Read Online The Honorable Heir by Laurie Alice Eakes - Free Book Online Page B

see what he could turn up. Meanwhile, Georgette and Pierce were comfortable companions, even if Pierce and his grandmother made clear that they would like a match between Tristram and Georgette.
    The idea had crossed Tristram’s mind once or twice since he’d met the pretty and gentle-spirited Georgette. An American heiress would solve a number of problems for Tristram.
    If only looking into her sky-blue eyes made him feel as though he were standing at the foot of an oak during a thunderstorm.
    When he arrived, the butler led him into the dining room, where luncheon was already underway.
    “I do apologize for my tardiness.” He seated himself at the last place setting. “I tarried along the road.”
    “Couldn’t they be bothered to send a carriage with you?” The older Mrs. Selkirk set her water glass on the table with a thud. “They have no manners for being among the first families of New York. Georgette is much more refined than the VanDorn daughters, and she is only the second generation of heiresses.”
    Blushing, Georgette passed a basket of rolls to Tristram. “We’ll have hot soup for you momentarily. You look half-frozen.”
    “They did offer me transport, but I like the cold and chose to walk.” Tristram smiled at her, and she blushed more deeply.
    “Don’t know why you had to go down to Lake House as it is,” Mrs. Selkirk continued.
    “And nor do you need to.” Georgette’s mother, a faded version of her daughter, spoke from the far end of the table. “If he had business with Lady Bisterne, then he had business with her and it’s none of our business.”
    “Are you still free this afternoon?” Pierce asked.
    “Catherine always was a wild one.” The eldest lady scooped butter onto a bite of roll. “And the younger one is following in her footsteps. How they managed to produce such a quiet and steady son is beyond my comprehension. Paul works hard in the city every day.” She fixed her gaze on Pierce. “Unlike some young men I know.”
    Pierce laughed as a footman with a bowl of steaming soup entered and set the bowl before Tristram. Aromas of leeks and creamy chicken stock reminded him he hadn’t eaten for hours and had taken two walks in the cold. If he weren’t careful, he might gobble down the food like a barbarian.
    “Paul VanDorn,” Pierce said once the footman departed with empty plates, “is dull.”
    “I think he’s very nice.” Georgette spoke to her empty plate.
    “And handsome,” her mother added.
    “It’s a handsome family.” Pierce grinned.
    Mrs. Selkirk banged her cane on the floor like a gavel. “Handsome is as handsome does, and they haven’t done handsomely yet.”
    “Perhaps,” Georgette’s mother said, “Lady Bisterne is a friend of Lord Tristram’s and we should watch what we say around him.”
    “She can’t be friends to anyone after what she did to our George—”
    “Grandmother, please.” Georgette’s hands flew to her cheeks, which were once again the color of the peonies in the gardens back at Cothbridge.
    Tristram devoted himself to his soup and pretended not to notice.
    After the pause for servants to deliver plates of fish and vegetables, Pierce began a discussion of when they should take the train to New York and what they should see there. That got them through the meal without more remarks about the VanDorn family. But Mrs. Selkirk turned her ire on Pierce for not taking the train into the city every day to work with his father.
    Pierce, losing his good humor for once, flashed his grandmother an annoyed glance. “I do go into the city every day and work. I even do so on many Saturdays. But right now, I have a visit from a friend I haven’t seen in eight years and am taking a holiday.”
    They agreed to take their dessert in the drawing room, knowing well that the old lady never ate away from a table and would go to her room to nap after the meal. Georgette’s mother murmured something about counting linens and left her children