Mr. Hunt, I Presume (Playful Brides, #10.5)(11)
Derek turned to face her and rubbed his jaw. “I suppose we could attempt to keep them separated while Collin is here …”
“Nonsense. Why should we do that? Clearly this was meant to be.”
“Not everything is meant to be,” he said dryly. “Some things are mistakes and should be avoided at all costs.”
Lucy wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist and squeezed him. “I believe you’re forgetting how we met, darling. I was trying to keep you from courting my closest friend, who wanted nothing to do with you, and you were trying to convince me to leave you alone. If our courtship wasn’t meant to be, I daresay Mary and Ralph wouldn’t be here now.”
“That’s different.” His stern expression softened as he gazed down at her and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. “That was … us.”
“Need I remind you, then, of how Cass and Julian got together after she pretended to be a nonexistent person named Patience Bunbury?” Lucy returned his look with eyebrows raised. “Or how Jane and Garrett fell in love because we told each of them the other was already in love with them, just like Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing?” She paused and tapped her cheek, searching her mind for more ammunition. “I could go on.”
“Please, don’t.” He held up both hands in surrender. “The fact is, however, we’ve no idea what happened back then with Collin and Miss Stone. What if they never wanted to see each other again? You said yourself that Miss Stone expressed concern about seeing Collin.”
Lucy stepped back and gave another shrug. “There’s only one way to find out what happens when their paths cross.”
Derek leaned back against the wall and hung his head. “Collin’s never going to believe we didn’t do this purposely, you know.”
“He’ll be fine. He’s a grown man, and you said yourself, it’s been years. Besides, he’s welcome to leave if he’s offended by her presence.”
Derek expelled a breath, and his shoulders lifted and relaxed. “Very well. But we must handle this delicately.”
Lucy smoothed her skirts. “Delicately? What do you mean?”
“I mean you need to go inform Miss Stone that Collin is here, and I need to go break the news to Collin. Damn. Damn. Damn.”
Chapter Seven
Collin brought his mount up short to stare across the valley toward the forest that lined Derek’s property. The giant, multi-acre estate was a world away from the tiny cottage where they’d grown up in Brighton. Their father had been a military man, but he hadn’t risen through the ranks. On the contrary, he’d been discharged from the army for drinking too heavily. But that hadn’t stopped him from setting about working with his sons to ensure they became the finest military specimens they could be.
He’d been particularly harsh with Derek, forcing the young boy to make decisions quickly and without mercy. Once, he’d tossed Derek’s prized toy sailboat and his puppy in two different directions into a fast-running stream. Derek had saved the puppy, of course, but their father’s cruelty in making his sons tough knew few bounds.
He’d succeeded, of course. Derek was known as the Duke of Decisive and had been at Wellington’s side, an integral part of the win at Waterloo. For his efforts, Derek had been awarded a dukedom and Huntingdon, the grand estate that Collin now surveyed.
Collin had chosen a slightly different route. He, too, had risen quickly in the ranks of the army, but he’d used his decision-making skills not in battle, but in becoming one of the War Office’s most accomplished spies. He’d been essential in foiling a great many of the emperor’s plots, and had been in extreme danger behind enemy lines more times than he cared to count. He’d used his intelligence and cunning to predict what the French would do next, and was awarded many medals and promoted time and again as a result of his success.
When the wars ended, Derek settled down to marry and become a father. He met Lucy soon after returning from Belgium, and it was obvious to anyone who saw the two of them together that they were a perfectly matched pair.
Collin, however, had rededicated himself to his majesty’s service and continued to take on English missions on both domestic soil and abroad. Marriage hadn’t been in the cards for him, and it wasn’t something he allowed himself to dwell on. He’d come close to marriage only once, and it had been one of the most painful things he’d ever experienced. He had no wish to revisit those old emotions.
That did not, however, keep either his mother or his sister-in-law, Lucy, from attempting to place potential brides in his path. Over the years, Lucy had introduced him to scores of young ladies, and he’d been well aware that she’d hoped he would fall madly in love with one of them. He’d always kept them at arm’s length, however. Perfectly polite, but in no way indicating he would like anything more than an acquaintance with any of them.
At least Lucy introduced him to strangers. He could easily deflect his sister-in-law’s attempts at matchmaking. When he went to visit his mother, however, she would inevitably bring up … Erienne. And if there was one subject Collin would not discuss, could not discuss, it was Erienne Stone.
He’d chosen to come to Derek’s house instead of visiting his mother for a reason. He closed his eyes and breathed in lungfuls of clean, country air. It was probably good for him to get out of the coal-laden air of London awhile.