The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding (Millworth Manor) by Victoria Alexander Read Free Book Online Page A

did not believe in such nonsense.
    And everywhere they went, everything they saw, brought to mind a memory for his father. He told Jack stories about his brother and his brother’s children, the girls who had grown up here. He talked about those long-gone generations of Channings who had made Millworth their home and spoke of heritage and history. But with everything his father told him, everything they talked about, the one thing his father didn’t say was the one thing that hung unspoken in the air between them: One day all this will be yours.
    Jack still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. If he wanted to be the next earl, wanted everything that went along with it, or not. And even if by virtue of blood he was half English, in mind and spirit he was firmly American. Still, there was no need to make a decision about his future yet. His father had recommended he take one step at a time and Jack had to meet his new family first. His father was even now breaking the news of his existence to them.
    The red-haired woman laughed at something said to her and even at a distance it sounded delightful and genuine.
    Onboard ship his father had said there was nothing that made a man feel more optimistic about life than a dance and a flirtation with a beautiful woman. Jack could use a bit of optimism at the moment. He hadn’t felt this ill at ease in a social setting since his first ball more than a decade ago. Even now he remembered the discomfort of the stiff, starched collar of his formal attire. The collar he wore now was every bit as annoying as the first but he no longer noticed. Odd how one grew accustomed to even the most uncomfortable things with time and age and experience. Although he suspected he would never grow used to feeling out of place.
    Well, enough of that nonsense. It was only nerves. He had no real reason to feel anything other than completely confident. Jack studied the redhead and adjusted the onyx studs at his cuffs. He was, after all, a successful banker with an exceptional heritage on both sides of his family. Granted, his family connections were far more complicated than they had been a month ago but the circumstances of one’s life changed and one needed to be able to change with them.
    He started toward the woman who had caught his eye. Besides, he was an excellent dancer.
     
     
    Lady Theodosia Winslow resisted the urge to allow the pride and elation that comes from the satisfaction of a job expertly accomplished to show on her face. It wouldn’t be at all proper to smirk.
    Teddy stood off to one side of the ballroom and surveyed the ball, the final festivity of the day. Oh certainly, the wedding of Camille, Lady Lydingham, and Grayson Elliott was not entirely perfect but then what wedding was not without its moments of disorder and impending disaster? All of which had been skillfully averted, avoided, or circumvented by Teddy’s capable hands. Not that it was particularly easy as Camille had alternated between fits of temper, overwhelming apprehension, and the firm belief that her wedding would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
    It wasn’t of course. And those moments of imperfection that did occur were vanquished as if by magic the moment Camille walked down the aisle on the arm of her father to marry the love of her life.
    At this point, the hardest part was over. Teddy studied the gathering with a practiced eye. The ceremony was completed, dinner had been served without incident, and now Camille and Grayson’s family and friends could simply celebrate with the happy couple although admittedly she wasn’t quite sure exactly where the happy couple was at the moment. Not that it really mattered.
    Guests were now enjoying the twelve-piece chamber orchestra Teddy had first employed last year for the Christmas Eve ball given by the Duchess of Roxborough. Yet another successful event coordinated and planned by Lady Theodosia and her mother, the Countess of Sallwick.
    A good portion of those