The Bookseller and the Earl Page 3

  This wedding, however, she was really looking forward to since her close friend would be singing. Pamela had such a lovely, sweet voice, it would be so wonderful for everyone to hear her and appreciate her talent.

  The carriage drew up to Lottie’s house, and her driver climbed the steps to collect Lottie. Her friend looked lovely in a pale blue satin gown with a matching wool cape and flowered hat. They chatted excitedly as they moved on to Pamela’s flat.

  Once again the driver hopped down and made his way to the front door. The door opened and they could see Pamela talking to the driver, waving her hands. After a few minutes, he nodded, the door closed, and he returned to the carriage. “Lady Pamela sends her regrets, but she is unable to attend the wedding.”

  The two women stared at each other, aghast. “Oh, no, she’s not.” Addie climbed from the carriage with Lottie right behind her as they stormed the stairs. “Pamela!”

  Grayson entered the church where his cousin, Diana, was marrying a young man who he’d had not yet met, but with her common sense, he was sure her choice was just fine, and the man was not a moron. He hadn’t seen members of his family in quite some time. Once the doctors had determined that Michael was deaf, and that was why the young boy only grunted instead of speaking, Grayson found himself avoiding his family, not wishing to hear their criticism or suggestions on how to deal with his son.

  It seemed everyone had an opinion on what was to be done with Michael. Everything from admitting him to an asylum, to him being locked away on one of Grayson’s estates with a caretaker. In other words, put the boy from his life and from his mind. Throw him away since he wasn’t perfect. Nothing made him angrier than hearing those remarks.

  Luckily, once he escaped from London to Bath, he found a very devoted woman to take over Michael’s daily care. Mrs. Banfield read to him, pointing to the pictures in the stories, took him for walks, showed him how to manipulate blocks and form shapes with them, and insisted that he could learn just like any other child, just in a different way.

  Before he began to dwell on the other threat, he pushed it from his mind and settled into a pew. Considering how his marriage had ended, he had no great love for so-called wedded bliss, but like everyone else here, he would wish the happy couple well.

  His attention was drawn to a bit of a commotion at the back of the church. He turned to see three women, two of them practically dragging the third one between them down the aisle. To his surprise, one of the draggers was Miss Mallory from the bookstore. She leaned in toward the woman in the middle and whispered something in her ear. That seemed to ease the woman, and they all made their way down the aisle.

  Miss Mallory and one other woman took seats a few pews from the sanctuary. The poor woman who had been dragged down the aisle inhaled deeply and sat at the piano. She offered a tentative smile to those assembled and began to play. A few bars into the piece she started to sing and immediately caught the attention of all those present.

  Normally wedding guests would continue to talk until the bride made her appearance, but the mesmerizing effect of the woman’s singing stopped all conversation. Whoever she was, she sang like an angel. He had seen her before, he was certain she had played at a few Sunday services he’d attended, but he never heard her sing before.

  Within minutes, she nodded to someone at the back of the church and played the first few notes of the Richard Wagner’s Bridal Chorus. The congregation stood and all turned to watch the bride make her way down the aisle. His cousin looked stunning. She’d always been a pretty girl, and she was now a beautiful woman. Of course, the joy and love on her face made her more so.

  The ceremony commenced, and Grayson found his eyes drifting to the back of Miss Mallory’s head the entire time.

  He could see part of her profile, which he studied while the vicar droned on and on about the importance of marriage. Things that he had believed when he and Margaret had taken their vows in this same church.

  Love, honor, and obey.

  He snorted and nodded a slight apology to the woman alongside him who looked disapprovingly at him through her quizzing glass.

  Returning his thoughts to Miss Mallory, he observed that she was one of only a few women in the church who wasn’t wearing the equivalent of a bird’s nest on her head. Miss Mallory’s hat was a lovely sensible straw bonnet, the brim tipped up in the front with a ribbon encircling the confection and ending in a fashionable bow.

