“It looks different,” Lily’s mother observed. “Plainer than other homes, but somehow more elegant, too.”
“Kit and I designed it together.” Rand clearly loved this house; Lily could hear the pride in his voice. “I wanted the decorative elements understated, not so grandiose as in most new homes today. And Kit has an eye for grace and balance.”
“Come along!” Rowan yelled.
A bundle of energy after having been pent up in the carriage, he directed a whirlwind tour through the main rooms and the kitchen—no matter that he didn’t know where he was going. Upstairs, he led them all on a merry chase down a narrow hallway between the five bedchambers.
“We designed the house with corridors,” Rand explained, “so there’s no need to go through one room to get to another.”
Since the master bedchamber was the only room in the house with any furniture, their footsteps and voices echoed in the empty spaces. To Lily’s remorse-tinged-relief, Rose remained quietly withdrawn, trailing the rest of the group with disdainful eyes. When Rowan had finished racing in and out of every chamber, he slid down the slick new banisters to the bottom. The others followed more sedately and gathered in the entrance hall on the ground floor.
“It’s beautiful.” Lily hugged herself and smiled, looking slowly around the square, high-ceilinged room. She loved all the architectural details, the niches built into the walls, the light that streamed through the many large windows to brighten the interior. Rather than being covered with heavy, dark paneling or a riot of intricate carving, the walls were smooth plaster.
“All white,” Rand pointed out with a grin. “Like your bedchamber.”
“You’ve seen Lily’s bedchamber?” Rose asked pointedly, breaking her long silence.
Lily blushed and avoided her family’s eyes by looking up at the classic coved cornice around the ceiling. “Will the walls be staying all white?” Her voice came out squeaky.
“I don’t expect so. My last lodgings came furnished and decorated in a style that never quite felt like home, but I hadn’t any idea how to fix it. For this one, I was planning to hire someone to choose fabrics and furnishings and wall coverings. But now that I have you—”
“She’ll leave it all white,” Rose interrupted.
“Rose,” Mum started.
But then someone walked in, silencing Rose more effectively than her mother ever could.
Lily turned to see what had captured her sister’s attention. Or rather, who. Dressed in deep blue velvet with white linen and crisp lace, the gentleman was tall, lean, and had the carriage of someone used to being in charge. His hair was black, his eyes a unique mixture of green and brown.
“My house is still unfinished,” Rand said without preamble, but Lily could tell he wasn’t really angry. His long-suffering sigh was just for show. “What might be your excuse this time?”
“Will King Charles do?” the gentleman asked, a lazy smile curving his lips. Those unusual eyes narrowed. “What happened to your hair?”
“A fire,” Rand said without elaborating. He turned to Lily’s father, raising his voice. “Lord Trentingham, may I present Christopher Martyn, distinguished recipient of the Procrastinating Architect Award.”
Lily’s father smiled vaguely; then his ears seemed to perk up. “The Christopher Martyn?”
Mr. Martyn bowed. “At your service, my lord.”
“Atchur—?”
“Lord Trentingham is hard of hearing,” Mum said warmly as she reached to pull Rowan down from a ladder. “You’ll need to speak up.”
But apparently Mr. Martyn didn’t need to speak at all. Father stepped closer. “I’m looking for an architect to design one of those newfangled greenhouses—”
“Lord Martyn is busy,” Rose broke in loudly. “Working for the king.”
“I’m not a lord, my lady. Just plain Mr. Martyn. Although Kit will do.”
Rose looked very disappointed to hear that, and Lily took perverse pleasure in thinking her sister couldn’t call the man lord against his wishes. Having decided she didn’t always have to be nice, it seemed she was turning out to be rather bad.
But it felt better than she’d expected.
Rand performed the rest of the introductions, and then, while Kit took over explaining the details of the building, he drew Lily aside.
“What do you think?”
“I think Rose likes your friend Kit.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He tapped her on the chin. “What do you think of the house? Will you be able to stand living here?”
Feeling wickeder by the minute, Lily pretended to consider. “I saw only one master chamber. I’m not certain that’s acceptable.”
He looked a bit startled. “When the plans were drawn up, I was expecting to live here alone. But it’s a large enough room, don’t you think? Wouldn’t you rather share—”
“Let me see,” she interrupted. “You’re asking me to give up living with my moody sister in the dull countryside and move to this bustling, sophisticated town…hmm…and then I’ll have to sleep with you every night.” Watching his alarm turn to amusement, she grinned. “It sounds perfect.”
“What about your menagerie?”
“Though I’ve yet to see the garden, I’m sure it will do fine.” Perhaps it wouldn’t be ideal, but it would be much, much better than living without Rand. Even suffering her sister’s ill temper was better than living without Rand.
Why hadn’t she been able to see that all along?
“Are you certain?” he pressed, moving closer. He ran his hands up her arms until they were resting on her shoulders.
Out of habit, she shot a glance to Rose, but she really, truly didn’t care what her sister thought. She, Lily, deserved happiness, too. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
Rand looked like he wanted to pull her against him and kiss her then and there. And she wouldn’t have minded, even right in front of Rose.
But Kit interrupted. “Oh, Rand, you have some mail.”
Rand was still gazing at Lily. “Later, Kit.”
“One thing looked important. A missive from Hawkridge.”
That succeeded in seizing his attention. He jerked his head around and gaped at Kit. “You can’t mean—from my father?”
THIRTY
“THE MARQUESS
never contacts me,” Rand protested, sounding dazed.
“Never say never,” Lily said softly.
And Kit burst into laughter.
“What?” she
