The Best-Laid Plans Page 14

  He knew the life he wanted. But he wasn’t entirely sure how to claim it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Newton’s feet carried him to the Lancasters’ house but not to call on any member of that family. He wanted to see Ellie. He needed to. She would be happy for the offer Jason Jonquil had made that morning, and she would understand how much it meant to him.

  She was the first to arrive in the drawing room. The door was left open, but they still had a great deal of privacy. This was the time to speak of more personal things, before they had an audience.

  “Charlie’s brother called on my parents and me,” he said without preamble.

  “I didn’t realize he had a brother in Bath.”

  Newton wasn’t being clear or eloquent. “Jason, the brother who called, wasn’t in Bath but in London. He is a barrister, and he and his family live in Town most of the year.”

  “He traveled all the way from London?” Ellie looked appropriately impressed. She sat and motioned for him to do the same. “That is not a journey made in a single day.”

  “I was as surprised as you are,” he said. “Charlie delivered to him a letter I wrote asking questions about his Inn of Court and the logistics of studying to be a barrister. I had hoped for a response of some kind. Imagine my surprise when that response proved to be his arrival here.”

  “It seems Charlie is not the only Jonquil with a caring heart.”

  Newton nodded. “They are good guns, every last one of them.”

  “Was Mr. Jason Jonquil’s visit an encouraging one?”

  The amazement he’d felt during that call swelled once more. “More than encouraging; it was nearly miraculous. He made an airtight case to my parents and has secured, if not their enthusiasm, at least their acceptance. He further offered to recommend me at Lincoln’s Inn.”

  Though Ellie watched him with interest, her confusion was clear. Few understood how one’s education in the law was undertaken. He explained, at first intending to keep the details few, but her interest did not wane, neither did her eyes gloss over as so many did when topics uninteresting to them were introduced.

  “Mr. Jonquil’s offer will save you time and difficulty,” Ellie said when he’d finished explaining.

  “Quite a bit.”

  She scooted a little closer, near enough for him to take her hand. “How soon will you begin your law education?”

  “I am for London in a fortnight. I will secure lodgings somewhere—Mr. Jonquil indicated several boarding establishments can be found nearby that cater to students of the law. Generally, they place several students in a flat, but it is, apparently, not a miserable arrangement.”

  “I am so happy for you, Newton.”

  He studied her expression. “You do not seem entirely happy.”

  “I am happy for you. But I am not particularly overjoyed for me.” She stood and paced away, twisting her hands around one another. “My family is returning to Shropshire in two days’ time. I have no choice but to go with them. That will be, to borrow your phrase, a miserable arrangement.”

  Newton had known she would eventually have to leave Bath and do so with the people who treated her with such unkindness, but he’d repeatedly pushed that from his thoughts. He ought not to have. He ought to have been thinking of a way to help her. But what could he do? Her father was granted by the law full control over every aspect of her life. She was at his mercy. Newton could do nothing to help her.

  He moved to where she stood. “Will you come to London for the Season? You have spoken of wishing to do so.”

  “Even if my family could afford to do so or had once been willing, I am certain they will not do so now,” she said. “I have every reason to believe they blame me for Lillian’s fall from grace. Life at home is going to be awful. I know it will be.”

  He took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “I am so sorry, Ellie. I truly am.”

  She took a slightly shaky breath. “I am not looking forward to the next . . . well, the next forever.”

  Newton took a quick look toward the doorway, making certain it was empty. Finding them momentarily alone, he closed the small distance between the two of them. As she’d done once before in this very room, Ellie leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He set his arms around her. She was soft and warm in his embrace, peaceful. With her, he found the elusive feeling of home.

  Standing with her in his arms, he found himself questioning everything. His family provided him with income that would support a family in some degree of comfort. If he abandoned his dreams of being a barrister, he and Ellie could, perhaps, be together. Could he find happiness enough in their connection to push away the disappointment of losing that dream, the tedium of having no occupation? But if he followed that dream, would he ever stop regretting losing the dream of her?

  * * *

  Ellie was happy for Newton, but her heart was heavy. He’d held her tenderly, expressed a wish to see her in London, but he’d offered no reassurance of his love or his wish for a future together. He intended to find a flat with a group of other students, hardly the lodgings one searched out when wishing to marry.

  She wanted to believe she hadn’t imagined his feelings growing genuinely more tender toward her. Perhaps, eventually, those feelings would have grown strong enough for him to make anything resembling a promise. But they’d run out of time.

  Artemis came upon her as she sat worn down and burdened on the bed in the guest chamber. “You do not seem quite your usual self.”

  “My family is returning to Shropshire,” she said. “My sister’s sojourn in Bath has taken a turn for the worse.”

  Artemis sat beside her. “Imagine that.”

  Ellie pushed out a breath. “I am absolutely certain they blame me.”

  “Why admit they caused their own trouble when they can secure a convenient scapegoat?” Artemis shook her head in obvious annoyance. “Your family are not precisely scholars, are they?”

  She smiled a little but found her heart wasn’t entirely in it. “My life is about to be extremely miserable.”

