Simon stared in bemusement when she skipped away. Now he understood where Lily learned it from. Holding his daughter, he walked with her toward the lake.
“Hullo, Lily,” he said in wonderment when she burst out in excited babble again. He swore he discerned the words ‘mama, flowers, and apple.’ Everything else remained a mystery.
“I am Simon Gracely, your papa. I am five and twenty, and I am…I am also a viscount. You have another grandmother and an aunt who will be happy to…”
The words caught inside his throat. Would they indeed be happy to meet her?
“I am happy to meet you and, as unfathomable as it sounds, I love you already. You will never regret having me as your papa. I vow it.”
She smiled and spoke to him again. He hardly understood, but he listened attentively, making the right noises. Simon did understand when she pointed to the lake and said, “Thro’!”
“Your mother would never forgive me,” he said with a laugh. “I am also not sure if it is good for you to have her adventurous spirit.”
He realized then the ‘very bad Fairbanks’ would have had a hand in rearing little Lily for the past two years.
“Upon reflection,” he said, bringing her close to inhale her sweet, baby scent, “you can be as much like your mama as your heart desires. I will toss you after I have taught you to swim or at least paddle.”
She smiled at him as if she understood that promise. Her little hands clasped his cheeks, and he leaned in and rubbed her nose against his. An action possibly done with her mama or uncles. Simon’s throat burned, and he wished with his entire heart he had the power to undo time. He wanted to have been in her life from the very beginning.
The call of his name had him turning around. Fanny waved toward the rutted road, and he arched a brow to see a carriage with his family’s crest. Simon frowned and walked with Lily over to Fanny and handed her down. There was a shadowed look in her eyes, and he noted her expression was carefully guarded.
“Please do not await me to break your fast,” he murmured. “I shall see who from my family has come to call.”
Fanny’s gaze cut to the carriage which had come to a standstill, watching as the footman knocked down the carriage steps. An immaculate, well-dressed lady stepped down, looking about her surroundings as if she had stepped into cow dung. He frowned, recognizing his mother.
“It is my mother,” he said. “I shall return shortly.”
Fanny nodded while his daughter babbled her response. Simon went toward his mother, who strolled to the other side of the lake, her lips pinched and her expression inscrutable.
“Mother,” Simon said, folding his arms behind him and moving to stand beside her. “This visit is entirely unexpected. What has brought you here?”
She turned to face him, her feather hat bobbing with her show of agitation. “I was unduly alarmed by a letter I got from Lady Katherine. Of course, I had to travel down only for your butler to inform me that you have been staying at this cottage. What is going on? Why are you here?”
“What I am doing here is my business, madam. And from your words, you are here to plead on Lady Katherine’s behalf?”
She appeared taken aback at the coolness of his tone. “Why, yes. She seems to believe the engagement has ended. I have assured her that surely she is mistaken.” His mother’s gaze cut to Fanny and Lily, and the countess’s expression hardened. “Does it have something to do with that woman?”
“What it has to do with, madam, is that there was no engagement at all between Lady Katherine and me, but an understanding instead with Miss Fanny Fairbanks. An understanding I suspect you might have been aware of, but because you do not approve of her family, you willfully deceived me by pretending otherwise. Your actions, madam, are insupportable and will take some time to be reconciled.”
His voice cracked like a whip in the clearing, and his mother did not seem to possess the grace to appear shamefaced.
“You have remembered?” she asked between pinched lips. “Or do you believe what that little upstart—”
“That you are guilty but remain unrepentant and are still attempting to manipulate me is rather astonishing, mother, and reveals the flaws in your character,” he said icily. “You have abused my trust in you, madam, and once lost, it is exceedingly difficult to regain my trust.”
She blanched, her gloved hands fluttering to the lace at her throat. “I have only ever wanted good for this family, Simon. Lady Katherine is a lovely lady, and I cannot say I am sorry for guiding her to your path. Even if there was no understanding before you went to war, surely you have developed some feelings for her? She is piteously heartbroken she might have lost your affections. I implore you to reconsider whatever it is you are thinking.”
A shriek of laughter tugged their attention to Lily and Fanny, who ran, a pair of ducks chasing them.
“Have you ever seen such vulgarity?” his mother asked with a contemptuous hiss.
“I have never seen anything more enchanting,” he rebutted.
His mother inhaled sharply. “I assume she is yours. She is the very image.”
“She is.”
Silence lingered, but he did not remove his gaze from mother and daughter who had collapsed on the blankets, laughing.
“Where are you going to set them up?” his mother asked. “You will have to be very discreet about it. Lady Katherine is the daughter of an earl. Their family is very proud and might take offense to you keeping a mistress and a bast..” she caught her words in time to say, “and an illegitimate child. Especially one you clearly hold affections for.”
Simon stirred and faced his mother. “There will be no marriage between Lady Katherine and me. I also believe it is time you live on your own, madam. You will retire to the dowager viscountess’s home in Shelton. I already sent instructions for it to be opened and fully staffed. Should you wish to remain in London and see to Vanessa’s season, I shall procure a smaller townhouse for your use.”
The shock on his mother’s face showed she had never expected him to take such a position on her betrayal.
“What do you mean? Why must we make use of another townhouse?”
He smiled icily. “Because mine shall be occupied with my wife and child.”
His mother spluttered and he bowed courteously. “I bid you a safe journey to Shelton, mother. Good day.”