Lord Farellshire put his cricket bat down and began to apologize profusely, “I am so deeply sorry, everyone. We were just testing out some of Colin’s new cricketing equipment. I will pay for the damages immediately and—”
“Never mind the bloody window, Kenneth, you utter halfwit! You should have been watching where you hit the ball! Just look! Cecilia and her governess were studying here. What if you had injured them? Is it not bad enough that my family has been through one tragedy already? Must you give us another reason to grieve?”
At this point, all of the commotion caused Lady Cecilia burst into tears, so Mrs. Oakley escorted her to her bedroom whilst the other maids set to work sweeping up and disposing of the shards of glass. In frustration, the Duke removed his hat, threw it on the ground, and stormed off. Fletcher and Lord Gillianghamshire then chased after him to try and calm him down.
This left Meredith and Lord Farellshire alone on opposite sides of the broken window. Lord Farellshire awkwardly swallowed and apologized again, “I truly am sorry, Miss, er—”
“Miss Meyer. Meredith Meyer, Lord Farellshire. I know who you are because I happened to overhear you and Lord Gillianghamshire speaking to Mrs. Oakley in the entrance hall yesterday afternoon.”
“Oh, right! Yes, I remember now. You and Lady Cecilia passed by us just as Colin and I were asking Mrs. Oakley about tea. It is a pleasure to finally, officially meet you, Miss Meyer. Although, it is also regrettable that we should meet under these circumstances. Once again, I must apologize wholeheartedly.”
Meredith couldn’t help but grin. Lord Farellshire reminded her of a rather tall and well-mannered child, as opposed to an elite aristocrat. With his dark blond hair and chocolate-brown eyes, he was quite impressive to look at.
“No, not at all, Lord Farellshire. As a wise woman once told me, these things are, in fact, quite inevitable. We all understand it was an accident.”
“That is very kind of you to say, Miss Meyer,” he said with a wide grin that caught Meredith off guard. Lord Farellshire’s outgoing demeanor and wide smile were a striking contrast to the Duke’s aloof half-smiles that Meredith had become accustomed to.
“Unfortunately, I seem to have deeply upset Anthony. I wonder how long he shall hold this against me?” sighed Lord Farellshire.
“Not long at all, I’m sure, Lord Farellshire. His Grace is very kind,” Meredith said, in an attempt to encourage him.
Whilst gazing at the sky as though he was asking for mercy, Lord Farellshire explained, “Oh, I know he is. And it would have been a completely different matter, too, if the ball had broken a window in one of the empty rooms. But the fact that my actions endangered Lady Cecilia—”
Lord Farellshire stopped mid-sentence. He shifted his gaze to Meredith again—which for some reason caused her stomach to feel strange—and he asked, “Pardon me, Miss Meyer. Did you say that Anthony was a kind man?”
Confused, Meredith replied, “Yes, Lord Farellshire. I do believe His Grace is a very kind-hearted gentleman.”
Lord Farellshire stepped closer to the window, “What an interesting choice of word. You would personally describe him as kind, not simply benevolent or generous?”
All the more confused, Meredith reiterated, “Yes, Lord Farellshire. Well, he is all of those things, too, I am sure. Pardon me, but did I say something wrong?”
“No, not at all, Miss Meyer. Quite the opposite, really. But I find it intriguing that you were able to discern that Anthony is a truly kind person, and not simply a philanthropist.”
“Most people initially think him heartless, yet polite and generous in donations. And now I can see why you are a governess, you are extremely perceptive,” said Lord Farellshire as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
That last sentence caused Meredith’s stomach to feel strange again, and she was also suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “Thank you, Lord Farellshire. You are very kind for saying so.”
“Would you care to join me out here in the garden, Miss Meyer? I dare not set foot in the house for the time being, lest Anthony chase me away with this cricket bat. I am curious to hear any other observations you may have.”
“Do you mean my observations about His Grace, Lord Farellshire?”
Shaking his head, he replied, “Not necessarily. I would be interested to hear your observations about anything at all, Miss Meyer.”
* * *
“Now, old boy, let’s try to calm down. You yourself know that it was purely accidental on Kenneth’s part, of course.”
Anthony and Colin were by the reflecting pool. Anthony knew Colin was right, but he was still livid. Presently, he was making several furious laps around the reflecting pool. They had sent Fletcher into the house for a pitcher of water.
“I know, Colin. I know. It’s just that his carelessness annoys me so. He could have seriously injured Cecilia.”
“That is a fair point, Anthony. But no one got hurt in the end. He and I don’t have sisters of our own, so we love Lady Cecilia as though she were our little sister. You know that Kenneth and I would both readily give up our lives to save her.”
Hearing this, Anthony started to calm down. He knew that Colin was not exaggerating. He knew, and had experienced firsthand, the absolute loyalty of both his friends countless times over the years. He had to remind himself that both Colinand Kennethwere sacrificing an entire season just to support him.
“You’re right, Colin. Absolutely right. I’m afraid I overreacted again,” he sighed. “And that’s the second time this week. I just don’t understand why I tend to get so volatile whenever it comes to Cecilia.”
With a smile, Colin replied, “That’s perfectly natural, old boy. You’re her older brother, of course you’re protective. Not to mention, she isall the family you have now. Your sharp burst of anger was understandable.”
