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Authors: Reforming the Viscount
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Rothersthorpe had put her out of countenance. For that was what it boiled down to. She had been angry before Robert had even entered the room.
‘I think we should both try to calm down and hear what Robert has to say,’ she said wearily. ‘There is no sense in us all falling out with each other.’
While she sank into the nearest chair, Rose flounced on to another and folded her arms.
‘It was meeting Lord Rothersthorpe that put me in mind of a solution, funnily enough,’ Robert began. ‘It made me recall how I used to treat the house, before Lydia married Father. How I used to invite parties of friends to row up and picnic in the grounds. And how popular those outings used to be.’
‘You mean, even though we will be staying at Westdene, we could still write and invite people down for the day?’ Rose sat up straighter. ‘Yes, that would work. What do you think, Mama Lyddy?’
Lydia flushed and looked down at her feet. It had been on one of those picnics that Lord Rothersthorpe had raised her hopes, for those few brief, exhilarating minutes. Robert surely was not going to suggest she organise another? It would mean reliving the pain of rejection all over again.
Fortunately, before she could draw breath to voice her reluctance, Robert spoke again.
‘That was not quite what I had in mind. I rather thought we might have a fully fledged house party. Mama Lyddy accused me of not letting you get to know any of these young men who claim to have been smitten by you. So I thought, if you have them about you all day, we will soon discover what they are really made of.’
Rose let out a shriek of delight, leapt to her feet and flung her arms round Robert’s neck.
‘Robert, you are brilliant! It is just the thing. I need only invite—’ she broke off with a blush ‘—the people I really like. And we will soon see what they are really made of, by the way they react to Cissy.’
‘Ah,’ said Robert with a frown. ‘I had not thought of that. And really, you know, perhaps that wouldn’t be quite fair. You cannot use Cissy as some sort of...test.’
‘What did you expect when you suggested having visitors, then, Robert?’ Lydia fumed. ‘Did you think I would keep her hidden away?’
‘Well, no. But she spends most of her time in the nursery, anyway.’
‘If anyone,’ said Rose, ‘says one unkind word to Cissy, I will send them packing.’
‘It might be a little too late for Cissy by then, though...’ said Robert pensively.
‘She is not as fragile as all that,’ said Lydia. ‘Provided we are there to love her, she will not care what anyone else may say to her, or think of her.’
‘Are you quite sure?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Well, probably. ‘And as Rose has so astutely pointed out, what better way to find out what a person is really made of, than to force him to confront a girl with all of Cissy’s disadvantages?’
It had certainly proved that she had made the right choice in accepting Colonel Morgan’s offer. He might have blustered and barked orders, and lost his temper when things were not done to his exacting standards, but he had not been, at bottom, a cruel man. When he’d first seen Cissy, he had lost his temper—oh dear me, yes. But he had done so to good effect, reducing those who had been maltreating her to quivering wrecks.
There was a great deal of difference between a man’s manner and his true self. She only had to think how she’d been taken in by Rothersthorpe’s charm when she’d been a naïve girl. Looking back now, she could see that though he had it in him to be kind, those random acts that had so impressed her were all of a rather showy variety. And none of them had cost him anything.
Even when he’d caught her up in his arms and carried her indoors, it had been the kind of act that would have caught the eyes of all the other ladies in the party. When he returned to them, she would wager they had mobbed him, treating him as though he was some kind of hero.
But she
‘I think we should both try to calm down and hear what Robert has to say,’ she said wearily. ‘There is no sense in us all falling out with each other.’
While she sank into the nearest chair, Rose flounced on to another and folded her arms.
‘It was meeting Lord Rothersthorpe that put me in mind of a solution, funnily enough,’ Robert began. ‘It made me recall how I used to treat the house, before Lydia married Father. How I used to invite parties of friends to row up and picnic in the grounds. And how popular those outings used to be.’
‘You mean, even though we will be staying at Westdene, we could still write and invite people down for the day?’ Rose sat up straighter. ‘Yes, that would work. What do you think, Mama Lyddy?’
Lydia flushed and looked down at her feet. It had been on one of those picnics that Lord Rothersthorpe had raised her hopes, for those few brief, exhilarating minutes. Robert surely was not going to suggest she organise another? It would mean reliving the pain of rejection all over again.
Fortunately, before she could draw breath to voice her reluctance, Robert spoke again.
‘That was not quite what I had in mind. I rather thought we might have a fully fledged house party. Mama Lyddy accused me of not letting you get to know any of these young men who claim to have been smitten by you. So I thought, if you have them about you all day, we will soon discover what they are really made of.’
Rose let out a shriek of delight, leapt to her feet and flung her arms round Robert’s neck.
‘Robert, you are brilliant! It is just the thing. I need only invite—’ she broke off with a blush ‘—the people I really like. And we will soon see what they are really made of, by the way they react to Cissy.’
‘Ah,’ said Robert with a frown. ‘I had not thought of that. And really, you know, perhaps that wouldn’t be quite fair. You cannot use Cissy as some sort of...test.’
‘What did you expect when you suggested having visitors, then, Robert?’ Lydia fumed. ‘Did you think I would keep her hidden away?’
‘Well, no. But she spends most of her time in the nursery, anyway.’
‘If anyone,’ said Rose, ‘says one unkind word to Cissy, I will send them packing.’
‘It might be a little too late for Cissy by then, though...’ said Robert pensively.
‘She is not as fragile as all that,’ said Lydia. ‘Provided we are there to love her, she will not care what anyone else may say to her, or think of her.’
‘Are you quite sure?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Well, probably. ‘And as Rose has so astutely pointed out, what better way to find out what a person is really made of, than to force him to confront a girl with all of Cissy’s disadvantages?’
It had certainly proved that she had made the right choice in accepting Colonel Morgan’s offer. He might have blustered and barked orders, and lost his temper when things were not done to his exacting standards, but he had not been, at bottom, a cruel man. When he’d first seen Cissy, he had lost his temper—oh dear me, yes. But he had done so to good effect, reducing those who had been maltreating her to quivering wrecks.
There was a great deal of difference between a man’s manner and his true self. She only had to think how she’d been taken in by Rothersthorpe’s charm when she’d been a naïve girl. Looking back now, she could see that though he had it in him to be kind, those random acts that had so impressed her were all of a rather showy variety. And none of them had cost him anything.
Even when he’d caught her up in his arms and carried her indoors, it had been the kind of act that would have caught the eyes of all the other ladies in the party. When he returned to them, she would wager they had mobbed him, treating him as though he was some kind of hero.
But she
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