Desires of a Baron (6 page)

Chapter Eight

Giles’ heart squeezed. He knew too well what it was like to be offered something solely out of Christian charity. “I apologize,” he said earnestly. He never should have offered her a position. What a stupid, heartless thing for him to do! He tightened his clasped hands past the point of pain and straight to numbness.

“
It’s not charity…” Simon’s voice floated to Giles’ ears. “My mother could use the help.” The irritating man continued on, but Giles didn’t bother to listen.

Instead, he thought about how much he might like to flick his brother.  She was Giles’ mother, too. Or was she? Biologically, yes, but in every other sense of the word, she was more Simon’s mother than his. He forced himself to release his clenched hands before he snapped the bones in his fingers. “No,” he barked.

“I beg your pardon,” Simon said, crossing his arms.

“
She said no,” Giles snapped at his brother.

“
Perhaps to your proposal, but I’m offering her respectable employment...”

Respectable employment?
Giles didn’t hear the rest of what his brother said over the blood that was suddenly thundering in his ears and the words echoing in his head. His offer was respectable, too. His head snapped in Lucy’s direction. “I—I—I wasn’t—” he blustered not sure how to word what he wanted to convey. The blood in his ears roared louder and he couldn’t make out the faces of anyone in the room as his eyes rapidly darted between the three. A strangled sound emerged from his throat and he tried again, “I didn’t—” He abruptly broke off. It was useless. His broken mind wouldn’t work quickly enough to tell his tongue what to say. Frustrated with his own simple stupidity, he quit the room and went to the ramshackle barn where McDougal had put his horses for the night.

He scowled. There were no saddles and he knew better than to ride a carriage horse bareback. No matter. He’d walk to the village and buy a horse there. Surely someone would be willing to sell his mount if the price was right.

Grunting, he reached into his breast pocket and removed the blank notebook he often carried with him. He flipped past the sketches he often drew when he was disinterested and ripped out a blank sheet from the back before reaching into his breast pocket again and pulling out a broken pencil he used to draw. He placed the sheet of paper on top of his notebook and scribbled,
Went home.
He set the note on the coachman’s bench then left the barn to walk to the village and put distance between him and his brother. And her. He swallowed the lump in his throat. This was for the best. She’d never want to have anything to do with him. Nobody did. He picked up his pace. She was too fine, too smart for someone like him. It was best to forget about her.

He was to Shrewsbury before he knew it and as he’d predicted, he’d gotten a deal on a horse. Not a good one, mind you. He might be slow, but even he realized he’d overpaid for the horse. Unfortunately, the realization didn’t happen until an hour after he’d left. He shrugged and rode on. He hadn’t really been taken advantage of. He’d have paid just about anything for a mount. The other fellow knew it and just took the opportunity to help himself. Giles couldn’t blame him for that.

Shrewsbury was less than a day’s ride from London and just as it was time to take his evening meal, he was on the steps of his townhouse, perfectly safe from the demeaning attitude of his brother and the spell of the woman who’d so easily captured him completely. He closed his eyes. No. He wouldn’t think of her again. He couldn’t. Not if he wanted to keep what little sanity he possessed, that is.

***

Lucy was dumbfounded by the exchange between the two brothers. To be honest, though, she had to admit that she didn’t understand about half of it. There certainly had to be more to their disagreement than what she’d just witnessed.

Unsure what to say to break the suffocating silence that had come over them, Lucy eased down into the chair Mr. Appleton had earlier pulled out for her. She should go to town, she reasoned in her mind. She needed to find a new post. But for a reason she couldn’t place, she felt pulled to stay and wait for Lord Norcourt to come back.

But he didn’t come back.

“
He must have walked to the village,” Mr. Appleton, or Simon as he’d asked her to call him, deduced with a shrug that made him grimace in pain.

Lucy nodded slowly. “For the best,” she said under her breath.

Simon raked his hand through his hair and cast a quick glance over his shoulder to where the coachman stood by the open door to the Norcourt coach. “Have you reconsidered my earlier offer?”

“
No. I’ll find work here.”

“
And if you don’t?”

She didn’t want to contemplate that. “I will.”

