Wick still experienced sadness over his siblings’ deaths, but he no longer felt overwhelming grief. And after a few days of observing Miss Perkins with the girls, as well as noticing the benevolent hand of Mrs May over them all, he realised that his sisters didn’t need him. Miss Perkins had a knack of making lessons fun and indulging them in their passions. Nearly half of every day was spent out of doors, and he noticed how the governess allowed his sisters to teach her too.
It had not taken Miss Perkins long to rise high—not only in his esteem, but his little sisters’ too.
Wick went on long rides, overseeing the land, but also thinking. He missed Louisa with an ache as real as any ailment. She had refused his offer of marriage, but he still believed—hoped—that she loved him. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that Mantheria had been right. If he had offered Louisa his heart she would have accepted him. He would not wish for a loveless marriage based on duty either.
He told his sisters at dinner that night that he intended to go back to London to visit Sunny.
‘You mean Louisa,’ Frederica said, dropping her fork and grinning at him.
Helen folded her arms across her chest. ‘Try to do a better job of your proposal this time.’
‘Did you kneel?’ Becca asked, spilling her drink in her apparent excitement. ‘You should kneel and take her flowers. Lots of flowers. Miss Perkins, what flower means love?’
The governess didn’t smile, but her spectacles fogged up a little as she said, ‘Red roses.’
Becca beamed at him. ‘Take vases of red roses.’
‘How is he supposed to carry them?’ Helen pointed out.
‘While kneeling?’ Mrs May said from the opposite end of the table, and they all chuckled.
Now, Wick couldn’t help but smile as he remembered their well-meaning rose-laden advice as he rode to Hyde Park, hoping to see Sunny. He pulled his horse to a stop, and was looking around him when two riders approached: Sunny and Matthew.
‘Oi!’ his brother called out. ‘The triumphant rescuer returns.’
Smirking, Wick shook his head.
‘I assume you have heard?’ Sunny said in a lower voice, as he pulled his horse to a stop next to Wick’s.
He nodded. ‘Mantheria has told me that she intends to separate from Glastonbury.’
‘Yes, she already has,’ Matthew said, waving a hand. ‘But that’s not what we’re talking about.’
Wick didn’t let his little brother change the subject. ‘Do you think Papa and Mama will be disappointed?’ he asked.
‘In Mantheria’s marriage dissolving?’
Wick felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. ‘In me. Should I have perhaps done something more? Tried to help patch it up instead of telling Mantheria that Glastonbury was not out of town as he had told her?’
Sunny turned his head away, his jaw clenched. He knew his best friend had feelings for Mantheria, and that he would not wish for her to stay in an unhappy relationship. But Matthew had no such bias, and even less tact.
‘Our parents are never disappointed in you, Wick,’ Matthew said, without his usual mocking tone. ‘You are the ideal eldest son. A good property manager. Beloved by all of your younger siblings. And you bear the responsibility well. Better than you know and better than I would. I would have let the girls join a travelling performance company and washed my hands of them. I would not have crossed half of England trying to find them the perfect governess.’
Wick’s lips twitched, but he knew he could not allow his brother to amuse him now. ‘But—’
‘No buts, Wick,’ Matthew interrupted. ‘Despite you being annoyingly perfect, evenIlove you. And our parents and the rest of the motley Stringham crew don’t hold you responsible for our own choices. Mantheria is a grown woman and a mother.’
Wick’s entire body relaxed in the saddle. His brother’s words had relieved his worries regarding his care of the family.
‘Matthew was referring to Lady Louisa,’ Sunny said from his side. ‘She has received a most flattering offer of marriage from Norwich.’
Stiffening, Wick found it hard to breathe as he asked, ‘And has she accepted him?’
Sunny shook his head. ‘Not yet—but she might. She fears that her presence in Mantheria’s home is feeding the unpleasant rumours regarding her separation. Not that Mantheria agrees with her, but they have both received letters withdrawing their invitations to parties and routs. They are social pariahs at the moment.’
Wick’s hands tightened on the bridle.
‘Poor Louisa was also feeling terribly guilty over borrowing money for her wardrobe from Mantheria,’ Matthew said, riding up to Wick’s other side. ‘However, I have solvedthatparticular difficulty. After the Rockinghams’ bankruptcy was announced in theLondon Gazette, I paid a call to all three of her trustees and pointed out how they had failed in their fiduciary duties to protect Louisa’s yearly allowance from her aunt and uncle. I may or may not have threatened legal action if they did not immediately release to Louisa control of her yearly allowance. Happily, they saw the weight of my arguments and I left with all the necessary legal documents in my hand. Louisa should no longer feel obliged to marry in order to repay her debt to Mantheria, but she might still feel obliged to marry a gentleman to restore her lost reputation.’