Thea huffed in indignation. “I did not insult him, Freddie.”
Wiping damp eyes, he stood up, straightening his coat, still grunting and choking as he fought to rein in his laughter. “I did not say you did.”
“But he insultedmewith that boorish behavior. How dare he slam his way from this room as though it were some Irish tavern.”
Freddie chuckled, as Thea crossed her arms and glared at him in her outrage as though it were all his fault. “I will go talk to him,” he said, bending to kiss her cheek. “After this, he may just drop his suit.”
“He had better,” she replied, still miffed. “After all, I do have better men than he wishing to court me.”
Freddie lifted his brow, straightening. “Indeed? Well, I will see you later.”
Striding quickly through the house, Freddie caught up to Robert as he stood in the courtyard, waiting for his horse to be saddled. His friend’s expression appeared tight, as though keeping his anger on a firm leash, but his lips quirked upward as Freddie approached.
“Well, I just got my arse whipped in a fair fight, did I not?” he asked.
“Stay, Robert. You just arrived here. Let us go fishing on the lake.”
Robert shook his head. “Thank you, old chap, but I think not. I may now know what your sister thinks of me, but I will not give up on her.”
Freddie grinned. “She is a canny one, eh?”
“She is indeed, and it makes me want to marry her even more.” Robert flashed a wry look. “I must reevaluate my strategy now.”
“Good luck, my old friend. Perhaps at the party, you will have the opportunity to charm her with your dancing skills.”
“Amid all my other competition?” Robert shook his head. “I must do something different, catch her by surprise in a less formal setting. With your blessing, I would like to return soon and visit her, perhaps bring her a gift.”
“Of course, Robert,” Freddie replied. “You know I support you in this.”
“Then might I ask that you do your best to endear her to me?”
Freddie shook his head. “I will certainly do my best, my friend. But she is set on marrying someone else.”
Turning away, Robert gazed out over the lake, his blue eyes distant. “I see you have rebuilt that old dock. I am certain it was old and rotten, as it had been there long before you or I were born.”
“Yes, it was. I am planning to catch up on my fishing. Are you sure you will not stay and join me? It will be like the days when we were young, taking the boat out and catching trout.”
“Thank you again, old chap.” Robert glanced away as a groom approached with his horse, saddled and bridled. “I will return in a few days, perhaps we will go fishing then.”
“You are welcome anytime.”
Stepping back, Freddie watched as Robert swung into his saddle and gathered his reins from the groom holding the horse’s head. Offering him a quick wave, he watched his old friend turn his mount around and strike a fast gallop out of the courtyard and down the road. Freddie turned to the groom.
“I need fishing bait,” he said. “Fetch a shovel and dig up some worms.”
The groom bowed. “Yes, My Lord.”
Returning to the house, Freddie changed out of his formal attire into older clothes and fetched his old fishing rod and gear from a closet. “I have not used this in years,” he muttered, examining the hooks. “I hope the fish are biting after all this time.”
He did not see Thea as he walked across the entry-way toward the door and chuckled again at the memory of how she outwitted old Robert. Though he would like to see her marry their childhood companion and bring the families together, he also desired her happiness above all else. Though he had been aware for all these years that she disliked Robert, he had no idea her enmity ran that deep. As he walked through the door, he wondered what might have caused it.
A few footmen followed him as he accepted the small bucket of dirt from the bowing groom, and observed Liam Carter among them. As the servant had ceased staring at Thea as Freddie had demanded, he had no further reason to dismiss the man or find fault with his work.
Thea is beautiful after all, and I am sure many of the male servants are infatuated with her.
Stepping into the small rowboat tied to the newly built and now sturdy dock, Freddie set the oars into the locks and pushed away. Though he had not been out on the lake for quite some time, rowing came back to him easily. He caught glimpses of the footmen on the shore, waiting for him to return. “Hopefully with some fresh trout for supper.”
Though the lake was not huge in length or width, it was deep. Like Thea, he had never learned to swim and only waded out into it from time to time when younger. Picking up his fishing rod, he baited the hook with a fat worm, and cast it out across the dark water. “Here, fishes, time for dinner,” he said, grinning to himself.
