Theo took a breath of relief. “Go on, Mr. Browne.” He was learning to make meaningless noises that gave Duncan time to recover his temper and conjure more infuriating questions.
The old soldier crushed his ancient cap in his one good hand. “I been around long enough to know that there are three things certain in this world: death, taxes, and change. If a man don’t learn to bend himself to new things, then he’ll get knocked down and rolled over and left in the mud. You’ve got them new threshing machines, but you also built drainage culverts to open more fields. I reckon you put the labor you saved on the machines to repairing and digging those culverts. Good men ain’t got no right to complain about making improvements for the good of all with your profits.”
Somewhat pacified, Duncan demanded, “Tell us why you left your last post.”
Theo crinkled his brow, trying to puzzle out the reason Duncan wasn’t asking about turnips and fallow fields as he had been.
“’Cause I was let go,” Browne said without an ounce of defensiveness. “I don’t look or sound like them swells that go to meetings to find new ways to cheat the working man. And the new master wanted me to lie to the tenants and consort with other landowners for him. I don’t truck much with talk. I’m a man who gets out in the fields and does the work what I’m paid to do.”
Uh oh. Theo swallowed and cast a nervous look to Duncan. His brother needed someone to attend meetings for him, to talk to the tenants and other landowners. There wasn’t any way Duncan could ride into the village as he once had. But this man didn’t know Duncan was blind.
When Duncan remained silent, Theo threw out one of the questions his brother had asked repeatedly about field drainage. The answer wasn’t any more clear to him than before, but Duncan didn’t argue with it. In fact, his brother sat there silently while Theo scoured his notes for other questions. Browne had answers for them all. Whether they were the right answers, he could only assume by Duncan’s silence.
A cloud of gloom descended on Theo when he’d finished and Duncan still did not say a word. They needed a steward, dash it all. He’d have to put all the names in a hat and pull one out if the bloody damned marquess didn’t speak.
“Thank you, Mr. Browne,” Theo said dismissively. “We’ll be—”
“I need eyes and ears in the field, Browne,” Duncan finally said. “I want you reporting to me, not to the other landowners. You don’t need to attend meetings. I will. How good are you at reporting production by field?”
“I ain’t much at writing it all down in neat little columns,” Browne said warily. “But I can tell you to a farthing how much each field earns.”
“That’s a start, Mr. Browne. Theo, show him to the steward’s cottage, see if it’s to his liking. Hugh, go with them, please, and report back.” Rather than rise from his seat and display his weakness, Duncan sipped his brandy.
Theo didn’t feel the relief he’d expected. If Browne couldn’t write the figures down in “neat little columns,” who would? And he was pretty damned certain there was no way in Hades Duncan would ride into town or anywhere else for discussions over future community-wide improvements.
It looked like they had just hired a one-armed steward who couldn’t hoe the fields, keep the books, or wield authority.
The weight of Duncan’s thousand responsibilities would break Theo’s back. He’d have to give up the stars and study the earth, after all. Or find a wife who could be farmer, maid, bookkeeper, mother, and general of all things household.
Sixteen
Aster sighed in pleasure and stretched her tired limbs in the relaxing heat of the enormous Roman tub while watching one of Nessie’s kittens tackle a hanging towel. The warm water lapped at her breasts and soaked the tension from her shoulders. Living alone as she had these last years, she hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to deal with so many people at once— while keeping her distance. Unlike Lord Theo, she was unfortunately gregarious by nature.
She sipped from a glass of wine. Candles along the edge of the tub improved her light, and she’d filled the water with fragrant herbs from Emilia’s collection. For the first time in a long time, with warm water lapping around her, she was almost at peace with the world. If no one was near, she didn’t have to worry how her planets might be affecting them. She breathed deeply as the heat seeped through her.
A pounding at the locked door jarred her from her sensual trance. The kitten hid beneath a cabinet and Aster scowled. “What is it?”
