Captivating the Countess Read online

  His youngest, unmarried, sister Alicia slipped in and closed the door, looking conspiratorial. “What did you say to Carla? I didn’t think she would be removed by anything short of a shotgun.”

  Rain sat back and tapped his pen on the desk. Alicia had the family pale blond looks, plus the Malcolm blue eyes he lacked. She was plain and perhaps a little chubby—and a terrible pianist—but she was smart and kind, and any man should be proud to call her his own. So far, she’d resisted accepting any. Was it possible for a female to be as hardheaded as he?

  “You know this is the family home, and I will not send any of you into exile.” Because they’d all end up in the streets. The eccentricity of their family was the reason the castle had grown into a sprawling village of separated apartments. “Teddy must have tired of her.” Which didn’t seem likely either. His cousin was too lazy to actively chase away a convenient bedmate, no matter how annoying the female might be.

  “No, he’s telling her he hasn’t finished her portrait, and she shouldn’t be quite so hasty. I assumed you’d insulted her, and I was wondering how that was done. I’d like to learn.” Alicia cracked the door to listen.

  “Not me. You’ll have to ask Teddy. I’d like to learn, too.” Intrigued, Rain stood up to spy.

  “Being polite is overrated,” Alicia whispered. “Our teachers should have taught us to defend ourselves.”

  “When one has power and wealth, it is only responsible to wield them for the benefit of others.” Rain repeated the refrain they’d been taught since birth.

  “But at some point, benefit becomes sponging,” Alicia added callously.

  Rain didn’t argue the point. “This is Teddy’s home as well as ours. It’s certainly large enough for all of us.”

  “Not for an entire opera company.”

  Alicia was prone to exaggeration.

  Doors had stopped slamming, Rain realized. If the diva left and Alicia stayed away from the piano, he might almost be able to think again. He should return to work in this brief respite, but it was almost time to change for dinner. Oh well, might as well satisfy his curiosity.

  They emerged into the corridor to watch a parade of servants carrying enough baggage to fill an entire train car.

  “Do we have enough carriages?” Rain wondered aloud.

  “I assume that was rhetorical.” Alicia followed in the path of trunks and hatboxes and valises to the front door and peered out. “The berlin, the brougham, and a hay cart, I believe.”

  Rain turned his attention upward. A bearded bear of a man, Teddy Jr. watched mournfully from the top of the stairs. Having just lost the woman he’d intended to marry, Rain could appreciate his cousin’s dismay. And maybe enjoy a little satisfaction that Teddy had to suffer, too, since the opera star’s dramatics could partially be blamed for Araminta’s departure.

  “Is it true that Miss Rutledge left earlier?” Alicia apparently followed his thoughts.

  “Along with Mr. Davis, yes.” Rain saw no reason to deny it. “They reportedly bought train tickets to York. I suppose there’s a bishop there where they can obtain a license.”

  “Do you think I drove them away?” His sister fretted. “We are writing a musical, and we became a trifle noisy, I fear.”

  Yes, he thought the musical might have been part of the insanity Araminta complained about, but that was her problem, not Alicia’s. “You are entitled to sing and pound instruments to your heart’s content in your own home. Although I do hope you’ll keep it quieter than our departing diva after dark.”

  Alicia snickered. “I don’t do the things the diva does after dark. I’m not married.”

  “And you shouldn’t know what married people do. Your sisters should be ashamed of themselves. Where are they, anyway?”

  “Watching from the gallery above and laying wagers on what you and Teddy did to drive away your lady friends.”

  To Rain’s surprise, Araminta’s mother trailed down after the parade of footmen, wearing her travel clothes and accompanied by her personal maid. She stopped and held out her gloved hand to him.

  “I am so very sorry, my lord. I truly had no idea. . . . I think it best to accept Mrs. Bianco’s offer of her company into York. I’ll hope my daughter will have the sense to look for me in our home. Your hospitality has been all that is generous. Please, give Lady Craigmore my gratitude for her aid.”

  “Lady. . .” Alicia shut up when Rain squeezed her elbow.

