“I don’t know. Getting paid in apples for hard labor? I’m not all that keen on apples. I found a worm in one, once. Well, half a worm.” He pulled a sick face and rubbed his stomach.
“I know you like cheese. You’ll never taste any better than Mrs. Dennehy’s cheddar. Besides, you don’t have much choice. You owe me a bob.”
“What did you mean, a young man on my own? Won’t Mrs. Dennehy be looking after me?” He cocked a brow, so like William Cooper.
“She’s a farmer, not a nursemaid. She’ll put you to work in exchange for room, board, and wages.” At least, Marcus hoped she would. He would have to bargain with Mrs. Dennehy to take young Cooper on. And after he established Brandon on the farm, perhaps he could convince Mrs. Dennehy of the merits of retirement in favor of letting the whole Cooper family take over at Tilly Meadow. It was a good start.
“Wages? I’ll earn some money to send home to Mum?”
“If it all goes well.” Marcus put his arm around him. “Come on, boy. It’s time we made you a man.”
***
As she made her way to Averford House, Eve had an uneasy feeling that she was being followed. It had started with a queer tingling down her spine as she’d sipped her tea, staring out the window of Wilson’s Tearoom at the crowds passing on the street. She’d noticed a man in a dark suit and black bowler hat who had passed the window and, after a time, had passed back again.
She walked faster now, suddenly very glad that she would soon be reunited with Marcus. It wasn’t that she needed a man or was incapable of finding her way alone, but there was an added sense of safety in numbers.
Preoccupied as she turned a corner, she ran right into a man coming from the opposite direction. On instinct, her hand went up between them to cushion the blow and she nearly dropped her parcel.
“Fancy meeting you like this,” he said, tipping his hat. “I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
His hand curled around her waist as if to steady her, but it stayed there. She felt the hard planes of his chest under her palms. She stepped back.
“Not at all.” She smoothed her coat, as if to show that all was well. Hearing his voice instantly calmed her nerves. “I seem to keep bumping into you, Captain Thorne.”
“As habits go, it’s not a bad one to get into.” He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, another habit that could become all too comfortable. They looked like a couple. If a man followed her for any reason, it would do well to appear as if she had a man looking after her. A large and capable man.
Instead of setting off as expected, Marcus paused and turned. Had he been followed, too?
“Marcus?” Eve asked. “Something amiss?”
“There you are, Brandon,” he said, looking behind him. “Try to keep up. Averford House isn’t much farther up the road.”
Brandon? A young man with shaggy brown hair joined them.
“Mrs. Kendal, might I present my young charge, Brandon Cooper? He will be joining us for the evening and returning with us to Thornbrook Park tomorrow.”
“Brandon.” She tipped her head in greeting and turned her gaze back to Marcus. “Your young charge?” Was this what had kept Marcus in London and away from Thornbrook Park? He had a “young charge?” A ward? Or—
“Brandon’s father and I were at war together,” Marcus began, somewhat awkwardly.
“Father didn’t make it home,” Brandon interrupted.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Eve offered, pieces falling into place. Marcus had served with Brandon’s father and somehow had assumed responsibility for his friend’s child. Wouldn’t Gabriel be surprised to learn of his brother’s philanthropy?
“I’m going to work on a farm,” Brandon boasted with enthusiasm, avoiding further acknowledgment of her sympathetic words. She understood, having become tired of finding pity in the eyes of friends and strangers alike when they learned of her widowhood.
“Tilly Meadow, with Mrs. Dennehy,” Marcus clarified. “If all goes according to plan.”
If. He still had to clear it with Gabriel, she supposed, and who knew how that would go? He must care a great deal about Brandon Cooper to put himself in a position to ask for something from his brother.
She stole a glance at him. “Oh my, you have a bruise. What happened?”
