Chapter Twelve
Julian made sure he was up with plenty of time to get ready to leave for the dig the next morning. He didn’t want to give Elaina any reason to leave him behind. Nor did he want to hold up the expedition now that they had additional members to their team.
He was the first to the breakfast room and made haste in getting his food in case he was wrong and Elaina was already out pulling the wagon around.
When the Leightons appeared, he relaxed knowing Elaina wouldn’t leave everyone behind.
He accepted a second cup of coffee and chatted with the couple over the fluffiest eggs he’d ever consumed. He tried to hide his distraction the third time he looked toward the door expectantly.
Where was she?
Perhaps she had left all of them behind?
When the dishes were taken away, he was about to suggest they find their own way to the site when Elaina rushed into the room bringing her lemon and sunshine scent with her.
He breathed out a sigh of relief, unsure why he should feel that way in her presence. If anything, he should feel the opposite. For when she was around, she frequently found something to disagree over.
But he found he rather enjoyed it. Maybe even encouraged it.
She was real.
And at that moment she seemed a bit muddled as she poured tea in her coffee instead of cream and was buttering her bacon.
“Miss Bantham? Are you well?” Mr. Leighton was the one to ask the question Julian needed an answer to.
Her hair was already coming loose from its pins and the buttons on her dress were not fastened properly.
“Me? Yes. Of course. It’s only that I overslept. My apologies. I never oversleep.”
As she mumbled her response, he noticed she hadn’t looked at him. Not even the smallest glance in his direction.
Had he done something? He usually knew when he had. Perhaps even did things on purpose to vex her. But he hadn’t remembered doing anything the night before to put her off.
“We have plenty of time,” Julian said. “The artifacts waiting in the ground have been there for some time and won’t mind waiting another hour to be discovered while you break your fast.” He gave a pointed look to the mess on her plate. “Allow me to help you.”
Without a word of consent, he went to the sideboard and arranged her breakfast in the correct way. Once the butter was on the biscuit and the coffee contained the perfect dash of cream, he returned to set down the offerings in front of her.
“I believe you will find this more to your liking, Miss Bantham.”
“How generous of you, my lord,” Mrs. Leighton gushed, but it wasn’t Mrs. Leighton he had hoped to impress.
Miss Bantham pressed her lips together as if deciding whether to cast aside his offerings and continue on with her mutilated breakfast. He guessed hunger won out over her stubbornness.
“Thank you, Lord Melville.”
“Julian, please. We will be working together side by side again today. It is easier to keep things simple.”
It was an overt hint that she give him permission to use her name. Elaina, or Lainey, as her aunt and uncle referred to her. But instead, she turned to her meal and ignored him.
He conversed with the Leightons as she ate her breakfast and gulped down her coffee hastily.
“I am ready. I will bring the wagon around.”
“I can bring the wagon. Why don’t you take a moment to visit with our guests?” he suggested.
“How kind of you, my lord.” If he was attempting to charm Mrs. Leighton, he could call it a huge success. But Miss Bantham was another thing. She was not so easily won. He knew because he’d been trying for some time.
But in this, she simply offered a tight smile and a single nod.
“Thank you, Lord Melville.” Not Julian. He chose to take her reluctant agreement as a symbol of goodwill.
“I’ll meet everyone out front in a few minutes.”
He headed to the mews and met up with the groom who had the wagon ready and waiting. Taking the team in hand, he led the wagon around to the front of the house noticing how much more difficult it was to drive a rickety wagon than to maneuver his fancy curricle. How had the woman handled it so efficiently?
But of course, he knew. She was unlike any woman he’d ever met. He doubted there was much she could not do. Except perhaps give him a chance.
When he reached the front of the manor everyone was waiting. He jumped down to assist, but Miss Bantham managed on her own and Mr. Leighton assisted his wife.
Following the same path Lainey had used the day before, he set the team on their way as the Leightons chatted easily. He found it interesting that the Leightons—Mrs. Leighton, particularly—spoke to him and Elaina as if they were a couple.
He pulled up to the site and saw to the mules as Mr. Leighton set up a chair and table in the shade for his wife. Apparently, Mrs. Leighton didn’t mind being on expedition, but drew the line at getting dirty herself. It was nice to see how easily she sacrificed her time for her husband. Though Julian doubted she would see it as a sacrifice at all.
Lainey was already setting up her tools and supplies where she’d been working the day before. Julian followed suit, moving to his corner of the recessed area.
“I will work over here unless you have another suggestion,” Mr. Leighton offered.
Lainey gave the man a smile Julian wished had been directed at himself.
“Wherever you would like to work is fine with us. Please select the area you feel will uncover the greatest treasure.”
Julian thought his greatest treasure would forever be seeing that smile. If only he could be the one to earn it.
He wasn’t ready to give up. He would win her smile eventually.
But then what? He wouldn’t be content with a smile. He would want more. He would want all the things he thought of late at night in his lonely bed.
And he couldn’t have them. He couldn’t have her. She would certainly never pass his father’s strict criteria for Julian’s wife.
And why was he even considering such a thing?
Elaina as his wife?
He would never be bored, that was for sure. Or so he would have thought.
For the next few days, they fell into a routine that was almost boring in its lack of deviation.
They rose and ate every morning to ensure they left promptly at half past five. They arrived and started working without so much as a misguided lump of dirt aimed in his direction the entire day. Luncheon was brought around midday and they paused to eat in near silence. The Leightons occasionally spoke about their new grandson or about other digs they’d been on, but Lainey hardly shared anything of herself.
