Covet - Miles Bridgerton's story

Chapter 4 - Miss Cranleigh

"Go and say 'bye bye' to grandmother Siena, Lavender..." Anthony grinned and lifted the child up.

"No, no. Don't give her to me, she doesn't like me. And stop calling me grandmother...!" Siena complained, but took Lavender into her arms nevertheless when Anthony was pushing their mutual granddaughter towards her. Lavender immediately started whimpering and reached her arms towards Anthony while making a demanding "a-a-a" noise.

"Did you hear that, she was trying to say Anthony...?!" He gasped and took the girl back from Siena. "Were you trying to say grandfather's name, Lavender?" He asked her, proudly.

"If that poor child's first word will be as difficult as 'Anthony', she must be some sort of genius..." Kate laughed. "Besides, she is already calling Galileo the dog 'Ga', too."

"Perhaps she was just trying to say 'ahem, take me away from this woman'?" Miles pointed out while joining the group, next to his parents. Siena shot a venomous glare at him.

"Ah, Miles... You are just in time to say goodbye and apologise for your previous behaviour to Lady Fife and Madame Delacroix." Anthony pointed out quite sharply to his son.

"Pardon me, ladies. I was terribly tired from my travels." Miles said with a smile that was as feigned as the one his mother had given Lady Berbrooke earlier.

"It's alright, Mr Bridgerton, I believe that both Siena and I have heard worse. Oh, Lavender! You're so awfully cute in your little pink dress, next time I will bring you an even prettier one and also those apple cookies that you like..." Genevieve smirked at Lavender and tickled her nose, making the girl flash a mostly toothless smile at her.

"Were you not French at some point?" Miles wondered, looking confused.

"Oui, bien sûr." Genevieve winked her eye at him before hugging Kate and Anthony goodbye.

"The entire world has gone bonkers..." Miles sighed to Geoffrey, who had sauntered up to his side after the Berbrooke carriage had rolled away far into the distance with his daughter.

"How so?" Geoffrey enquired, while Miles glowered in a noticeably unapproving way at Lady Siena Fife hugging both his father and mother tightly.

"Nevermind. Shall we?" He replied and tilted his head towards the back of the house. During breakfast, they had agreed upon going to have a look at the foundations that had already been laid for Miles' house when he was about to marry Emily. But, after the engagement had fallen apart, the work on their mutual future home had ended too. Geoffrey nodded and followed Miles around the corner of the great hall to the gardens on the backside of it.

"Hey! We are just about to start a game of pall-mall, are you two joining?" Eddie hooted at them and waved the black mallet in the air. By the looks of it, Oliver Crane and his twin sister Amanda were joining too, as well as Amelia of course. Anthony's siblings were taking turns on which one of them was staying for a while at Aubrey Hall after the ball with their families, this time it was Eloise.

"No thanks, I would rather keep my limbs intact...!" Geoffrey smirked.

"We have to go and look at the foundations of my house." Miles filled in.

"We can do it later. Please, go ahead and play, if you want..." Geoffrey said politely with a faint smile.

"No, we will do it now, before lunch." Miles huffed determinedly while both Eddie, Amelia, Oliver and Amanda gawked at him curiously with their chosen mallets in hand.

"What the hell, is Miles Bridgerton refusing a game of pall-mall? I thought I would never live to see this day!" Oliver exclaimed with a teasing grin. Miles just cast him a sour look and continued to march towards the stables with Geoffrey following right after him.