  Strands of hair had escaped her coiffure, tickling the creamy skin on her neck. She sat perfectly still during the ceremony, a slight smile on her face. Was she thinking about a wedding of her own?

  Soon the ceremony ended, and the guests formed a line to congratulate the bride and groom, then find their way to the church hall for the wedding breakfast. He hated to admit that he was quite pleasantly surprised when he entered the hall and found Miss Mallory and her two friends also there. Since he had spent time with her the other night going through bulletins, he felt comfortable approaching her.

  After speaking with family members and brushing off their questions and suggestions about Michael, he wandered in the ladies’ direction.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Mallory. Ladies.” He bowed slightly at the three women. Miss Mallory’s cheeks turned a rather sweet shade of pink when her two companions turned to her with raised eyebrows.

  “Good afternoon, my lord.” She addressed her two friends. “Ladies, may I make known to you Lord Berkshire.” Both ladies offered a short curtsey.

  “My lord, may I present Miss Charlotte Danvers, and Lady Pamela Manning.”

  Grayson smiled in Lady Pamela’s direction. “May I offer my congratulations on a wonderful performance at the ceremony. You truly have a lovely voice.”

  “T-t-thank you, my l-l-lord. I admit I w-w-was quite n-n-nervous.” Lady Pamela flushed and patted her damp upper lip with her handkerchief. He ignored her stuttering, appreciating her performance even more. It amazed him that someone with that affliction could sing and never miss a note.

  He shook his head. “No reason to be. You did a capital job.”

  “You certainly did, Pamela.” Miss Mallory hugged the young woman, looking at him over her shoulder. “Thank you,” she mouthed.

  “Are you friends with the groom, my lord?” Lottie asked him.

  “Miss Shepherd, or rather Mrs. Calvert now, is my cousin.”

  “There you are, Grayson. Have you been hiding on me?” Grayson groaned inwardly as his Aunt Mary made her way through the crowd, thumping her cane hard enough to put a hole in the floor.

  “Good afternoon, Aunt. It is so nice to see you.”

  She hmphed and banged her cane again, barely missing Grayson’s foot. “Not only are you hiding from me, but now you’re lying to me as well. No one is ever happy to see me. One of the benefits of being old is you can make many people uncomfortable and not care because they have to keep being nice to you in case they are in your will.”

  She used her cane to point in the direction of the three women. “Who are these ladies?”

  Of all the people who he would be forced to deal with this day, Aunt Mary was perhaps the least difficult. Although she was abrupt and what some would call gruff and snappish, she had always been his champion.

  As a child, he had spent every summer with her while his parents traveled. During the other months, he was away at school. This meant he saw his parents for about a half day, once a year. Christmas morning at their enormous estate in Shire County they would all gather in the drawing room and exchange gifts, then Mother and Father would kiss him goodbye and head to London to make the rounds of fashionable Christmas parties.

  He would eat his Christmas dinner with the staff in the kitchen, who doted on him and gave him the gifts he really wanted instead of the expensive ones his parents had brought for a child they barely knew.

  “May I make known to you Miss Mallory, Miss Danvers, and Lady Pamela?” He gestured toward his aunt. “And may I present my Aunt, Lady Witherspoon?”


  The three ladies offered curtsies, causing his aunt to smile. Something that didn’t happen all that often. “Such lovely young ladies.” She poked Grayson on the arm. “You should grab one of them. It’s time you put that nonsense with Margaret behind you and married again.” She thumped her cane once more. “You need a mother for your boy. Someone else to see to the child’s best interests, and fight on his side against your greedy relatives.”

  Grayson glanced sideways at the three ladies, grateful that they were talking softly among themselves, but still not sure if they were listening to Aunt Mary. “Aunt, this is not the time or place to discuss this.”

  “Ha! You must come for tea the next time you are in London. Send word when you will be available, since I know you will complain that you are much too busy to spend time with your aged aunt.” She started to move away and pointed her cane at him again. “Tea is served at precisely three o’clock. Do not be late. And bring your little boy. He reminds me of you.”

