His Blessed Epiphany (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 9) Read online

  “He is bigger than I thought he would be,” the other groom observed, tilting his head to the side, as he sized Felix up and down.

  “Take my horse back to the stables, would you?” Felix asked.

  “Aye, my lord,” Jamie said.

  “Grey…” Epiphany said, “Where is Grey?” She still sounded groggy and it frightened him. He wished that Doc was here. He would definitely know what to do. Maybe he should send a rider for him. Evesham Hall wasn’t that far off. They could have Doc here within a few hours.

  “If he bolted, ma’am, he is probably already headed back to the stables,” Jamie said. “That was a right terrible tumble you took, I think we should send for the Doctor.”

  “We will have to wait until the others return from Riding to Hounds,” the other groom said. “Doctor Hislop was on the hunt. He said he had to go to keep an eye on the Earl.”

  At those words, Epiphany let out a prolonged sigh. “He had to go for his own selfish reasons. He always takes part in all of the hunts held during the hunting season. He is a quack. I’m not certain he could do anything for Papa should he have one of his fits. He has been completely useless thus far. The man has cotton stuffed between his ears, and little else. I can’t imagine how he made it through the schooling needed to become a doctor, because he certainly went in stupid and came out exactly the same way. He is a mountebank if I ever met one.”

  Felix couldn’t help it. He laughed. A good long belly laugh that echoed through the tranquil hamlet. It had completely slipped his mind how entertaining Epiphany could be. She had always had a gift for the gab. He wouldn’t have to worry about her drifting off to sleep, as long as she had her passions riled up about her father and his fool of a doctor.

  “I could send for my friend, Lord Cary,” Felix suggested softly.

  She placed her head against his shoulder and then she lifted her head and looked up at him. He should have started to feel her weight pressing on his arms, and yet, he felt as if he carried a cloud in his arms.

  “Is that the doctor that cared for Papa when he was in Town?” He nodded his head. “Papa liked him. He sang his praises. He told me that he had an intellect that is rarely seen. He said he was capable of things he hadn’t thought possible. I think…I think we should send a rider for him. Papa needs a doctor at hand that knows more than solving everything with a liberal bleeding.”

  “I will ride for him myself, my lady. I know my way to Evesham Hall,” Jamie offered.

  “Thank you, Jamie.”

  They walked slowly back toward Blessing Hall, with every step, he continued to study the snowcapped house.

  “You named your horse, Grey. I suppose it is fitting since I named my own stallion, Blessing. I thought when your father found out that he would take offense. Instead, he didn’t say a word, which is odd for him. He is never short on words, he’s a lot like you in that respect, my lady.”

  “Papa loves his horses. I do not think he would view it as an affront. Indeed, he would probably think it was an honour,” she mused.

  “Aye, His Lordship likes horses sometimes more than he likes people,” Jamie agreed, nodding his head.

  “Well, I can hardly be offended by you naming such a big beautiful beast after me. I suppose it was a compliment. It showed that I was still in your thoughts when you named that grey stallion after me.”

  Epiphany swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. She didn’t want him thinking that her mind strayed to him more often than was proper. Should she tell him that echoes of him had haunted her in the years since they had last seen each other? Her young love for him had never really gone away. She had admired him so much, and now that he was back in her life, she remembered why.

  “Oh, aye, the Earl says that horses have better hearts, than people,” Jamie said, continuing on. “He said they are more loyal, too.” Jamie was never at a loss for words. His mouth kept the horses company. “But Grey ain’t no stallion, Lord Spaulding. He’s a gelding—he’s a gentle enough soul, but he ain’t brave at all. He will run at the sign of any danger. It was clear from the beginning that he would never make a good field hunter. Lord Painswick kept him for you to take a daily ride on, my lady, as you were already so attached to him, and he couldn’t bear to take anything away from you.”

  Epiphany eyed Felix with unease growing in her heart. A look of thunder swept across his face, and his eyes crackled fiercely, and then, as fast as the storm enveloped his features, it died away, fading into nothingness, and his composure returned.

