“Fogg?”
Ash scoffed. “Not a chance. He may not be a classically trained valet, but he does a damn good job, and he doesn't mind washing blood out of my clothes.”
“You don’t know anything about me, though.”
“Don’t I?”
Of course he did. He would have dug up all kinds of information about him before offering him a position like that. Slowly, Simon nodded. “If you think I’m the right man for the job, I will do my best to live up to that.”
“Good man.”
Excitement thrummed through him. He couldn’t have asked for anything better. He was just about to stand to leave when he remembered something. “Oh, before I go, I have something for you. I hope you won’t mind. Warwick… the vicar Warwick,” he clarified, “was arrested up near your estate, so my partner and I stopped there in want of beds.”
“I don’t mind at all. Those beds ought to get some use. I hope my brother made you welcome.”
Simon nodded. “He did, and so did Maggie.”
“As adorable as ever I presume.”
“She asked me to give you this.” He pulled the folded paper out of his breast pocket and handed it to Ash. “Apparently, Trent says she can’t have her own pony, but one day she hopes to have one that looks exactly like that.”
Ash surveyed the painting with loving pride. That little girl very clearly owned his whole heart. “Thank you for playing the messenger.”
“I get the feeling she knows just who she needs to butter up to get what she wants.”
Ash chuckled. “I believe she does have a birthday coming. Now.” Ash put the painting down. “What about Madelene?”
A fissure opened in Simon’s heart at the mention of her, and pain, sharp and fierce, rushed out. He nearly doubled over with the force of it. “I found her a good home with a woman in Scotland.”
“Scotland?” Ash shrugged. “Well, if you’re quick, you should still be able to make it there and back by Thursday next to meet with my partners and the rest of our team.”
“I’ve already told you. I’m not marriage material.”
“And as I said before, neither am I.”
“You’re a bloody earl.”
He chuckled. “Does this look like an earldom to you? Last I checked, it was a dormitory for the women who dance in my notorious club.”
“She’s safe up there, Ash.”
“Perhaps. But is she happy?”
He didn’t know the answer to that question. But he certainly wasn’t. He doubted his heart would ever fully recover from losing her. Was it possible he could be a husband now? He wasn’t alone anymore. He was part of a team. Ash would see that she was taken care of if something happened to him.
He looked up, and Ash nodded, as if he’d read his thoughts.
Hope gradually filled him, like warmth from a rising sun. Could he really have her?
“It was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that she cares for you. You need to at least give her the choice, Allister.”
He didn’t know what to say, so he simply nodded. Somehow, he hadn’t realized that coming to work for Ash would allow there to be a choice.
“What if she says no?”
Ash shrugged. “What if she says yes?”
Simon’s heartbeat felt like a stampede and he was overcome with the emotions he’d denied since sending her away. He loved her, and he could finally tell her.