  The three women stopped their conversation, which led him to believe they had heard every word Aunt Mary had said since they knew it had ended. He cleared his throat. “May I escort you to one of the tables? I believe the meal is about to begin.”

  He extended his arm to Miss Mallory, the other two ladies following behind them. He noticed the smirks her friends cast in her direction and the slight blush again on Miss Mallory’s face.

  He was truly fascinated by the woman. She was obviously a lady, most likely a member of the ton. Why was someone like her unmarried and the owner of a bookstore in Bath?

  Why did he care was the better question.

  Chapter Three

  Addie’s face would most likely be perpetually red if Lord Berkshire did not stop paying attention to her. The man flustered her, and she had no idea why. Well, not being stupid, there was one little thought way in the back of her mind that he might be attracted to her, but she squelched that right away as ridiculous and foolhardy.

  She’d had six years to attract a suitor and failed. Miserably. Now that her life was exactly as she wanted it, a suitor would appear? Of course not. Fate would not be that unkind. That was why his attention was definitely not romantic.

  He pulled out her seat, then did the same for Lottie and Pamela. As they were settling in, another couple joined them, the man no doubt related to Lord Berkshire, since their features were similar. Berkshire stood again.

  “Haven’t seen you in a while, Berkshire. Where have you been keeping yourself?” The man nodded briefly to Addie and her two friends. “Who are your guests?”

  Perhaps because she was sitting right next to him, it appeared no one else heard the low groan coming from Lord Berkshire at the man’s words. “Ladies, may I present my cousin, Mr. Samuel Newman and his wife, Emily.”

  She, Pamela, and Lottie all nodded in the couple’s direction.

  Berkshire continued. “Samuel, this is Lady Pamela, Miss Danvers, and Miss Mallory.”

  Mr. Newman laughed quite hardy. “And which one is yours, eh, Berkshire?” He winked. “Or all three, maybe? Wouldn’t put it past you.” He pulled out his wife’s seat and then sat alongside her.

  Addie swore she heard Lord Berkshire’s back teeth grinding. “Miss Mallory and I are acquainted through her bookstore. She is searching for a book for me. Lady Pamela and Miss Danvers are her friends.”

  Mr. Newman leered at the four of them. “And what sort of book would that be? Ménage à trois? Or is there a French word for four and one? If anyone would have a term for that it would be the French.”

  His lordship rose partway from his seat, his jaw tight, his fists clenched. “You forget yourself, Samuel. I demand an apology on behalf of these women.” He glanced in the direction of Mrs. Newman. “And your wife, as well.”

  The man’s face went from lascivious to disdainful. “Calm down, Berkshire. You never were one to enjoy a joke.”

  “To insult a woman in my presence is not a joke, and again, I demand you apologize to these ladies or we will meet outside.”

  Mr. Newman attempted to keep his expression humorous, but it was obvious he knew Lord Berkshire was not making idle threats. “All right.” He nodded in their direction, his smile fading. “Please accept my apologies, ladies. I meant no disrespect.”

  Silence fell on the group as servers began to bring out platters of food that they placed on each table. Meanwhile, footmen poured wine for the guests. Normally alcoholic beverages were not permitted in the church hall, but apparently the bride and groom had managed to bypass that rule. They would probably have dancing as well.

  After a few minutes of silence, Mr. Newman looked over at her, Lottie, and Pam and his brows rose. “Aren’t you the woman who sang during the ceremony?”

  Pam smiled. “Yes. It was m-m-me.”

  Oh dear, if Mr. Newman made a remark about Pam’s stutter, Addie would be the one to jump across the table and pummel the man.

  “Looks like your friends here had to persuade you to do it.” He grinned, looking around the table, most likely referring to their dragging Pam down the aisle.

  Lord Berkshire, Addie, Pam, and Lottie all just stared at him. Mrs. Newman kept her eyes down, appearing as though she’d never seen a plate of food before.

