Miss Mallet, the proposed governess, had been deemed favorable and took up residence in the bedroom attached to the nursery, as governess to both children until they found tutors for William. A dance instructor from Sudbourne had been summoned as well, and he was quite pleased to come to Tertium Park a few times a week to teach Elaine, William, and Nancy how to dance.
Standing in the steward’s office on the Thursday after his sister’s disturbing visit, Adam went through a report on the tenant farms. He checked the projected harvest with numbers from the last two years, finding no decrease in harvest or income.
Mr. Yates, the steward, cleared his throat. “Mr. Gillensford? I have an item requiring Miss Chapple’s signature. It is a renewal on one of the leases.” Though unspoken, the question in the older man’s eyes was obvious.
He wanted Adam to take her the paper. Mr. Yates knew they worked well together, as he had been present when Adam and Elaine had worked together over ledgers to help her understanding of the estate’s finances. Perhaps he even wondered why Adam and Elaine did not bend their heads over Adam’s desk more often.
“It cannot wait?” Adam asked, as reluctant as a school boy returning to lessons. As much as he wanted to seek out Elaine’s company, staying out of her way seemed the wisest course. The more time he spent with her, the more tempted to speak the truth of his presence in her home he would be.
Shaking his head, the steward lifted the papers from his desk. “I am afraid it must go to the new tenant today, with her signature on both copies. A copy for the farmer, a copy for the mistress.”
Adam tried not to sigh despondently—though in his youth such dramatics would not be beyond him—and took the contracts. “Thank you, Mr. Yates. I will see to this right away.” Leaving the office, Adam realized that for all intents and purposes he had taken orders from a hireling. Instead of irritating the third son of an earl, as it certainly would have done in the past, it amused him.
Placing himself at Elaine’s complete disposal seemed to mean he did whatever odd job was necessary, no matter who in the household asked.
Walking through the hallways, Adam determined to begin his search for Elaine in the blue parlor. Graham and Mrs. Mayworth had made a point of telling him that Elaine spent most of her time sewing in that room, when she was not occupied with other household tasks. He entered the main corridor, nearing the east wing, when he heard the pianoforte.
A quick course correction had him at the open music room door, and he raised his hand to knock on the frame when he took in the scene before him.
Garnet hair wrapped in a bandeau, and wearing one of her two status appropriate dresses, Elaine sat on the bench with her hands in her lap. The man standing behind Elaine, an arm stretched out around either side of her, played the music.
A rapidly burning fire started in Adam’s chest and made its way into his blood. No one, absolutely no man walking upon the face of the earth, had permission to put his arms around Elaine in such a manner. Not unless they were lawfully wed. Even then, the intimate position in a public room where Adam might walk in and spy it struck him as debatable.
Rather than knock, Adam squared his shoulders and marched into the room. He called out loudly. “Here you are, Elaine.”
The unknown man, with his ridiculous mop of black hair, and his equally idiotic looking lavender coat, leapt back as though Adam’s words struck with the force of a lightning bolt.
The situation necessitated the use of her Christian name, even if he had promised himself not to use it again. “I have some important paperwork Mr. Yates insists you sign at once, regarding leases.”
Elaine pushed the bench back and came toward him, her cheeks red and her lips pursed. “Thank you. I will take care of these right away.” Then she turned back to address the interloping stranger. “Mr. Woodrow, thank you for the interview. I will contact you if we determine to use your services. Please leave a card with Mr. Gillensford.”
She disappeared out the door without so much as a glance back, entering the room directly across the hall. Adam knew quite well there was no desk, no ink, and certainly no pen in that room. It was actually meant for cards and other entertainments.
He gave his attention back to the trespasser, Adam wearing a cold, hard smile on his lips. “Mr. Woodrow, is it? Have you been in the neighborhood advertising yourself for long?” Adam took a step toward the man.
Mr. Woodrow paled. “No, sir. I arrived yesterday and people at the inn informed me lessons might be wanted at this house.”
“Music lessons are wanted, Mr. Woodrow.” Adam stalked closer, stopping to within a hair’s breadth of the quaking man’s shoes. Adam lowered his voice and looked down into the man’s face, using every inch of his greater height to loom as menacingly as possible. “Not whatever lessons you are peddling. I suggest you return to the inn, pack your things, and board the next mail coach to another town. Better yet, another county. Because if I see you anywhere near Orford again, I swear on my life I will have you brought up on charges of fraud and lechery. As my brother is the Earl of Montecliff, I can assure you such charges will be upheld. Do you fancy the idea of transportation, Mr. Woodrow?”
“T-t-transportation?” The scoundrel broke into a sweat. “No, sir. I will do as you say. I m-must be going.” He held his breath, his eyes darting to the door.
Adam grinned with as much menace as he could. “Then be gone with you,” he instructed in a growl.
The other man needed to hear no more. He fled the music room, his feet pounding along the hall and down the stairs. A moment later, the front door’s slam echoed through the house.
Adam walked to the window overlooking the front of the estate, watching the man eschew the lane to run through the grass southward, directly to the larger road.
A step behind him alerted Adam to Elaine’s return.
