by Lisa Campell
“Do you want me to pour one out for Mrs. Perry as well, Mr. Andrews?”
“No, she doesn’t drink. Just let her know that I’m in here if you see her.”
“Very good, Mr. Andrews.” Jenkins handed him the glass. “I’d say she’s doing quite well today. Do you think it’ll carry on?”
“I hope so.” Thomas gave his valet a nod. “If you lay out my nightclothes on the bed, Jenkins, before you go to bed? I can undress myself.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jenkins bowed and left. Thomas sipped his brandy and settled on the couch by the fire. It was meant to be spring heading into summer, and the weather was still quite chilly in the evenings. Thomas wished it would start getting warmer; he hated being cold.
Chapter Eleven
Though it was his inheritance, Thomas’ home had always been larger than his family needed. The upkeep of such a home was extensive, when his mother moved out to a cottage on the estate, she was certainly a lot happier. Thomas would happily have traded places with her for his tastes tended to economy and a simpler life.
They could knock down half the house and still have more than enough rooms to live in comfortably. Maybe that would be something to think about in the future.
The door opened and Thomas looked up to see Emilia step into the library. From the look on her face, it was like she was heading into the lion’s den. Thomas rose to his feet, realizing that he was checking that his evening attire wasn’t out of place and his hair wasn’t a mess before he could stop himself. What was he doing? He was acting as if he was in courtship with the woman. She was essentially now one of the servants. That had to stop.
But even as he told himself that, Thomas couldn’t stop himself from adjusting his coat.
“That was quick.” He glanced at the clock. “I think that has to be some kind of a record. Are you sure she’s asleep?”
“She was asleep before I finished reading her story.” Emilia closed the door behind her but didn’t move away from the door. “Didn’t stir at all as I left.”
That was a first. Anna would make it at least half an hour before she gave in to sleep. Thomas had been at a loss on what he should do, and Anna seemed to know that. It was one of the only times he wanted to throttle her. But Emilia had got her asleep and was out within ten.
“I don’t know what you did, Mrs. Perry, but for me that is some kind of miracle. Nobody else had been able to get her to sleep that quickly.”
Emilia smiled. “Maybe it’s because I read her a story. I know she’s a little old for that now, but having a different voice reading her a story instead of leaving her to read it must have been soothing. Plus, I did wear her out today so it would make it easier.”
For someone who didn’t have children, she certainly knew how to look after them. Thomas made a mental note to thank his mother for pointing him in Emilia Perry’s direction. She was certainly turning out to be a godsend. He could only hope that this lasted.
“Would you like to join me?”
“I…” Emilia’s eyes widened. Then she regained her composure. “All right. Just for a few minutes. I’m quite tired myself.”
What was that about? She looked like she was scared of being in the same room with him. Drawing her shoulders back, Emilia approached the fireplace and took a seat on the couch across from him. Thomas sat once she was settled, sitting back and stretching his legs out in front of him. Emilia glanced at his legs, and then she blushed, and she looked away quickly. It hadn’t been a trick of the light yesterday. She was just as affected by him.
Why did that make Thomas feel better about himself?
“I must say, you are a marvel, Mrs. Perry. We’ve been struggling to get her to sleep for a long time. My wife…” Thomas felt a slight chill as he remembered Olivia. “She managed to figure out what to do, but she never shared the secret with me.”
“It’s just a knack, Mr. Andrews. You pick it up as you go along. Maybe your wife didn’t want to ruin the secrets by sharing it out.” Emilia peered at him. “It’s hard without Mrs. Andrews, isn’t it?”
Thomas stiffened. Normally, when it came to a mention of his wife and he wasn’t prepared, he would disregard it and refuse to discuss it. But with Emilia Perry, there was something that had him wanting to open up.
No woman but Olivia had done that with him before.
“It is. I’ve come to terms with the fact she’s gone, but there are still moments where I miss her. A lot.”
Emilia’s expression softened. She bit her lip.
“I understand that. Things just don’t seem the same when someone you love is gone. Life seems...duller, I suppose.”
“Is that what happened when your husband died?”
“Initially.” She shifted on the cushions. “And then I realized that I was left with pretty much nothing to my name. I gave up a lot to be married to a man who claimed to love me, and my family refused to have anything to do with me, so I was on my own. It…” She rubbed at her chest. “I lost all loving feelings I had for him when it was made clear that he didn’t love me as much as he claimed.”
“It is common enough for a wife not to inherit much, if anything, except what was hers in her own right.” Thomas pointed out.
“Not in the way it was put to me.” Emilia snorted. “It was like my brother-in-law was gloating when I found out. I lost everything that day, more than my love for the man I married.”
