M ason arose the next morning at the same time he always did, and went about his daily rituals with the same precision which had always regulated his adult life.
He dipped his hands into the washbowl and splashed the icy water over his face and stubbled chin.
Order...rules...discipline, he told himself, as he reached for his shaving soap and razor, were the distinctions of an honorable and civilized gentleman.
Kissing actresses was not.
In the light of day, last night appeared as a startling lapse of judgment. Therefore, he intended to put some principles back into his life immediately. First thing, he'd make it clear to Riley that they, as adults, should be able to maintain a proper relationship.
How hard could that be? he asked himself.
Having finished shaving, he got dressed and went downstairs to his breakfast, which he always took at nine. Halfway down the stairs, he recalled a line from Riley's play, the words dancing like a Freddie-ism through his righteous demeanor.
For life, dear Aveline, is a constant delight, an unending surprise, if only you take the chances offered.
The line held a tempting appeal. Not unlike Riley herself. Well, perhaps he might take some chances- that is, as soon as he'd gotten his life and family in order.
Mason realized later he should have known better than to tempt fate by lapsing, albeit minutely, into his
brother's way of thinking.
Even as he came down the stairs the aroma of coffee tantalized his nose, something so beyond the realm of their frugal economies, he came to an abrupt halt.
"Cousin Felicity," he muttered under his breath. This was her way of getting back at him for his firing their
French chef and hiring Mrs. McConneghy in his place. The stout Scottish woman might not know how toglaze an ostrich, but she did know how to squeeze their meager budget to feed the entire household-abudget which didn't include coffee.
"My lord," Belton said, coming out of the servant's doorway. "I need to discuss a matter of-""-Not now," Mason told him."But my lord, I must speak to you about certain persons," Belton said, following in Mason's angry wake.Having come down to the ground floor and nearly upon the dining room, more rich aromas wafted toward him. Mason inhaled the forbidden bounty. "Is that bacon and sausages I smell?"
Belton sighed. "Yes, my lord."
From within the dining room, it sounded as if a celebration were taking place rather than his usual quiet
morning repast with the paper. Above the din, he heard Cousin Felicity happily nattering on about the prior evening's gossip.
"Allow me, my lord," Belton said, pushing open the door.
Isn't this what you just wished for, little brother? Freddie's voice chided him. An opportunity to try something new.
"Not if it beggars us," he muttered back.
Belton's white brows shot up. "Pardon, my lord?"
"Nothing, Belton." Mason set his jaw and entered the dining room just as the clock on the mantel struck
nine.
Everyone in the room, save him, burst into laughter. At the table, Cousin Felicity extended her hand to none other than Riley's partner Aggie and said, "I told you, Mr. Pettibone. At precisely nine o'clock his
lordship would enter, so I have won our wager. Lord Ashlin is the most predictable man in all of London."
Predictable? Mason bristled at her tone. She made him sound like some stodgy don. It didn't help that
Riley had said the exact same thing about his clothes last night.
"I am hardly predictable, Cousin," he said.
He didn't like the way his pronouncement was met with ringing feminine laughter from his usual lie-a-bed
nieces.
"Uncle Mason," Beatrice said, between choking bouts of laughter, "You make Belton look slipshod."
Her sisters joined in adding their giggles to the clamor.
"He arises at quarter past eight every morning," Louisa began telling Mr. Pettibone. "Not on the hour or
half past, but precisely quarter past eight."Beatrice nodded. "Breakfast and his paper at nine."Maggie joined into the chorus. "Accounts at ten.""House report from Belton at half past eleven.""Consult with Mrs. McConneghy at noon.""Leave the house at quarter 'til one," Maggie said."To avoid the creditors who arrive at two," Bea added in a whispered aside."What you do, Uncle," Maggie said, "from then until you return at four is a mystery to us."Bea nodded. "Four-thirty we take tea in Mother's parlor and you tell us how bad the accounts you reviewed at ten are and how we can no longer waste money on unnecessary expenditures."
Louisa leaned across the table and said in a loud whisper to Mr. Pettibone, "Can you explain to our Uncle that there are no unnecessary expenditures?"
Egads, when they laid his days out like that, he sounded worse than predictable. Like one of those old
scholars at Merton College who the young students used to set their pocket watches by each day as they
doddered across the greens at the appointed hours like the hands on a clock.
Well, he was certainly nothing like that. Yes, he kept a daily regiment, though it was hardly the rigid schedule they described. More of an ordered series of events, a daily means of conducting oneself that kept the chaos they brought to his life at bay.
Cousin Felicity turned to Mr. Pettibone. "He isn't at all like his brother. Freddie was such a gadabout,
and so impulsive."
"Then I see you take after the late Earl, my dear lady," Mr. Pettibone said, his voice a mixture of Irish charm and something else Mason couldn't quite put a finger on. "For I find you the most unpredictable and enchanting woman in all of London."
Mason stared in shock as Cousin Felicity's cheeks turned the most rosy shade of pink.
What had come over the women in this house? First Bea, now Cousin Felicity.
The aging rogue kissed her fingers again. "I swear your youthful face reminds me of my beloved and long
departed Rosalinde. It breaks my heart, it does." He let go of her hand with a dramatic sigh, and gazed
for a moment longer than was proper into her worshipful gaze.
"Uh, hum." Mason cleared his throat. Schedule or not, whatever nonsense was going on between Cousin Felicity and this Mr. Pettibone needed to be put to a halt. He made a note to discuss these irregularities with Riley between his morning meeting with Belton and the cook.
"Cousin, as I was about to say when I came in-"
"-Oh, Mason, why aren't you eating?" Cousin Felicity waved at the plates of food. "Your breakfast is
growing cold, and you know how you prefer it hot."
He took a deep breath. Did his cousin have to make him sound like some old man? He could well imagine what Riley would add to his cousin's description. Thankfully, she wasn't in the room.
"I will not eat one bite of any of this," he said, unwilling to step into the room and give any credence to
this outrageous display. "I will have an explanation as to the meaning of this.""It is only breakfast, Mason," she replied. "It's been so long since we had a decent one it's no wonderyou don't recognize it. Sit down and have a cup of coffee. You can't imagine how wonderful it is after allthese months of economies."
She said the word as if it were as bitter as the mug of chocolate she was also savoring.
Chocolate and coffee? Had they all gone mad?
He'd be at his books until well past his meeting with Belton to get this straightened out, and then the rest
of his day would be spent trying to make up his sched- Mason halted that self-incriminating line of thought.
Cousin Felicity continued buttering her toast. "Mason is quite strict about matters of economy," she told
Mr. Pettibone.
It was the kind of response Freddie would have made.
Still, he had to admit the smell of coffee, a luxury they could ill afford, as well as a nice plate of almond
rolls lent a heavenly and enticing aroma to the room.
He took another deep breath and reminded himself of his earlier resolve-this is what happened whenone allowed temptation into one's midst.And he included actresses on that list.Cousin Felicity drew in a deep breath. "Heavenly," she uttered. "Why, I can't remember the last time we had such a breakfast!" She reached for one of the rolls.
Even as her fingers touched the illicit bounty, Mason said, "Cousin, not one bite. They all go back. The
coffee, the rolls, all of it. I said we would have economies in this household, and we will have them whether you like it or not."