  “If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to let me know.” He bowed over her hand. One of the reasons he’d decided on Araminta had been her sensible mother. He’d hoped like mother, like daughter. Obviously, he knew nothing of women. He’d lost his own mother at an early age.

  As if he’d willed her into being, the lady whom Alicia was longing to hear about appeared at the top of the stairs. The countess still wore her travel costume but had not donned hat or gloves, so Rain assumed she hadn’t decided to run away, too. Seeing him, she hesitated, then caught the banister in a death grip as she descended.

  “You have decided to banish all our guests as a money-saving endeavor?” Rain asked once she came to a halt in front of them.

  “More of a sanity-saving endeavor,” she admitted. “I feared your ghosts would smash through the veil and wreak havoc if the emotional outbursts continued, so I suggested the lady be a little more quiet. She objected. If I have overstepped my bounds, I do not apologize. You may send me away at any time.”

  “You want me to send you away,” he accused.

  She tilted her head and considered her reply. “No, I would like the position, I believe. But I am tired of living in unpleasant circumstances, and thought perhaps others might be, too, especially your father.”

  Rain wasn’t given to expressing himself, but her bland tale of routing a monster almost surprised him into a laugh. “Your frankness is refreshing. Does everyone in your rural hamlet speak in the same way?”

  She spoiled her smooth brow by thinking about it. Underneath a wispy fringe, her hairline formed a widow’s peak. So many Malcolms had one, including himself, that he wondered if they’d not once been called a witch’s peak.

  “Mostly, the villagers did not speak at all, but yes, if I ordered a shepherd to move his sheep, he would tell me why he could not. Clear communication seems sensible.” She turned to Alicia. “May I be introduced? It’s rather tiresome not knowing anyone’s names.”

  Alicia elbowed Rain aside and held out her hand. “You must be Lady Craigmore. I’m Alicia Winchester, Rain’s sister. I’m writing a musical. Do you sing?”

  “An occasional hymn or two. It’s not an art I’ve developed, my lady. Does the music room have doors?”

  Rain couldn’t hold back his snigger this time. “She’s telling you to close the damned doors, dear sister.”

  Alicia glared at him.

  Lady Craigmore corrected him. “Actually, it’s the spirit trying to tell you by slamming doors. Since she is also saying Save my son, and names the duke, I will assume your grandmother is a very strong presence in this house.”

  “My grandmother—”

  Alicia squealed in delight before Rain could express his dismay at this insanity.

  “We can hold a real séance!”

  Maybe it was time to catch a train to anywhere but here.

  Bell distracted Lady Alicia from any disappointment at the refusal of a séance by enlisting help with her meager wardrobe. Before she knew it, she had all four of Rain’s sisters crowded into her chamber, along with a lady’s maid and a seamstress and apparently every discarded gown they’d ever owned.

  She had not specified that the terms of her employment include a new wardrobe. The ladies were obviously bored.

  All four sisters were varying shades of blond, of average height, and opinionated.

  “If we bunch up the silk in the back, we can make a train and reduce the front of the gown to the current style.” Victoria, Lady Delahey, the eldest sister, held up a midnight blue gown of la
st decade’s fashion. “I’ll never fit that waist again.”

  “Brighter colors,” Lady Estelle declared, holding up a gold-and-white-striped confection. She’d apparently married someone of a lesser title and kept her courtesy one.

  Bewildered by the choices, Bell simply did her best to keep up with who was whom. The quietest sister, Mrs. Salina Lombard, appeared to be only a few years older than Lady Alicia, and had abandoned her courtesy title to take her solicitor husband’s name. She merely made notes and attached them to the gowns to pass on to the seamstress.

  “I am to be a steward,” Bell protested—again. “I need only wear a simple dark gown to sit in an office all day. I was only concerned if I must occasionally sit at a formal table. My dinner gown needs pressing, that’s all!”

  “Don’t be foolish.” Lady Estelle picked through the pile of gowns the ladies had left behind when they married. “None of us can wear these tiny bodices any longer, so we have no incentive to make them over for ourselves. They’re excellent quality. Look at the blond lace on this one! It will look fabulous with your coloring.”