Marcus’s inflamed cheek sported a purplish-black mark, and his lip seemed a tad fuller than usual. “Ah, yes. The marks of manhood, my dear. Nothing to fret over. Brandon and I did some sparring, blowing off steam after obtaining permission from his mother for his immediate departure.”
She looked at Brandon, not a mark on him. Marcus had probably gone easy on the boy. “Congratulations, Brandon. You must have been the victor.”
Brandon smiled, pride in his chocolate brown eyes.
“Hold on. I think, yes, Marcus, you’re bleeding.” She stopped, took out her handkerchief, and dabbed at the blood on his lip where it split ever so slightly.
Her knees shook. A rush of heat surged through her bloodstream and pooled between her thighs. The urge to kiss him was suddenly so overwhelming that it was all she could do not to cover his lush lips with her own. Nearly. She stepped back and tucked her kerchief away. It certainly wouldn’t do when they had a child present. “There. All better.”
She wanted him, she realized, biting her lip. She wanted Captain Marcus Thorne, a man meant for Sophia’s sister, a man she couldn’t have. Where had the sudden wave of longing come from? More importantly, how could she make it go away? A lump rose in her throat. Perhaps better that Brandon had joined them than that they found themselves alone. All night.
“Thank you, Eve. Sutton’s a good sport most of the time, but blood at the dinner table might put him over the edge.”
“We’ll have time to change before dinner, I hope,” she said, hugging her parcel to her chest. She’d found a glorious gown on the rack, half price, because some baroness had ordered it and had never come back for it. As luck would have it, it fit Eve perfectly. She hadn’t even had to pay for alterations. She’d also bought a skirt in the new shortened style, perfect for the modern woman who made frequent use of trains. Stepping up to board would be much easier without the cumbersome length of her usual skirts.
“We’ll make time. It’s all up to us. Can I carry that for you?” he asked, as if just making note of her parcel.
“Oh no. Thank you. It’s not heavy.” She willed herself to move on, just keep walking, just keep making conversation, pretend to be completely unaffected by the man at her side who made her pulse race every time she stole a glance at him. “A new dress. Sophia keeps insisting I need some, but I haven’t had time to bother. Must keep up appearances, she says. I used to think so, too, but I suppose India transformed my sensibilities. I no longer care about wearing the right clothes as much as wearing what I like.”
Clothes. Her mind jumped to the image of Captain Thorne in no clothes. Not a stitch. She nearly covered her face with her hands as if seeing him before her very eyes. The wide chest, lean waist, his rippled abdomen, and lower.
“‘Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes,’” he said. “Was it Mark Twain who said so?”
“I believe it was Thoreau.” She remembered Colonel Adams’s warning about discouraging suitors by showing her intelligence and almost held her tongue. Almost. Intrigued as she was by Captain Thorne, she refused to resort to artifice.
“Bah, American writers. I get them all confused.” He laughed. “But here we are at Averford House. It’s time to give Mr. Sutton a shock when we walk in together.”
“Together with me,” Brandon interjected, as if to remind them of his presence. “No doubt Mr. Sutton will be surprised to see me, too.”
“Oh, no doubt at all.” Marcus laughed. “You’ve grown so since your last visit that he won’t even recognize you.”
She didn’t have the heart to
inform Marcus that Sophia had telephoned a warning to expect them. He might have figured it out himself when Mr. Sutton opened the door, unflappable as always.
“Good afternoon, Captain Thorne, Mrs. Kendal.” Sutton tipped his head to each of them. “And is that Master Cooper? My, how you’ve grown.”
“He recognized me.” Brandon shook his head. “There’s no pulling one over on you, Mr. Sutton.”
“No indeed.” He smiled at the boy. “Mrs. Kendal, can I unburden you?”
She handed him her package and shrugged out of her coat.
“Oh, you see Mrs. Kendal, too?” Captain Thorne joked. “I thought she was my imaginary friend.”
Sutton ignored the reference. “I’ve set you up in your usual rooms.”
