Improper Miss Darling

Lord Stewart didn’t want his brother to marry Linette and Emma didn’t want to see Peter and Linette break up. And now Ridley had given up law to become an artist. Was it any wonder she had a feeling it was going to be a long time before harmony found its way back inside the peaceful walls of Dove’s Hollow again?

Chapter Four

Alex had been fortunate enough to enjoy a close relationship with his younger brother ever since they were boys. Always a happy-go-lucky lad, Peter was easy to be around and was never moody or quick to anger. Loyal to a fault, he could be counted on to tell the truth, and though that honesty that had cost him the friendship of several boys who tended towards mischief, it had stood him in good stead in all other areas of his life.

His one failing, if it could be called that, was his tendency to fall too easily in love. Peter often mistook friendship for affection and when a young lady smiled at him, he was prone to reading more into it than was intended. Thankfully, since most of the girls they had grown up with had tended to look upon Peter as a brother rather than a potential suitor, his youthful escapades had not landed him in any serious trouble. But Alex feared his brother’s engagement to Linette Darling now was trouble. Trouble of the most ominous kind.

‘So how did you and Linette meet?’ he asked as the two of them stood reviewing renovation plans the following morning.

‘We were introduced at the Christmas fête.’ Peter picked up the architect’s drawing of the new parlour and held it towards the light. ‘Linette was looking after the children. The vicar introduced us and we spent a few minutes in conversation. I thought her delightful.’

‘So you went to see her after the fête?’

‘No.’

Alex frowned. ‘No?’

‘I didn’t think it would be a good idea.’

‘I don’t follow.’

Peter put down the drawing. ‘Father’s always had very high expectations of us and while Linette’s birth is acceptable, I knew it wouldn’t be good enough for him, so I purposely did not seek her out.’

‘Then how did you come to be engaged?’

‘A week before Christmas, I was invited to a small dinner party. An informal gathering, the hostess said, with three or four other families to whom they were close. Given that I had nothing else to do that evening, I agreed. Linette was there, along with her father and sister.’

‘I see. And did she seek you out?’

‘No.’ Peter drew forwards another sketch, this one of changes to the formal dining room. ‘In fact, she went out of her way to avoid me. She admitted afterwards that she had never associated with anyone of high rank before and that she was terrified of embarrassing herself. But she never put a foot wrong. And, as the evening wore on, I found myself making excuses to be near her. I enjoyed talking to her and I loved hearing her laugh.’ He stared down at the plans, but Alex knew he was seeing something quite different. ‘I believe I fell in love with her that very night.’

‘You didn’t think it simply a case of infatuation?’

‘Briefly, yes,’ Peter admitted. ‘But as the months passed and I couldn’t stop thinking about her, I realised it was more. And the idea she might be seeing someone else nearly drove me insane. So, I started planning ways in which we might meet. Accidentally, of course. I went to a few of the local assemblies. Started accepting invitations to events I knew she would be attending, and, eventually, I got up the courage to call at her house. And the more I saw her, the more I realised how much I loved her. Finally, I had no choice but to speak to Mr Darling. When I had his approval, I asked Linette to marry me.’

Alex stared at the drawings, aware that the answers weren’t at all what he had been hoping to hear. He had expected to find fault with his brother’s reasoning, sure there would be something upon which he could hang his hopes of breaking them up. But there was nothing. Peter had used logic and family obligation to try to resist the young lady’s charms—and had fallen in love regardless. They were not off to a promising start.

‘By the way, I talked to Mother last night,’ Peter said.

‘Oh?’

‘I wanted to know how upset Father really was over my engagement.’

‘What did she say?’

‘That he doesn’t approve and that he expects me break it off as soon as possible.’

‘Is there any chance you would?’

‘No. It would break Linette’s heart, not to mention mine.’

So, he would stand by his decision. Alex sighed. Their father would not be pleased. ‘Did Mother say anything else?’

‘No. Why?’

Surprised, Alex turned and walked towards the window. Why hadn’t their mother made mention of their father’s illness? Surely she felt it important enough. Why else would she have told him? ‘No reason,’ he said, deciding to leave it for the moment. ‘Tell me, what does Mother think of Miss Linette Darling now that she’s met her?’

‘That she is lovely and sweet and seems to come from a nice enough family.’

‘But …?’

‘But do I really think I am doing the right thing by marrying her.’

Alex hadn’t expected his mother to agree with the betrothal, but neither had he expected her to condemn it as harshly as his father had. Her relationship with Peter wouldn’t allow it.

‘You haven’t told me what you think about all this yet,’ Peter said.

Alex shrugged. ‘Does it matter?’

‘Of course it matters. You’re my brother. I’ve always looked up to you. I care about what you think.’

‘So if I were to tell you that I agree with Father in thinking you should have done better …?’

‘I’d say it’s not what I wanted to hear, but that I can understand your reasons for saying it.’

‘Unfortunately, understanding what I’m saying doesn’t solve the problem, Peter,’ Alex said. ‘If something were to happen to me, you would become the next earl. Do you really think Linette Darling is suitable to being the next Countess of Widdicombe?’

Peter smiled unhappily.” I’m sorry, Alex. But in my eyes, she already is.’

Ridley’s startling admission that he had given up law to paint portraits for a living was an endless source of fascination to Emma. It seemed a thoroughly illogical, but totally understandable, thing for her brother to do; curious to find out more about that part of his life, she waited until their father had gone for his daily walk and then went to seek him out.

She found him, not unexpectedly, in the stables, devoid of jacket and with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had a soft brush in his hand and was running it over the sides and back of his chestnut, both he and the horse seeming to enjoy the peaceful occupation. Ridley was different from most gentlemen in that regard. He liked looking after his horses almost as much as he enjoyed riding them.

‘Hello, Emma,’ he said as she appeared at the stall door. ‘What brings you down here?’

‘I wanted to talk to you about your painting. Away from the house.’

‘Away from Father, you mean.’ Ridley resumed brushing. ‘At least I know you don’t think I’m dicked in the nob for going ahead with it.’

‘Not at all. I admire you for having had the courage to follow your heart. But weren’t you nervous, giving up your legal studies for something as unpredictable as art?’

‘In truth, I was terrified,’ Ridley admitted with a smile. ‘But only for a day or two. In my heart, I knew I was doing the right thing. I wasn’t cut out for the law, Em. All those boring precedents and tedious pleadings. I never would have been any good at it. But painting is like breathing to me. It’s natural. It’s what I need to do to be happy.’

Emma understood that. Though her own enjoyment of painting wasn’t the passion it so clearly was for Ridley, she knew the joy of sitting down in front of an easel and getting ready to create, the freedom of allowing her imagination to soar. ‘But you said you had commissions. With so many successful portraitists in London, how did you get anyone to hire you?’

‘I was lucky enough to be friends with Lord Bickerson’s son at Oxford,’ Ridley said, moving the brush over the chestnut’s hindquarters. ‘Tom knew of my interest because I had shown him a few of my sketches. So when he came in one evening and told me his father was looking for someone to do a family portrait, I jokingly suggested that he put my name forward. He told me he already had and that I was to meet with his father the next day to go over the details.’

‘How wonderful!’ Emma said.