Chapter 33
Jonathan had always felt as though the solicitor looked like a rodent of some kind.
He stood at the door, regarding the little man and trying to recall his name. It took longer than it should have—and then, all at once, he remembered. Tomlin. Joseph Tomlin. It was a name that sounded fuller and rounder than the narrow-faced man in front of him. It didn’t seem to fit.
It had been a little more than ten minutes since Violet’s retreat from the breakfast table.
Noah was still there. He had given Jonathan an unpleasant frown when Violet had walked away, as if to say that he knew this was Jonathan’s fault, but he hadn’t said anything, and Jonathan had suspected—still did—that that was because Noah couldn’t figure out exactly what Jonathan might have done wrong.
Jonathan felt the same way.
He had expected Violet to react happily to the offer to stay here.
It would mean they could stop worrying about what would happen when the two of them separated, because there would be no separation.
They would be able to simply enjoy living here and raising Noah together.
They would be as happy as they had been since moving in together—happier, in fact, because there would be no looming dread about what was going to happen when it all came to an end.
“May I come in please, Your Grace?” Tomlin asked officiously.
Jonathan stood back to admit him, feeling a bit foolish, and more than a bit angry. He would have been irritated enough to be dealing with this man so early in the morning. He didn’t enjoy Joseph Tomlin at all. There was an arrogance to him that always made Jonathan want to put him in his place.
But for this to come on the heels of an argument with Violet, it made it even worse. And worse still was the irritating fact that there should have been no argument at all! He had only meant to do something kind for her. He had thought she would be grateful.
“What brings you here so early in the morning?” he asked Tomlin rather gruffly.
Tomlin raised an eyebrow. “There’s no need to be angry, Your Grace,” he said. “You did ask me to return when I had established proper ownership of this house under the law.”
“And…you have?” A chill ran through Jonathan. What a time for things to be resolved.
He was, he suddenly realized, unsure of what outcome he hoped for. If only Violet had taken his suggestion that she stay here if he got the house well, then he could hope for it to be his. But now it seemed as though she would be angry if things went that way.
“Is Lady Violet here as well?” Tomlin asked.
Jonathan swallowed. “She is.”
“Or I could just give the news to you,” Tomlin said with a conspiratorial smile.
Jonathan knew the answer right then and there.
His heart sank.
He had always assumed that it would make him happy to realize that this house was going to be his.
He had wanted it so badly. It was the thing his mother had dreamed of, and he’d been so determined to get it for her.
To repay her, if only in a small way, for having been the person in his life who had always cared for him.
The only person who had ever loved him for who he was instead of for what he might be.
She deserves this house. Even though she’ll never live in it, she would like to know that I’m here now, and that I’m thinking of her.
He gritted his teeth. No matter how difficult it was to see Violet upset, he knew he couldn’t do anything other than follow through here. He’d come too far and wanted this for too long. Now it was happening, and he wasn’t going to refuse it.
But Violet had the right to hear from the solicitor herself. “You should speak to us both together,” he told Tomlin. “She’s in the library, I believe.”
He led the way. Sure enough, Violet was sitting in the library. She had a book in her hands, but it was unopened, and she was staring out the window. When Jonathan came in, she looked at him sharply, and it seemed as if she was about to start lecturing him again.
And then she realized the solicitor was there. Her body went rigid. She looked from Tomlin to Jonathan.
“He just came by,” Jonathan said. It felt important to make this clear, to be sure she understood that he hadn’t summoned Tomlin after the way breakfast had gone. But as soon as he’d said it, he felt foolish. She gave him a withering look.
“What is this about?” she asked. Asked Tomlin, not him. She wasn’t even looking at Jonathan anymore.
Tomlin walked into the room and took a seat without waiting to be invited.
“The legal matter has been settled,” he announced.
Jonathan looked at him. “What if we wish to resolve the matter for ourselves?”
“Then you ought to have said as much before asking me to resolve it,” Tomlin said.
Jonathan felt a flash of anger. “You would do well, Mr. Tomlin, to remember who you’re speaking to.”
Tomlin did have the sense to look a little abashed. “Apologies, Your Grace,” he murmured. “If you wish to resolve affairs yourselves, you have the option to do so. But there is a legal answer to your dilemma.”
Jonathan, who knew from their interaction in the foyer what the answer would be, did not ask.
It was Violet who did. “You’ve figured out who the house belongs to,” she surmised.
“Yes, Lady Violet.”