“Is he gone?” she asked. He looked over his shoulder at her, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the lack of color in her cheeks. Woodrow hadn’t upset her that terribly, had he?
Adam suddenly wished he’d thrown the man out the window. Instead, he tried to lighten the mood with an easy shrug.
“Come see for yourself. He is a fast one.” Adam turned back to the window, mulling over the ill look of her features.
Elaine stepped up beside him, papers still in hand, and peered out the window. She released a sigh heavier than he liked. “It seems I am not very wise when it comes to giving my trust to others.”
She couldn’t be lumping Adam in with that slimy creature, could she? Had she discovered his deception at last?
All his pride in running the horrid man off vanished. “The contracts, Miss Chapple. For the new tenant.”
“Yes,” she said somewhat listlessly. “Let us find a pen.” She turned and walked out of the room. Adam followed behind, concern for her returning full force.
The blue parlor, her preferred sitting room, looked as though a draper had attempted to take up residence again. Scattered here and there were bits of rich blue fabric, buttons, and such items he suspected were important to the making of clothing.
A small lady’s desk near the window proved to be Elaine’s destination. She sat and prepared pen and ink to write.
Adam came across the room slowly, all the way to the desk. He kept his eyes upon the window overlooking the gardens. “How precisely did that man get inside this house?”
Elaine had signed her name to one paper, but she stopped before signing to the other. “I was in the foyer when he knocked, prepared to leave his card. I thought, since he was here, I could give him something of an interview. You have done so much, and I wanted to take up a task on my own.”
“You ought to have sent for me,” he said quietly. “Or had Graham stay with you or called the children to come listen. You should never be alone with a man you do not know. Not even a tradesman.”
“All I could think on was what you said that day we went shopping, about my ability to provide a living to others.” She dippe
d her pen in ink and signed her name to the other contract, then dropped the pen and raised both hands to her temples. “He seemed so gracious and well-mannered at the door.”
Though concerned about her obvious discomfort, Adam had to press the issue. She had to understand. “You cannot know a man’s motives after only a few moments in his presence.”
“I know that,” she whispered. “But I hoped to find myself still a good judge of character.”
His heart clenched. If she discovered his reasons for helping her, would her confidence be further damaged? “Do you require anything else from me, Miss Chapple, before I return to my work?”
The pause before she spoke gave more significance to her words. “Do you think me foolish, Mr. Gillensford?”
The circles beneath Elaine’s eyes were nearly the same shade of gray as her irises, though far less pleasing to look at. Was she taking ill?
“I never have, Miss Chapple.” He spoke firmly, with true conviction. “You are always kind, and I believe that leads you to look for the same in others. Even if it is not there.” Had she seen the selfish creature before her yet?
“Perhaps that is true,” she admitted, craning her neck back to meet his eyes. “But there comes a point when being realistic is more important than wishing to see the good in people. I cannot put myself or the children at risk. Today’s blunder might have ruined me, had anyone else stumbled upon that horrid moment. If Mr. Woodward speaks of it to anyone, I suppose it still might.”
Frustrated, Adam tightened his jaw over words that would serve only to vent his emotions rather than soothe her worries. There was nothing more to say on that issue. He did not know if Woodward took Adam’s threat to heart.
“Next time a person comes to your door, seeking a position or an interview with you for any reason, will you please make certain you are accompanied by someone in this house whom you trust?” He meant to offer a suggestion, but his words came out more like a command.
Elaine stood, her brows furrowed and a storm in her gray eyes. “You are in this room with me, alone.” He had overstepped again, causing offense.
“You are right, Miss Chapple. I apologize.” He forced a smile, though the words were bitterly spoken. “I will withdraw. Next time I have need to speak to you, I will make certain not to make you uncomfortable by appearing without a chaperone.” He bowed and strode across the room, back to the open door, the hand not holding documents curling into a fist.
“Mr. Gillensford,” she called after him. He almost kept walking. He was not a servant, after all, though he was bound to assist her as faithfully as one. Stopping at the door, he turned and stared at her, waiting to get away.
Skirts swishing as she approached, Elaine’s hands were clasped tightly before her. “I spoke harshly. I apologize for that. I am out of sorts.” She brushed by him, entering the hallway. After taking several steps into the open corridor, she turned again. “I know you are trying to help me learn. I appreciate the effort and I am sincerely grateful for all that you do for me. I am only sorry that I am not as prepared for this role as you would wish.”
“You worry over pleasing me?” he asked, taken aback. “I am in no position to offer critique, Miss Chapple. Even if I were, I must assure you that there is nothing in your character or actions I find displeasing.” After he spoke, Adam felt the truth of his words to the very center of his heart. He did not even count himself worthy of her company, yet he craved it. The minutes spent speaking with her, though his conscience pained him every second for what he had not revealed, had been the best of his day. In truth, he ached with the need to spend more time with her, to see her smile, to be the one that brought a smile to her face.
When she spoke, the words emerged in little more than a whisper. “Thank you. That is good of you to say.” The shadows under her eyes appeared darker in the lesser light of the hall. His concern for her health rose again.
“I can see that something is wrong. Should I send for the apothecary? It would not do for you to take ill. The picnic is tomorrow.”