A look of pain flashed across her face. She really had cared about her husband. Thomas couldn’t imagine losing someone so dear and then find out the feelings weren’t returned. If Olivia had shown that she hadn’t loved Thomas as much as she declared, Thomas would have broken down. She had been his everything and more.
“Some people don’t realize what they’ve really lost until it’s gone,” he murmured.
“Or everything completely disappears when you discover it wasn’t as perfect as you thought,” Emilia added.
“Touché.” Thomas sipped his brandy. “That won’t happen here, Mrs. Perry. You’ve got security as long as you stay here. I look after my staff. If you need anything, just come and talk to me. I like to think I’m accommodating to the people who work for me.”
“I…” Emilia blinked. She looked mildly bewildered. Then she licked her lips, which drew Thomas’ eye. “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“It’s something my mother put into my head.” Thomas tore his eyes away from her mouth before he started thinking about how soft her lips looked. “Look after your staff, and they’ll look after you in return. I’m not about to turn that down.”
“I liked your mother when I spoke to her. She’s a firm woman but with a good heart.”
“She doesn’t suffer fools, certainly. I like to think I’m the same, but it feels like when I’m firm and tell people where to go, nobody listens to me.” Thomas grimaced. “It’s like my word is nothing with the people I overlook at Drake’s.”
“I see.” Something flickered in Emilia’s eyes. “That makes you angry, does it?”
“Well, it doesn’t make me happy.” Thomas sipped at his drink. “Running Drake’s is something I love doing, but the patrons who come in... most of them have a lot of money that they think means they can do what they want. Which also means with this entitlement is they believe they can talk to me how they want and not expect any repercussions. I’m not a fool, and I won’t be treated as such. Those…” He scowled. “That entitlement does make me angry.”
“Angry enough to do something about it?”
There was something about the way she said it that had Thomas staring at her. Emilia was watching him with a piercing gaze. It was like her previous persona had slipped and there was someone sharper there. Someone who was prepared for an argument. What had just happened there?
He didn’t need to guess what she was asking about. The news would be all over the county by now.
“You’re heard the rumours about me being the killer of Jonathan Hill, haven’t you?”
“Well, let me set you straight.” Thomas sat forward. “I did not kill the man. We had arranged a payment plan for him to settle his debts. We shook hands on it and Hill left Drake’s alive and well. Aside from that handshake, I never touched him.”
“People have been saying otherwise.”
Did she really believe them? Thomas’ opinion of her started to slip. He had thought she was a collected, intelligent woman. From the way she was looking at him right now, she seemed prepared to think the worst of him. Thomas felt the first simmering’s of anger.
“If you’re willing to listen to gossip, that’s up to you. I know I never killed anyone.”
Why was he even trying to explain himself? Knowing she might even believe these rumours had his slowly building lust disappearing rapidly. She might have done better tipping a bucket of cold water over his head. Thomas finished his brandy in one swig, grimacing as it burned down his throat. Then he stood and put his glass on the mantelpiece.
“I think I’m going to retire. I’m feeling very tired, and Anna is going out riding tomorrow.”
“I thought I was going to be taking her riding from now on.”
“You need to know where you’re going. Knowing Anna, she’ll try and take you where you’re not supposed to be.” Thomas didn’t look at her as he strode to the door. “Goodnight, Mrs. Perry.”
He didn’t wait for her response, stepping out of the room and striding towards the stairs. At least he had found a way to stop admiring his governess, although not in the way he expected. It was difficult to find any person attractive if they thought him capable of killing someone.
Wasn’t it?
“Come on, you two!” Anna shouted as she galloped on ahead. “What are you riding? Donkeys on a beach?”
“Don’t be rude, Anna!” Andrews shouted back.
Anna laughed. “Then keep up!”
Then she went on ahead, slowing to a quick canter as she went down a slight incline before heading across the fields. Emilia couldn’t help but smile. It was like a completely different person to the night before. Anna had certainly had a very good night’s sleep. Now she was back to how she always was at the crack of dawn.
And it was the crack of dawn. The sun had only just started to rise a few minutes before, and now Emilia could see her hand in front of her face without having to concentrate. She had no problem with Anna riding out so early with a chaperone, but why couldn’t she wait until it was daylight?
“Is she always like this with riding?”
Andrews sighed. “Mostly. She likes to ride hard and fast. Hence why I wanted to show you the route I want you to take. Anna is a competent rider, but I don’t want her going over the dangerous parts and fall.”
“Does she understand that?”
“Oh, she knows.” Andrews shook his head. “Whether she’ll listen or not is another matter.”
At least he seemed a little more responsive to her. Emilia had thought she had blown it when she saw his face tighten and his eyes darken in his anger. She had braced herself, ready for the furious outburst, but there was none. Andrews was very contained, very concise, and he had walked away from a clearly sore subject. If it had been Emilia, she would have done the same.
