A week later, Zac found himself in Whaley. After seeing the state of his dinner jacket, and how poorly it fit him now, Lady Diana had insisted that he spend the day doing a bit of shopping so that he wouldn’t completely embarrass the family in front of their guests. Only partially embarrassing them was about the best he thought he could manage, but he saw better than to say that.
Instead, he obliged his mother by taking the car into Whaley and spending the better part of the morning going from shop to shop in search of a new wardrobe that was better fitting and at least a bit more stylish than the clothing he had left behind when he went off to basic training. Not that he had any idea what was or wasn’t stylish, but he knew what he liked and he trusted the shops’ attentive, nosy workers to take care of the rest for him.
It was all tedious and taxing, and Zac decided he had more than earned a long lunch at The Swan Hotel. It was a bit too early for the pubs he preferred, and somehow he was sure Lady Diana had sent spies to watch over him and make sure he did as he was told. So, the closest thing to a ritzy hotel that Whaley boasted would have to suffice. The drinks weren’t anything to write home about, but the meal was decent enough, and combined together, it left Zac in better spirits. Feeling so much better, he decided to stop into the art supply shop he had spotted on his way into town and refresh his supply.
He was in such a good mood that he hardly watched where he was walking at all. Nearly as soon as he had walked out the doors of the hotel, he felt himself colliding with someone, a sharp elbow catching him in the side as whoever he had hit crashed to the street with a splash. Zac looked down and saw, with some horror, that it was a young woman who looked to be around his age. Her dark hair had come undone in their collision, long strands falling out over her shoulders. Her travelling suit might have been neatly tailored in a shade of soft pink, but it was hard to tell with the coating of mud it had gotten—thanks to his own clumsiness, Zac realized.
“Forgive me,” Zac said, slowly coming back to his senses. Had he really had that much to drink with lunch? He hadn’t thought so.
“I might,” the young lady said. “If you help me out of this slop.”
“Of course,” Zac replied, offering her a hand. He winced a bit as he lifted her up; although she was a willowy thing, the effort put a strain on his leg. A strain that he really didn’t want to show, considering that this girl might have been rather attractive when she wasn’t covered in mud. With that thought in mind, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Now that I’ve done you that favor, care to give me your name? I mean, I’d like to be as accurate and detailed as possible later, when I tell everyone about how we met.”
“Oh, well,” the girl said, something of a smirk on her lips. “You’re lucky Mama isn’t here to chastise me for talking to strangers. But if you must know, you can call me Katie.”
“Well, then, Katie,” Zac said, putting emphasis on her name. It was an ordinary sort of name, and he wasn’t sure that it suited her, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what sort of girl she was, anyway. “Shall I help you with those dirty things?”
“Help me with them?” Katie repeated, her smirk growing. “Oh, no, I think not. I haven’t known you nearly long enough for that.”
With that, she brushed past him, her stride taking on a much haughtier tone. Zac wondered if he had misjudged her and her class.
Still, he couldn’t stop himself from calling after her as she strode toward the hotel. “If I told you my name was Zac, would that help? Now we’re acquainted!”
Katie just turned back to him and gave a soft laugh. Zac didn’t think that was much of an answer at all, but he decided to consider it a win nonetheless.
He watched until she had disappeared through the doors of the Swan Hotel, and for a brief moment, he pondered what a girl like her was doing there. Perhaps she was higher class than her tolerance for his brazenness let on. Still, he supposed it was possible she worked there rather than being a guest. She didn’t seem like she was in service, though, nor did she seem like some stuff old lord’s daughter. She seemed closer to being Zac’s equal, in terms of personality and wit if not class, than any woman he could think of ever having met. He didn’t know how he felt about that, other than just a little bit aroused.
With that thought in mind, he decided it was well past time to head home. He had left the car with the chauffeur, Poole, who he had agreed to let drive him since Poole needed to pick up some parts he had ordered for their Rolls. Zac wouldn’t have minded making the trip himself, but the company kept him from dwelling on thoughts of Katie for the entire drive home… just for most of it.
Once they had returned to the manor, Zac spent most of the afternoon huddled in his room, trying out the new paints he had bought and testing his old ones to see which were past saving. The collection had gone unused for so long, oil paints being rather useless on the front line, that most of it was dried up and worthless.
He remained occupied for the better part of the evening, until the light was so low that he could hardly tell umber from Payne’s grey, and decided perhaps it was time to dress for dinner. He did, after all, had to keep up appearances and at least make the slightest attempt to impress the guests. With that in mind, he began to pack up his paints, and was halfway done when a knock came at the door.
