Chapter 6 #2
Maggie was overcome with giggles again. He could only stand and watch, a half-smile on his face.
Somehow it created a clash of emotions. It was utterly enchanting, but at the same time, it made him wish for something that would never be.
Maggie deserved a mother. Someone who would care for her and nurture her in ways that he couldn’t.
Samantha’s face was flushed with her laughter, and Sandra must have trimmed her hair. The length was much more uniform, and she wore a lovely lace headband. As her eyes met his, they shone just a bit brighter than they had the day before. His heart missed a beat. She was beautiful.
That was not a direction his thoughts were allowed to go.
“Good morning, Little Mouse.”
She giggled again. “Good morning, Trent.”
“Good morning, Samantha,” he said as he pulled out a chair. A footman had been hovering, but sometimes he just wanted to do it himself.
“Oh, I’m in your seat,” Samantha said quickly. “I’ll move.”
“Don’t be silly. This seat will be just fine.” A plate of food was quickly deposited in front of him, and although he was grateful for it, the staff here treated him with a level of deference and respect he just didn’t deserve.
Maggie and Samantha had both finished eating, and it wasn’t long before Mrs. Baird appeared in the doorway. Maggie hurried across the room but stopped just before reaching her to turn back. She stuck her tongue out one more time before running off, giggles floating behind her.
Samantha’s cheeks glowed red above her shy smile. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Thank you for taking care of her. Apparently I slept right through my responsibilities.”
“It was my pleasure. I assure you.”
“Will you be able to manage getting back upstairs? I’m sure Brennan is already waiting for me.”
Her brow furrowed. “But you didn’t eat yet.”
“Well, that’s what I get for lazing about for half the day.”
“What can I do to help? I don’t like that I’m yet another burden you’ve had to take on.”
“You already have helped me. You took care of Maggie while I slept.”
“You should at least eat something. Benson says you’re working far too much.”
“Benson needs to remember his place,” he said irritably. He folded a piece of toast around two sausages and held it up. “I’m eating.” He took a bite, pushed back his chair, and strode from the room.
Guilt settled in his stomach as he crossed to the stables.
He should be grateful for their concern.
Instead, he’d been a cad, lashing out. As if she hadn’t already been treated poorly by enough people in her life.
He sighed and stuffed the last of his food into his mouth, self-loathing making it taste bitter.
A horse was saddled and ready for him. You’d think he was the master of the estate.
Why did they all treat him that way? He was only Ash’s bastard brother.
Brennan was at the cabin, but there were two other men with him Trent didn’t recognize.
“I’m sorry,” Trent said as he climbed out of the saddle. “I appreciate you getting started without me.”
Brennan brushed his hands on his trousers. “This is Theo, and Stanley, your new help.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Ash hired them. They arrived this morning. Apparently, a telegram was delivered as well, but—”
“But I was sleeping, so no one knew,” Trent snapped.
“No harm done. I just put them to work. You can go back home.”
“Don’t be daft.”
“We’ve got it well in hand, boss.”
“It isn’t your responsibility.”
“It is now. Your job is to manage the estate. Not to do all the labor too. When was the last time you had a day off?”
“I don’t—” He breathed a frustrated sigh. He didn’t take days off.
Brennan merely raised his brow. “It’s time. Go home. Check on Samantha. I can promise you Ash is much more concerned about her than he is this cabin he’ll probably never see. Not to mention, with three of us already working, you’ll only be in the way.”
Feeling completely useless, he climbed back onto the horse.
Brennan was right. Not just about him being in the way.
Ash would most certainly be more concerned about Samantha’s well-being than he would that bloody cabin, and he’d completely failed there.
Instead of being kind and compassionate, as she deserved, he’d been downright rude.
As he neared the house, he only became more disgusted by how he’d treated her. She’d been through hell and was fragile. He was supposed to be helping her to heal.
Moulton approached him as he walked through the entrance hall. “Apologies, sir. I failed to give you this telegram before you left.”
“You didn’t fail at anything, Moulton. I should have woken earlier.”
He already knew what the telegram said, so he took it, but simply dropped it on his desk on his way up to Samantha’s room. Hopefully she was there.
“Come,” she called, in response to his tapping.
When he entered, she pushed herself back into the chair ever so slightly. He cursed himself. With one careless action, he’d undone all their progress. Damnit! Why couldn’t he do anything right?
He closed the door softly. “It’s nowhere near sufficient, but I am so sorry, Samantha.”
She shook her head. “I’m the one who should be apologizing, Trent. It wasn’t my place to say any of that.”
Slowly, he walked to the other chair and sat. He wanted to explain, but he wasn’t entirely sure how or where to even start.
At the beginning, perhaps. He sighed.
“I stole from him.”
“Who?”
“Ash. I was angry after losing my mother, and I needed someone to blame, so I blamed him. He didn’t even know I existed.
But I tracked down his estate, and there just happened to be a vacancy, so I rented it.
I came here intent on hurting him. I even arranged a robbery of his club, during which he was shot. ”
She gasped softly.
He simply nodded. It was shocking. It was despicable, and on some days, his guilt nearly consumed him.
“But rather than punishing me for any of it, he rewarded me. He gave me money.” He huffed a laugh.
“More money than I’d seen in my whole life.
He allowed me to move into his family home, he pays for a nanny for my sister, and cooks, maids, footmen, a valet, a butler…
all of whom treat me with as much esteem as they would the master of the estate.
” He ground the heels of his hands roughly against his eyes. “I don’t deserve any of it.”
“And so you punish yourself,” she said quietly.
“How could this life possibly be punishment?”