“That would be hilarious,” Julia mused. “I wonder how I could get to meet him.”

James thought of Prinny’s good-humored debauchery, his affairs and excesses. He didn’t want Julia anywhere near the prince’s garters. He shouldn’t even have said it as a joke; the very thought was disgusting.

“You are not meeting the Prince Regent,” he told her firmly.

“Rot,” Lady Irving replied. That seemed to be a favorite word of hers.

Julia’s face lit up with anticipation. “Aunt, I must have you teach me all the rude words you know before the season begins.”

James met Louisa’s eyes helplessly, and she just shrugged.

Yes. . when faced with the combination of Julia Herington and Lady Estella Irving, what else was there to do?

Chapter 7. In Which No One Falls through Any Floors


The trip to Nicholls followed soon after Lady Irving’s arrival in Kent, although it was not soon enough for Julia. She was, as she told Louisa, simply mad with curiosity to see the place where her sister was going to live.

Well, what other reason could there possibly be for her eagerness, after all?

Every time she mentioned Nicholls, Louisa’s answering smile grew thinner. Probably, Julia realized, she was talking about it too much and making Louisa bored. But it was hard to keep quiet, especially as the set date grew closer.

The trip was planned for a week’s length, and it was ultimately decided that Louisa would be accompanied only by Julia, who was wild to see how good the house looked; Lady Irving, who was just as eager to see what a terrible state the house was in; and Simone, on whose presence Lady Irving’s every comfort was dependent. Lord and Lady Oliver were respectively preoccupied with the livestock and the children. Fortunately, in the opinion of all concerned except for Lady Irving, the parrot also failed to make one of the party, having become indispensable to young Tom, who was fascinated by the bird’s swashbuckling vocabulary.

The day of the journey to Nicholls was sunny and warm for late September. The carriage ride and a brief pause for a luncheon at a respectable-looking inn transpired with only a few complaints by Lady Irving regarding the crowding on the Olivers’ carriage seats, the stiffness of the “benighted” vehicle’s springs, the shockingly bad condition of the roads outside of London, and the fact that Julia was sitting on her skirts and crushing their silk (which today was an eye-testing bright yellow).

As they arrived at Nicholls in late afternoon, each of the four occupants of the carriage had a unique reaction upon seeing the estate.

“The grounds are so pretty,” said Julia.

“Good God, the drive is a positive cesspool,” Lady Irving observed, looking pleased. “Matheson obviously hasn’t done a thing to it.”

“I hope we will be able to get some hot water at once,” Simone commented in a low, lilting voice, looking at her hands with customary fastidiousness.

“The house is. . larger than I expected,” Louisa said, her eyes growing wider as they took in the immense breadth of the viscount’s ancestral home.

“Large is good, my girl,” Lady Irving replied. “More than you know, where men are concerned, large is good.” She cackled at what was apparently, to her, an extremely witty remark, as Julia and Louisa stared at her blankly and Simone looked pointedly out of the window.

James came out of the house to meet them himself, drawing a derogatory sniff from Lady Irving. As he helped the women down from the carriage, her ladyship commented in a lofty tone, “Although I am a countess, my dear boy, you really need not prostrate yourself like a servant for all of us.”

Julia saw Louisa’s gaze fly, chagrined, to James’s face, but the viscount only smiled benignly.

“Lady Irving, I would never deny you any attention that might make you the slightest bit more comfortable. After all, knowing you’re the same age as my mother, I thought you might benefit from some assistance into the house, especially from the steady hand of an attentive friend.”

Julia choked back a laugh, pleased to see her sister relax at James’s easy but barbed rejoinder. Lady Irving, for her part, drew her hand away from James’s arm and marched rapidly ahead of the party into the house without a backward glance. Simone stepped gingerly after her, placing her feet carefully to avoid the largest, muddiest ruts in the drive.

“I know it’s in a bit of a state.” James chatted with Julia and Louisa as he escorted them toward the house, one on each arm. “The workmen bring carts, the carts have big wheels and heavy loads — you see the result. I plan to cover it all over with crushed shell or some such thing. Unfortunately, that particular workman hasn’t come with his cart yet.” He smiled wryly. “It’s all still very much a work in progress, but I’ll do my best to make you comfortable.”

When they stepped inside the house, Julia hardly noticed the high-ceilinged entry hall or the gracefully curved main staircase. She had eyes only for Louisa, who tilted her head back to take in every detail, turning slowly.

Oddly enough, she looked worried.

James must have thought so, too. “Is something wrong?” he asked, his voice hesitant.

“I never imagined it would be like this,” Louisa admitted. “It’s so grand, absolutely huge. James, you must be a very important fellow.”

His relieved smile met her own uncertain one, and then he looked to Julia for her response.

“I think it’s lovely,” Julia reassured him, her heart lifting at his expression of relief. “It actually looks like it’s in quite good repair. Was much done during your absence?”

“To tell you the truth, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared,” James replied, his tone now eager. “We’ve always had a few servants here to keep things from completely falling apart. The problem was, many of the unused rooms were shut up, and when the roof started to leak into some of them, no one noticed for a long time. But once the roof was repaired, the plasterers and woodworkers were able to come and work their magic. We’re still under Holland covers in much of the house, but it’ll come back into use, bit by bit.”

By the end of this speech, Lady Irving was visibly bored by James’s excited recital of repairs.

