aside.
“I’ ve listened to Natalie all afternoon. Now I ’ d like to hear what you think, ” he said, lowering his voice so the others could not hear. “I s it true that your brother and his brood are hanging about, waiting for her to deliver the babe? Can we do anything to encourage them to leave? ”
Malcolm gave a short laugh. “W ell, that ’ s frank, ” he remarked.
“S orry! I ’ ve nothing against Lord Grafton —”
Malcolm waved this off. “I know, I know. But you’re quite right; Arthur and his lot have no business crowding round while my poor wife is trying to deliver a child. The weight of everyone ’ s expectations is a bit much. I feel it myself. ”
“H is Grace referred to the babe a moment ago as > he. ’”
Malcolm ’ s lips pursed ruefully. “H e does so on a regular basis. And the rest of the family has fallen into the same habit, I ’ m afraid. ”
“I say, Malcolm —” Derek hesitated, then plunged ahead. “T hey do think of Natalie as a Chase by now, don ’ t they? What I mean is —”
“I know what you mean, ” Malcolm interrupted. “A nd yes, they do. Her acceptance here is not contingent upon her producing a boy. ”
“W ell, that ’ s all right, then, ” said Derek, relieved. “T he thing is, you know, Natalie once feared that your family would disapprove of her. I ’ ve always been grateful that your parents seemed to accept her without a murmur — but I ’ ve wondered, and I daresay Natalie has as well, how much of that was due to … well … the circumstances of your marriage. ”
Malcolm grinned. “Y ou mean the fact that I never mentioned her to my family until I had already married her? ”
Derek grinned back. “W ell, yes. Since you put it so bluntly. ”
Malcolm shrugged. “I f my parents felt any qualms about my choice of bride, they never expressed them. Perhaps they never felt any. ”
“T he point is, dear chap, we ’ ll never know, ” said Derek dryly. “S ince you presented them with a fait accompli. ”
Malcolm ’ s gaze traveled to his wife, and his expression softened. “I admit, it never crossed my mind at the time. I wanted her, and I married her. I daresay I should have dragged her up here and put her through her paces beforehand — to set her own mind at ease, if nothing else. But Natalie has a natural elegance about her, an elegance of mind as well as an air of good breeding. And if that weren ’ t enough to win over my starchy relations, the fact that she makes me very happy — not to mention my little Sarah — was more than enough to seal the bargain. Everyone adores her, Derek, as I knew they would. ” He turned back to his brother-in-law, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. “S he knows it, herself, when she ’ s not suffering through the end of a pregnancy. Producing a child apparently turns a woman ’ s brains to mush. ”
“S o I ’ ve heard. ” Derek cocked an eyebrow at Malcolm. “I t occurs to me that if you can ’ t convince the others to depart, you might take Natalie somewhere else. Even the dower house —”
“O ut of the question. ” Malcolm rubbed his chin, frowning. “T empting as it sounds. My father would be furious, in his own subtle way. ” He straightened, animated by a new thought. “I t ’ s bad enough that the family is hanging about, but did you know we ’ ve got outsiders here as well? Ghastly. You ’ ll meet them in a minute, I daresay. The Ellsworths. They ’ re very old friends, but this is the wrong time to fill the house with people whom Natalie doesn ’ t know. And then, to top it off, Lady Ballymere and her daughter landed on us — complete strangers, at least to Natalie and me — and we ’ re stuck with them as well. ”
Derek had spent the better part of an hour mentally preparing for this moment, when someone would mention Cynthia . Still, he had to consciously relax his shoulders to keep his tension from showing. “T
“I’ ve listened to Natalie all afternoon. Now I ’ d like to hear what you think, ” he said, lowering his voice so the others could not hear. “I s it true that your brother and his brood are hanging about, waiting for her to deliver the babe? Can we do anything to encourage them to leave? ”
Malcolm gave a short laugh. “W ell, that ’ s frank, ” he remarked.
“S orry! I ’ ve nothing against Lord Grafton —”
Malcolm waved this off. “I know, I know. But you’re quite right; Arthur and his lot have no business crowding round while my poor wife is trying to deliver a child. The weight of everyone ’ s expectations is a bit much. I feel it myself. ”
“H is Grace referred to the babe a moment ago as > he. ’”
Malcolm ’ s lips pursed ruefully. “H e does so on a regular basis. And the rest of the family has fallen into the same habit, I ’ m afraid. ”
“I say, Malcolm —” Derek hesitated, then plunged ahead. “T hey do think of Natalie as a Chase by now, don ’ t they? What I mean is —”
“I know what you mean, ” Malcolm interrupted. “A nd yes, they do. Her acceptance here is not contingent upon her producing a boy. ”
“W ell, that ’ s all right, then, ” said Derek, relieved. “T he thing is, you know, Natalie once feared that your family would disapprove of her. I ’ ve always been grateful that your parents seemed to accept her without a murmur — but I ’ ve wondered, and I daresay Natalie has as well, how much of that was due to … well … the circumstances of your marriage. ”
Malcolm grinned. “Y ou mean the fact that I never mentioned her to my family until I had already married her? ”
Derek grinned back. “W ell, yes. Since you put it so bluntly. ”
Malcolm shrugged. “I f my parents felt any qualms about my choice of bride, they never expressed them. Perhaps they never felt any. ”
“T he point is, dear chap, we ’ ll never know, ” said Derek dryly. “S ince you presented them with a fait accompli. ”
Malcolm ’ s gaze traveled to his wife, and his expression softened. “I admit, it never crossed my mind at the time. I wanted her, and I married her. I daresay I should have dragged her up here and put her through her paces beforehand — to set her own mind at ease, if nothing else. But Natalie has a natural elegance about her, an elegance of mind as well as an air of good breeding. And if that weren ’ t enough to win over my starchy relations, the fact that she makes me very happy — not to mention my little Sarah — was more than enough to seal the bargain. Everyone adores her, Derek, as I knew they would. ” He turned back to his brother-in-law, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. “S he knows it, herself, when she ’ s not suffering through the end of a pregnancy. Producing a child apparently turns a woman ’ s brains to mush. ”
“S o I ’ ve heard. ” Derek cocked an eyebrow at Malcolm. “I t occurs to me that if you can ’ t convince the others to depart, you might take Natalie somewhere else. Even the dower house —”
“O ut of the question. ” Malcolm rubbed his chin, frowning. “T empting as it sounds. My father would be furious, in his own subtle way. ” He straightened, animated by a new thought. “I t ’ s bad enough that the family is hanging about, but did you know we ’ ve got outsiders here as well? Ghastly. You ’ ll meet them in a minute, I daresay. The Ellsworths. They ’ re very old friends, but this is the wrong time to fill the house with people whom Natalie doesn ’ t know. And then, to top it off, Lady Ballymere and her daughter landed on us — complete strangers, at least to Natalie and me — and we ’ re stuck with them as well. ”
Derek had spent the better part of an hour mentally preparing for this moment, when someone would mention Cynthia . Still, he had to consciously relax his shoulders to keep his tension from showing. “T
Similar Books
