Seven
Drew stood before the closed bedchamber door, his hands fisted at his sides. She cried in there. He heard her sobs.
Because of him?
Because he’d kissed her?
He shouldn’t have. No idea why he’d done it. Except he’d spent the entire journey enraged. And terrified. And there she’d been—the goal at journey’s end. And wearing pink. And looking terribly confused when he asked about marriage. Her confusion had done it (and the pink, if he were being honest), sent him entirely over the edge. His body had flooded with such relief, and he’d done the only thing that had seemed right. Celebrate. She did not intend to marry Tidsdale.
She might well be leaving him and the agency, though. She’d refused to deny the possibility. Which made him want to lose control again, kiss her until she submitted to him, until the thought of leaving him seemed impossible.
Absolutely not.
The kiss had been a mistake. She worked for him. She remained indispensable, and the kiss—as well as any future kisses—could ruin everything.
But if she left his employ for another position, he could kiss her at leisure.
And just what the hell kind of thought was that? He growled and strode down the hall. He needed something to occupy his mind, to kill off rogue thoughts such as those. In the beginning, when he’d first started his agency, work had been his only means of controlling unwanted thoughts and emotions, fears and desires. But he’d long since had the knack of it without exhaustion playing a central role.
Not now. His control shot to hell now. He’d worn every emotion precariously close to his skin since he’d found that letter. No. It went back further. Since thepink.
“Lord Andrew!” Bernard bounced up the stairs toward him, a bundle of cloth neatly folded in his arms. “The clothes aren’t too foul a fit, I see.”
“Indeed not. My thanks for the loan of them.”
“Naturally, my lord. We’ll have your clothes to you soon as can be, and you won’t have to go about as a footman much longer. Until then, I’ve brought you these.” He held out the folded bundle. “I pulled them out of my trunk. My best suit of clothes. Glad I brought them. Usually, I reserve them for special occasions. Don’t know why I thought I’d need them here. But I prefer being ready for any eventuality.”
“Very good.”
“And you can wear them now. Mrs. Dart plans to have dinner in half an hour, at the same hour as usual, and you can’t show up like that.”
“I won’t show up at all, Bernard.” The footman’s shoulders slumped. “I must leave as soon as can be. I’ve no time for pleasantries. Is there a readied chamber I can make use of until then?”
“Another reason why I’ve come for you, my lord. Follow me.” Bernard bobbed his head toward a door to his right. “This is theonly wing open at the moment. The castle is too big to open it all up for such a small party. So you’ll be in the same hallway as Mrs. Dart and Miss Angleton. I’ve made the room ready well enough. Did you bring your valet?”
“No. Why didn’t a maid ready the room?” Was Mrs. Dart in an unfortunate financial situation?
“There are three maids here, and they split their time between the kitchen and the cleaning. They are busy.” Bernard’s voice sounded pinched. “It’s a horrid system. They need more staff. But they don’t take instruction and enlightenment well up here.” He sighed. “I’ve been trying to talk sense into them.” Bernard opened the door and ushered Drew inside. “You told me to keep Mrs. Dart safe, and I’m trying to, but they don’t make it easy.” A heavy sigh.
The room proved smaller than Mrs. Dart’s chamber, barren and stark instead of cozy, but a fire roared in the grate.
“Where is everyone else? Mrs. Dart’s family?”
“There is no one else, my lord. Mrs. Scott, the housekeeper, says Mrs. Dart’s grandfather died two years before Mrs. Dart relocated to Manchester. There was no other family.”
He reached for his lapels to straighten them along with this new information. Found them missing. He cleared his throat instead. “Mrs. Dart owns this castle?”
Bernard nodded. “And the surrounding lands. Her grandfather was a viscount of some sort, but this place wasn’t entailed. Went entirely to Mrs. Dart.”
“You’re a wealth of information, Bernard. Thank you.”
The footman bowed. “Glad to be of help where it’s wanted.” He sniffed. “I’ll leave you to settle in and will bring up your trunk as soon as it arrives.”
“Very good.” A dismissal, yet still Bernard hovered. “What is it? Mrs. Dart?”
“No. It’s only… While you are here, if you find yourself in need of a valet, I have studied the art, and would be honored to serve you.”
“Ah. I did not know you were so well educated.”