“Usual?” Eve was nearly overcome with a feeling of acceptance. She’d been at Averford House only once, and she had a usual room as if she belonged there? God bless Mr. Sutton.
Sutton nodded. “Brandon, I admit you are a surprise, but Cook’s preparing enough food to serve a whole battalion.”
“Is there a battalion coming to dinner?” Brandon asked, eyes growing wide.
“No, young sir. But you ate enough to feed an army last time you visited.”
“You can set him up in the blue guest room,” Marcus instructed. “He’s staying the night and returning with us to Thornbrook Park on the morrow.”
“Thank you, Sutton,” Eve said, preparing to take her leave. “I’ll go right up to get settled.”
“I believe I’ll have some refreshment first. Eve, are you sure you won’t join me?” Marcus asked.
“No.” She kept her head down to hide the tears forming. How ridiculous that she should cry over something as simple as having a usual room. “Thank you. I’ll be down in time for dinner.”
Before he could protest, she fled up the stairs. She was halfway up when she heard footsteps behind her and Marcus calling out her name.
Before she turned, she wiped her eyes. “Yes, Captain Thorne?”
“Eve.” He gripped her gently by the elbows, urging her closer. “I thought I saw you crying. Are you well?”
“Of course. It’s silly, really. Please just let me go on up.”
He didn’t release her. “You can rely on me if there’s something troubling you. I want to help.”
“It’s nothing. Lack of sleep, perhaps. Excitement kept me up all night, and then I woke early for the train. Ben’s solicitor gave me reason to believe that my financial troubles may be at an end, though I dare not hope. And then…”
“And then?” He slipped a finger under her chin and tipped her face up to meet his gaze.
She took a breath and found that she was able to laugh off her fear. “Then, I thought someone was following me around London. I suppose I dare not allow myself even that brief glimpse of hope before my imagination rips it straightaway. Who would follow me? Ridiculous.”
His amber eyes clouded over, glinting gold in the dim light of the stairway. “And yet you don’t strike me as a hysterical female. You seem very level-headed to me. What did you see?”
“A man in a black coat and bowler hat behind me, and then passing again and again by the tearoom where I spent an hour or so. But don’t half the men in London fit such a description? I convinced myself that I kept seeing the same one. On further consideration, it had to have been different men, many different men. As I said, lack of sleep.”
“Hmm.” He pursed his lips. “Perhaps. But I mean to stay by your side tomorrow, just in case.”
“It’s not necessary. I have another meeting with the solicitor.”
“I have no pressing business. I’ll go with you.”
“All right.” As much as she craved independence, she had to admit that she felt more comfortable having a companion, and spending more time at Captain Thorne’s side definitely appealed. “Thank you.”
Curse it if her eyes weren’t welling up again.
“What now?” His voice sounded far more concerned than annoyed.
“I’m embarrassed by my weakness. I’d been so determined to handle my business all on my own, and now you think I need a bodyguard. Not that I mind having one, but I mean to stand on my own two feet, no need to be looked after like a fragile female. Exactly what I must appear to you when I resort to tears. I might not even be in such a spot if Ben had relied on me. He wanted to do everything for me, to look after me.”
He placed a finger to her lips. “You can still be independent and rely on friends now and then. Do you know how remarkable you are? You stayed strong when other women left alone in India might have crumbled. You moved out of your house and back to England. Of course, you can take care of yourself, Eve. Who would doubt it?”
Did he really see her that way?
“I wish I had been more insistent with Ben. If only I had demanded to be aware of all of our business instead of letting him think he was protecting me from big decisions.” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice, and she met Marcus’s gaze without thinking. “The entire time I was married, I wasn’t quite myself. What can it mean? I loved him. I did. But I wasn’t me.”
“Love makes us do foolish things.” He stroked her face and moved closer. “Foolish, foolish things.”
Her eyes met his, seeing the sudden fire of determination in them, then strayed to his lush lips that he nibbled briefly before he said the one word that would set her over the edge.