  “Not necessarily.” Artemis turned a little, facing her more directly. “What if, instead of going to Shropshire to be tortured and mistreated, you came to Northumberland with me and wandered the dusty and drafty corridors of a five-hundred-year-old castle?”

  Ellie was too surprised to do anything but narrow her gaze and draw her brows in silence.

  “None of my siblings is planning to visit this winter. My sister and brother-in-law, the ones who live there, have their own family to occupy their time and attention. All of the Huntresses have their own homes in which to pass the cold, dark months.” Though Artemis was being a bit jestful in her tone and explanation, there was real sadness in her eyes. “It is terribly lonely, Ellie. I’ve come to actually dread being at the castle.”

  “And you wish me to join you there?”

  She smiled a little uncertainly. “I would be unspeakably grateful.”

  Ellie didn’t dare let herself believe it possible. “Your brother-in-law is known to despise company.”

  “He won’t object,” Artemis said.

  “You can’t be certain of that.”

  “Actually, I can.” Some of her friend’s confidence was returning. “I wrote to the duke and duchess asking for their honest feelings on the possibility of my bringing a friend to spend the winter there.”

  “And what did they say?” Ellie was both eager for and dreading the answer.

  “My sister thought it a brilliant idea. She remembers you well from our years in Shropshire and her visits back there since.”

  The duchess’s welcome was not unexpected. “And your brother-in-law?”

  “He said, and I quote, ‘If having a friend will keep you out of mischief, invite every friend you have.’”

  That
sounded just grumpy enough to be the Dangerous Duke’s verbatim instructions. “He is a little frightening,” Ellie admitted.

  “Not when you know him better. He can actually be remarkably kind. You’ll see.”

  She doubted it but found herself less worried. “And they would let me stay for the entire winter?”

  Artemis nodded, excitement growing in her expression. “And then you can come to London with us for the Season.”

  “Truly?” She could hardly believe the extent of this offer.

  “And I’ve spoken with Rose, and she is ecstatic at the prospect of spending the next months creating an entire new wardrobe for you to wear in Town. We mean to obtain some fabric and trimming while we’re here, as well as materials for a few bonnets. We will be kept quite wonderfully busy.”

  Her heart fluttered despite her attempts to quiet it. “I cannot possibly impose so much.”

  “No imposition. I would be indebted to you.” Beyond sincere, Artemis sounded almost desperate. Artemis Lancaster, who never seemed anything other than fully and completely self-assured, was nearly pleading for a companion, for a friend. “Please, say you’ll come.”

  “It would be far preferable to Shropshire.”

  Artemis’s eyes lit with hope. “And going to London in the spring won’t be miserable either.”

  “I have always wanted to go to Town.”

  With mischief in her tone and far too much innocence in her expression, Artemis said, “And Mr. Newton Hughes will be there, quite the fine and fancy student of the law. That must be some motivation.”

  Hope and hesitation warred in her heart. “I will enjoy seeing him again.”

  Artemis repeated Ellie’s words in an overly prim and proper voice. “‘I will enjoy seeing him again.’” She folded her arms across her chest. “Do not attempt to hoodwink me, Ellie. I know you’ve lost your heart to him.”

  “His, however, seems quite whole and entirely in his possession.”

  Artemis eyed her more closely. “Why do you say that?”

  “He visited and told me of the progress he’d made in convincing his parents to accept his pursuit of the law, and he spoke with great enthusiasm about securing a flat with other students and beginning his studies.” Disappointment washed over her. “He dedicated not a syllable to his hopes for our future. I had so hoped he would at least express regret that we’d not had the chance for a true courtship.”

  “No matter how it began,” Artemis said, “your courtship was as genuine as any I’ve seen. You spent time together, formulated plans together, came to know each other. He might not have spoken of courtship because he feels you’ve already had one.”

  Ellie shook her head. “If that were the case, he would have left me with some hope, some semblance of a promise.”

  “Perhaps he is as unsure of your feelings as you seem to be of his. A bit of bravery would do the both of you a world of good.”

  Though there was wisdom in her advice, there was also tremendous risk. “Bravery does not guarantee a good outcome.”

  Artemis offered an empathetic smile. “Cowardice almost always guarantees a poor one.”

  Ellie knew her friend was correct. Yet, the prospect was frightening. “If I find my bravery and that ends badly, do you have a corner at Falstone Castle where I can cry, curse the fates, and engage in whatever overly dramatic response I find necessary?”

  “I regularly indulge in all of those things,” Artemis said. “I can show you all the best places to undertake them.”

  Ellie took a deep breath and resolved herself on two matters: she would accept Artemis’s invitation, and before they left Bath, she would find the courage to discover if the feelings of Newton’s heart matched her own.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Mrs. Lancaster was not feeling particularly well that evening, so they all opted to remain at home rather than toss themselves out into the social whirl. Ellie’s family would be attending a few smaller events, the last they would be part of before returning to Shropshire. Perhaps she ought to have been a little sad at missing this final opportunity to see them.

  She wasn’t.

