He cast her an affectionate smile. “I’m fairly certain you did.”
“Any other tidbits of information I ought to know about as you undressed me? I would like to get every scandalous detail entered properly in my diary.”
“If you are going to write it all down, then mention that I showed remarkable skill and prowess, and completely lived up to my reputation.”
“And yet I mistook you for Beauregard.”
“Do not rub it in, Eden,” he said, chuckling again.
Their easy banter came to an end as they reached Chestnut Hill. Evans must have been watching for their arrival. He threw open the front door and rushed toward them before the carriage had rolled to a stop. “I’m so sorry, Lady Eden. He has been howling at the top of his lungs for you for over an hour now. I didnot know what else to do other than try to calm him by assuring him I would send word to you.”
“He’s been howling all the while?” Connor stepped forward. “Then he is not unconscious or running a fever?”
“He’s perfectly fine, Your Grace. I did not summon the doctor, since he is due to pass by here later this morning and I saw no need to disturb him when there was no medical necessity. Lord Darrow’s ailment is boredom and nothing more. But he was insistent, and I could not put off summoning Lady Eden. I was afraid he would pop a vein or suffer an attack of the heart if he did not calm down.”
“You did just as you should have done.” Eden’s lips were pinched and she looked angry. “I’ll go up to see him. The wretched man does not deserve sweet Priscilla’s card.”
Connor waited downstairs, but patience was never one of his virtues. He wore a hole in the elegant parlor rug while pacing back and forth like a restless lion in a cage. All shouting had stopped and he could hear nothing of their conversation, although he knew Eden had to be severely berating her father for disrupting her morning.
After what seemed like forever but could not have been more than ten minutes, Eden marched downstairs. Her hands were curled into fists and she looked livid. “He is fine. Perfectly fine. Recovering beautifully.”
“That’s good…isn’t it? Not that I am excusing his childish behavior, but is it not better than his actually being in dire health?”
“No! I am through indulging him or excusing his intolerable behavior. He would not even look at Priscilla’s card when I tried to show it to him. The servants took more interest in it and made the kind comments he ought to have done. He cares not a whit about anyone but himself. So I am going to place your daughter’s lovely card right here on the fireplace mantel. I will tell her thathe received it and it is now proudly displayed in a place of honor in my home. Not a lie, just a different emphasis on the facts. Do you think it is all right?”
He nodded. “Fine with me. Who knows if Priscilla cares all that much about it? It is just a card to a man she hardly knows.”
“It is to my father, and she will care. She equates all fathers with you, and will believe he is as wonderful as you are. Ha! If she only knew what a self-indulgent wretch he was. But his recognition of her card will fill her with pride. She will also view his approval as important to me. So, this matter of the card will be the first question out of her mouth when she sees us.”
Connor shook his head and sighed. “If you say so, Eden. Way too complicated for me.”
“Oh, yes. Men and feelings. They are not your strong suit, are they? Let’s go back to Lynton Grange. I’m so sorry I delayed the children.”
“And Lord Aubrey?”
She nodded. “Yes, him too. But mostly your children. Lord Aubrey will be gone in a matter of days, and I doubt I will ever see him again. I think my parents have efficiently ruined any chance of that.”
Her father began to bellow again as they were about to leave.
“Impossible man,” she muttered, and stomped back upstairs.
Connor followed her because a strong word from him might quiet the man where his own daughter’s pleas obviously fell on deaf ears.
But Eden seemed to be in control of the situation as she grabbed his valise and began to pack his things in it. “What are you doing?” her father asked.
“Did I or did I not warn you that I would toss you out of this house at your next outburst? Well, this is my preparing to toss you out.”
“But I am ill!”
“You have a lump on your head that you probably deserved, and it obviously has not stopped you from making a nuisance of yourself.” She continued to pack his belongings. “If you can shout that loudly, how ill can you be? My staff is going to abandon me if you continue to bellow and disturb their peace. You have disrupted them enough for one morning. Between you and them, I will always choosethem. They have supported me and taken care of me throughout the years. You have had a lifetime of chances to do this and never did.”
“Eden! Child!”
“Because of you, I am a twenty-seven-year-old spinster with no chance of marriage. I repeat,no chance. It will be only a matter of days before Viscount Aubrey, the first man to have shown an interest in me in years, is out of my life forever. That blame falls squarely on you and Mama. So, out you go!”
Her father turned to him. “Lynton, talk sense into my daughter! She has no right to do this to her own father.”
Connor crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, I believe she has every right. This is her home, not yours.Herhome. She sets the rules. She was very clear about what they were. You ignored her and broke them.”