  “I suppose,” he said gruffly. “I wager that after all of the mischief I have caused in life that I deserved that, and it probably gives your father a good long chuckle whenever he thinks about it. Now I know why he didn’t utter a word when he heard me call my own horse, Blessing.”

  “I didn’t do it to insult your character,” she rushed out, seeking to justify her actions. She didn’t want him thinking it had been a veiled strike against him. There were other men that she wanted to insult, and he certainly wasn’t one of them. He had never been in her black books.

  “Oh, I am not angered by it, Lady Epiphany, no, no, not at all. My ego might be wounded a wee bit but I am not angry. I do not anger easily. You…you weren’t to know that our paths would collide again, and if I left that much of an impression on you that you named your beloved horse after me, why, I think that’s sweet.”

  His words while they might have been meant to soothe her, only made her feel more wretched. Sweet. He thought she was sweet. How quaint. She probably deserved it. No matter, it still stung.

  “I am sorry, sir.”

  “No apology is necessary. It makes no matter, my lady. I only hope that no one else decides to poke fun at it. I…I might not be so forgiving with anyone else. With you, I find I can forgive almost anything.”

  “I almost forgot how kind you were,” she marveled. Her grip was quite tight upon him. She was clinging to him a bit too tightly. He almost felt as if he was being strangled. For being such a delicate flower, she had an awfully strong grip. He thought back to her father’s sense of humour. He knew his daughter wasn’t a delicate flower. Surely, it had been a jest. And the joke was on him.

  A woman dressed in a brown plain frock rushed out to them. “Oh, my lady…what happened? Are you hurt?”

  “Nothing much, Mrs. Davies. Only that I was proven wrong, in a most painful way. My pride has taken an awful hit today. It was only a trifling incident, I assure you.”

  “Trifling? You, my lady, are a mistress of understatement. Either that or your brain was rattled around a bit more than I originally thought. Her horse reared up, bolted and threw her. She has had a nasty fall,” Felix said.

  He assumed the woman was the housekeeper. She was a small birdlike woman, with eyes that were most unusual. One was brown, and the other was blue.

  “Once the doctor returns from the hunt, I shall ask him to look in on you.”

  “I feel fine. I really do, you mustn’t go to any trouble, especially if it involves that daft doctor,” Epiphany muttered. Another woman came running from the house, wailing like a banshee. Her eyes were red and puffy, and he heard Epiphany say, “Oh, dear God, not her, and her conjured tears. I don’t think I can take it. Anything but her. I thought she would have retired to her bedchamber for the rest of the day. However can I get rid of her?”

  “If you were fine, Fanny, you wouldn’t be allowing this ruffian to carry you,” the strange woman had an Irish accent that she was trying to veil, and failing miserably at it. He didn’t know why she would attempt to conceal it. It was a lovely accent. The accent didn’t work it was her shrill tone of voice that needed improvement. This woman had a voice that would make an angel cry. He tried to ignore the fact that she had called him a ruffian, and yet, he didn’t think he could let it go. This harridan looked as if she need a harsh dressing down, and he was the perfect man to give it to her.

  “Now, see here, you big old clodhopper, you let Mrs. Davies and I accompany my Fa
nny back into the house, and you may take yourself to the stables where you can board with the rest of the animals.” Epiphany gasped, and Mrs. Davies’s eyes went wild. She seemed to have sensed that he wasn’t exactly what he appeared to be. He knew he had a rough look to him, but he wasn’t exactly dressed in clothing that someone who would board in the stables could afford, and it spoke to the woman’s ignorance. He had gone to the same tailor that Clarence and Gideon went to. “I am quite certain you shall be at home with your own kind there. They are bucolic enough to satisfy your loutish manners.”

  She just kept throwing scathing insults his way. What had he ever done to her? It was about time he returned fire. The gall of the woman! “Lady Epiphany, where did you dig up this bogtrotter?” he asked calmly.

  “Bogtrotter! How dare you hurl such an ignominy at me, you churlish oaf!”

  “She is a distant relative on my mother’s side,” Epiphany said softly. “Sir, allow me to introduce you to Miss Euphemia Duffy. Miss Duffy, I do believe you have finally met your bear, in Felix Grey, Baron Spaulding.”