  Their colors suited Bell as well, although she feared she’d fade into nothingness with the midnight blue. Still, it was a lovely shade, one that flattered their Malcolm eyes and not her golden-brown ones.

  Before she could protest again, Lady Alicia swept around the room holding a gown with an enormous train. “You must have dinner with us. You’re a countess first and foremost. You will distract Rain from his dismals over losing Araminta.”

  “And you will help us make lists of other suitable heiresses he might marry.” Lady Estelle handed the gold gown over to the seamstress. “Unless, of course, you know of any magic spells to cure our father. If he were healthy again, Rain could take his time.”

  “I’m not a healer.” Bell attempted to dissuade them of her ability to do anything other than keep books. “And I’m from far northern Scotland. I don’t know many people. If the duke can’t heal himself and Rainford can’t help him either, then don’t count on me for anything.”

  “What if it’s a spiritual ailment?” Lady Alicia asked. “You really need to speak with the spirits.”

  Ah, there was the crux of the matter. They were Malcolms. They believed in life beyond death. And like everyone else, they were eager to speak to those long gone.

  “I cannot imagine why anyone would deliberately invite a spirit into their life,” Bell said firmly. “Don’t you have enough people interfering without asking one from a different time and place? They are not better, smarter people for having passed on.”

  “But it’s exciting.” Lady Delahey picked off lace that had merely been basted to a sleeve. “Our grandmother, the fourth duchess, died when our Uncle Theodore was born, so we never knew her. It would be wonderful to speak with her.”

  Bell shook her head. “How long ago was that, half a century? Back during the Regency? What precisely do you expect her to say after all these years?”

  “Well, she could scold her grandson Teddy Junior for being such a bounder,” Lady Delahey suggested. “If Teddy weren’t such a perfect mug, Rain wouldn’t have to worry so much about his inheriting the family trust.”

  “Blame that predicament on our great-grandfather.” Lady Estelle snapped angrily at a thread. “He’s the one who set the terms.”

  “Well, his intentions were good.” Quiet Mrs. Lombard pinned the lace and another note to the seamstress on a tan bodice. “His father was crazy, after all, and he married a Malcolm who couldn’t promise him an heir. Our family was never normal, so it makes sense to separate the funds from the title.”

  None of this was her business, and Bell didn’t question. But she listened intently, looking for the reason the spirit insisted that she save the duke.

  “It would make more sense if an objective party determined which heir was craziest.” Lady Estelle laughed and dug through the pile of clothes. “Rainford is perfectly sane, unlike Teddy. But he chose not to marry until too late, which does make him a little. . .”

  “Normal.” Lady Alicia defended him. “He didn’t expect Father to become ill so young.”

  “Try this one on. I think it will fit without too much adjustment.” Lady Delahey, the oldest and bossiest sister, began unhooking Bell’s bodice. “We must keep Father well until Rain can marry. Marriage will at least delay the trust’s second clause for a few years.”

  “We really need a list of unmarried Ives females. Did Rain ever make one?”

  “He did. We’ve entertained them all. He simply wasn’t interested.”

  “I don’t know why Araminta interested him. She was quite dull.”

  Bell gave up trying to follow who said what. She let the ladies push and pull her around while she simply absorbed information and attempted to keep out prying spirits. Having her head full of gossip, silks, and lace helped tremendously, she discovered. Having only one sister and no wardrobe, she’d never learned that defense.

  By the time the sisters rushed off to dress for dinner, Bell was garbed in a modest copper-colored dinner gown only a year or two old that none of the married ladies could wear any longer, and Lady Alicia declared too mature for her taste. It had ruffles instead of lace forming the bustle of the upper skirt. The practical brown of the under skirt had ruffles as well. Bell thought she could wear it regularly, perhaps with a different bodice every so often.

  As soon as the room quieted, Winifred knocked on the connecting door. When the widow entered, she admired the results of the wardrobe addition.

