“So the Earl of Rothwell mentioned with the greatest respect the last time I spoke with him.” He smiled at the countess’s praise for her daughters’ achievements and the ever-ready spark of Ford pride she displayed. “I doubt I would do half as well when I come ashore. I know so little of the land and homes that it would be safer for all concerned if I kept only an apartment in Town,” he said, laughing. “And hardly any staff.”
That caught her interest immediately. “You have been at sea so long.”
“Needs must, my lady.” He nodded. “I followed my father to sea when I was but thirteen years old if you recall.”
“I do remember your mentioning that.” The countess sighed, pressing her hand to her breast. “You must have broken your poor mother’s heart.”
He bowed his head. “I did, to my shame, and I can never make it up to her. She passed away while I was at sea a year after I earned the rank of captain.”
“Oh, I had not heard.” The countess gave his hand a motherly squeeze. “My eldest could not wait for glory and left me at only eleven to join the navy, but I had Freddie and Laurence still at home then and that comforted me.”
He glanced across the table at the unknown young woman. He judged her about twenty years, which would definitely make her the right age to be Laurence’s twin. “And you have your daughters too, do not forget them.”
Her face lit up as he had hoped, and she smiled fondly at the young woman across the table, claiming her as her own child. “They are beauties, are they not? Sally and Louisa are my comfort and my joy. I suppose you have a wife of your own now. A sweetheart?”
He shook his head. “Who would have me?”
“I might be old, but I am not blind.” She glanced around the table, her eyes assessing those present. “You have aged remarkably well for a man already possessed with good looks in your earlier days. A great many women would see much in you that they would want if you were to offer encouragement.”
He laughed at that. “With only a brother for my connections and a passing distinction as a captain. Your praise is quite far off the mark indeed.”
“Scoff all you like, but I like what I see and that is all that matters.” She grinned and with a toss of her head looked him over. “We never had much of a chance to speak candidly before, and I do not mean to pry, but you mentioned a brother? You must miss each other terribly as my children do.”
“I have a brother.” A useless, worthless gambler. He had never been close to his family, save for loving his mother. Some of his favorite moments with the Fords had been time spent with the countess although that time had been brief. “But we have been estranged since I joined the navy.”
The countess frowned at that. “Perhaps when the war is over, you will have a chance to begin again. I could not be without my family about me.”
He smiled but doubted he would ever want to see his brother very much. By all accounts, Neville had bled his mother dry of funds while he and his father had been away at sea earning a living to support them. He could never forgive Neville for gambling away everything he had scraped together in the first years of his service, or for leaving their mother at the mercy of charity as she faded away from loneliness and despair. If he ever saw his brother again, he would probably kick him all the way to the next county or do worse if no one stopped him.
However, there was no point in burdening the countess with his sad history when he wanted to lift her spirits. “Perhaps we will.”
They talked of London’s amusements and of inconsequential matters until she said, “You mentioned property earlier, sir. Do you own very much in London?”
“None at all.” He sighed as she struck upon another dream that would go unfulfilled. “I have been at sea too long to have a home and have never had the opportunity to settle in one place for long.”
“I highly recommend Essex. There is no better place.” Her gaze drifted down the table and a frown pulled at her brow. “All the best families make their home here.”
He followed the direction of her gaze, noticing she watched Sally and Ellicott as they chatted. There was an undeniable intimacy between them. He was riveted when Ellicott stroked his finger along the back of Sally’s gloved hand where it rested on the edge of the table.
Felix did not like the brazen flirtation in front of her family, and he forced his attention back to his dining companion. “I am unfamiliar with the Ellicott holdings. Are they local landowners?”
“No, unfortunately. When they marry, he will take my daughter away to Shropshire and I will likely not see her more than once a year.” The countess whispered the last very, very quietly, for his ears alone he suspected.
Dread settled in the pit of his stomach, and he took a moment to quiet his disappointment. “They are to be married?”
“I should not have said anything, especially not to you before the announcement is made. It is a private agreement and will be announced on my husband’s return from London in a week’s time. Before the month is out, I expect her gone from me too.”
He could understand her low mood a little more than perhaps he should. He had felt something similar when he had been dragged away from Sally six years ago, and still did.
At times he had thought their estrangement a blessing for her though. Those moments when he had been required to pen letters home to the family and spouses of fallen officers had brought into clarity how it would have been for Sally to receive such a letter at his eventual demise.
He had not wanted to hurt her. Not any more than he apparently had.
The object of his t
houghts suddenly met his gaze. They stared at each other along the table, and the pull of attraction caught him unexpectedly. He steadied his balance on the table edge, determined to control his feelings. Sally was beyond him. She would be another man’s wife soon.
And yet he wanted her with a fierceness that had never abated.