  “I should say so,” Felix said. “And she just poked the bear. My mates would say that is more than just a trifling offense. Lucky would tell everyone to run for cover.”

  “You…you…you cannot be a Peer of the Realm,” Miss Duffy said, her eyes were opened wide as was her mouth. She looked trapped. It would amuse him to see her attempt to slip out of this without ruffling any more of his feathers. “Why…why ever would they ennoble an uncouth man such as you? You are…you are…”

  “Common,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I know. I am at that. I make no bones about it, and I do not try to hide it, but I am no country bumpkin.”

  “I shan’t use your title. No, I shan’t. You aren’t befitting of it. You are nothing but rabble. I refuse to call someone like you, lord. You are more of a booby than a lord.” She wasn’t fighting too hard to swallow her spleen. Her fury nearly danced off her, and he was about to fetch a bucket of cold water or sand to put it out.

  “I don’t care what you call me, Madam, but if we are going to be on such informal terms, as you seem hell bent on calling me whatever you please, you won’t mind if I call you a rattle pate and a jingle-brained peagoose.” With his temper riled, his burr thickened.

  “You are a croakumshire,” she gasped horrifically.

  “Aye, I am from Newcastle,” he muttered. “And you are a crosspatch.” Her insult still stung, even though he realized where it came from, it didn’t lessen the harshness of it. He had been insulted by better men and women than this little annoying creature. Still, he was quite conscious of his northern accent. He had worked hard to reform his burr over the years. He knew that he hadn’t completely rid himself of it, and he didn’t really want to—he only wanted to soften it a bit so that people wouldn’t have such a hard time understanding him. He thought he had done a good job of it. Casting aside some of the words he used as a boy as some didn’t know what the hell he was talking about when he used them.

  “You deserve to be called Mr. Grey,” Miss Duffy sneered, sticking her nose up into the air. If she were a man, he would have put Epiphany back onto her feet and drawn this little wench’s cork.

  “And you deserve to be called Miss Thornback,” he said softly, waiting for his bullet to hit the target.

  Mrs. Davies and Epiphany gasped. “Well, I…” Miss Duffy sputtered. Her black eyes raged at him. “I shall not abide this kind of brutish behaviour.”

  “And I shall have no more of your gum,” Felix said. He had had it up to his ears with her verbal abuse. She was a sour old maid who needed to have a bit of sugar shoved down her gullet.

  She gasped, and gaped at him. “You are a beast. I do hope you do not intend to marry this…cur, Fanny.”

  “I am, rather,” she said, without missing a beat.

  “I shall see about that. We shall find out what your father thinks about that. I do not think he shall want you marrying such an inferior man. He is far below your station in life, Fanny. You should marry your lovely cousin. He is a man befitting that of a peerage. He shall make you a fine husband.” Seeing that she had no allies, Miss Duffy harrumphed loudly. “I am leaving.” With that, she turned on her heel and left, storming back into the house. He could only hope she had buggered off, and they wouldn’t have to cross paths with her again.

  “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” he muttered. “It was unfortunate that you had to witness that little bit of bother, Lady Epiphany.”

  “Don’t be. Miss Duffy always has to put the house into a pother about something. She shan’t like hearing what my father thinks about the subject of my marriage to you. I think he is more set upon it happening than I was, initially.”

  Epiphany’s eyes danced, and he cheekily winked at her, which seemed to increase her delight tenfold. He liked seeing them bright and lively. They were not dull and listless as they were only moments before. He had breathed new life into her, and he felt a swell of pride thinking about it.

  “Miss Duffy started it,” Mrs. Davies mused. “I think she deserves having you to trade barbs with, Lord Spaulding. We might be rid of her yet, Lady Epiphany.”

  “Do you really think so? Oh, what a Christmas miracle that would be. If she is gone by Epiphany, I shall be ever so grateful.”

  “Bit of a troublemaker then, eh?” he snorted. He was being a tad conservative. A bit, wasn’t the half of it. She was a little high strung demon in a dress.