“I know.” Elaine laid her palms flat upon the skirt of her gown. “I have not been sleeping well, thinking and planning for it. When I am unable to sleep, I sew. I started to hope I would have a dress finished in time to wear, but—” She shook her head. “The other one I brought will have to do. Then I can perhaps finish the new one in time to wear it on Sunday.”
“Why did you not ask the seamstress to make your gown a priority?” Adam asked, shaking his head at her. “No one will mind what the children wear, but you will be under close scrutiny.”
Her cheeks flamed briefly, the color gone too quickly for his liking. “I know. But I do not want Nancy or William to feel out of place. It is important to them both to be accepted, to feel that they belong. No matter what I wear, I will know I stick out like a goose among peacocks.”
It would be an easy thing to contradict her, but Adam doubted she would believe his compliments at the moment. Instead, he put his efforts into another direction. “Please rest, Miss Chapple. The day is well planned. Mrs. Mayworth has told me all about it. You will do splendidly, and your health is important to your success. Retire early tonight at the very least.”
“Will you come to the picnic?” Elaine asked in a rush. “I know I do not deserve your help in this matter, given how standoffish I have been of late, but I am certain I will bungle everything. If you are there to give me direction, to make certain I do not forget anyone’s names, I will be far less anxious.” Wide eyes pleading as much as her words, Elaine made it impossible to deny her.
Adam ran his hand through his hair. Spending more time with her, though desired, might prove dangerous to his goals. Try as he might, he could not remain indifferent to her goodness, or her beautiful gray eyes. “I will be there, and I will do all that I can to help with the success of the event. You have my word.”
Elaine visibly relaxed, her shoulders slumping and her eyes closing. “Thank you.”
He needed to leave, before he did something foolish, such as tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, or taking her hand in his to offer comfort, or being closer with the intention of trying her lips against his—
No. That thought, that impulse, had no place in his mind. Not in regard to Elaine. Not with his focus upon his inheritance. Though in that moment, Adam promised himself to make certain her life at Tertium Park was everything she dreamed it might be. No matter what he hoped to get out of his uncle’s will, Miss Chapple deserved that much.
“You will impress them, Miss Chapple.” His conviction of this nearly made him smile. “As you have impressed me from the first moment I met you.” Then he bowed and left, not waiting for her reaction, nor her response. If she proved to need greater convincing, he might forget himself and sweep her up into an embrace to show her how impressive he found her, how much he admired her.
The complete lack of his right to do such a thing pressed upon him. Adam had violated Elaine’s trust from the first moment they met, while she had proved a woman of integrity in every way.
Trust, when broken, could not be regained with ease. Adam knew this from experience; there were few people in his life whom he knew he might depend upon. Only a handful of years before, when his brother married and the household changed, Adam’s family had ceased to qualify as honorable. Everything Adam had thought his had been taken from him. His chambers, his animals, had all reverted to Richard without even a discussion on the matter.
Adam had a guest room in the home where he had grown up, not a place of permanence. Adam borrowed Richard’s dogs for hunting. Adam had to learn how to afford a valet, a horse, his clothing, and his upkeep when he was not staying with family, all on his own. The mistakes he had made often left him in humiliating situations among the people he used to considered friends.
His past put him in a place of sympathy with Elaine; when she discovered his falsehoods, he would lose her trust and fall so low in her regard as to never return to his current place in her favor.<
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That moment must come. Eventually, someone would tell her of the stipulation in Uncle Peter’s will. Until then, he would continue to act as a friend, even if she would not forever see him as one.
Chapter 12
The day of the picnic arrived, thankfully bright and beautiful. Elaine had prepared a contingency plan if rain had been the order of the day. With the children’s hearts set upon a picnic and lawn games, it proved a relief that she need not entertain indoors. All the days and late nights of planning would be worth their happiness.
Elaine smoothed down her second-best dress and checked her gloves for spots. She had a fichu tucked in the right places and wore her most conservative bonnet. Intending to appear perfectly respectable, everything about her must be above reproach, from her appearance to her manners. Elaine had only Mrs. Mayworth to state that she had achieved that aim.
William set up his cricket field and Nancy brought all the tea things for her doll out to the garden. Elaine hadn’t even realized the doll had tea things, but Nancy explained Mr. Gillensford presented her with the tiny tea service. Yet another statement to Adam’s thoughtfulness.
Hopefully, he would prove punctual as well and would appear at her side to help greet her neighbors. Adam had given her the list of people to invite, people he claimed he had introduced her to at church. She remembered a few of the names, but not all. They had invited half a dozen families with their children. All said yes, even though they had no connection beyond those brief Sunday introductions.
The conservatory doors opened; Elaine folded her hands in front of her and raised her chin, prepared to greet her first guests all alone. Adam appeared, instead. Putting a hat upon his head as he came down the steps, his long gait meant quick progress to her side.
William and Nancy appeared behind him seconds later, both dressed in new clothing. Mrs. Fowler and her assistants had turned out a few items for Nancy just for the occasion, and the tailor in town proved efficient in providing boys’ clothing, too.
His Unexpected Heiress: Entangled Inheritances Page 12