“Good boy. You grow faster by the day, it seems. Perhaps you were eager to see Lottie, huh?” He handed the reigns to the footman who looked at him with some bemusement. Kenneth knew his habit of speaking to animals vexed some people, but he’d grown less wary about the habit, given that Ruth seemed to find it quite endearing.
“Is Lord Bronwyn in the billiards room?” he asked as he made his way into the house.
Grimshaw, the butler, shook his head. “No, my lord. He is at the Pall-Mall court, with his guests.”
Kenneth nodded and rushed around the building and toward the Pall-Mall court. When he came around the corner, he stopped and smiled. His friend was on the court, standing with some concentration before the ball, the mallet between his hands. Even from this distance, Kenneth noted Jack’s tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth, a sure sign his friend was in deep concentration. He swung the mallet back and was about to hit the ball when –
“Hit it, Lord Bronwyn!” Lady Sophia called out from beside him. So sudden was her outburst, so well-timed, that Jack missed the ball, hitting it only with the edge of the mallet and sending it flying opposite to its intended goal.
“Lady Sophia! You are quite the trickster.”
“Trickster? All I am guilty of is cheering you on, my lord. Surely, that is not the action of a trickster.”
Jack walked toward her, one arm on his hip, the slick dangling in the other before shaking his head. “Do not think me so foolish as to not see what you are doing, Lady Sophia. Winning by distracting me.”
Her eyes grew wide and she giggled at the accusation.
“Ruthie! Did you hear what I stand accused of? Assist me in setting Lord Bronwyn right.”
Kenneth’s head spun at once into the direction Sophia had called out. At once, he smiled widely as he saw his wife of five months seated upon a bench, her stomach rounded with their first child. He walked toward her as she spoke up quietly to him.
“There you are my beautiful wife.”
She beamed at him. “Ken. How is your father? Did he arrive safe and sound?”
He slipped into the seat beside her. “Yes, he did. He will join us for dinner here later.”
A moment of silence passed between them and he knew what she wanted to ask.
“He says Mother is settled well in Scotland, although miserably so. She does not like the cold, nor the highlands. And she likes her sister even less. Alas, it was exile to Scotland or face the court and thus she has chosen.”
“And chosen wisely. At Molly’s trial, I overheard quite a lot of outrage at your mother’s actions, something I found surprising.”
Kenneth swallowed and shook his head to chase away the unpleasant memory of the maid’s trial. The woman was convicted of her part in the crimes committed and was serving a long sentence at a prison in London. Her life was ruined. Meanwhile, his mother would continue to live her life in relative comfort, although away from all she knew and cherished. In the highlands, there reigned a very different culture than in London or even Portsmouth. And her sister was not fond of balls or fashion.
And then, there was Lady Sophia, who seemed to have returned to her former cheerful self after five months of exile to Shropshire. She’d resided at Goldclaw Manor, along with their father, for the past month. A month that saw their sisterly affections bloom once more, although slowly. An attachment of a different kind was rapidly forming before his very eyes as well.
“How do you feel, having Sophia here once more?”
“I suppose it will take me some time to forgive, truly forgive. I know she was under the undue influence of your mother and Lord Cragshade in equal measure, but she allowed herself to be carried away by this wave of envy.”
Ruth grew quiet as she watched Lord Bronwyn and Sophia. Kenneth knew not to speak, for it was her habit to sometimes grow quiet as she contemplated her thoughts. After a while, she spoke again.
“I worry at times that it might happen again, that she will find a reason to be envious of me and will give way to her worst instincts again. We could not withstand it another time.”
Kenneth took her hand, placing it between both of his.
“Do not forget, she is young and impressionable. She was led to believe she was to meet her future husband and become a Duchess, one of the most revered, most respected women in the realm. This idea was further strengthened by my mother’s conviction that it would happen. She would, under normal circumstances, never have fallen victim to such temptations as the ones presented by my mother.”
Ruth nodded at this, falling silent once more. Kenneth had never been terribly close to his sisters and thus could never imagine what a betrayal Ruth must have felt at finding her sister's involvement in the attacks on her person.
“Jack is a good influence on her. As is Lady Caster. I think what Sophia needed more than anything was a motherly figure. She sought that in your mother and found only a terrible influence, someone who used and manipulated her. Lady Caster is quite the opposite.”
“If this display is any indication, she may soon be a mother figure in Sophia’s life. Jack seems enchanted by her, and if they find happiness of their own, then perhaps we can all put the past behind us.”
“Rotham, old chum.” Jack called. “Do not sit like a frog on a log, come and have a go. It is no fun being the best player in the game. Constantly winning is quite the bore.”
“You do not constantly win. Besides, you cheat. I saw it,” Lady Sophia replied earnestly, although upon coming closer, Kenneth noticed the sparkle of mischief in her eyes. With Ruth by his side, he entered the court.