  “Oh, indeed. She is a bit of a hanger-on. She has hung on the Earl’s sleeve a bit too much. I haven’t appreciated the way she wheedled herself into yours and His Lordship’s lives, in the wake of your mother’s passing, God rest her soul, and took over so many things that were usually your responsibility, Lady Epiphany. She fancies herself the lady of this house, and I do not fancy that. She also calls you by your Christian name, and it isn’t her right to do so. No, I do not like it. Not one bit. But then, I have probably already said too much. I don’t want to talk above my station.” The housekeeper smiled at him, and he smiled back. “Come with me, sir, I shall show you to Lady Epiphany’s bedchamber. She will want to get out of that ridiculous outfit, and then, well, hopefully by that time, the doctor will be back with His Lordship, and he shall be able to attend to her in order to be certain that she hasn’t injured herself too badly.”

  “I have sent for a far more capable doctor. From what I have heard, I do not think your country doctor is the physician to be trusted with her care—or even to care for Colonel Blessing,” Felix said, softening his tone. Mrs. Davies didn’t seem like a bad egg, and she deserved his respect.

  Miss Duffy on the other hand, well, she was going to continue getting a good dose of what she truly deserved. By the time he was done with her, she would run screaming from this blessed house, and if he were lucky, she would run all the way to a boat and be on her way shipping back to Ireland.

  “Yes, Mrs. Davies, he sent for the capable doctor who attended father in London. Lord Cary is staying at Evesham Hall. Jamie said he would ride for him as he knows the way well.”

  “Truly? Well, then, in that case, we shan’t have need of the doctor. It is probably for the best, as soon as the hunt is over, he shall be in his cups again. He does so like to get toped.”

  “I see,” Felix said. He knew his sort well.

  The grand house was built of Cotswold stone and from what he could tell it dated from the Elizabethan Era. It was a beautiful house, and the stone glittered like gold in the winter sunlight.

  The outside of the house had been bedecked for Christmas with garlands framing the doorway, and a lovely wreath decorated with holly and a beautiful crimson bow hung on the door. He was almost sorry to walk into the welcoming Entrance Hall. The manor was impeccably kept but then he hadn’t expected otherwise. The decorations continued through the house with kissing boughs, garland, and other greenery filling the space. A Christmas tree stood in the large Entrance Hall, trimmed the way that Clarence’s had been decorat
ed.

  The Colonel had always been a stickler for cleanliness, and had always wanted everything tidy. He continued to study his surroundings. His eyes appreciating the festive glow that enveloped the house, along with the other artistic touches.

  Portraits of horses and their masters decorated the walls. To say that the Blessing Family had a passion for horses was clearly an understatement. They seemed to live for them. Generations of the family were depicted in the stunning portraits that almost took his breath away. Ladies standing with their horses, and men sitting astride their horses or by their horses. Children with their ponies. His eyes went to a portrait of Epiphany. She couldn’t be more than five years old. Her blond hair was in ringlets, and she sat atop a pony with her father standing right next to the pony looking adoringly up at her. It was apparent that she had had a good childhood.

  The portraits decorating the large hall was a bonny display, and it showed that they started teaching their children how to ride almost while they were still in the nursery. Beautiful hall chairs had been placed around the space, and while they were lovely, he wouldn’t attempt to sit on one, lest he break the ruddy thing.

  White marble busts of the past Earls were situated around the massive area, and his eyes immediately gravitated to the bust of Colonel Blessing. He looked as regal as ever. The sculptor had captured him perfectly. Next to the bust of Colonel Blessing was the bust of a woman done to look like a Grecian Goddess, without a doubt he knew the woman was Lady Painswick. He would recognize her anywhere. He had quite forgotten that she and Fanny were like twins, they resembled each other to a startling degree. The small nose, the high cheekbones, the large eyes, they were all Fanny’s features.

  A footman rushed over to Mrs. Davies and talked in a low tone to her.

  “My lady, we shall have to whisk you quickly up the stairs. His Lordship is back along with the rest of the houseguests, and I do not think that he would like to see you in your current state.”