It was the only thing the doting and decent Blaxland hadn’t been able to give her and the only thing she would not risk giving to herself. He’d given her security and a future, but he could not give her a family. Despite ten years of marriage, there was only to be her darling Sophie between them. Another husband, another man, younger, more virile, might provide her with those children, but she did not want to turn her responsibilities over to a husband in exchange, nor could she risk her reputation with the entanglement of a lover. The well-intentioned overture from Miles Detford years ago had shown her how even the smallest misstep could weaken her position.
On either front, she had no business kissing the Marquess of Lynford in the academy gardens. She was the daughter of a mine owner, the widow of a mine owner. Her family came from business. Cits on all sides, including her late husband’s. Such a background wasn’t for a marquess. Eliza knew how the world worked. She could be nothing for him but a brief dalliance until whatever mystery he saw in her was solved. Men could do as they liked. But she would never outrun the stain and neither would Sophie.
That was the lesson she told herself as her coach deposited her at the inn. But it didn’t stop her from dreaming that night of a dark-eyed man who’d called her extraordinary and kissed her body into an acute awareness of itself, who’d made her feel alive in ways she hadn’t felt for years, perhaps ever. There simply hadn’t been time or place for such realisations. There still wasn’t. Whatever that kiss had awakened had to be suppressed. That kiss could stay in her dreams, but it could go no further. In the morning she would wake up, visit the Porth Karrek mine and return to life as usual. As earth-shattering as tonight had been, it simply couldn’t be any other way for her.
* * *
It simply couldn’t be this way. The lumber order for the tunnel timbers was excessive. Eliza sat back from the ledgers, hazarding a glance at the clock on the wall of the mine office. It was eleven already. The morning had slipped away while she’d grappled with the receipt, trying to make sense of the overabundance of ordering. She’d meant to leave for home by now and she was nowhere close to making that self-imposed departure. If she left it any later, she’d miss tea with Sophie. She’d promised she’d be back in time and she never broke a promise. But ultimately, she was the one who had to answer to the shareholders in a few weeks at the annual meeting, the one who would be accountable for this over-ordering.
Eliza went to the window and looked down on the bustling scene below: carters pushing wheelbarrows of ore from the mine to the sorters; sorters separating the ore; her foreman, Gillie Cardy, shouting orders. The sight of her mines at work brought a certain thrill, a certain proof that she’d accomplished something. She caught Gillie’s eye and gestured for him to come up. He would know why so much lumber had been ordered.
Gillie knocked on the door before entering, sweeping off his knit cap as he stepped inside. ‘Mrs Blaxland, how can I be of service?’ She liked Gillie. He’d been the site manager even before her husband died. He was competent and knew the mechanics of mining thoroughly, and he’d been a friendly face when she’d first taken over.
She motioned towards the ledgers. ‘I have some questions about the lumber order.’
Gillie chuckled and shook his head. ‘I’m no good at numbers, ma’am. I just do what I’m told. You want someone to find a lode in the mine, I’m your fella. But if you want someone to do the books, that’s not me. I know mining and not much else.’ Eliza nodded. This was yet another reason her schools were vital. People needed mathematics and reading skills no matter what their profession. Education was power and protection. Without it, people were waiting to be victims.
‘I’ve done the sums,’ she assured him. ‘With the amount of timber ordered we could build a tunnel twice the length.’
He twisted the cap in his hand, looking worried. ‘The tunnel is very long, ma’am. We are tunnelling out underneath the ocean.’
Eliza stared at him in disbelief. ‘We are not! We opted not to take the risk at this time.’ Her stomach began to turn. The board had decided at the last quarterly meeting not to go that far.
‘Pardon me, ma’am, but Mr Detford said we were tunnelling under the ocean.’
