.”
“Yes?”
Charlotte spoke, “Mr. Beaumont Goodwin… we know he wants to ask one of us to marry him, but he hesitates.”
Ann picked up the narration, “And we thought it a good idea if we were to find him alone—away from his family—so that we might have a direct conversation with him. Find out his intentions and hopefully ease his way into asking one of us to marry him. You understand?”