“Lord Theo says as you’re to come immediately, my lady,” one of the untrained maids said nervously.
“Tell Lord Theo I only work a dozen hours a day, and I’m now off duty,” she retorted.
“Yes, my lady.”
She could almost hear the girl bob a bad curtsy. She really shouldn’t put the child between her and his selfish lordship, but the wind would have to blow off the roof before she could be stirred from this rare pleasure of heated water and fragrance.
Reading one of Lord Theo’s pamphlets and mentally calculating whether the addition of Saturn’s moons might affect her charts in any way, she jolted from her contemplation at a loud rap rattling the door.
“I am not leaving this bath until the water cools,” she told the noisemaker. And she added more hot water to the tub to be certain it did not cool before she finished reading.
“Will’s prime spaniel and Hartley have gone missing.” His lordship’s deep male voice penetrated the wood without shouting. “There are half a dozen dam . . . dashed carpenters prowling the ground floor. I cannot find the blood . . . blasted receipt books anywhere. And Will and Jacques are nowhere about to help with anything.”
“At least your priorities are straight,” she said, refusing to move from her lovely hot suds. “Will told Hartley that his spaniel needed some kind of training. One assumes that’s what they’re doing. The question becomes—why are you asking me?”
“Because you’re the one with all the answers!” His frustration was growing evident. “I need to talk with you.”
“No, you don’t,” she retorted emphatically. She could already feel her muscles tensing at the thought of his lordship’s handsome presence. “You are merely looking for someone to share your burdens. You’re not paying me enough for that. Whatever the problem, it can wait until tomorrow.”
“By which time it could have evolved into a dam . . . blo . . . wretched disaster!”
With alarm, Aster heard the key turning in the lock. She hastily blew out the candles and grabbed a towel. “Don’t you dare come in!”
She might as well shout at the wind. The door opened, and Lord Theo backed in, covering his eyes. He closed the door, keeping the steamy warmth inside.
She flung a wet sponge at him. “Of all the audacious, obnoxious, irresponsible . . .”
“Yes, yes, and yes,” he said impatiently. “But I don’t intend to shout my problems through a closed door.” He turned off the gas sconce, plunging the room into near-darkness. “There, is that better?”
“No, it is not. I was enjoying the peace and quiet. Unless you’re broken and bleeding in three places, you need to remove yourself instantly!” Aster didn’t know whether to hunt for her robe or to remain hidden in the tub. Just his presence in the small room forcibly awakened carnal sensations she’d prefer to leave slumbering.
His selfish lordship was the one she’d been trying most to avoid by hiding in here.
In the light from the narrow window, she could see his tall shadow slide down the wall as he took a seat on the tile floor. Even sitting, he looked big and broad-shouldered, probably because she was sunk in the tub and feeling vulnerable. But he exuded an air of sadness.
“I think I am broken in three places,” he said dejectedly, scratching at the kitten’s ears when it emerged from hiding. “Duncan hired a one-armed steward who can barely read or write. I need to start another search for a man to do what he cannot. And I don’t fancy a bookkeeping sort will ride out and deal with these Swingers, much
less fight with the complaining mine owners, or handle magistrate duties, or propose agricultural bills for parliament. I just had to send a man to Assizes for beating his wife, and I’m not even entirely certain it’s against the law.”
“Well, it certainly ought to be,” Azenor said tartly. “At least you’ve given his poor wife time to pack her bags and leave. Although she probably has nowhere to go. Forget agricultural bills. We need someone proposing legislation that protects the weak and innocent.”
He snorted. “And I’m just the man for that. I’d have to take one of Dunc’s pocket boroughs, and no matter how much I bribed the voters, I’d still lose because I can’t say what people want to hear. I might have the responsibilities of his position, but I lack the legal power or the finesse to do anything. And it’s not as if I have any interest in harvests or tenants.”
