Heaven Sent (31 page)

Oh, Lord, there she went again:
borrowing trouble. She came up with a smile and entered the room.
“Certainly, Mr. Lockhart.”

“
Please, take a seat.” He
went to sit in the big chair behind his desk.

He looked terribly official when he
did that, but Callie tried not to think about it. “Yes, Mr.
Lockhart?”

Aubrey cleared his throat, slightly
alarming Callie, who took it as a sign that his nerves weren’t as
settled as they generally were. All sorts of horrible reasons for
his being nervous flickered through her mind in the second she had
to think before he spoke.

“
I’ve been thinking about a
lot of things recently, Miss Prophet.”

Callie’s mind went blank instantly.
She stared at him, unable to come up with anything to say to this
comment.

Aubrey began drumming his fingers on
his gleaming teakwood desk. “As you well know, life here at the
Lockhart home has undergone many unpleasant changes in the last
year or two.”

“
Er . . . Yes.” The drumming
of his fingers made her nerves skip.

“
You seem to be getting
along quite well as Becky’s nanny.”

Why had he suddenly changed the
subject? “Urn . . . Thank you.” It occurred to her that she ought
to say something more, so she tacked on, “Becky is a darling
child.”

A brief smile visited his handsome
features. “Yes, she is, isn’t she? That’s one of the things I
wanted to talk to you about.”

“
Oh?” She
swallowed.

“
Yes.” Suddenly Aubrey
shoved his chair back and stood, making Callie jump in her chair.
Clasping his hands behind his back, he began pacing in a circle
before the window.

Watching him, Callie wished she could
do that, too. It might help calm her down if she could move around.
Unfortunately, she was the nanny, and he was the boss, and she had
to sit still until he was finished with her.

“
Becky seems to be much
happier lately than she was before you came to work
here.”

“
Oh?” Relief flooded Callie
so fast, it nearly washed her out of her chair. Perhaps he wasn’t
going to fire her or make her get rid of Monster.

“
Indeed. She seems to have
taken a shine to you.”

“
Oh—”

He held up a hand as if to ward off
further comment, a gesture that was totally unnecessary since
Callie had run out of words earlier in the day and hadn’t found any
since.

“
I know, I know,” Aubrey
went on, “I didn’t believe you were the right person for the job at
first, but you’ve proved me wrong.”

She had? Good heavens.

“
I had originally believed
an older woman would be best for Becky, but I can see now that
you’re the right person for the job. You’re young and have enough
energy to keep up with a small, active little girl.”

That was nice, she supposed. “Thank
you.”

He brushed her thanks away. “No need
to thank me. I’m only reporting my observations.”

“
I see.”

He turned and looked at her sharply.
“Oh, yes. I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while, Miss
Prophet.”

Obviously. Callie nodded. The thought
crossed her mind that Mr. Lockhart might have suffered some sort of
fit that had affected his mind and left him babbling. She banished
it at once, sensing that a fit wasn’t the present
problem.

“
When I added everything
together, I decided perhaps a change was in order.”

Whatever was he talking about?
“Oh?”

“
Indeed. Because, you know,
one has to think of one’s child as well as one’s self when deciding
these things.”

“
Oh.”

“
So it occurred to me that
perhaps this might be an appropriate action on my part.”

“
I see,” said Callie, who
didn’t.

“
It really only makes sense.
After all, you’re already here in the household and you seem to get
along with everyone. Indeed, it seems to me that the entire staff
has begun to defer to you.” Looking as if he were worried that this
last comment might be construed by the eager-to-find-fault Callie,
Aubrey hastened to add, “Which is good.” He flashed her a
smile.

She didn’t respond with an answering
smile. If her expression told the truth, it would be one of total
befuddlement.

Aubrey’s smile faded into a slight
frown and he cleared his throat. “At any rate, it wouldn’t be as if
I were bringing a total stranger into the house.”

Callie was now completely at sea. She
hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. If there was a point to
this rambling, she was missing it. She watched him pace, wondering
if she was being particularly dim. She hadn’t slept much last
night. Probably her reflexes and thought processes were slow
today.

“
I probably should get into
the city more, too. My business is doing quite well, but it’s not a
good idea to run things at too great a distance, and this would
solve the problem of someone being here to see to things around the
house.”

Callie strained her brain, trying to
figure out what his point was.

“
I don’t like to leave Becky
here with only the household staff to watch her.” He turned and
glared at Callie, who jerked with surprise. “And I’ll be dashed if
I’ll turn her over to Mrs. Bridgewater.”

This pronouncement wrung a startled
cry from Callie. “Good God, no. No child should be given over to
that woman.”

He nodded. “Yes. There. You see? We
aren’t at odds about everything, after all.”

“
Er, no. I suppose we agree
on that point.” Because she was sorry to have misjudged him so
badly at the beginning of her employment, Callie felt impelled to
add, “I’m sure we agree on other points, too, Mr. Lockhart.” She’d
like to have mentioned a few of them, but her mind wasn’t
functioning right this minute, and she couldn’t think of
any.

“
Yes, yes, well, we needn’t
worry much about those things. I am, after all, the master in my
home and will continue to be so.” He gave her a sharp look and
resumed pacing. “I shan’t be relinquishing my position
here.”

“
Of course not.” Good Lord,
was he thinking of moving to San Francisco and leaving the rest of
his household here? Callie’s insides went cold at the thought of
Aubrey leaving. And what would Becky do? She’d already been
abandoned by her mother. Surely, Aubrey wasn’t thinking of
abandoning her, as well?

She recalled what she’d thought of
Aubrey when she first moved in to the Lockhart mansion, and was
ashamed of herself. She still believed he hadn’t handled his wife’s
death well when it came to Becky, but when she’d moved into his
home, she hadn’t understood the true nature of his grief. She
hadn’t understood it, in truth, until she’d read those blasted
letters.