There had been something about how he spoke about her father that had Emilia momentarily wavering. Was she starting to believe him? Andrews certainly seemed to believe himself. He had probably told himself over and over again that he hadn’t been the one who killed him. Emilia was still certain that he was involved, even if he didn’t deliver the blow that killed her father. She just needed to figure out how to get him to slip up, because from what she had seen Thomas Andrews was a collected man.
This wasn’t going to be a quick process, but Emilia didn’t expect it to be. She was just going to have to persevere.
Even with her intense reaction to the man whenever she was around him. God, she hated that she could find Thomas Andrews that attractive. He was a very fine-looking man, she could admit that, but why was there such an intense reaction to him? Even now as he rode alongside her, looking very much at home in the saddle, he had Emilia’s belly feeling like she was housing butterflies again.
She needed to get rid of those and quickly. Getting distracted now was not going to help her.
Emilia looked around as Andrews yawned loudly. He tried to hide it behind his hand, but he failed. Emilia couldn’t help but giggle.
“I take it you’re not a morning person.”
“Not really. And when I’m at Drake’s until the early hours, I would like to recover before I start everything all over again.” Andrews frowned. “And I wasn’t even out at Drake’s last night.”
“Why doesn’t someone else go with Anna? Or ask her to go later? I’m sure one of the people in the stables would go with her.”
Andrews snorted. “You try telling Anna to go riding later than she wants. It doesn’t end well. And I want to do this with her when I can. A bit of bonding between us.” He watched as his daughter started taking off at a gallop across the field. “When she’s not tearing off as she is right now, that is.”
“Who taught her to ride like that?”
“My brother-in-law. He’s very good with horses, and I thought he would be a good tutor for Anna. I didn’t realize that his reckless behaviour would rub off on her.” Andrews rubbed the back of his neck. “But Anna hasn’t fallen yet and she’s very capable when riding, so I can’t complain much. Except when she decides to head out in what feels like the middle of the night.”
He did look exhausted. Emilia could see the dark circles under his eyes. Had he actually gotten any sleep last night?
Why do you care? You’re not here to question his welfare, are you?
“It would be worth getting her to wait until it’s light.” Emilia suggested. “It would certainly help with your sanity and get you able to sleep.”
“Maybe. But it’s pretty much the only thing Anna demands of me. I can let that slide.” Andrews yawned again. “I might go back to bed when we get back, though. Make the most of it.”
“I thought you had an early night. You retired not long after Anna.”
“I ended up going to my study to get on with some paperwork.” Andrews sighed. “I didn’t retire as late as I would have had I been at Drake’s, but it was still late.”
“Then you have no sympathy from me, Mr. Andrews.” Emilia guided her horse down the incline and managed to keep up with her employer. She was enjoying this ride, even if she wasn’t keen on being so close to Andrews when she was feeling far warmer than she should have been at this time of the morning. “Maybe you should think about having a few days off. Have a small holiday on the coast or something.”
Andrews chuckled. “You jest, of course. There’s no such thing as having a small holiday when you’re in charge of a business.”
“Is it not?” Emilia challenged. “It’s not going to fill the hole in you. It won’t replace what you’ve lost.”
That had Andrews pulling his horse to a sharp stop. Emilia stopped as well, seeing the myriad of emotions pass over Andrews’ face. Had she gone too far again? She had shown her emotions a little too much the night before, and Andrews had retreated. Was he going to do it again? Andrews stared at her.
“You think because I lost my wife, I have to find something else to fill the emptiness?”
“You wouldn’t be the first person who did that.” Emilia was surprised that her voice didn’t quiver under his intense stare. “And I doubt you would be the last.”
She was talking outside of her position, she knew that. And Emilia was aware that this could result in a reprimand. She had to be careful with how she spoke towards her employer. But from the look in his eyes, a look he tried to fight back, she had hit a little closer than she expected. Andrews had clearly loved his wife, and he was still struggling with it all these years later.
Was this how Emilia was going to be struggling with
the loss of her father? Would she be feeling lost?
The love for a parent is not the same as the love for a spouse. Don’t start comparing them.
Chapter Twelve
Andrews was the first to look away. Then he sat up, his expression turning into an angry scowl. Emilia looked around, confused.
“What is it?”
“That little…” Andrews kicked his horse into motion. “Come with me but hang back. I’ll deal with this.”
“Why?”
But Andrews had already galloped off across the field. Emilia urged her horse to get moving, and she did her best to keep up. There was a slight dip in the field, and while Emilia knew Anna was there, she couldn’t see anything. Clearly, Andrews had seen something himself.