“Yes, yes, congratulations, dear boy. Your house is sound and that is an excellent thing, no doubt. Now, I’m sure there are other parts of the house you’d like to show us, too? Perhaps some. . romantic places? That you and Louisa could go see while the rest of us have some tea?”

Julia rolled her eyes and tried to catch Louisa’s gaze, but the taller girl was looking at the floor. Her face was expressionless, but her hands twisted together in agitation.

James seemed not to notice. “Lady Irving, I am surprised to say I think that a delightful idea,” he replied, ignoring her huff in response. “In fact, why don’t we all have tea? I’ll have refreshment sent in at once and we can all have a seat in”—he peeped into a room off the entrance hall, and closed the door, shaking his head—“well, not in there. No furniture. Um, perhaps this next one?”

He opened the second door off the hall. “Yes, this one’ll do.” He gave an embarrassed smile to his guests. “Sorry, still sorting things out.”

Lady Irving glanced around the damask-walled parlor. Its heavy, dark furniture created a gloomy atmosphere. “If all your furniture is like this, perhaps that other room would be an improvement. You’ll have to get rid of everything for this parlor even to begin to be habitable.”

“Aunt,” Julia hissed, mortified. “I am sure his lordship is doing his best to be an excellent host.”

James overheard her and shrugged. “I’m afraid I haven’t done that well so far,” he replied. “I’ve made you stand around with no tea, and didn’t even know which room was ready to receive you. But as I’ve told some among you, I admit I have a lot to learn about running an estate in general, and about this house in particular.”

He smiled at Julia, reminding her of their conversation of several weeks before. “Every day, some new part is torn up and put together again differently.”

Then, turning his attention to Louisa, he said, “My dear, just for you, I made sure there were no holes in the floor for your visit.” This finally drew a quick flash of a smile from Louisa.

Julia, watching them, was surprised to feel a twist of envy that shivered through her whole body when James called her sister “my dear.” She wanted those words for herself, so badly she could almost feel them like a caress. Not from James, of course, for he could never be hers.

But perhaps from someone exactly like him.

Her attention was turned a moment later by Simone, who entered the room followed by a housemaid bearing the tea things.

Tea and biscuits — very good ones, Julia was happy to note — distracted them all for the next half hour; then James proposed a tour of the house before dinner.

“No, we would prefer to rest in our rooms,” Lady Irving informed him. “Except for Louisa, of course. She would prefer to see every secluded corner you’ve got in this drafty old pile of stones. Wouldn’t you, my girl?”

Louisa looked embarrassed and opened her mouth to speak, but Julia broke in before she knew what she was saying.

“Actually, Aunt, I would love to see the house, too.” The words slipped out before she could consider her motivation. And it didn’t really matter, anyway, because Louisa looked relieved.

James saw a rather grumpy Lady Irving and her impassive companion settled, then again offered both of his arms to the two sisters as they strolled down a long hall.

“This is very nice,” he observed. “Peaceful at last, isn’t it? I’m very glad to have the two of you here and show you the house. I expect you’ll both be spending a lot of time here in the future. Louisa, especially you,” he teased.

Louisa merely nodded. “What do you have in mind to show us?”

“I’m not sure,” James admitted. “I haven’t figured out the whole layout of the house yet. I hadn’t been here for decades, you know, so I hardly knew the place when I saw it.”

He paused in his walking. “Shall we just start opening doors? Or is there something you’d like me to try to find for you?”

“An orangery,” Julia replied promptly.

“The library,” Louisa answered a second later.

The viscount laughed. “There’s no orangery here, Julia. If there ever was, it’s dwindled away long ago.”

Her request had been the impulse of a moment; she just wanted something to say to capture James’s attention. And now that she had, she wanted to keep it, though she knew that was probably impolite.

“That’s too bad,” she began to blather. “I think oranges are really pretty. And good to eat, of course. I mean, that’s why most people grow them. But I think they must make a beautiful sight as well, seeing the trees in their pots and all the bright fruits on them.”

Louisa was looking at her as if Julia had an arm growing out of her forehead. “Where have you ever even seen an orangery?”

“I haven’t,” Julia confessed. “I’ve just read about them. But I’ve wanted to see one for a long time.” Which was true, if you defined “long” as “at least a minute and a half.”

“I’m very sorry not to be able to gratify the wish of a lifetime,” James said with a friendly smile. Turning to Louisa, he added, “But your request I can satisfy, my dear. Nicholls does have a library, and I even know where it is. Shall we?”

There it was, that envious twinge again. Julia made a vow to leave the couple some time to themselves in the library. After all, if such a simple phrase as “my dear” could have such a strong effect on her, what must it do to Louisa?



In the library, James was gratified to see Louisa’s face glow with appreciation. She looked around at the ornately carved shelves, the comfortably carpeted floor, stylish chairs and sturdy sofa grouped about the large room.

“Why, James,” she said, a rare and beautiful smile lighting her countenance, “this room is lovely. Just lovely. Surely it wasn’t like this before you began work on the house?”

Earning such a delighted smile from Louisa was a rare gift, and James valued it as such.

“It was not,” he replied, pride welling up within him. “I started the renovations with this room as a surprise for you. I am so glad you like it.”

She smiled at him again, but her expression was already absent as her eyes began to rove over the shelves. “It’s wonderful. I love it. Thank you for your kindness.”