Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
“Clearly, you have a mind like a steel trap, Your Grace,” Maggie said sourly, after a long moment.
Algernon laughed and drew back, grinning at her unhappy expression. “Maggie Black, you deserved that for teasing me.”
The woman smiled back cheekily. “Algernon Sweet, Duke of Ravenswood. I’m pleased to see that the weight of your new responsibilities hasn’t robbed you of your sense of humor, such as it was.”
Algernon enveloped her in a long hug again and rocked her from side to side, caught in a wave of relief at seeing her once more.
Maggie had been a good friend once, before her father had taken her away from Ravenswood when his tenure as tutor had abruptly ended.
He and Maggie had shared secrets, studied forbidden subjects, and laughed together, often at his brothers’ many follies, for the whole of a year.
They had kissed, too, practicing on each other in secret. But those kisses had lacked the passion they’d just shared, of course. He’d always thought of her as a near sister then, and had missed her funny ways.
He released her slowly and looked down into her face, adjusting to the changes time had brought.
Her eyes were a warm, deep brown, glowing with the kind of knowing light that an eager man might get lost in now.
Her eyebrows delicately arched in question at his continued scrutiny, and he tweaked her nose as he’d always done, making her smile brighter.
He looked beyond her face to her glossy black hair, tied neatly at the back of her head today. Gone were the unruly curls she had forever tried to tame after running about the estate, following him and his younger brothers.
Now that she’d grown older, she possessed more curves, poise, and elegance than the bookish girl of whom he’d been so fond.
A woman like Maggie would no longer be running off into fields with him, or risking getting into trouble with her father by sneaking out of bed to meet him in the dead of night.
But then he remembered where they were, her father, and her unknown marital status. For all he knew, she could have a husband waiting nearby.
That thought sobered him, and he drew back to a respectable distance. He glanced around, but thankfully, they were alone. He wet his lips, still nervous. “Maggie, is your husband with you? And I should dearly love to renew my acquaintance with your father, as well,” he blurted out quickly.
Maggie lowered her gaze. “I never married, and my father is…somewhere…near London.”
He was taken aback that she had not married, until her last words struck a wrong chord. “Somewhere? Don’t you know where your father is?”
“Not precisely. That is why I am on my way to find him,” Maggie confessed, and then shrugged. “I have not had a letter from Papa in some time, and I am growing concerned that something may have befallen him.”
Algernon sat on the edge of the table so they were of more equal height, barely believing that Maggie was a spinster. “How did you become separated from Mr. Black?”
“I haven’t traveled with him in years. Not since…” She hesitated. “Well, the reason isn’t important.”
Algernon remembered her father being a pompous old windbag. Forever suppressing Maggie’s natural curiosity while toadying up to Algernon’s late father. Mr. Black had not approved of his daughter’s close friendship with his employer’s eldest son, and had locked her in her attic room more than once.
Fortunately, Algernon was able to acquire the housekeeper’s key, and they all kept that a secret from their elders.
“So your father and you fell out, and seriously this time.”
“I chose to make my own life,” she announced, bristling. “My father continued as he preferred, as well.”
Algernon sensed a vast deal left unsaid about her father. He knew better than to push, though. Maggie would tell him, or not, in her own sweet time. “So your father continues to teach?”
“Oh, yes. He devoted his life to serving the finest minds in all of Britain and helping them achieve greatness.”
Algernon’s breath caught at the bitterness in her tone. “Did he never help you do the same?”
She stared at him briefly, and then laughed. “No. Of course not. I’m only a woman, and not worth taking pride in. But he’s often written to tell me about the fine young men he was leading to their grand future.”
“You beat me in every test, despite being two years younger!” Algernon burst to his feet, infuriated by her father’s lack of attention on her behalf. He gripped her shoulders and squeezed. “The finest mind he ever tutored was yours.”
“He would never admit that a daughter could surpass his own precious students, and risk his career,” Maggie said, her voice dripping with contempt. But then she shook off whatever ill temper gripped her. “Are you traveling to London or going home to Ravenswood?”
He sat back down so they were of similar height once more. “I’m on my way to London, or was until the weather got in my way.”
“The nerve!” She moved to sit beside him, leaning against the table too. “I never had the opportunity to visit London.”
“That is a great tragedy,” he mused, shifting sideways until he nudged her. “There are many fine bookshops there that you would enjoy. Perhaps you’ll visit them with your father when you find him.”
“I doubt I shall ever see London’s bookshops. My purpose is only to discover how my father fares.”
“Ah, yes. And with this rain, of course, your journey to him is delayed like mine is.”
“Indeed.” She pulled a face. “I should rather not have to make any journey at all in such dreadful weather.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
She squinted at him. “How did you come to be so covered in mud yesterday?”
“You saw me? Oh, yes, that was you spying on me in the taproom? Inquisitive as always, I see, but why didn’t you speak to me then?”
Maggie shrugged. “You seemed in ill temper, so I thought it best to avoid you.”
“I was frustrated. Exhausted. We were soaked through and shivering. I am still damp. The effort to right the carriage and drag it back to this place had put us all in a bad mood. I did my part. Helping the men, though they didn’t want to let me at first.”