He pressed his lips together and gave a terse nod. “Well, if you don’t, my mother would be happy for the help.” He patted his chest and frowned. “I wish I had one of my calling cards to give you, but they were in my coat.”

“
That’s not necessary,” she said honestly at the same time that Seth said, “No need for a calling card, sir. I gots a good memory. What’s the name and direction?”

Grinning at Seth, Simon spouted off the name and address to the lending library.

Lucy didn’t bother to take note of his words.

A short time later their uninvited guest climbed up into his brother’s coach. As the coach made its way down the lane, Seth surprised her by running after it.

Her heart squeezed at the gesture. She couldn’t really say if Simon had been just as taken with Seth as Seth was with him, but she doubted it. A man might tolerate a lady’s family if it was beneficial to him in some way. Frowning, she went inside her house and readied herself to go to town to find a new post.

Unfortunately, it was futile.

Though nobody would give her a full answer, nor look her in the eye, it was quite obvious she wouldn’t find employment. At least not the respectable kind. She shivered and returned home deflated. They’d have to move—which would devastate Seth since he’d become so comfortable since they’d moved there three years prior.

Or perhaps it wouldn’t devastate him as much as she’d thought.

“That settles it, then,” Seth said with a wide grin. “We’ll have to move to London where you can work for Mrs. Appleton until Simon is ready to marry you.”

Lucy would have laughed at the absurdity of his statement if she weren’t so distraught about the whispers she’d heard about herself in town. Which was preposterous. She’d been the object of whispers for many years. She should be used to it by now. But she wasn’t. Well, she was used to it, but it still bothered her. Which she hated.

Gritting her teeth, she said, “We will not be moving to London for me to work at the lending library.”

“
So we
are
moving to London, then?”

Though she knew he was only teasing, Lucy had the strangest urge to rap her son’s knuckles with a wooden spoon. Instead, she settled for a playful tap on his backside and told him to go outside until it was time to come in for dinner.

Chapter Nine

Two days later

Giles had just about worn a hole in the large plush rug in his sparsely decorated study. Ever since he’d returned from Shrewsbury, he’d taken to pacing like he did when he was a young lad who couldn’t make sense of everything. He pulled to a stop and gripped the hearth. Why did it matter so much what
she
thought of him?
Because he hadn’t meant to shame her!
He tightened his grip on the edge of the hearth until his knuckles went white and he let out a savage growl. It doesn’t matter.
Yes, it does.

With a grunt of vexation, he pushed himself away from the hearth then let out a heavy sigh. Why did he have to say such a stupid thing and then not even be able to say the right thing to clarify? He hated it. Hated himself at times for this…this…idiocy of his.

“Is something troubling you?”

Giles jerked and slowly turned around to face the brown eyes of his longtime friend Sebastian, Lord Belgrave, from where he stood just inside the door. “You startled me.”

“Sorry,” Sebastian murmured. He walked over to one of the wing-backed chairs near Giles’ spotless desk and made himself comfortable. “When did you come back to Town?”

“
I left the day after you.” He folded his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against his desk. “Simon was injured.”

“
Injured? How?”

“
Beaten. Robbers, I suppose.” He shrugged. Simon hadn’t exactly been interested in speaking to him that night in Shrewsbury any more than he had before or since.

“
I take it that it’s Simon who’s put that troubled expression on your face.”

Giles instinctively ran his hand over his face. Was it possible for Sebastian to tell he was concerned about something? Could one tell that by looking at someone’s face? He couldn’t. “What do you mean?”

“Most of the time you wear a blank expression, Giles. One that would suggest you’re disinterested. Today you don’t seem quite so tranquil. Your brows are furrowed and your jaw is clenched. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were worried about something.” He paused. “Are you?”

Giles dropped his gaze to study the floor. He could trust Sebastian. He was one of the only people he’d ever met who hadn’t judged him or treated him harshly. But how did he explain what had happened?

“Giles?”

“
Sebastian?”

Sebastian chuckled. “If it makes it any easier for you to know, you’re not the only one who has been affected by these recent events.”

Giles’ head snapped up. What did Sebastian know? Before he could find a way to ask without giving himself and his vulnerability away, Sebastian continued.

“
When Simon was trying to court Belle at the house party, he kept getting distracted. By you.”

