Chapter Three
Sophia had barely settled into her favorite chair in the drawing room before the butler appeared in the doorway. “I don’t believe you’ve ever been so quick with tea, Landers.”
“Hardly, my lady. I have only just put in the order, but there is another matter that has arisen.”
She glanced at her mother and then her brothers as they took seats of their own. “What has occurred?”
“There is a visitor.” Landers glanced at her mother. “Lady Ettesmere, the visitor is Mr. Mattingly, the American ambassador to England.”
Arthur exchanged a glance with Gilbert. Then he looked at the butler. “Why is he here?”
“Miss Winterbourne came across him on the lane. His traveling coach suffered difficulties. Now he is here.” He shrugged. “He is requesting to speak to the earl.”
Sophia frowned. “Is my daughter still with him?” That was rather odd behavior for Hannah, but then, the girl was friendly enough.
“She is, my lady. Shall I show them both in?”
“Yes, please.” She peered at Arthur. “You’ll see the ambassador?” How often did that happen?
“Of course.” He gestured. “Show him in and see about that tea. If he’s walked here from the main road, he is probably parched.”
“At once, Your Lordship.”
“Oh, and Landers? Please have a couple of the footman go down the main road and search for the disabled vehicle. Bring the luggage and the drivers back here until we can make other plans.”
“I’ll see to it immediately, Your Lordship. The main road is in sorry shape after all the rain we’ve had.”
“And it will grow worse, for no doubt more rain will fall,” Gilbert said into the silence. “This is England, after all.”
Sophia snorted. “Well, not everywhere can be like India.”
He didn’t take the joke. “Thank God.”
Seconds after the butler had departed, Hannah came into the room looking as bright as a summertime day, but the man trailing after her arrested Sophia’s attention from the moment she laid eyes on him.
As tall as her brothers and a good several inches taller than her petite height, he was lean and fit, dressed as a man at his leisure if somewhat dusty. Ivory trousers hugged his legs, an understated tan waistcoat called attention to his flat abdomen, while a brown jacket showed off a decent chest and shoulders that were neither too broad nor too narrow. Clean shaven but with a jaw that could perhaps lend itself to ruggedness in another location. A mop of messy black curls ran riot over his head, but his gray eyes twinkled with intelligence and curiosity behind wire-rimmed spectacle lenses. One would never know by looking at him that he was an ambassador.
“Good afternoon, Mama,” Hannah greeted as she bounded over the floor to buss Sophia’s cheek. “I brought you some wildflowers. Landers took them to find a vase.”
“I appreciate that, dear. You always take such good care of me.” Then she rose to her feet. The rest of her family followed suit. “And who is your friend?”
The girl smiled. “This is Mr. Mattingly. He is an ambassador. I’ve never met one before.” With a gentle nudge, Hannah urged him into the knot of the Winterbourne family. They must have struck up quite the friendship earlier.
“Welcome, Mr. Mattingly.” Sophia held out a hand. As the man stared—those dear silver wire-rimmed spectacles gave him a studious, mischievous air!—he scooped up her hand and carried it to his lips, where he placed a fleeting kiss to the back of it before releasing her. “I am Lady Sophia. This is my mother, the Dowager Countess Ettesmere.”
“Charmed.” He gave her mother’s hand the same treatment. It was obviously the right behavior, for her mother blushed slightly and smiled. “I can easily see where both your daughter and granddaughter got their looks.”
“Oh, you.” Her mother tittered. She took over the introductions. “These are my sons. Arthur, the current Earl of Ettesmere, and Gilbert, Lord Yeardly. At the moment, Arthur’s children have been left to their own devices, but should you stay, you’ll meet them at dinner.”
Hannah snorted. “Cousin John is either in the village chasing some miss or another, or he’s napping. He is really quite dull.” She rolled her eyes. “Cousin Emily is visiting with Julianna. Neither of them wished to catch toads with me to study.”
A flush came over Arthur’s neck. “Emily is rather enamored of my intended, you see,” he said to Mr. Mattingly, as if that man had a blessed clue about the family dynamics.
Sophia grinned. “There is nothing shameful about any of that. And not everyone wishes to study toads or frogs, Hannah. Biology is rather unique to you in this connection.” No doubt the girl would be a scientist when she was grown. She gestured to a low sofa. “Come, Ambassador. Sit and tell us why you’re here.” As everyone returned to their previous spots and Hannah usurped Sophia’s chair, she alighted beside the newcomer on the sofa with a cushion between them.
“Well, I hadn’t intended to drop by unannounced, but my traveling coach broke an axle.” He included them all in his gaze and put them at their ease. It was probably a skill he’d learned long ago that had led him to landing his current position. Though he appeared as if he were a young man, faint lines framed his mouth and crinkled the corners of his eyes, which proclaimed him much older, perhaps a handful of years her junior. “In fact, my destination is quite far from here. The Marquess of Grantmore has requested I spend the summer at his estate in Somerset.”
Ah, how interesting this man knew such a highflyer.