  “We’ll add some of those pretty topaz earrings, and you’ll look perfect for a family dinner. I’m feeling better leaving you with his sisters about. I’ll go down with you this evening so you feel comfortable, but I think you’ll be happy here.” She helped Bell tease a few loose curls around her face.

  Bell didn’t mention that the winter holidays had to end and the sisters had to go back to their own homes sometime. Presumably, Lady Alicia would remain.

  “What we need to do now is visit the duke,” Bell decided. “How do I go about that?”

  Five

  One of the many reasons Rain encouraged his sisters to visit was so he could enjoy the company of their sensible—ungifted—spouses. Large dowries had allowed his non-prepossessing but highly intelligent sisters to choose men who suited them. They’d done well.

  Rain didn’t know why he couldn’t manage the same.

  Teddy had deigned to join them for dinner, apparently so he could publicly mope. He wasn’t any more successful at finding a bride than Rain, but he was younger and still had time to look, although the portrait ploy didn’t appear to be the way to attract the best candidates.

  Rain did his best not to pay attention to the countess, which would only encourage his family’s matchmaking antics. Lady Craigmore had dressed sedately in a rusty brown dinner gown he vaguely recognized. She spoke only when spoken to, which seemed strange given her predilection for saying what she thought.

  “How does a countess become a steward?” Teddy asked, demanding her attention.

  The lady picked delicately at her fish, obviously choosing her words. “By running an estate, I assume. Craigmore never had the luxury of hiring people to do what we could do ourselves.”

  “You lost the estate?” Lord Delahey asked sympathetically.

  Rain watched a slight smile cross the lady’s pixie features. Give her fairy wings and set her in a woodland. . .

  “No, I’m saving it. My tenants are more capable than I am at farming and sheepherding. By living here, I am saving the expense of my upkeep. And my foreman and his family can live in the manor, thus saving the expense of repairing a cottage for their use. The manor is far too large for one person. And if he wants servants, he pays for them, not the estate. Any income I earn will go to paying off my stepfather’s debts. The village desperately needs and deserves reimbursement for their losses.”

  “We should have a dinner to introduce Lady Craigmore and invite the neighbors,” Ali
cia announced. “We’ll invite eligible bachelors. Then you might attract a husband and have a home of your own.”

  There was much laughter and jesting about Alicia doing the same. Rain watched the countess. She merely finished her fish and sipped from her watered wine.

  “Yatesville is too far a distance for most people. Weather this time of year is too inclement for reliable travel.” Estelle gestured with her fork to encompass the table. “We all ought to be making arrangements to return home before we’re snowed in.”

  “You’re welcome to stay.” Rain indicated to a footman that he was ready for the next course. “I enjoy the company.”

  Not precisely a lie. He wasn’t a hermit. He liked company. His sisters, on the other hand, were a meddling handful. Together, they could wreak a path of destruction wider than a hurricane. He simply didn’t wish to be left alone with his dying father.

  They argued over whether it was best to travel with children now or later, and who had what business to attend and when. The toddlers in the nursery were better behaved than the adults in Rain’s opinion, but then, he never went up there.

  Lady Craigmore appeared intrigued to learn there was a nursery, but she had nothing to contribute to the discussion.

  When the ladies departed to leave the gentlemen with their port, Salina’s husband, Lombard, passed around cigars. “We’re expecting another come summer. Sal was hoping she might have it here again. The countess’s companion is a midwife, ain’t she?”

  “As I understand it, Mrs. Malcolm is on her way to visit her ill son, but we have Malcolm midwives and healers not far away. All of you are always welcome.” And Rain was on hand for medical emergencies, he didn’t say. Helping his sister with her lying-in wasn’t high on his wish list.

  “There is nothing any of the healers can do for the duke?” Lord Delahey asked, setting aside his cigar in favor of port.

  “We brought Father here in hopes one of the local healers might, but so far, his condition is unchanged.” Rain took little consolation in knowing even the experienced ladies with their herbals couldn’t improve upon his medical knowledge. “His body is simply wearing out faster than it should. It’s good for him to have family around.”