An odd mixture of relief and irritation coursed through Giles. “I don’t see why.”

“I think you do,” Sebastian said quietly.

Giles shrugged and made his way to a chair on the other side of his desk. “Where is your wife?”

Sebastian bared his teeth in a look Giles had once heard described as a grimace, then lowered his lashes. “I’m not sure. We didn’t part on good terms.”

“
And you say I’m troubled.”

Sebastian twisted his lips and nodded. “Indeed. But I do have a plan.” His face went back to normal. “I just hope it works.”

“It will.”

“
I appreciate your vote of confidence,” Sebastian said in a low tone. “Now, about you.”

Giles shook his head. Sebastian wouldn’t mock him, but he couldn’t help him, either.

“Is Lord Cosgrove still pushing for you to find a bride?”

Giles stiffened. He’d forgotten all about that. “No.”

“What changed his mind?”

“
Don’t know.” He shrugged. “He hasn’t spoken to me about it again.”

A moment of silence engulfed them. “Do you think—” Sebastian cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “We never discussed your past while we were touring the continent.” He scoffed. “Hell, I didn’t even know that you were a lord, let alone that you had a brother. You keep your secrets well, Giles, and this might not be my place to ask, but is it possible that Lord Cosgrove isn’t quite as interested in seeing you married as someone else might be?”

Giles stared at his friend. Who else would care? Nobody. There wasn’t anyone else who’d care. They’d probably rather he not secure an heir so his title could pass to someone else. Which was fine with Giles. He didn’t want to be baron. The only reason he’d even come to London at Lord Cosgrove’s demands was because of his threat to begin selling off anything Giles owned that wasn’t entailed. He didn’t care about losing the assets, but he knew better than to believe he’d be the one who’d receive the funds from the sale of those assets.

“
Giles?”

Sebastian’s voice pulled Giles to present. “Yes?”

“I know you like to keep things private, but if you tell me what’s going on, I can help you.”

“
With Lord Cosgrove or Lucy?” The words were out before he realized it. At Sebastian’s slow grin, Giles’ face heated.

“
Who’s Lucy?”

“
No one.” Giles jumped at the sharpness in his own voice. “Just a lady I met.”

“
One who seems to have had quite a serious effect on you, I’d wager.”

Giles flushed. “I said something foolish.”

Sebastian didn’t respond right away. “Are you sure it’s irreparable?”

“
Doesn’t matter.”

“
I think it might.”

“
She can have Simon.” Just saying the words made his throat constrict as if he might suffocate at any moment. But it didn’t make it any less true. Simon was smarter. He wouldn’t say thoughtless things to shame her. He could say exactly what he wanted to the first time. The sharp pain in his palms drew his attention and he released his fists.

“
If she can make someone as calm as you react this way, I believe she’s worth seeking out to make amends.”

“
It’s no use.”

“
So you say, and yet, it’s turned you into a bundle of nerves.”

Giles frowned. “I’m not a bundle of nerves. I’m made up of cells.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Indeed. What I meant was that you’ve never cared what anyone’s thought about you before and now you do.”

“
I shamed her,” Giles burst out, fighting the remorse that was threatening to wash over him.

“
You should go to her and try to explain,” Sebastian said in his usual calm voice.

“
I can’t.”

“
Why not?”

“
It won’t matter. She’ll marry Simon.”

“
That didn’t take long,” Sebastian muttered. He waved a hand through the air. “Giles, I don’t have all the details and I won’t press you for them, but it’s only been three days since I last saw you and Simon and at that time Simon was still very much trying to court my wife. I cannot imagine that he’s already become engaged to another.”

“
I didn’t say he was.”

Sebastian drummed his fingers on the chair and now it was Giles’ turn to shift uncomfortably in his chair. Were he still living with the nuns, either Mother Superior or Father Thomas would have yelled at him by now, or would with their next statement. Sebastian never had, but surely one day his patience would wear thin. Unfortunately, Giles had never been very good at articulating.

“I still think you should clarify what you meant,” Sebastian said a moment later. “Even if you think she might marry your brother, it wouldn’t do for you to have an uncomfortable relationship with your new sister-in-law.”

“
Why does it matter?”