Even when he asked direct questions, she often responded without any elaboration.
What made it worse was she didn’t seem to be angry with him anymore. Rather she was resolved to be only pleasant.
Had he thought he wanted her to be pleasant? Now he wished for a stinging lash of her tongue so he could volley back something equally witty. He missed sparring with her.
And that is something he never thought he would say.
*
Lord Melville—she’d goneback to thinking of him as such, rather than Julian—seemed intent on charming her despite Lainey’s decision to ignore him. Since the Leightons had joined them at Dalkeith, he’d been ready and waiting in the breakfast room every morning when she arrived.
After that day of arriving late herself, she made sure not to fall prey to thoughts of him before bed. She couldn’t spend each night tossing and turning restlessly, wondering what he could do to alleviate the ache in her body.
Surely, he would find it amusing to know she didn’t know all the ways her body worked. And she would die before admitting that apparently her body wanted his very much despite not understanding the details.
She blamed Mrs. Leighton for putting the thought of his bed in her mind at all. It was entirely too distracting. She’d taken to being simply pleasant rather than risk their usual banter.
In truth, he’d done nothing to earn her disapproval anyway.
He was beyond helpful when it came to working on the site. Always offering to drive the wagon and do whatever needed done without a hint of complaint.
She was left with no choice but to take back her initial accusation that he was a dandy looking to be entertained. He was more than that. Much, much more.
She wanted to blame her realization of how handsome and kind he was on Mrs. Leighton as well, but Lainey’s notice had started even before they’d arrived.
A week later, they returned from the dig in the afternoon to a few letters.
Lainey had received a letter from her aunt wishing her well.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Leighton let out a gasp and clenched the correspondence she’d received tightly.
“What is it, love?” Mr. Leighton rushed to read over his shoulder.
Lainey watched as his eyes darted back and forth as he read. Each line seemed to make his eyes grow wider.
“I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“But we could get a few hours closer tonight. I don’t think we should wait.”
“Of course, you’re right.” Mr. Leighton turned to Elaina. “My apologies, but we need to leave right away. Our daughter-in-law has taken ill.”
“Oh, no. The daughter-in-law who just gave birth recently?”
“Yes. Though our son didn’t say her illness was related to the birth. He only asked that we make our way to his home to assist. He sounded distressed in his letter.” Mrs. Leighton wrung her hands anxiously.
“But that could be the worries of a new father left to care for an infant on his own for the first time, rather than anything truly serious. We won’t know for sure until we get there,” Mr. Leighton attempted to offer another reason for the desperate plea they had received.
“Then you should go to them. I shall help you pack,” Lainey offered and put an arm around Mrs. Leighton’s shoulders as they maneuvered the stairs.
“What can I do?” She heard Julian ask with fierce sincerity.
Calling for Mrs. McGregor, the three women began loading trunks as fast as the footman and Julian could carry them down to be loaded onto the waiting carriage.
“Forgive me,” Mrs. Leighton said with tears in her eyes. “I’m sure I shouldn’t be leaving you alone in the house with a man and no proper chaperone.”
Lainey frowned but shook her head. There was no time for this again.
“Don’t worry about me. Just go see to your family. I’ll be fine. As I said before, I’m not concerned. Any damage to my reputation is already done anyway. Please give your daughter-in-law my wishes for a speedy recovery.”
“Of course.” She pressed her lips together as the final trunk was loaded. “Perhaps it won’t take long and we’ll be able to return.”
“Don’t think of it right now. You must think of the ones who truly need you. Nothing else matters.”
Julian turned from the carriage. “I asked Cook to gather some cheese and meat. I’ve packed it in the carriage so you’ll have something to eat on the way. I know you might not be hungry, but you need to keep up your strength. You can’t help someone if you are too weak to help yourself.”
“Thank you, my lord, we’ll put it to good use.”
A few minutes later, Lainey was standing next to Julian, waiving at the carriage as it rambled down the lane at a brisk clip.
When they could no longer see the carriage, they turned to face one another and exchanged a rather uncertain look.
“I believe I will take my dinner in my room. I’m rather tired,” she said when he opened his mouth to speak. It was clear by his reaction, he had not been ready to suggest the same thing.
“Very well then. I shall see you in the morning?” He bowed formally.
“Yes. The same time.”
He looked relieved. “Good. I was concerned we would have to call our expedition short.”
She understood his concern.
“Do you want to return to London?” she asked.
“Nay. Definitely not. But I would, of course, defer to you if you wanted to go. You hadn’t planned for it to be only the two of us, and if you felt I wasn’t suited to help you as you needed, I would understand.”
That was very considerate of him. She shouldn’t have needed to be reminded he wasn’t a selfish nobleman who didn’t care about anything but the adventure he was promised.
“I believe you have proven yourself since we have arrived. I have no concerns that you’ll not be able to assist me on this expedition.”
His smile was brilliant and tugged at something tender in her chest.
“Thank you for saying so, Miss Bantham. I won’t let you down. I promise.”
For whatever reason, she found she believed him. Even though he’d let her down before. Many years ago, before they’d even been introduced, she’d expected something from him and he’d disappointed her. Broken her faith in people in general, but particularly in young men.
As she continued up the stairs to her room, he bid her a good night with that wide grin that brought out the dimple on his left cheek.
She almost wished she hadn’t made plans to eat in her room. It might have been nice to share a meal and talk with him. She’d missed him while the Leightons had been there.
She shook her head. It wouldn’t do to admit to such a thing as missing him. She would be smart not to count on him. He would only disappoint her again.