“Please.”
One word, and she was lost. All fight and sense went out of her. She wasn’t sure if he had kissed her or she had kissed him, but their mouths were together, meeting hungrily. He slipped his tongue between her lips, and she drew on it, pulling him deeper. Somewhere, a service bell rang, an angry tinkling, but she was breathless in his arms, pressed up against the banister, his hands on her backside. What if Mr. Sutton came along? Or Brandon?
She pushed him away. “I must go. I must. I’m sorry.”
Before she could be persuaded to stay, she ran up the stairs and left Marcus standing there alone.
***
He had never meant to kiss her. It made everything so much more complicated and impossible. But the sudden sadness darkening her eyes and what she’d said indicated she’d had some sort of self-realization that had obviously shaken her. He’d only wanted to help. In the end, he was probably no better than her husband, so desperate to protect her from any pain or inconvenience that he failed to think about what she really needed.
But she’d loved her Ben. Despite his flaws.
He ran his hands through his hair, staring up the empty staircase after her. She was not for him. Never for him. He had a responsibility to the Coopers. She was the kind of woman who needed to stand on her own, to support herself. She had just told him as much, possibly only just realized it. How could he take that away from her? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He didn’t dare. He wished he had her courage.
What if it was lust, plain and simple? He hadn’t had a woman in years, couldn’t fathom taking someone he didn’t care for as a lover. She’d been a widow for over a year. No doubt she had quite a bit of pent-up longing. Lord knew, his senses were currently impaired. His mind was light and fuzzy around the edges, as if he’d been drugged. He could scarce manage to pull a thought together that didn’t involve Eve’s eyes, lips, or curves, or imagining her body in some state of undress.
And they would have been alone for dinner. Somehow, he couldn’t manage to be put off by the idea, which made him all the more relieved that Brandon would be joining them. Otherwise, he feared he wouldn’t be able to keep from making a move that they might both regret come morning.
Ten
They waited for an hour in the drawing room, and then another half hour in the dining room, before Marcus began to be concerned that his kiss had put her off. Perhaps she’d arranged for a meal to be sent up to her room?
; “Sutton,” he called out, “have you any word from Mrs. Kendal?”
Sutton peeked his head in from the hall, where he, too, seemingly waited. “Here she is now.”
The double doors opened and she swept into the room, a vision in a figure-hugging white gown dripping with silver beads. Marcus stood, fortunately recovering his ability to speak.
“Eve. You look…” He felt his mouth drop open in search of the word. Maybe he hadn’t quite recovered.
She blushed, or at least the pale gown contrasted with her rosy complexion. “Thank you. You’re looking well, too.”
He adjusted his tie. “I left some of my formal clothes behind, fortunately. I had a feeling that I should dress for dinner.”
“Can we tuck in, then?” Across the table, Brandon fidgeted. He wasn’t dressed for dinner and didn’t seem to understand the need for fuss. He was simply a hungry, growing boy. “About time.”
“Brandon, mind your manners,” Marcus corrected him and stood to pull out a chair for Eve before Sutton, approaching, could get to it. He placed her to his right at the head of the table. Brandon, amused by the length of the table in the formal dining room, had claimed the chair at the opposite end from Marcus. Now that Eve had appeared in that dress, Marcus was especially grateful to have Eve close and the boy at a bit of a distance.
Sutton hovered, pouring wine. Marcus didn’t usually require a footman when the earl was out of town, but one appeared bearing a tray with the first course.
“Poached salmon with mousseline sauce and cucumbers,” Sutton announced as the footman began to serve.
“It seems we’re to have an elegant meal,” Marcus said. “Not the usual fare tonight, Mr. Sutton.”
“No, sir,” Sutton responded. “We have guests.”
“Indeed we do,” Marcus said, as Sutton and the footman left the room.
“You deign to address the servants?” Eve asked with mock disapproval. “No wonder you are ever at odds with your brother.”
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