“Come in,” Zac said, assuming it was Sturgess, the valet he had been informed that he was now sharing with Taylor, despite his insistence that he really didn’t need another man to dress him. Instead, he turned to see that it was Taylor himself, already partially dressed for dinner.
“Just thought I would make sure you were ready,” Taylor said, stepping into the room.
“You mean sober,” Zac replied. “Mama sent you?”
“She knows you better than you’d like,” Taylor said, casually sitting down on the edge of Zac’s bed while Zac continued to clear up his mess. “For the rest of our sake, if not for hers, do you think you can refrain from causing a scene this time?”
“But where’s the fun in that?”
Taylor sighed. “You do understand that there are more important problems facing this family than your utter lack of discipline? My god, Isaac is missing, Zac. And even if he weren’t, the war has ruined families richer than ours. Jessica of all people pointed out that if Isaac doesn’t return, all of our fates rest on my shoulders, and that ought to scare you more than a whole squad of German soldiers.”
“I wouldn’t say more than, but it’s very nearly equal to.” Zac sat aside his paints and collapsed onto the bed next to Taylor. “I hadn’t really thought of it that way.”
“Well, you’ll be fine, either way,” Taylor replied. “A military career is distinguished enough, even with no title or position. Country lawyers are a dime a dozen, and it isn’t as though I’ve had much cause to mingle in society before now. No one is exactly beating the door down to throw their daughter at me the way they did Ike. If Isaac is… I can’t even say the word, but if that happens, you can bet I’ll have plenty of new prospects.”
“And not a single one who’d really get your motor running.”
Taylor gave Zac a withering look. “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, but you do see my dilemma.”
“I do,” Zac replied. “And I’m afraid I don’t have a solution for it tonight. I can think of a few colorful military terms to apply to the situation, but you don’t want to hear those. All I can tell you is that we’d best be careful or we’ll both end up engaged before the night is through.”
Taylor stood up and straightened his tie. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
Zac nodded. There was nothing else to be said, really. If he dwelt on the issue, he knew he would be useless at dinner. Instead, he bid Taylor and quick farewell and rang for Sturgess. Might as well get on with it, he decided. He could play the part as well as anyone, if he tried. Putting on the proper costume was the first step, and once he was stuffed into white tie and tails, the act could begin. Soon enough, the dinner bell rang and Zac made his way down the stairs. A few higher class locals were milling around, most of whom Zac recognized even if he couldn’t have recited their titles and peerages. Zac grabbed a drink from a passing footman’s tray and stood next to Taylor, giving him a wry smile.
“So much for staying sober,” Taylor mumbled.
“I’m just softening the edges a bit. Everyone will thank me for it.”
Before Taylor could respond to that, the library door opened and Dawson stepped in. His chin held high, he announced, “Viscount and Lady Bryant, with their daughter Lady Natalie; Lord and Lady Tucker, with their daughter Lady Kathryn; and Nicholas Wellesley, fifth Marquess of Radnor.”
Following their introduction, a stream of royals poured through the door. Zac vaguely recognized the two couples, and Natalie looked similar to how he remembered as well—still short and still pushing the boundaries of good taste and fashion with her straight, short sleeved dress in red velvet with gold trim. The marquess was, as his parents had said, quite young, and surprisingly handsome for someone so high ranking.
That wasn’t what caused Zac’s glass to tremble in his hand, though. What caused that was the sight of Lady Kathryn.
As Zac remembered her, Lady Kathryn was tall and gangly, her features too large for her face, especially the mouth she often used to taunt him. It seemed to amuse Isaac to see his little brother mocked by a girl, and that only egged her on. Zac never understood what Isaac saw in someone so awkward and cruel. The young lady standing on the other side of the room was clearly her; her hairstyle barely disguised her large ears and her freckles were as pronounced as ever. But she had grown into her looks, and was now statuesque and stately. Her ivory gown, accented with beads in the same color, was nearly the same shade as her pale skin, and it gave a scandalous effect of near nudity.
But what really caused Zac to curse underneath his breath was the realization that she was the very same girl he had seen that afternoon. With the mud cleaned off, she truly was a sight to behold, but Zac no longer held out any hope of succeeding in his pursuit of her.