  “Entirely understandable,” Mr. Lancaster said, having poked his head into the sitting room. “They have caused you no end of trouble. Perhaps, in time, you will wish to see them again, but the fact that they are family does not obligate you to inflict further misery on yourself.”

  Artemis nodded her wholehearted agreement, having already told Ellie much the same thing.

  “And do you agree with your sister that I will not be intruding if I join her at Falstone Castle?” Ellie had worried over that.

  Mr. Lancaster offered a broad smile, one nearly identical to his youngest sister’s. “Adam will grump and grumble a great deal, but pay him no heed. He will be grateful that Artemis has a friend with her.”

  “Because I am meant to keep her out of mischief?” Ellie asked. “That is what his letter said.”

  “Despite both of their efforts to appear otherwise, Adam and Artemis are rather fond of each other.”

  “What a great deal of fiddle-faddle,” Artemis said. “Mark my words, ours is a mutual dislike that will one day be legendary.”

  Mr. Lancaster shook his head. “Good evening, both of you.”

  “Good evening?” Artemis clicked her tongue and shook her head. “You are retiring so early that I begin to wonder if you aren’t secretly ninety years old.”

  “You age a person, Artemis.” He pressed his hand dramatically to his heart. “You age a person.”

  Artemis laughed and waved him away.

  “Your brother dotes on you,” Ellie said. “I’ve often wondered, If I’d had a brother, would he have been so fond of me?”

  “I should hope so.” Artemis took up her book of fashion plates once more. “Any brother who did not adore you would not be a brother worth having.”

  Artemis was good for Ellie’s too-oft wounded pride. Her own family had dealt it so many felling blows.

  “If Rose didn’t find my company too tedious when not permitted ample time apart, I would beg her to go over these prints with me and begin planning your new wardrobe.”

  “I don’t think she finds you tedious,” Ellie said with a laugh.

  Artemis grinned. “Rose says I am best taken in small doses. I cannot entirely disagree with her.”

  Ellie looked forward to coming to know this remarkable woman better over the winter. She had known so few people. Her circle of acquaintances was expanding in remarkable ways.

  A knock sounded at the door. Ellie and Artemis glanced at each other, confused. It was not so late that a caller was improper, but it was a bit odd.

  Ellie rose and pulled back the curtain in the tall front-facing window. She saw no carriage, no horse, nothing to indicate who stood at the door, which was not visible from her vantage point. “I suspect we may soon be asked if we are at-home to a ghost.”

  “Excellent,” Artemis said. “I have spent years attempting to find a ghost in my brother-in-law’s castle. Nary a one.” She clicked her tongue. “A terrible disappointment.”

  In the next moment, a very confused and extremely intrigued Henson popped his head in the room. “A visitor for Miss Ellie.” He shrugged. “He said it weren’t improper if Miss Lancaster kept to the room.”

  “He?” Artemis looked to Ellie with wide eyes.

  “Who is it?” Ellie asked the butler.

  “Mr. Hughes.”

  She swallowed. “Father or son?”

  “Oh.” Henson assumed a more proper posture. “Mr. Newton Hughes.”

  “Son,” Artemis said, a bit of cheek beneath her unneeded clarification.

  Ellie hadn’t the first idea what the appropriate thing to do was. Newton felt it acceptable for him to step into the room, but was it truly? She wanted him to stay but didn’t wish
to undo the work they’d done to uphold her reputation.

  “Show him in,” Artemis said. “We will all three remain in this room.”

  Ellie stood rooted to the spot, hardly breathing. What had brought Newton back so soon? When he’d left that afternoon, she’d thought he’d meant to make for London at his earliest opportunity.

  He stepped inside. Newton’s gaze settled immediately on her. There was something urgent in his expression. Almost panicked.

  “What has happened?” she asked. “You were in such good spirits when last I saw you.”

  “I was a fool when last I saw you.” He stopped directly in front of her. “A fool and a coward.”

  Ellie had felt rather like a coward herself, something she’d hoped to rectify.

  “Artemis,” Newton tossed over his shoulder, “take pity on me and occupy your attention elsewhere, will you?”

  “Not a chance of it,” Artemis said. “This is the most excitement we’ve had in this house all evening.”

  With a sigh of resignation, he turned back to Ellie.

  She smiled empathetically. “Artemis certainly likes to tease, doesn’t she?” Choosing to be brave, as she’d told her friend she would be, Ellie reached out and brushed a hand gently along Newton’s stubbled cheek. “What has upset you, Newton?”

  He set his hand on hers, weaving their fingers, then moved their entwined hands to his lips and brushed the softest of kisses there. “I’ve been a fool.”

  “You said that already,” Artemis tossed out.

  “Stop it,” Ellie warned with a laugh.

  Apparently, having satisfied her need for mischief, Artemis turned her back to them and took up her fashion plates.

  “What makes you think you’ve been a fool?” Ellie asked quietly.

  “I told you of my future plans, as they pertain to my profession, my lodging, my parents’ acceptance of it all. But I stopped short of saying what I most wanted to say, most needed to say.”

  She forced a breath in and out. “And what was that?”