“Tell us, then.” Her voice was brittle.
Tomlin hesitated only for a moment. “The answer is what I imagined it would be,” he said. “It’s not a standard event for an unmarried lady to come into possession of property. Not something there are arrangements for.”
“My aunt’s will…”
“I know what it says. And she did her best to make her wishes a reality. This doesn’t reflect a lack of effort on her part.
But when the law was brought to bear on the situation, the resolution was fairly straightforward.
There’s just no way that, when you and a gentleman both have a valid claim on this place, it would ever be decided in your favor. ”
There was a long, drawn-out silence.
“So you’re telling me the house belongs to the duke,” Violet said quietly.
It was possible that she had abandoned the use of his name because she was speaking to the solicitor.
Maybe that didn’t mean anything. And yet, Jonathan couldn’t help feeling it like a slap.
He had been Jonathan to her for a long time now, and suddenly, they were back to formalities because of this.
“That’s right,” the solicitor said. “It’s his house.
Now, between the two of you, you may decide what that means.
Maybe he would like to pay you a sum, and I’m sure he’ll want to put together some sort of timeline on when you’ll be expected to leave and find new accommodations.
But as for the law, it recognizes His Grace as the owner of this property. ”
He rose officiously, then hesitated as if he expected someone to stop him or call him back.
Nobody did. Jonathan wanted nothing more than for him to leave so that he could speak to Violet, tell her that this wasn’t what he’d meant to have happen.
He wanted to let her know that the timing had been atrocious and completely unpredictable, and that he would never have said what he’d said over breakfast had he known this news was coming today.
After a moment, Tomlin seemed to realize that nobody was going to say anything more to him. He lifted his shoulders, let them fall, and made his way out. They listened as he walked through the foyer toward the door, which opened and closed, and then they were together in a stunned silence.
Jonathan drew in a long breath, then slowly released it, preparing to speak.
But once again, it was Violet who spoke first.
“I guess you were right,” she said, her voice sharp and bitter. “The house is yours, just as you knew it would be.”
“Violet…”
“You don’t need to worry about creating a timeline for me to leave,” she said. “I’ll leave at once. I’ll be out as soon as I find somewhere to go.”
“I told you that you didn’t need to do that,” he protested. “You should stay here with…” With me, he almost said, but he held himself back. “With Noah,” he amended. “He needs you.”
“No, he doesn’t. You can provide everything he needs. You’ve already gotten him a governess. And goodness knows you’re a better disciplinarian than I am,” she said. “So you don’t need me for anything, and neither does Noah. You’ll be just as happy to have me out of your way.”
“Violet, don’t do this.”
“And I don’t want you finding me somewhere to live either,” she said firmly. “I don’t know how you got it into your head that I was someone for you to pity, Jonathan, but I’m not.”
At least she had used his name again. He felt a strange rush of relief at the familiarity—surely this meant that her anger was temporary and that the two of them were going to find a way to resolve this. Surely it meant that.
She was rising to her feet, though, and not looking at him.
“I can see now that this was what you had planned the whole time,” she said.
“Everything that happened between us…” Those words were laden with meaning.
He was sure she was talking about the kiss.
She shook her head and continued. “Everything that happened was part of a scheme, a ploy to keep me from realizing that you were well on your way to getting the thing you really wanted. The house. You were biding your time until it was yours, and nothing else was ever real.”
He felt sick. “It was all real,” he said.
“Just promise me one thing,” she said, turning and facing him head-on.
He had thought she might be tearful, but she wasn’t. Her eyes were bright, but they were clear. He waited.
“Noah,” she said. “He is yours now. He remains with the house, as my aunt stipulated, and that means he belongs to you. Promise me you will treat him the way he deserves. Don’t pretend with him as you did with me.
Care for him. Find his parents if you can, reunite them if they deserve to be in his life.
If they don’t, take responsibility for him yourself, and make sure that he knows he’s loved.
Don’t you dare toy with his emotions. Don’t treat him as a means to an end, or as something to be discarded.
Jonathan’s temper flared.
Hadn’t she listened when he had told her about his own father? About the way his father had only cared for him transactionally, for what he could provide?
How can she accuse me of the same thing?
“Maybe you’re right,” he said quietly. “Maybe it is best if you just go.”
Her face softened, and for a moment, he thought she might take it all back.
But she didn’t.
She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Jonathan sitting alone and wondering whether that might have been the last time the two of them would ever be alone together.