“Er, excuse me, what?”
Freddie shook his head, his expression one of mild exasperation mixed with love. “I do so hope you are not planning some devilish reprisal for my jests earlier, Thea.”
“Of course not. Why do you want a party? It is far too soon after Father and Mother’s funerals.”
“But inviting all the bachelors of the kingdom will permit you to meet them.” Freddie gazed down at her, his brows furrowed, his lips thinned. “I do worry so over you, sweet sister.”
Still conscious of Liam following a few paces behind and no doubt overhearing every word, Thea lowered her head and her voice. “I appreciate that Freddie, I truly do. But my heart still grieves for our parents. You simply must give me more time.”
Freddie nodded. “Perhaps I am pushing you too hard, Thea,” he admitted, his longish black hair caught under the throes of the wind. “Just promise me to keep an open mind.”
Thea agreed, her nose not rising an inch. “I can do that. And I do thank you for worrying over me.”
Freddie gazed down at her, not an ounce of humor anywhere. “I told you I love you, sister, and I do want what is best for you.”
Somehow, I fear what is best for me is not what you have in mind.
Chapter 2
Feeling his heart break in his chest, Liam despaired. It cannot be true, he told himself, Lord Willowdale would surely not marry her off to some husband who may treat her badly.Would to God I had been gently born so that I may face her as an equal and beg her hand in marriage.Bitterness rose to his throat and stuck there, choking him, cutting off his breath. He was not gently born. He was not her equal and never would be. Asking for her hand in marriage was like reaching into the night sky to seize the moon, then paying a jeweler to set it into a wedding ring.
Walking a few steps behind the brother and sister, Liam could not help but overhear their speech, as Lord Willowdale’s voice tended to carry. Miss Miller’s was softer, a true lady who spoke like an angel. Lord Willowdale wanted a party to bring together the cream of the realm’s aristocracy for Miss Miller to pick a husband.
I should be her husband. No one else will care for her as I do.
The instant Liam had struck adolescence, he knew he was in love with Miss Miller. Of the same age, they played together as children – the daughter of the Viscount and the son of the housekeeper. He never truly understood when she ceased their games, had told him she had so many other things to do. When he grew angry at the ripe old age of thirteen, his mother, Mary Carter, drew him aside.
“Ye must let her gae, laddie,” she said, wiping his angry face with her apron. “Her maw dae be tellin’ her that ye be a servant and such. Noo ye best be realizin’ that she be gentry and ye nae.”
“But I ken it, Mum,” he protested. “I loves her, sae I dae.”
Mary gazed at him, sympathy in her clear blue eyes. “I ken it, son. But ye must let her gae.”
Liam did not let her go. Instead, he practiced his English accent until his throat was raw. He banished as much of the Scots from his blood as he dared, and grew older. By his mid-teens he became a household footman, the Scottish in his voice barely recognized by those who heard him speak. Liam waited and he watched, loving Miss Miller from a distance as she grew from the gangly, knobby-kneed child he had played with, to the stunningly beautiful lady she had become.
His duties as a footman made him all but invisible. His livery, his powdered wig, made him anonymous, a nobody, one among many just like him in size and stature, but gave him access to following and watchingher.Without making it obvious, Liam made certain he was the nearest to her when Miss Miller needed her packages carried. He made himself indispensable on her shopping trips to the village, flipped coins with his fellows to make sure he accompanied the family to London.
Liam grieved with her when her parents were killed in the robbery and longed to hold her in his arms as she wept in her grief. He rejoiced at her every smile and knew she smiled athim,at Liam her old friend, and not just another footman. He loved her with every fiber of his being, would slay himself at her bidding and would lay down his life for her if she but asked.
“I appreciate that Freddie, I truly do. But my heart still grieves for our parents. You simply must give me more time,” Liam heard her say.
If she needs time, then perhaps I can find a way to convince her of how much I love her.He knew quite well that commoners married aristocrats, and the world had not yet ended, despite many opinions to the contrary.If I can show her my heart, then perhaps she will consent to marry me.
Following the siblings from the lake to the vast old house, Liam trailed behind Miss Miller, Thea as he preferred to think of her, as she climbed the stairs to her rooms to get cleaned up for the afternoon meal. He waited outside in the hall until she emerged, then bowed to her as she ambled past him and back down the stairs. He lived for attending upon her every need, recognizing that he, perhaps, had grown obsessed with her.
Standing with other footmen along the wall in case they were needed to run errands for their master and mistress, Liam listened to their low voiced conversation, and learned Thea planned to spend the afternoon reading in the library.So that is where I will be.
“Let us go out riding, Thea,” Lord Willowdale said to her. “We have not spent any time on horseback in ages.”
As Thea faced him, due to Liam’s strategic positioning of himself where he could watch her, he saw her tilt her head as she pondered his invitation. “Not today, Freddie. How about later in the week?”
“That will be fine,” he replied, cutting his roast with his knife. “I believe Robert plans to visit tomorrow.”
Thea wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Then I will find an excuse to be out when he calls.”
“I will never understand why you do not like him. He is my best friend, after all. And he certainly likes you well enough.”
“I never have,” Thea replied, her voice firm. “And I never will. Please do not encourage his pursuit of me, Freddie. I have no desire to marry him.”