Miles Detford? He ran the Wheal Karrek mine for her. She trusted Detford, counted him as friend. Miles would never go against the board’s decision or her wishes. He knew how she felt about the dangers of tunnelling beneath the ocean. Surely, there must be some mistake, that Cardy had misunderstood or that Miles Detford had been pressured by someone, because if that wasn’t the case, it meant she had misunderstood—not just the decision not to tunnel, but so much more. Her board was willing to override her decisions.
If it were true, it was a slap in the face. Someone thought she wouldn’t notice, either because she wasn’t diligent or because they thought she wasn’t smart enough. The other answer was even less appealing. Maybe whoever ordered the timbers simply didn’t care if she noticed. Her wishes were to be overridden. Not everyone on the board had agreed about the tunnel. It had been contentious and hotly debated. She’d rather put the money towards mining schools. Others had not felt that way. There was no money to be made from the schools.
Eliza pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to settle the roil that had started with the realisation. After years of proving herself, it seemed things still weren’t beyond that first year. Hadn’t she been the one who had insisted on steam engines to replace the horses? Hadn’t she been the one to institute safety protocols? The worst of it was, she’d thought things were better. But they weren’t. Someone was laughing behind her back, playing her very publicly for a fool.
Already, her mind was running through options. Which shareholders had conspired against her? Was it Isley Thorp or Sir Gismond Brenley, the other chief shareholders? It must have been if they had enough leverage to force Miles Detford into ordering the timbers. Miles would never have ordered them on his own. He would have defended her decision.
She returned to her desk chair and drew out a piece of paper from the drawer, penning a note with instructions. There was no question of returning to Truro until this mess was resolved. She folded the note and handed it to Gillie. ‘Have a messenger deliver this to the town house with all haste.’ Sophie and her governess could be here tomorrow. That would give her time to find suitable living arrangements. The inn wasn’t a decent place for a young girl. But where? Who did she know in town to whom she could turn? Did she dare ask Lynford? He was her only acquaintance likely to have any connections. The thought of Sophie at the inn, driving guests mad with her exuberance, settled it. As hesitant as she was about asking Lynford, she didn’t have a choice. Wheal Karrek needed her and she needed Sophie.
Decision made, she took out a second sheet and penned another note. ‘Take this up to the new conservatory.’ She reread the note, making sure she’d struck just the right tone, short, concise, a very businesslike message, nothing that Lynford would misconstrue as an invitation to continue what they’d started and finished in the garden. Satisfied, she sent Gillie off. That only left sending a note to Detford. Her stomach surged once more at the thought. She settled it with a reminder that this was all a misunderstanding. Miles would come and explain all. She’d been on her guard for so long, it was too easy to see trouble where there was none.
Chapter Five
Eliza had barely finished the note when the commotion of an arrival sounded in the yard below. Perhaps another wagonload of supplies was expected today? But when she reached the window, there was no wagon in the yard, only a lone man on a chestnut horse—a tall, broad-shouldered man, dark hair unruly and windblown. He dismounted in a fluid motion and Eliza’s breath caught. Lynford was here! He’d come and immediately. He couldn’t have received her message more than an hour ago.
He looked up at the window, shielding his eyes against the sun, and Eliza reflexively stepped back even though there was little chance of being seen. She w
as both flattered and flustered by his attention. What to do? Allow him to come up or should she go down to meet him? She would go down. Things tended to happen when she was alone with him. Crowds were safer. She took up her hat and gloves and paused a moment to check her appearance in the small mirror behind the door before whispering, ‘Breathe, Eliza. He’s just a man.’
A man who had kissed her. A man who had not been intimidated by her when she’d surprised him at the school. A man who had come to her immediately even though she’d not specifically requested it. She stopped at the foot of the stairs to collect herself. She should not be excited. This was an entirely girlish reaction. She’d summoned him for business purposes because that was the nature of their acquaintance and she knew no one else in the area who might be positioned to help her. She’d not summoned him because of last night. She wanted to be clear with herself on that. In fact, that had been the singular reason she’d hesitated to send for him in the first place.
