by Meara Platt
He was still the handsomest man she’d ever met.
What was she to do about that? How would she find a suitable husband when he was the man she dreamed about? “Beast,” she said, nibbling her lip in thought, “if I were to kiss your hand the way you kissed mine, would you like it?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Goose, you ask the oddest questions.”
“Well, would you?”
“Not answering that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it doesn’t matter. We’re not going to find out.”
Chapter Eleven
Olivia set off for Gosling Hall with Beast and Pip shortly after breakfast. Poppy had joined Lavinia and Matilda in the lady’s salon to write letters to her family, while Penelope walked to town with Nathaniel and Thad to run errands in preparation for the dinner party they intended to hold on Saturday evening. Invitations had been sent to the local gentry, and Olivia looked forward to catching up with old friends.
Pip was his usual exuberant self, hopping and skipping beside her as they cut across the meadow and nearby woods that bordered Gosling Hall.
“Look, Olivia!” Pip cried. “I see your house.”
She smiled and hurried forward with him, suppressing the pang of sadness that shot through her heart when the lovely, rambling manor that had once been her home came into view. It now resembled a faded, gray lady. Genteel. Elegant. But having seen better days.
The path from the woods led to the rear of the house and the formal rose garden that had once been the finest in the shire. The roses her mother had so proudly tended were now trampled and in disarray. A few sheep had wandered over from the neighboring farm to graze on the overgrown grasses and hedgerows. Several windows were broken, but the thatch roof appeared to have held up well.
She ought to have been relieved the house merely appeared to be neglected and not utterly demolished.
Beast slid his arm around her waist, his touch warming her even as she gave a shiver of dismay. “It isn’t so bad, Goose. No major damage to the exterior,” he said, his thoughts mirroring hers. “Shall we go inside?”
She nodded. “I don’t suppose Lord Gosling bothered to properly secure the house. I wonder what we’ll find.”
To her surprise, most of the rooms were as they had been left two years ago. She’d managed to close up a few before her prompt departure. All the furniture in the front salon and the tables, chairs, and buffet in the dining room were still covered in sheets, protecting them from dust and water leaks. But she hadn’t had time to tend to the bedchambers upstairs before Lord Gosling had marched in, declared he was now in charge, coldly dismissed the staff, and taken her to London.
She’d discover their condition soon enough. But first, she continued to explore downstairs, wandering from room to room and soaking in the memories while Pip played outdoors, entertaining himself by running circles around the house.
“I can check on Pip if you prefer to do this alone,” Beast said, stopping in the doorway of the dining room, obviously wanting to give her the space she needed to roam freely.
“No, the devil-child will be safe enough. I’ll worry when he stops running and we can no longer hear him making noise.” She tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. Her eyes began to water as longing and bittersweet memories came rushing forward. Her heart ached, but she was glad Beast was standing close by to lend support. She also liked that Pip was obviously unaffected and managing to amuse himself.
“Goose! Goose!” She turned toward the window and laughed as Pip made silly faces at her through the dusty panes. It reminded her of the joyful times and constant mirth that she’d experienced growing up here.
She waved at him and made a silly face back.
When he took off again to make another run around the house, she ambled to the music room and carefully raised the white sheet covering the piano. As she did so, little motes of dust floated upward and danced amid the rays of sunlight. “It’s only a little out of tune,” she remarked, her fingers lightly playing the keys. “Which is not a problem since I sing a little out of tune anyway.”
Beast joined her beside the piano. “Not a problem for me either. I have no ear for music.”
She looked up in surprise, her heart melting a little at his affectionate grin. “You don’t? Why did I not know of this before? My paragon has a weakness.”
He folded his arms across his chest and rested his hip against the piano. “I’m sure I have many.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I doubt it. But I like that the man of my dreams has at least one failing. I was beginning to despair you were perfect.”
“Ah, then you will have many reasons not to despair. I am hardly that.”
Pip banged on the window to attract her attention.
Olivia turned to the boy, frowning slightly when he motioned her closer. “Come here, Olivia. I have something to show you.”
She crossed to the window, opened it, and immediately shrieked. “Pip! Don’t eat that spider!” She grabbed his arm, afraid he intended to do just that. No, he couldn’t be so stupid, could he?
The boy dangled the disgustingly big and furry thing over his open mouth, daring her to stop him, which she did because she didn’t trust the boy to use his wits. But in struggling with him, the spider accidentally fell onto her shoulder and began to crawl down her arm.
She froze and her eyes widened in terror. “Is it poisonous? Will it kill me?”
She tried to still her panicked breaths, but couldn’t. She felt the prickle of each spider leg as it marched over her. When it suddenly turned upward and began to crawl toward her neck, she felt as though her heart was about to burst. “Beast? Can you get it off me?”
He slowly reached out his hand. “Stand still. Close your eyes.”
She did as he asked, soothed somewhat by his gentle, yet commanding tone. Still, the blood rushed to her head and there was a deafening roar between her ears. Then she felt something cold against her neck.
“Got it,” Beast said in the next moment.