She laughed softly, imagining the odds of success for anyone else changing his mind. “The last time I saw you, you were in a similar condition and your father was cross. I think that is the only reason I picked you out. That, and your outrage at not getting a room for the night.”
“Yes, and I foresee another uncomfortable night ahead of me, given that the rain continues hard still, so no one can leave.”
“Ah, well, there is little I can do about the rain.” She glanced over at him and suddenly hugged his arm. “But perhaps I could share my pillow with you.”
His brow rose high. Slightly surprised to hear an invitation to share her room. And her bed, too? “I don’t think that’s a wise idea.”
She winked at him. “It wouldn’t be the first time you snored on my pillow.”
“I do not snore,” he protested, as he always did when someone complained about it.
Maggie only laughed, and Algernon found himself smiling back. Her good humor had always been an antidote for a bad day as a boy. It seemed to work miracles on his mood today, as well.
She sighed. “I found it a rather comforting sound, actually. That and our conversations before bedtime. I still have an interest in philosophy, so you could fall asleep almost immediately if we ever start talking about that.”
He grinned. “So you still study?”
“Not as much as I would like to. I have developed my own philosophies, but I have no one to discuss them with at home.”
“I should very much like to hear how you view the world, and debate philosophy all night again,” he promised.
Maggie hugged his arm and then released him. “I’m sure you’re much too important to be burdened with my company or opinions anymore.”
He captured her hand. “I never was bored with you. I’m certain nothing has changed.”
She snorted, then a knock sounded at the door and she sprang away, putting a respectable distance between them.
“Yes, come in,” Maggie called.
Maggie was no shrinking violet, but she was no brazen flirt, either. She cared about her own good reputation, and he ought to worry about it more, too.
The older man he’d met earlier in the taproom entered the dining room, with a woman of equal age hanging on his arm. The pair glanced at them suspiciously.
Algernon smiled quickly. “Imagine my surprise at finding it was my cousin staying in this establishment,” he said smoothly.
The pair glanced at Maggie, eyes wide with surprise.
Maggie seemed lost for words for a long moment, but swiftly recovered and shrugged. “He vexed me the last time we talked, so I didn’t share my plans to travel with him.”
“Maggie,” he chided. “You are family, and I will follow you everywhere, my dear.”
“I had hoped you’d grow out of that nonsense,” she muttered to him, smiling, but the next moment she excused herself from the room.
Although Algernon wanted to follow immediately, the gentleman and his wife got in his way. Mr. Keane brought his wife closer and introduced her.
“A pleasure to meet you, sir,” the lady gushed. “I must confess to having been very worried. It is not right for a woman to travel alone. You must have been so worried about your cousin as well, to follow her into this dreadful storm.”
Algernon nodded slowly. “She’s always had an independent disposition.”
“I am glad you’ve come to take charge of her.”
“I have indeed,” he promised, but of course, he had not. However, talking with Maggie was an excellent way to spend a rainy day and night. He would like to continue their conversation elsewhere. “Any idea which room was given to her?”
The Keanes were only too happy to supply him with directions to the room beside theirs.
Algernon rushed up the staircase and knocked softly on her bedchamber door.
“Yes,” Maggie answered from behind the wood.
“It’s me.”
“What does me want?”
“I thought we might discuss sharing your pillow tonight,” he whispered urgently. “Let me in so we can talk freely.”
“One moment.”
There was near silence from within, but when the door opened, something was thrust out at him. The door slammed shut again without him catching a single glimpse of Maggie, before the bolt was thrown to keep him out for good.
Algernon held what he’d been given up to the light—and gaped. He held a small embroidered pillow bearing Maggie’s initials. He stared at it, and then at the door in consternation. “Maggie?”
“There will be no further talk of you taking charge of me,” she warned. “I’m not your cousin.”
“Maggie, I didn’t mean it the way it came out,” he said softly. “I was trying to protect your reputation. You know me.”
“I know nothing about you now, other than you enjoy kissing strange women with little provocation,” she complained.
“I argue that point. I was highly provoked by a very tempting woman who enjoyed teasing me. It was not as if you stopped me.”
“No, I didn’t, did I?” The door rattled as the bolt was drawn back, and Maggie reappeared. She held the door firmly shut against him, though. “Who is Sally Ford?”
“Someone I made up on the spot to torment you with.”
“No. I don’t think that’s true,” she said, eyes flashing dangerously. “You were never that good a liar as a boy.”
He raked a hand through his hair. Maggie had always seen through him. “All right. I apologize. I kissed Sally Ford some time ago, but I’m sure she’ll have forgotten about it by now.”
“I imagine that if you kiss everyone like that, few women ever do. Good night, Your Grace.”
He put his foot in the door to stop her from shutting it in his face again. “Was the kiss too much?”
A tiny smile tugged her lips. “Too much or too little?” she teased, and then laughed. “Perhaps you’ll figure it out by morning. Pleasant dreams, Your Grace.”
The door shut, and Algernon sighed, disappointed and oddly challenged by the question.
Maggie had taught him to take nothing for granted when it came to what she wanted.
She had changed her mind because of what he’d said to the Keanes downstairs, although he might have presumed too much from her invitation.
He ought to have remembered Maggie was not his to order about, though he always tried.
He had overstepped the bounds of propriety well and truly by kissing her like that, too.
Tomorrow, he would ask permission before he kissed her again.