“Did you just come in here to complain?” she asked. “Because I can return complaint for complaint, if that’s all you need.”
“No, I need someone to listen. I’m no good at thinking these things through on my own. Give me a good mathematical challenge, and I can whip up an answer in instants. Ask me about the gravitational pull of Mars, and I can offer an informative treatise. I can most probably do so in Latin and Greek, if requested. But I cannot tell you how many servants we employ or where my brothers spend their time.”
“That’s a lie.” Aster used her toe to let in more hot water. The tub would soon overflow, or she would wrinkle into a prune, but shamefully, she was rather enjoying this intimate interlude. Obviously, she was a wanton. Her nipples were pearling up at just the sound of his voice.
“You knew where to look for the marquess when he was injured,” she continued. “You knew where to go when you heard about the rioters. You can’t expect to know where Jacques and Will spend their time if they are only here occasionally. They’re grown men and you shouldn’t need to track them.”
“And Hugh and Hartley?” he asked, sounding angrier. “They’re just boys. Someone should know where they are. As you’ve said yourself, we’re surrounded by danger. They shouldn’t be roaming alone.”
Aster sank deeper. “Don’t bring me into this. I live far from my family for a reason. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to stay away from Dee and Bree while knowing what a menace this household is to them? Your nephews need a tutor or someone to watch over them. Dee and Bree are like your brothers . . . adults. We cannot lock them in towers. That never ends well.”
“We live with peril every day of our lives,” he said, still sounding angry. The kitten scampered back into hiding. “You cannot simply predict danger, then hide in a cave and pretend that will keep everyone safe. Montfort would have driven the coach off the road whether or not you were in it. Your sister and cousin could fall down wells if they were on the other end of the world. You have nothing to do with their safety.”
“You cannot understand how our stars cross,” she said impatiently. “I don’t intend to explain myself again. Now go so I may dress and return to my room. This is totally improper.”
“Not if no one knows about it,” he argued. “We’re adults. We make our own choices.”
Aster wished she had another sponge to fling. “And I’ve made mine. Get out or I’ll leave in the morning.”
“If I make you hate me, will you stay?” he asked, pushing his way back up the wall.
He didn’t give her time to answer that idiotic question. He slipped out, leaving the room much colder than she liked.
***
Aster spent the night debating whether or not she should leave Iveston Hall, but the next morning, she dressed and went down to breakfast as if nothing had happened. She couldn’t even explain to herself why she chose to stay, despite his lordship’s completely inappropriate behavior.
Or perhaps because of it—because she had felt his loneliness in the same way she felt her own, ached with his need in the same way as her own.
It was an impossible situation, so she turned her mind to the tasks that had brought her here in the first place. Iveston Hall could hire the servants she trained, and for the sake of their livelihoods, she stayed on. Or so she told herself.
By the end of the first week, she had employed men to repair the windows in the company rooms. William and Jacques returned with two enormous blue-and-cream Axminster carpets that fit almost perfectly in the withdrawing room. She hid some minor stains and damage in the wool with furniture, then ordered simple cream muslin and blue taffeta for the windows. The draperies were not as elegant as the heavy velvet, but on a summer’s day, they would appear light and airy and prevent the rooms from being oppressive.
The new maids learned from the two housekeepers how to scrub and wax the wooden floors and polish the elegant old furniture, some of it obviously from Queen Anne’s time. Aster appreciated the gracious curved elegance of that earlier period. Iveston Hall was a drastically different environment from her exotic townhouse.
By keeping William and Jacques running back and forth to London, she distanced them from Bree and Dee, who were cheerfully reading their way through the enormous library in their spare time. Aster felt guilty for not doing the same. As the Malcolm librarian, she really should be searching for more old journals from her ancestors.
While her sister and cousin were occupied in the library, she was reading Theo’s astronomical texts and pelting him with questions. She avoided the bathing room at hours when he roamed the halls. Only, every time she settled in the newly cleaned withdrawing room with a fire, a book, and her charts, he tracked her down.
