Jason laughed. “I daresay. But I’d rather wait a while, at least until after you’re married.”
Charles gave him a stern look but decided not to pursue it. “Beverly has a steadying effect on you.”
Jason sobered. “She makes me a better man.”
Charles smiled, touched, and pleased at his brother’s heartfelt declaration. He would not have believed it possible two years ago. “Marriage has certainly wrought a change for the better in you, Jas.”
Jason chuckled. “Am I waxing too lyrical? Beverly’s smart and very fair-minded. I’m a lucky fellow.”
“You are indeed. See that you continue to deserve her.”
“Still very much the head of the family,” Jason said with a grin. “I am no longer in need of guidance.”
“I gladly relinquish that duty. Now that Father’s trust has been set aside, and you are comfortably settled. Besides, I have my own concerns.”
“It was fortunate that the solicitors found a way around the trust. I shouldn’t have wanted to wait until my twenty-fifth birthday. It’s provided me with much-needed funds and our home.” He frowned. “But I sensed you were troubled about something. Anything I can help with?”
“No, but thank you. I had an altercation with a journalist, Lord Ambrose, a month ago. He was writing lies about a friend of mine who is too ill to defend himself. I’m afraid my blood was up. I didn’t handle the situation as well as I might have. The incident made The Morning Post and has been misinterpreted.”
“Did you punch him? Break his jaw? You pack a wallop, Charles.”
“No, just roughed him up a little.”
Jason gave a whoop. “Shook him out of his shoes, I bet,” he said approvingly. “Misinterpreted? It seems fairly clear-cut to me.”
“An unprovoked attack, it’s said. The newspaper is threatening to sue me.”
“But was it unprovoked?”
“No. The fellow took a swing at me first.”
He whistled through his teeth. “He dared to attack you?”
“He was on the defensive.”
Jason grinned. “Scared, eh? You are very intimidating when you glower. Any witnesses?”
“Sure to be. The street outside Parliament is busy.”
“If it doesn’t blow over, you should tell the lawyers to ferret out those witnesses.”
“It appears that I shall have to. Lord Ambrose is the Earl of Fairbrother’s son, and Fairbrother has a hearty dislike of me. We have crossed swords in the Lords several times concerning a bill. The earl will welcome the chance to get at me, so it is likely to go before the magistrate. Messy business all around.” Charles cursed. “And not the way a duke should behave.”
“I would have gone further,” Jason said. “Given the wretch a bloody nose. Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.” He held up a hand in response to Charles’s frown. “All right, perhaps not. But I was hoping you were becoming more like your old self.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean by my old self,” Charles said, suddenly nettled. “I prefer to move forward, not back.”
“Gah.” Jason refused to be fobbed off. “That’s rubbish, and you know it. You threw yourself into life once, Charles. Before…”
Charles glared at him. “I advise you not to continue.”
“I remain hopeful of Nellie’s influence.” Jason threw himself up onto his saddle. “I’m for breakfast.” He nudged his mount’s flanks. “Race you to the park gates.”
“Trickster!” Charles yelled, already sorry for having snapped at his brother when he only expressed concern. He leaped onto his horse and took off after Jason. Thor, delighted to be given full rein, thundered over the ground. His lengthy stride gathered up Jason’s mount within minutes. Charles laughed as he passed him.
“Call me a cheat,” Jason yelled after him. “You gave me the slowest dashed gelding in the stable. Wait till we get to Shewsbury Park. I’ll race you down the straight. And win!”
Charles slowed and allowed Jason to catch up. “When do you leave for Leicestershire?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Then, we’ll see you there. I have invited Nellie and her parents to visit next week.”
“Excellent. We can play whist, which Mama despises.”
“Nellie will be pleased. She and Beverly get on well. And Mother is a little distracted of late.”
“Dear, Mama, she seems to be always caught up in some cause or other since Father died.”
“I expect we’ll see Aunt Frances, too,” Charles said. “She spends more time at Shewsbury Park than at home with Uncle Ralph.”
“No decent foxhunting in Kent. Aunt Frances was brought up to it. It’s in her blood.”
“Nellie tells me she won’t ride to hounds.”
Jason turned to him. “Really, why not?”
“Nellie’s a fine horsewoman. But she’s against the sport.”
“Against it, is she?” Jason chuckled. “Wait until she meets Aunt Frances.”
“That’s what I fear.”
Their strident aunt would attempt to change Nellie’s mind, but, remembering the determination in Nellie’s eyes when she expressed her strong feelings on the subject, he suspected his aunt might have met her match.
Chapter Ten
The horizon was a mass of gold-rimmed clouds as their coach reached the top of a hill. Along with her parents, Nellie glimpsed the Shewsbury estate for the first time, a patchwork of green fields stitched together by dark hedges and trees lending shelter and shade to the sheep. She could just make out the ruins of the old castle with its crumbling tower.
They traveled the road bordered by flowering hawthorn hedges. Ewes and spring lambs roamed the daisy-strewn meadows. The gatekeeper saluted as their coach entered the gates with Shewsbury Park emblazoned on them. He then waved on the carriage carrying Lilly, Nellie’s mother’s maid, Iris, and Burton, her father’s valet.
In the park, she breathed in the pleasant smell of freshly scythed grass. From beyond a stone wall came the heady scent of bluebells and daffodils clustered around the trunks of majestic chestnuts and oaks. With a shiver of anticipation, she put a gloved hand to her mouth when they crossed a bridge and approached the mansion. It was less than a hundred years old, yet there was an