She stepped outside, striding forward with confidence, hand outstretched in a mannish greeting. ‘My lord, how good of you to come and how surprising. I’d expected a list of recommendations in response, not an actual visit. I hope this isn’t disrupting your day?’
He shook her hand and gave her one of his broad, winning smiles. If he was put off by the masculine gesture he gave no sign of it. ‘Not at all. There’s nothing left to do up at the school except get in the way while Kitto tries to settle the students.’ Sweet heavens, he was just as devastating in daylight and plain clothes as he was by night. Perhaps more so. Without the elegance of evening clothes, it was too easy to forget he was a marquess, heir to a dukedom and entirely above her touch. Today, he looked the part of a country squire and eminently more attainable, dressed in riding boots, tight buckskins, and a long greatcoat suited for the autumn air that blew in off the sea.
Lynford did not relinquish her hand, but covered it with his other. ‘Tell me, what sort of accommodations do you require for the longer term? A manse? A cottage? An estate? I have a place in mind if you think it would suit. There’s a dower house at Falmage Hill. It’s not far from here. It would be close to the mine and it’s well situated between Porth Karrek and Penzance. I am in residence at the main house, or else I’d let the whole estate to you instead.’
‘I don’t need a whole estate.’ Eliza laughed. ‘The dower house will be ideal.’ Did she sound as flustered as she felt? The offer was overwhelming, all the more so because she couldn’t recall the last time someone had lifted the burden from her shoulders. Her world was full of wolves and vultures, but here was a stranger—an acquaintance at best—who’d shouldered the weight of this one task without hesitation. This was arguably the best news she’d heard all morning. But did it come at a cost? What guarantees was Lynford looking for? Why would a man she barely knew offer such largesse?
‘Are you sure, Mrs Blaxland?’ Eaton’s gaze narrowed, matching her own speculation. ‘If so, why are you looking at me as if I were a predator?’ She should have been more deliberate with what she let show on her face. She’d become sloppy in the wake of the morning’s tensions.
‘Are you? A predator? A girl can’t be too careful. When something sounds too good to be true, I’ve learned it usually is.’ Eliza didn’t back down from his challenge. ‘Truthfully, Lord Lynford, I am wondering why a man who hardly knows me would volunteer such lavish accommodation. What could he want in exchange? I shall pay you rent in coins and in nothing else.’ She needed to be clear on this point, especially based on last night in the garden. Did he think there were additional kisses to be had? Or perhaps something more than kisses?
‘You will do no such thing. I am not asking for money...or for anything else,’ Lynford answered with the swiftness of an insulted man. ‘As for why I am doing this, it is because I can. I have an empty house and you need one.’
Did she dare believe him? She was not used to taking men at their word. But what choice did she have? Sophie and her governess would arrive tomorrow. Eaton swung up on his horse and for a moment she thought he’d retract his offer, offended by her scepticism. Then he leaned down and offered his hand. ‘Come up, we’ll ride out and look the property over. You can decide then if it will suit.’
‘But my coach is here,’ Eliza stammered, craning her neck to look up at him. Lynford appeared twice as large atop the big horse as he did on the ground and twice as commanding.
‘Send it on ahead.’ Lynford answered easily, dismissing the detail. ‘Stop stalling and come up, Eliza. We’ve already established I’m not a predator. It’s a beautiful autumn day, perfect for a ride, and I promise my horse will behave.’ She noted he said nothing about himself. She also noted he’d used her first name.
She should be wary. She should refuse on grounds of impropriety. What would people think if they saw her with him? The argument had no teeth. Who would see them? Who would care? Miners on their way to their shifts? People who didn’t even know who she was? She lived quietly and Truro was further than most of these people would ever go in their lifetime. But she would know. But when he looked at her with that smile and those dancing dark eyes, something deep inside her began to stir, as it had last night, as it had the first time she’d laid eyes on him—that reminder that she was alive, that she was something more than a bookkeeper and an overseer. She took his hand and leapt.