Taylor had been a mess through the entire dinner, though he hoped no one had noticed. He had been seated between Lady Bryant and some vicar’s wife, leaving him completely separated from Natalie, who he desperately needed to talk to. The marquess had been directly across from Taylor, through some wonderful trick of fate, and Taylor hoped he hadn’t imagined all the eye contact they had shared. Still, it might have meant nothing. They had still hardly spoken at all, but Taylor couldn’t get the image of the marquess’s sparkling eyes out of his mind.
As soon as they were allowed to go through, Taylor glued himself to Natalie’s side. His voice barely above a whisper, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would you have believed me?” She countered. “You know how it goes. Any time someone says ‘oh, you must meet my cousin,’ the cousin turns out to be as smelly and chinless as they are rich. In any case, it’s not like I’ve ever asked him about his preferences.”
“Right, of course,” Taylor replied, nodding. “And I wouldn’t ask you to. I’ll just pine from a distance, as usual.”
“Your brother’s doing a bit of that, too,” Natalie replied, causing Taylor to pause. She nodded her head to where Zac stood engaged in what seemed like a very boring conversation with some older men, no doubt regaling him with tales about their own military service. There was a good reason, Taylor decided, why they had called it the Boer War. Zac nodded along, but his eyes were clearly trained on Lady Kathryn, who was laughing at something the marquess had said.
Taylor had a feeling that he knew exactly how Zac felt right then.
“He’s redefining barking up the wrong tree, isn’t he?” Taylor asked. Even if Lady Kathryn hadn’t been attached to Isaac, Taylor couldn’t imagine she would ever show any interest in Zac.
“Indeed he is,” Natalie replied. With a bit of a gleam in her eyes, she added, “I don’t think I can do anything for him, but let me see if I can help you out.”
Before Taylor could ask what she had in mind, she was sashaying across the room toward her best friend and cousin. Taylor, of course, couldn’t hear a word they were saying, but he got the hint when the marquess glanced at Taylor above the rim of his glass. To Taylor’s horror, only seconds later, the handsome young man was striding across the room, straight toward him.
“My Lord,” Taylor said, hating how breathless he sounded. Evidently, a handsome man transformed him into a giggling school girl. He was rather disgusted with himself, and could only hope the marquess didn’t notice.
“Taylor,” he replied, a soft smile crossing his face. “Natalie talks about you constantly. I just had to introduce myself and see what all her fuss was about.”
“Talking is one of her favorite hobbies,” Taylor said, only a little teasingly. “There’s precious little she doesn’t talk about constantly.”
“But not when you two are getting married,” the marquess replied.
Taylor shook his head. “No, my Lord. As I’m sure you know, we haven’t even made the engagement official.”
“Call me Nicholas, please,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the title. It’s all a bit ridiculous, considering you and I are the same age. But I think you know a bit about having unwanted responsibility thrust upon you.”
“Not yet, but I fear I’ll learn what it feels like soon.”
Nicholas took a step closer to Taylor, and Taylor felt his heart actually skip a beat. “Then that gives us something in common, though I’m sure it’s not the only thing. We could be great allies, I think, in all the changes to come.”
“We could,” Taylor choked out. He downed a healthy sip of his drink, needing something to do other than stare at Nicholas’s beautiful cheekbones.
“We’ll keep in touch, then,” Nicholas said, making it clear that it wasn’t a question. “And I hope your father will accept my invitation to the hunt next month. September is beautiful at Harewood Castle, but it will be even better if you come.”
Taylor was sure he hadn’t imagined the emphasis on you. It was him that Nicholas wanted to see, not the better hunters of the family, nor either of his eligible sisters. Taylor stuttered for a moment, then regained his composure and replied, “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’d love to come.”
“I hoped you’d say that,” Nicholas replied, and his smile nearly made Taylor melt into a puddle on the floor.
“Will you—will you be staying around Beasley for a while or are you only here for the night?” Taylor asked, feeling a bit brazen.
“Only until Wednesday, I’m afraid,” Nicholas replied. “I don’t relish the drive back to Leeds at all. Perhaps I’ll stay for longer next time, but I hope we’ll have time to talk more before I leave.”
“I’m sure we will,” Taylor said. His tongue loosened by the drink he had been downing to give himself courage, he added, “I think we’ll find plenty to talk about.”
“I think we will, too, Taylor,” Nicholas replied, brushing his hand over Taylor’s. “I think we’ll find plenty to talk about indeed.”
At that moment, Taylor was sure that he and Nicholas were the only people in the room at all. His concerns for the future, his fears about what sort of match he might be forced to make… all vanished. Nothing mattered but Nicholas’s touch and the way he smiled at Taylor like the two of them shared some great secret. And, Taylor supposed, they did.