She opened her eyes and saw the spider had now crawled onto Beast’s knife, the one he always kept tucked in the lip of his boot, but must have withdrawn to lure the spider toward its metallic shine.
Remaining remarkably calm, he stuck his arm out the window and shook the spider off the blade.
Pip raised his foot to stomp on it.
Olivia suddenly found her voice. “Don’t kill it!”
Pip lowered his foot and watched the spider scamper away before he turned to her with trembling lips. “It was an accident,” he said, his eyes beginning to fill with tears. “I didn’t mean to drop it on you. Will you forgive me, Olivia?”
“Yes, of course. I shouldn’t have grabbed your arm like that.” Her voice sounded ragged, for she had yet to calm down. “But Pip, it might have killed you. What were you thinking? And where did you find it? You’re lucky it didn’t bite you. Come inside and let me give you a hug.”
“All right.” In the next moment, Pip made his presence known by slamming open the front door and rushing into the music room where she and Beast still stood beside the window. He flew into her arms and hugged her fiercely. “I only meant to tease you, never scare you.”
“I know, Pip. You’re forgiven.” She playfully mussed his hair when he drew away. “But next time, I’m just going to let you eat it.”
He gazed at her with youthful earnestness. “There won’t be a next time, I promise.”
She hated to see the boy so distraught. After all, she might have overreacted. The spider looked horrid and deadly, but it could have been harmless. However, by the look on Beast’s face, she sensed that it was not harmless at all. “Yes, there will be a next time,” she said, with a light, laughing groan. “Because that’s what you do. Just promise me you’ll think about the consequences before you act. And when you grow up and fall in love, you will not do any such thing to your sweetheart.”
He sniffled and wiped his
eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. “I promise.”
“Come with me, Pip,” Beast said, placing a hand firmly on the boy’s shoulder.
Olivia’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you going to do?” She did not want Beast to punish him.
He arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Mostly, yes. But it depends on what you intend to do to Pip.”
“You needn’t be so protective of the boy.”
Pip tipped his head up and cast her a stoic look. “I made the mistake. I’ll take what’s coming to me. Don’t defend me, Olivia.”
Beast shook his head and led him into what used to be her father’s library. The books were all in place upon the shelves, and both the books and shelves were covered in dust. He withdrew his handkerchief and wiped the spine of several books. “Choose one of these, Pip. I’m going to read it to you.”
As the boy perused each one, Beast cast her a stern look, which she understood to mean that she wasn’t to interfere. She had no intention of doing so, assuming that was all he meant to do. “Finish your tour of the house, Goose. We’ll wait for you outside.”
“And you’re just going to read to him?” And not cosh the boy about the head with the book he chose?
He nodded. “At his age, it’s safer if he reads about adventures rather than undertaking them.”
She hoped her expression conveyed how wonderful she thought him, for he was a man used to war and the violent toll it had taken on so many good men. It would have taken nothing for him to raise his arm and strike the boy, but instead, he’d turned it into a moment of inspiration. By reading to him, he was sharing with Pip whatever adventure this lonely boy chose. “Thank you, Beast.”
Pip giggled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“The look on your face. Thank you, Beast,” he said, mimicking her in a high-pitched, breathless tone and batting his eyelashes. “You looked… goopy.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” But heat rose in her cheeks, for she understood quite well what he meant. She had been staring at Beast and her heart had simply melted. He was brave and handsome and wonderful.
And she was a goopy puddle.
*
Beast had tried to maintain a straight face during the exchange between Goose and Pip, but couldn’t hold back a grin. The two were quite a pair, Pip obviously adoring Goose and not quite understanding how to gain her notice other than scaring the wits out of her. And Goose obviously returning his affection, but in a protective, mothering way and not understanding that the boy worshiped her as a goddess.
Little Goose a goddess?
No, she was too warm and approachable ever to be considered that. And yet, she was beautiful in an untraditional way. Quite beautiful, actually.
Pip tugged on his hand. “Are you going to read to me?”
Beast shook back to attention. “Yes, let’s sit on the front steps while Goose finishes inspecting her house.”
Pip hopped beside him as they made their way down the hall toward the front door. “Why do you always call her Goose? Her name is Olivia. I think it’s a pretty name.”
He nodded. “It is.”
“So why Goose?”
Beast shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s what I’ve always called her.” But he knew it was more than that. To call her Olivia would force him to recognize that she was all grown up and tempting as blazes. He needed to keep her as Goose, at least until he made his decision about the course of his future. “Sit down and stop asking questions. I think you’ll like this book. It’s about a boy who pulls a sword out of a stone and becomes the next king of England.”
Pip’s eyes brightened. “Nathaniel says you could become the next king of England.”
Beast shook his head and laughed. “No, I think there must be at least forty people ahead of me before that would ever happen.”
“Nathaniel also says you could become our next prime minister, that no one is ahead of you for that.”
Beast flipped open the book and stared at the first page. “Seems your cousin talks to you a lot.”
