This was shaping up to be the worst day of his life.
The carriage rattled over the drawbridge and into the modest courtyard of Greystone, his brother’s small castle. Cold raindrops pelted Ford’s head when he shoved open the door and leapt to the circular drive. Drenched gravel crunching beneath his boots, he made his way down a short, covered passageway and banged the knocker on the unassuming oak door.
Benchley cracked open the door, then slipped outside and shut it behind him. “My lord, what brings you here today?”
“I wish to speak with my brother.” Ford frowned down at the small, wiry valet. What was he doing answering the door? “Will you be letting me in?”
“I think not,” Benchley replied in a surly tone Ford had never heard him use before. “I’ll fetch Lord Greystone.” And with that, he disappeared back into the ancient castle.
Shivering, Ford stood open-mouthed in disbelief. Well, this treatment certainly fit in with the rest of his day. Rain dripped from his limp brown hair to sprinkle on the stones at his feet. Deciding he needn’t ask permission to enter his brother’s home, he reached for the latch.
The door opened, and his brother stepped out. He looked haggard, his face a pasty gray, his green eyes and black hair dull.
“Colin? What the deuce is going on?”
“Illness. Measles, we think. Thank goodness you’re here.”
Ford pulled his surcoat tighter around himself. “Come again?”
“Amy is ill, along with Hugh and the baby. And half of the servants. One of them died yesterday,” Colin added grimly.
“Died?” Ford’s gut twisted as he thought of Amy—Colin’s lovely, raven-haired wife—and their wild four-year-old son, Hugh, and the baby, Aidan…all dead.
“It’s not so bad as all that,” Colin rushed to assure him. “The poor maid was eighty if she were a day, and the disease went straight to her lungs. Amy and the children will recover.”
Ford nodded, noting his brother looked worried, but quite calm. ”Good. I’ll keep them in my prayers.” He shook more water out of his hair. “At least you won’t be falling ill. Do you remember when all four of us caught measles on the Continent?”
“I could hardly forget.” Moving like an old man, Colin leaned gingerly against the doorpost. “But what does that have to do with now?”
“At a Royal Society lecture, I learned one cannot fall ill with the same disease twice,” Ford explained.
“I’ve had measles more than once.”
“Not true measles, the one with the high fever. Spotted skin is a symptom of many different conditions.”
“If you say so.” Colin shrugged, but his face showed a hint of relief. “Still, the fever is dreadful, and Jewel has yet to suffer measles. True measles, as you put it. Will you take her with you—away from here—before she succumbs as well? It would ease my mind, and Amy’s too, I’m sure. The worry is doing her no good.”
Alarm bells went off in Ford’s head. Take his niece? Where? And…how? What was he to do with a little girl? Instinctively, he began backing away. “Uh, I only stopped by to let you know I’ve left London and will be at Lakefield for the foreseeable future—”
“Perfect.”
“—working on my watch design. I…I just wanted to be alone for a while. You see, Lady Tabitha has eloped.”
“With the rest of the family off in Scotland, I was at my wit’s end deciding what to do. I was about to settle Jewel in the village. But this will be much better—”
“Tabitha eloped,” Ford repeated loudly, stopping in his tracks.
Didn’t his brother care that he’d had his heart trampled today?
“She eloped?” Colin blinked, then shook his head. “My sympathies, Ford, truly. But what did you expect, man? After so many years—how long had you been courting her, anyway?”
“Since…well, I was ten when we met. But we weren’t ‘courting,’ as you say, until…sixteen or so? I gave her that little ring—”
“Sixteen! So now, at twenty-three, you’ve kept her waiting seven years, with nary a whisper of a serious proposal—”
“I told her we’d marry someday. In a few years.” Tabitha had always been Ford’s perfect match—his pretty and spirited childhood friend had grown into a flawless beauty with a sparkling wit. Together at court, they’d reveled in an endless round of lavish balls and entertainments, and while Ford was away at university, she’d busied herself with whatever it was women liked to do, leaving him plenty of time for his pursuits. Parfait. Or so he’d thought. “For heaven’s sake, she was hardly a spinster at twenty-one. And as you said, I’m only twenty-three—”
“I married at twenty-one.”
“You were in a hurry to have children.”
“No. I was in love.”
“So was I! So am I, that is.”
“You really have no idea why Tabitha gave up on you, do you?” Colin rubbed his eyes. “I know you don’t want to hear this, baby brother, but it’s time you grew up. Maybe Jason and I coddled you too much.”
From beyond the passageway, the patter of rain filled their sudden silence. Ford’s hands wanted to curl into fists, but his brother was obviously weary, so he thought it best to ignore Colin’s unfair remarks. Doubtless the poor fellow had spent sleepless nights watching over his wife and sons—exactly why Ford wasn’t ready to settle down himself.
“You look tired,” he said. “You’d best get some rest.”
His brother heaved a sigh. “I’d rest easier if I knew you had Jewel. You’ll take her, won’t you? Just for a week or two. Maybe three. Until the illness has run its course.” Colin twisted the signet ring on his finger, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you hesitating? I need you.”
Ford stifled a groan. What on earth would he do with a five-year-old girl? He loved Jewel, of course. He loved all his nieces and nephews—even boisterous Hugh—and had learned to enjoy the role of uncle. But bouncing a baby