Callie decided it would be prudent not
to think about the letters at the moment.

“
So, it wouldn’t be a major
change,” Aubrey said, furrowing his brow and frowning harder. “I
think there’s been too much change in Becky’s life already.
Continuity is the answer. I want to be fair to my child.” He shot
her a mildly accusatory look. “Whatever you think of me, Miss
Prophet, I do love my daughter.”

“
Of course you do,” Callie
murmured. “I know that, Mr. Lockhart.”

He nodded. “Good. So, then, what do
you think?”

Callie blinked at him. What did she
think? “Um . . . About what?”

He looked at her as if she were
feebleminded. “Why, what do you think of my proposal?”

Squinting at him and casting her mind
back over the past few minutes, trying to find some kind of
proposal tucked away in the fuddle of words Aubrey’d flung at her,
Callie didn’t. “Um . . . Well . . . That is, I . . .”

“
Well?” His voice had taken
on an edge, as if he thought she were dawdling over her answer for
some reason beyond his understanding.

She gave up and decided to tell the
truth. Lifting one hand, feeling helpless, and hating it—Callie
didn’t like not being in control of situations and people—she said,
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Lockhart, but I don’t believe I grasped the
essence of whatever proposal you think you’ve made.” Then she
worded that he’d take her words amiss and get angry with her. But
really, after thinking about it, she didn’t think he’d been clear
at all, and if he’d proposed something, she’d missed it
entirely.

He stared at her as if she were being
willfully obtuse. “For God’s sake, Miss Prophet!”

Frustrated, but willing to keep her
temper in check until it became obvious that he needed a piece of
her mind, Callie murmured, “I’m sorry, sir. Perhaps I’m slow today.
I, ah, didn’t catch the gist of what you were asking
me.”

His stare turned into a goggle. “You
what?”

She shrugged. “I’m sorry, Mr.
Lockhart.”

Aubrey flattened his hands on his
glossy desk and leaned forward, his eyes blazing. “For God’s sake,
you fool, what do you think I was talking about? I just asked you
to marry me!”

Chapter Fifteen

Aubrey had known Miss Callida Prophet
to be rowdy. He’d known her to have a temper. He’d known her to be
sassy, difficult, and just plain rude. But he’d never believed her
to be an idiot before this minute.

He glowered at her and resented it
when her mouth fell open in shock, snapped shut, and fell open
again. He said,

“
Well? I shouldn’t think you
would find the position too unbearable. After all, you’re fond of
Becky, aren’t you? You’ve told me you are.”

She remained silent. She looked as if
she were stunned, as if, instead of proposing marriage to her, he’d
clubbed her with a blunt instrument. Dash it, what was wrong with
the woman?

At last, she found some words. After
she’d spoken them,

Aubrey wondered why she’d
bothered.

“
I—you—I— You want to marry
me?”

His eyes narrowed. Squinting at her,
he wondered if perhaps he’d rushed his proposal. Thinking back, he
couldn’t recall clearly explaining all the particulars of his offer
to her. Because he didn’t want her to misunderstand, he stopped
leaning on his hands and stood straight. Still frowning, he said,
“I don’t see that a marriage with me should disrupt your life too
much. After all, you’re already living under my roof, and you’ve
established an effective relationship with my daughter.”

“
I—” Her eyes were wide.
Aubrey read confusion in them, and something else he couldn’t put a
name to. “I’m Becky’s nanny,” she said. “I hadn’t even considered
being your—” She stopped speaking and gulped. “I hadn’t ever
considered being your wife.”

He shrugged. “Well, consider it. It
sounds merely logical to me. Convenient.”

“
Convenient?”

He cast about for a more useful word
than that one, which didn’t really convey his meaning, and came up
with another: “It would provide continuity. I don’t want to bring a
stranger into Becky’s life. She’s suffered too many disruptions
already.”

Callie cleared her throat. “You want
to marry me so as not to disrupt Becky’s life?”

“
Well Yes.” He nodded again,
judiciously. “It only makes sense.”

She stood, folding her hands at her
waist. Aubrey had never seen her look so demure, and he didn’t
trust her. “It makes sense?”

“
Yes. Certainly.”
Remembering at last that he hadn’t explained the love angle to her,
he said hastily, “I’m sure you understand that this is primarily a
business decision on my part, Miss Prophet. You know—the whole
world knows—that my late wife and I had a special union of like
souls and like minds. You must understand that. But, while I can’t
offer you love, I can and will strive to be a suitable husband to
you. You’ll never lack for material things, and you’ll have a
daughter in Becky, whom, it has become obvious to me, you
love.”

“
I see.”

Was her voice shaking? Could be. After
all, it wasn’t every day she got a marriage proposal. Probably. Or
maybe she did. What did he know about her personal life?

Suddenly, Aubrey remembered something
else and felt his neck get hot. “I would want for it to be a real
marriage,” he said quickly. “If you understand what I mean. I, ah,
would like to have more children. Perhaps a son. Not,” he hastened
to assure her, for fear of rousing her feminist sensibilities,
“that I want marriage only as a means of securing a son. I’m an
enlightened man in an enlightened age and don’t believe that female
children are intrinsically of less importance than male children.
You know very well that I adore my daughter. But Anne and I had
planned on having a large family. We—Well, you know what
happened.”

“
Yes,” she said. “I know
what happened.”

They stood in Aubrey’s library,
looking at each other, until Aubrey’s nerves jangled. “Damnation,
wilt you stop standing there, staring at me? I just proposed
marriage to you, for God’s sake! Say something!”