He settled her before him on the saddle and clucked to the big chestnut with an enviable ease, apparently unbothered by the proximity of the female sitting in front of him. Eliza wished she could claim such sangfroid. She could not. The rhythm of the horse beneath her beat a tattoo of freedom as the cliffs and fields of the Cornish landscape sped past. But neither dominated her attentions like the presence of the man behind her. She’d not counted on the practical act of transportation, such a mundane task, feeling so intimate.
Huntingdon hadn’t been a rider. They’d always gone everywhere by coach. To ride astride with a man was a very different thing. There were the thighs to contend with, muscular thighs that bracketed her legs, the chest she couldn’t help but press against as they cantered along the cliff road to Falmage Hill, the arm that came around her, the leather-gloved hand that held the reins resting at her hip. She could smell the wind on him, could feel it in her face, the thrill of freedom humming in her blood. It was fanciful to ascribe such poetic feeling to the ride. Lynford would likely be stunned to know how a simple act had conjured up such fanciful connotations for her.
The newly awakened wildness in her was disappointed to see Falmage Hill come into view, disappointed to turn into the drive, disappointed to slow the horse to a trot, the wind settling to a light, arbitrary breeze in her face. Eaton turned the horse down a path, giving her a tour of the drive lined by tall, impressive oaks with a green lawn extending in all directions. ‘The main house is straight ahead, but the dower house sits on the west corner of the property. It has a nice view of the sea.’ She couldn’t care less for the sea view at the moment. She was transfixed on the lawn. Sophie would love running here. There was precious little space for a girl to run in town. A twinge of guilt pricked at Eliza. Courtesy dictated she should tell him she wouldn’t be his only guest. But privacy counselled caution. She was protective of Sophie and those who came into contact with her. A woman or a girl with a fortune couldn’t be too careful.
The entrance to the dower house was dominated by two thick stone pillars and a wrought iron gate that stood open, ready for them. The house itself was a square, brick manse with ivy growing up its walls and five white-framed windows decorating the second storey. The entrance was set on the right side of the house and covered with an arched arcade. Eliza found the home immediately charming, a place where a family might take a holiday. Where children might frolic in the yard with a puppy. She pushed the sweet image away. There was no purpose in torturing herself with what she couldn’t have. Besides, she never took a holiday. She was too afraid of what might transpire if she looke
d away from the mines for a moment. Apparently, it hadn’t mattered. Things had transpired anyway.
Out of nowhere, a man in livery materialised to hold the horse. Lynford dismounted and reached for her, his hands easy and comfortable at her waist. Was she the only one who noticed how much they touched? Was she the only one moved by it? The only one whose pulse thundered with each contact? One would think she was fresh from the schoolroom, not a woman who’d had a husband and a child and who dealt with men every day. There should be no mystique in a man’s touch. She was helped in and out of carriages, escorted into dinners on the occasions when she went out in Truro. Touch was no stranger to her, yet Lynford’s touch managed to stand out.
Eaton set her down and gestured towards the house. ‘Shall we go in? I sent word ahead to the staff to start cleaning once I received your note. The worst of the dust should be gone by now.’ He slid her teasing look. ‘I know how you are about dust.’
‘You’re very...efficient.’ And confident, she added silently. He’d been sure she’d accept his offer...and he’d been right. Was she that predictable or was he that sure of himself?
Eaton ushered her through the front door, a hand resting at the small of her back. Another touch. Another reminder that he stirred her. ‘There’s a parlour, a dining room and a library space you can use as an office here on the first floor. The kitchen is below stairs. The bedrooms are upstairs. I will send down staff for cooking and cleaning. I have plenty to spare with only me to look after at the big house.’
He’d anticipated everything, Eliza thought as they climbed the stairs. ‘There are five chambers up here and seven beds.’ Eaton led her down the hall. ‘You can have your pick, perhaps a bed for every night of the week.’ He laughed, coming to stop at a room nearest the stairwell. ‘This one is the largest.’
The Secrets of Lord Lynford Page 5