She didn’t precisely feel safe in the same room with him as he prowled the floor and expressed his frustration about the battles he’d lost and won that day, but the space was larger and less intimate than a bathing room. At least, she was dressed.
On this particular evening, she hit him with her major concern the moment he entered. The lanky scientist was looking wonderfully disheveled with his hair falling on his brow and his coat unbuttoned again, but he listened when she asked, “These objects the Astronomical Society calls Ceres and Pallas . . . are they planets?”
She had been nearly shaking in panic since she’d read the treatise. Her charts were based on the teachings of the ancients and the lessons from her ancestors. It had taken the better part of her life to update them for each new birth in the family. She’d found Arabic scholars to help her understand what she already knew, but she had only just begun to explore the new world of astronomy.
Until now, she really hadn’t had access to scientific discoveries. Those were a man’s world, and they did not share with women. She had not understood how astronomy might affect astrology.
It had never occurred to her that telescopes might find new planets! Such a discovery would throw her charts completely out of order. She’d have to consult with experts beyond her acquaintance.
Everything she’d done could be wrong.
“Herschel calls them asteroids,” Lord Theo said with a shrug, as if he didn’t discuss something momentous enough to destroy everything she knew. “There is some argument that Ceres is large enough to be a planet.”
He took the pamphlet she waved at him to thumb through it to refresh his memory. “Our calculations indicate there should be a planet between Mars and Jupiter, but we’ve not found anything larger than Ceres.” He handed back the pamphlet.
“Someday, I would like to see them through your telescope,” she said, biting back a relieved sigh. She charted large heavenly bodies, not minor ones. So far. “I need to understand if they might affect the pattern of the other planets. It’s very unsettling knowing there might be more out there than we know about.”
“It’s exciting,” he countered. “Just think of the possibilities! Someday man might sail from planet to planet. There could be minerals out there that can cure disease! Once the clouds clear, I’ll be happy to show you.”
Aster imagined standing in the dark salon with Lord Theo behind her, holding her as he taught her to u
se the eyepiece . . . A ripple of excitement warned that was the wrong path to take.
“So, the new steward is settling in?” she asked, hastily changing the subject.
“With a wife, two daughters, and a grandson,” he said with a sigh, pacing. “More responsibilities. They’ll need transportation to church on Sundays. And they’re inquiring about schools.”
“But the marquess is speaking with him?” Aster set aside her reading and admired his lordship’s prowling masculinity. She rather enjoyed the pretense that she belonged here and might do something about schools and church. She leaned over and stroked one of the brown-spotted spaniels lying at her feet and wished for her cats. Nessie’s kittens were lovely but couldn’t be trusted out of their room.
“Dunc sits like an emperor on his throne and interrogates the poor man every evening, if that counts. But it’s an improvement.” Lord Theo wheeled round to face her. “You’ve accomplished wonders in a week. Where did these carpets come from?”
“I am not precisely certain,” she admitted, admiring the thick wool rather than let him know she’d been watching him. “It seemed to involve individuals named Froggy and Beans, and you are to thank William and Jacques for their aid.”
“Repairing the windows in the library should be thanks enough,” he grumbled, pausing to examine the newly sealed panes in here. “The plumbing in the billiard room will require a new ceiling. You are the one who inspired them to act on their own, so my heartfelt gratitude for that.”
“Your new wife may wish to completely redecorate,” she warned. “I have only provided temporary solutions.”
He crossed the room and placed his hands on the chair arms on either side of her, trapping her in her seat. “Marry me, and you can paint the walls crimson, if you like.”
Taken aback—as much by his proximity as his demand—Aster didn’t know how to respond. The delicious scent of his shaving soap had her breathing too fast. Muscled arms so close to her breasts didn’t scare her so much as excite her. And his lips, his lovely, sensual lips—
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