  Realizing he wasn’t going to get a response to that question, Mr. Newman shrugged and returned his attention to his meal. The remainder of the dinner was quite awkward, with only “this is delicious” to “I wonder if my cook can make this,” comments floating across the table. As soon as the dessert dishes were taken away, a three-piece orchestra began playing a waltz.

  His lordship folded his napkin and placed it in front of him. Turning to Addie, he said, “May I have the honor of this dance, Miss Mallory?”

  A space at the front of the church hall had been set aside for the orchestra and whichever guests wished to dance. Ordinarily, Addie preferred to stay on the sidelines—where she had spent all of her Seasons and did feel a bit nervous at her dancing skills since she rarely used them.

  “I am afraid my dancing skills are not up to par, my lord, Perhaps a stroll around the room?”

  He pulled her chair out and took her arm. The room was large enough that they could walk the perimeter and not interfere with the dancers. After a few minutes, when they had fallen into a comfortable silence, he said, “I must apologize for my cousin. Samuel has never been one to know when to keep his mouth closed. I oftentimes pity his wife, who is a sweet woman, but you would never know that since he rarely allows her the opportunity to speak.”

  Before she could respond, he added, “And while I am offering apologies and penances, maybe I should include a request for forgiveness for my Aunt, Lady Witherspoon. She is my great-aunt, actually. My grandfather’s sister.”

  That made Addie laugh. “No, please don’t feel the need to apologize for her. We all have people like that in our family. I get the impression, however, that you are quite fond of her.”

  A warm smile graced his face. “Yes. If it weren’t for Aunt Mary, I would have had no childhood at all. I spent every summer with her as a lad. She has a wonderful country estate with just enough distractions for a boy to get into trouble.”

  ‘“Ah. You were a troublesome youth, then?” Addie asked.

  “Most likely no more so than any other boy growing up. For, as overbearing as she appears, Aunt allowed me to play with the servant’s children.” He laughed. “My father would have been appalled had he known.” A flicker of sadness touched his eyes but was gone so quickly Addie wasn’t sure she’d seen it at all.

  In light of that pensive statement, she decided to change the subject.

  “Tell me about Michael.”

  Lord Berkshire’s face lit up immediately. It amazed her how easily his mood could change, and how visible it was on his face. The man would never be a successful card player. But his honesty warmed her.

  “He is a remarkable boy. As I told you the lad is deaf, but very smart. When he reached the age of three and was sti
ll not talking, I became concerned. Not that I wasn’t worried before then, but with his mother’s death, I thought perhaps that was the reason for his delay.”

  There had been rumors when Lady Berkshire had died, but Addie had learned no more than she died under questionable circumstances. As curious as she was about his deceased wife’s death, it was too much of a personal question. Despite Lord Berkshire’s apparent attention to her, he still remained just one of her customers, a mere acquaintance. They hadn’t even risen to the ‘friends’ status.

  Her attention returned as he continued. “Then I took Michael to several doctors. One in Paris specialized in children’s speech problems. It was there that I learned Michael is deaf. Since he cannot hear people speaking, he could not do so himself.”

  He turned them in a semi-circle as they reached the corner of the room. “I blamed myself for not knowing that already.” He looked down at her, his face a mask in guilt. “How could a father not know his child couldn’t hear?”

  Addie thought the better question was how could a mother not realize her child couldn’t hear, but she kept that to herself.

  “Members of my family tried to convince me that the doctor was wrong, saying Michael was an imbecile.”

  “I’m sorry, my lord, but I am not familiar with that word.”

  He hesitated for a moment. “It means deficient in intelligence. Unable to learn.” He shook his head. “I refused to believe that, I still do. I have a lovely woman who lives with us who works with Michael, Mrs. Banfield. She says he is smart and is learning at a rapid pace.”

  “So is that why you decided to have him learn sign language?”

  “Yes. The same doctor in Paris told me of a school there that taught deaf children, Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris. It is where I learned about sign language. But I don’t want to send Michael to the school in Paris alone, and I cannot stay with him since I have business here that needs my attention.”