Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,33

stare that took in her appearance from head to toe without flinching. She was very conscious that her gown was years old and desperately needed replacement, her cuffs worn. His gaze then flickered to her son Pip and lingered, before he gazed into the flames again.

“You look like your mother,” Lord Vyne remarked.

“I think so too,” Ruby murmured, looking down at Pip with a fond smile.

“I was speaking of you, Mrs. Roper. Your mother was a beauty in her youth. Quite the catch for my brother, then. She may not have had much of a dowry, but men were lining up just to speak with her.” His expression soured, and he looked up at Ruby again. “Your ill-advised marriage ruined your chances of reaching your fullest potential.”

Ruby trembled a little. “I have never regretted the choices I made, Uncle.”

Vyne snorted. “As difficult as your mother was, too, I see, which explains why you’d willingly run off to marry a poor farmer’s son.”

“He was a good man, kind to me. A good father to Pip.” She’d known her marriage would make her unpopular within the family, but she’d expected at least cordial civility from her uncle. “I see I shouldn’t have come.”

Vyne shook his head. “Sit down.”

She did, and Pip, to his credit, neatly lowered himself to the seat beside her instead of dropping like a stone as had always been his custom.

In the light of the fire, she got a better look at her uncle. He seemed to have changed very much. There was a lot more gray in his hair than she remembered, and the lines on his face were deeper. She didn’t wonder about the lack of a smile for her. He’d never smiled at her before that she could remember. “I am glad to find you in good health, Uncle.”

One of his brows rose. “Is that so?”

“Yes, of course. Why, you’ve hardly changed at all since I was last here as a girl,” she promised.

His eyes narrowed. “There’s no need to butter me up.”

“I wasn’t speaking untruths,” she promised but then began to feel uncomfortable.

Uncle began to tap on the arm of his chair. “What is it you want with me, Niece? And I do know you want something.”

She dropped her gaze a little. “My husband’s sudden passing revealed how unwanted I was in his family. They had intended to bind me in marriage to a man I’d never met.”

“You should be grateful they considered your future at all by arranging a marriage,” Uncle Vyne suggested.

“I was not consulted until it was nearly too late to avoid the connection. I believe the marriage would have brought further disgrace upon me.” She lifted her gaze to her uncle. “I feel sure my family would not have approved of me marrying a potato farmer. He was not wealthy or important. He was not a suitable connection.”

“That describes your unfortunate marriage, too.”

“I was young and in love. But I am older now and ready to make amends.”

Vyne narrowed his eyes. “You fled from them, just as you did from your father’s home.”

She wet her lips. “I had no choice. Mr. Roper has not allowed me to write to any member of my family since my husband’s death. I wanted to ask your advice.”

Vyne started nodding again. “You did the right thing coming here first. Your father washed his hands of you long ago.”

Ruby winced.

“And he would not wish you to return home to spoil your younger sisters’ chance of making a good match by stirring up that old scandal you made again.”

She had worried about them, too. “What should I do then? I need to provide for my son. Pip needs a home and a gentleman’s education befitting a member of our family. Will you help us?”

“At least you possess the wit to come to me. You are your father’s daughter, all right, but at least you’re honest about why you want my support,” Lord Vyne grumbled. “Alexander always had his hand out.”

Ruby knew that. Father supported his family as well as he did because of the grudging generosity of his elder brother. For herself, she needed very little. “I hoped you might take an interest in my son’s future.”

Uncle pursed his lips as he studied them both for several uncomfortable minutes. His expression was inscrutable. Ruby glanced at her son, who’d remained silent at her side, and she saw that he was drowsing off to sleep. She quickly nudged him until he opened his eyes wide again.

“How old is