Pip nodded. “He and Penelope always come up to tuck me into bed. Sometimes they stay and chat with me.”
“Well, I’ve made no decision yet about political office.” He began to read, wishing to give the boy no more chance to ask questions he had yet to answer for himself.
He’d read two chapters and was about to start on the third when Goose joined them. She sat on the step beside him and emitted a forlorn sigh. “What did you find, Goose?”
“Better than I hoped. Dust everywhere, but the furniture is all in place and nothing appears to be missing. I’ll have to ask Nathaniel about it. I think he must be quietly watching over Gosling Hall or else thieves would have stolen everything of value by now. I wonder why he never said anything to me.”
“Perhaps not to get your hopes up. He never mentioned it to me either.”
She pursed her lips in thought, that fretful pout quite sensual, if one had a mind to kiss her, which he didn’t. What he had was an ache to kiss her. But his intelligent brain, that higher functioning one she always spoke about, knew it would be too dangerous. “Do you mind if I take this book and finish reading it to Pip over the next few days?”
“Not at all,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
Pip cleared his throat. “You’re giving him that goopy look again.”
Beast laughed and took her hand to help her up. Her cheeks were a bright pink, a sign of her embarrassment, but he rather enjoyed basking in her admiration. Her opinion mattered to him. Her smile mattered to him.
He spared a glance at the boy. “You’ll appreciate those looks when you’re older, Pip. It means the woman trusts and admires you for who you are and not for your wealth or title. It means she is one of the honest ones. Cherish that. Such women are few and far between.”
“Are you going to marry her?”
Goose’s cheeks turned to fire. “Pip! What a question! Of course, he isn’t. He’s fortieth in line to the Crown. He’s possibly next in line for prime minister. He isn’t going to offer for a goose.”
She groaned and hurried off ahead of them to return to Sherbourne Manor.
Beast put a hand on Pip’s shoulder, a companionable gesture designed to keep him from running beside Goose and oversetting her further with his questions. “Leave her alone, Pip. Young ladies are sensitive about matters of marriage.” He knew by Goose’s remark that she must have overheard his conversation with Pip through an open window upstairs while they were seated on the steps below waiting for her to finish inspecting the house.
What did it signify?
Probably nothing.
He and Pip hadn’t spoken of anything out of the ordinary. Goose knew all about the choices he was facing. He’d made no secret of them. What she did not realize was the role she played in them. “Pip, have you ever heard the expression, silence is golden?”
“Nathaniel mutters it to me all the time.”
Beast chuckled. “Do you understand what it means?”
The boy nodded.
“Have you ever considered keeping silent?”
“No. Have you ever considered marrying Goose?”
“No.” But he silently chided himself for the thoughtless response. He ought to have taken his own advice and kept silent, but the boy would not have stopped asking him until he’d responded. He hadn’t considered Goose before these past few days.
He wasn’t a reckless youth who would toss all away for a goopy smile.
No matter that her smile seemed to light up his heart… and other parts of him not suitable for discussion.
He handed the boy the book and told him to take it up to his bedchamber for now. “I’ll read more to you this evening. Keep it by your night table and let Addie know not to put it away.”
Pip took off upstairs, managing to sound like a thundering herd of horses on a cavalry charge. Beast watched him until he disappe
ared from view, although the sound of his feet echoed throughout the house. He shrugged and turned to walk into the lady’s salon, curious to locate Goose. But she wasn’t in there with Poppy or the aunts.
“Is something wrong?” Matilda asked, looking up from her embroidery.
“No. Goose ran on ahead and I was just wondering where she was.”
Lavinia sighed. “Returning to Gosling Hall must have upset her. Perhaps she went straight up to her bedchamber. I assume the elephant we heard banging up the stairs a moment ago was Pip. How bad a ruin is Olivia’s home?”
“Not nearly as bad as I feared. Genteel neglect is the more apt description. Has Nathaniel been watching over the property? It hasn’t been plundered or looted. Someone must be protecting it.”
“I hope he has been,” Poppy said with obvious concern. She set down her quill pen and placed the stopper back on her inkpot. “I’ll go see if she is in her room.”
Lavinia waited until Poppy had left to respond. “Those girls are so dear to all of us in the Sherbourne family. Nathaniel has said nothing to me, but I would not be surprised if he has been quietly tending to it. We were all surprised when it was left to Lord Gosling. It isn’t part of the entailed estate. Why would Olivia’s father not have given it to her along with an income sufficient to maintain her and the property?”
Matilda shook her head and sighed. “Not all are as dutiful and attentive as the Hartford men. Beast’s father would have protected her, had she been his daughter.”
Lavinia frowned. “It is all so odd. Her father never struck me as the frivolous sort. Ah, well. Too late to do anything about it now.”
Perhaps.
Beast should have taken the time to investigate her situation before returning here immediately after the Prince Regent’s luncheon. He’d remedy that oversight now. He knew of a reliable Bow Street runner by the name of Homer Barrow. The man was excellent and trustworthy. He’d planned on calling upon him on their return to London, but why wait?