“
You mean because you don’t even have a relationship with Simon?” At Giles’ nod, Sebastian continued. “That goes back to what I was talking about before. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but since you’re my friend, I want you to know. Belle mentioned that Simon told her that your mother means to make amends by helping you find a bride.”

“
I know.”

“
But I don’t just mean by asking Lady Cosgrove to host the house party, Giles.” He ran his hand through his dark hair. “Do you think it might be possible that your mother might have asked Lord Cosgrove to help bring you here?”

Giles sat stock-still. His mother had seemed extremely interested in him since his return. She’d agreed to host a dinner party when he’d asked her to a month ago. She’d even gone so far as resuming her title Lady Norcourt for the evening to act as hostess when she’d been content to be styled as Mrs. Appleton for twenty years. Then, at the house party, she’d sought him out whenever she could and had introduced him to some of who she’d considered to be the “finest” unattached young ladies. He’d found them annoying, but apparently she didn’t. She’d even told him that she’d like to help him find a match. But did her desire to find him a match go so far as to issue threats to get him to return? His heart pounded and sweat beaded along his brow. He looked to Sebastian. Sebastian didn’t lie. Not to Giles. He wouldn’t suggest this if he didn’t think it was a real possibility.

Hurt and anger swelled up inside of him, then just as quickly vanished. Just as it had when she’d admitted to having had the house party planned to help Giles find a match. Did it really matter that she’d used deceitful tactics to get him to return to England? He sighed. No. Almost everyone he’d ever met manipulated him. Why should his own mother be any different? “Thank you, Sebastian.”

“
For what?”

“
The truth,” Giles said simply, standing.

Sebastian leapt to his feet. “Are you going to confront her?”

“No.”

“
Then where are you going?”

“
You were right.”

“
About?”

“
Everything.”

Sebastian arched an eyebrow. “I doubt my wife would agree with that statement.”

Giles didn’t know what to say to that. “My mother is quite desperate to have a relationship so I’d better go apologize for what I said to Lucy.”

An expression Giles didn’t understand came over Sebastian’s face, then he stepped to the side and used both of his hands to gesture toward the door while giving a slight bow. Sebastian was a strange friend, to be sure, but many probably thought the same about Giles. Which was likely why they’d gotten along as well as they had in the past six years.

Less than five minutes later Giles found himself standing in front of the tall, light grey stone building that housed the Norcourt Lending Library. Though he was told he owned it, he’d never actually been inside before.

Clenching his hands into fists, he commanded his heavier-than-lead legs to carry him inside. The overwhelming smell of paper and glue filled his nose as soon as he opened the door. A second later he was assailed by a cloud of dust.

“Do forgive me,” chirped a red-haired urchin holding a limp feather duster. “Mrs. Appleton hates it when any dust is visible on the books.” She lowered her voice. “She thinks people will assume the dusty ones are the ones not worth readin’.”

His mother was smart. Very smart. Of course he already knew she was clever and deceitful, but she was also smart. How ironic, those three adjectives often went together. “Is L—er—Miss Whitaker here?”

The girl turned her head to the side. “Who?”

“
Miss Whitaker. She’s about this tall—” he lifted his hand to the middle of his chest— “she has black hair and blue eyes.”

“
I don’t know if I’ve seen her come in,” the girl said as she spun the feather stick between her hands, making the dust swirl around them.

“
She works here,” Giles clarified with a cough.

“
Works here?” The girl stopped spinning her duster. “The only person who works here other than me is Mrs. Appleton.”

“
I’ll find her.”

He didn’t take three steps away from the girl before his mother appeared in his line of vision.

“Giles?” she called out to him. Her lips stretched into a wide smile. “I’m so glad you came to see me. Come, let’s sit and talk.”

Giles ground his teeth and forced himself to go over to her. “Is Miss Whitaker here?” he asked without ceremony.

“Who?”

Giles frowned. “When Simon returned. Was there—” He broke off. The girl at the front of the store had mentioned a Mrs. Appleton who worked here and now his mother seemed oblivious to who Miss Whitaker was. Was it possible that Simon had already married her? Could he have so quickly? Giles had never paid much attention when people got married except to know there was a short ceremony where they each pledged their lives to each other.