“So amenable,” Oliver murmured. Again, that feeling of expecting the next blow to land at any moment moved along the edges of his nerves.
A childish snort came from Leo. “She’s amenable because she doesn’t have a better plan.”
“What is the definition of a better plan?” Louisa retorted. “The better plan is the one that succeeds, and you don’t know which one that is until it succeeds.”
Oliver leaned back in his seat, watching the two.
Bickering again.
It was almost nostalgic, this back-and-forth.
Soothing.
Chapter Eight
Louisa stepped fromthe carriage, her gaze sweeping over the cottage before her. It was by no means grand, not by any stretch of the imagination, yet neither could it be considered anything near rundown. Ivy climbed along the sides, and a few flowerpots sat by the windows with bright flowers. It was oddly delightful.
But its true allure?
The view.
Lawks! Louisa wouldn’t mind waking to a view of such a breathtaking scene as this every morning. The cottage looked over the beach, where the sand met the sea in an endless stretch of blue.
“Your friend liveshere?” She glanced at Mortimer. Even the duke took on a different aspect with this place as the backdrop. He appeared a touch more serene. Even dressed in plain clothing, though she would have loved to see him again in his livery! If she were to have to choose between that sight and this view, it would be a truly difficult decision!
Mortimer didn’t dawdle, he only nodded and led the way, all commanding and authoritative. She almost snorted, thinking about how he had “led” the way into the carriage earlier. Well, she had started it, but she couldn’t help but muse at how the man played along, as though it had always been in line with his own authority.
She trailed after him, bemused at the enthralled expression of her brother as well.
A tall man—almost as tall as Mortimer, but leaner—stepped from the house, grinning when his gaze fell upon the duke. “As I live and breathe, when I received your missive, I thought the heavens must be playing a trick on me.”
Louisa blinked when she heard the duke’s low laughter. The man always presented as a stiff, cold figure, so discovering this carefree laughter was quite startling.
“Thank you for helping us with lodgings,” Mortimer said.
The man waved his comment aside, but his curious gaze settled on Louisa and her brother. She stepped up to him and held out her hand. “Louisa Talbot. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
He hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second before shaking her offered hand. “Talbot, you say.TheTalbot?”
Oh, drat. Should she not have introduced herself with her real name?
“It’s a long story,” Mortimer answered the question his friend didn’t ask.
“I’m Leo Talbot,” her brother announced, following her lead, not noting anything amiss.
The man shook Leo’s hand as well. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m Michael Helgate.”
Louisa paused. Michael Helgate? Why did that name sound so familiar? She also didn’t miss thewhat are you bloody doingglance Mr. Helgate shot Mortimer.
Well, she couldn’t fault his curiosity or skepticism. Their families were not on good terms, and apparently, he knew it. A pinch of regret filled her. She should have shown more interest in how and why their families were actually feuding. She’d always understood it to be a sort of struggle between two ducal powers. To others it might seem rather ironic that she, the daughter of a duke, would want to steer clear of dukes. However, she couldn’t choose the family she had been born with, butshe could choose the family she would spend her life with—the husband part of it anyway.
But the look Mr. Helgate leveled at the duke sharpened her curiosity about the many layers to their feud.
“Come inside,” he gestured to the house. “I’ve just boiled water for tea. Miles will be by later to cook. A silent fellow, you probably won’t notice him. He does the chores at the house.”
How intriguing. “We thank you for your hospitality.”
“You are still using Miles as your personal servant?” To Louisa, he clarified, “They served together in the war, and Miles is the only one who worries endlessly about this one’s bad habits.”
