Chapter 2
Two
“What on earth do you think you are doing?” a feminine voice called after Tobias as he strode down the corridor of the unfamiliar house.
He could hear footsteps behind him as he made his way towards where he guessed the tree had fallen. His heart beat fast, and he ran a hand down his coat pocket, where an oiled pouch held the letter that had been delivered to him that morning.
I cannot let James down.
As amusing as his interaction with the woman had been, he was not about to get distracted by her pretty face. His military training had kicked in, and he had scarcely taken her in as his mind focused on the more urgent matter: ensuring that his dear friend’s family was safe.
His voice was dispassionate as he called over his shoulder, the coldness that he was used to feeling replacing his worry, “I told you, I am making sure no one was hurt. A tree was brought down by the storm—a sizeable one at that.”
“I had noticed. And to answer your question, everyone is fine—well, the governess has a few bruises, but that’s about it. Is there a reason you decided to barge into my home and look for injuries rather than simply asking if anyone was hurt?”
Tobias did not miss the irritation in her tone.
“Lady Rowen?” He turned around so suddenly that she collided with him.
The smell of violets washed over him, and he steadied her as she stumbled. Her skin was soft beneath his hands, and her grey eyes flicked up to him, her lips parted.
He dropped his hands as though he had been burned, taking a step back and flexing his fingers.
Spots of color appeared on her pale cheeks, and she tucked a lock of dark brown hair behind her delicate ear. She had high cheekbones and piercing grey eyes. Her mouth was a thin line that held the promise of danger. Although her plain brown dress had clearly seen better days.
He had not seen the widow since the incident with his cousin the Duke of Scarfield and his now wife, Duchess Adele, which had been nearly two years ago. When he had last seen her, she had been the picture of poise and grace.
“I did not recognize you.” Tobias mentally kicked himself.
“That much was obvious, Your Grace, or I doubt you would have asked me to fetch my mistress.” Her lips thinned even further, grey eyes flashing with anger as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Tobias kept his expression neutral even as he felt a faint flush spread across his cheeks. Of course, she knew who he was.
Eric would never have made a mistake like this. He had a gift for social graces and such.
He forced the memory away. Now was not the time.
“I had not expected you to be dressed so modestly.” Tobias realized that he had moved to stand to attention, as a soldier before a general, and forced himself to relax his posture.
“Well, forgive me for not putting on my finest ballgown. If only I had known to expect company.” Sarcasm dripped from every word, anger and something that Tobias could not quite place flashing across her face.
“Perhaps you should hire a more attentive butler; then you would not be caught off guard.” He gave her a sharp smile.
“I expect he was occupied with securing the eastern wing.” She stepped towards him and gestured to the corridor behind him. “And now that we have that out of the way, I am afraid I must ask you to leave. It has been a rather taxing day, and I am in no mood for entertaining.”
“Then it is a good thing that I am not here to be entertained.”
The weight of the oiled leather pouch in his pocket seemed to double, and he rested a hand on top of it.
“Whatever the reason for your visit, I am sure it can wait.” She made a dismissive gesture as she made to stride past him towards an open oak door.
“It cannot. It is about your brother.” He curled his fingers into a fist to keep himself from reaching for her.
He saw every muscle in her body stiffen as she turned towards him. Her mouth was slightly open, her grey eyes wide and searching.
The sight stirred something within him. It nudged the cold numbness in his chest.
Lady Rowen gestured for him to follow her into the study, before closing the door behind them. “What happened?”
“I wish I did not have to be the one to tell you this. You deserve to hear the words from a more gentle soul than me.” The words left his mouth before he could stop them, an earnestness that caught him by surprise. “Your brother’s ship went down somewhere off the coast of Cornwall.”
“Then he is missing.” Lady Rowen’s eyes softened, and Tobias could see the hope in them. “There is a chance he survived.”
For a moment, he almost considered lying to her. The thought caused him to frown.
He shook his head and met her eyes. “There is a chance, yes. But I know those waters, My Lady, and they are treacherous. I fear… I do not think it is likely that he will return to us. Though I have used what connections I have to mount a search, the seas are not kind. Not in that part of the country. And it seems I am not the only one who is less than optimistic about your brother’s demise. ”
He took the oiled pouch from his coat and pulled out the letter that had been delivered to him only a few hours before. His fingertips brushed against hers as she took the paper from him with shaking hands.
Her eyes widened and then darted to the letter in her hands. She cleared her throat and began to read the words he already knew by heart.
“My dear Rothwell, if you are reading this, then I am dead (or there has been a terrible mistake, but let us assume it is the former).” Lady Rowen shook her head. “James, you fool, you cannot even take your own death seriously.”
“I believe he called it his light touch on life.” Tobias felt a pang beneath the numbness.
Lady Rowen swallowed and continued to read, “You are the one man I trust with this task: look after my sister Rowen and my niece and nephew. I have done what I can for them. Her bas—” She blushed, cleared her throat, and continued, “Of a husband left them with little, and I have supported them as much as I can. But if I am dead, that will stop. Though I have willed what I can to her, most of it is entailed. Please, Rothwell, look after them. Oh, also give me a good send-off. I expect whiskey and champagne, old boy, and pretty women by the armload!”
She wrinkled her nose, and Tobias quickly grabbed the letter from her. “You need not read the rest.”
His eyes lingered on his friend’s untidy scrawl and the lines requesting what he wanted his wake to be like.
Once we have confirmation from the authorities, I will arrange everything as he has requested.
“Has he named you the executor then?” There was a catch in Lady Rowen’s voice that Tobias could not quite place.
“I am to split the duties with his solicitor. Of course, we can do nothing until we have something official from the authorities, and that will take some months.” Tobias massaged his jaw.
“With the war, there are all sorts of administrative delays, and the government loves nothing more than paperwork for the sake of paperwork.”
“You seem to have rather a herculean task before you, and my brother has only added to it with a silly request for you to look after us. Honestly, as much as I love him, he does live in a fantasy land sometimes. Or I suppose he did.” Lady Rowen’s bottom lip trembled, and she gave her head a little shake before turning to the fire.
As Tobias tucked the letter back into the pouch and then his pocket, he studied her face. Her grey eyes watered, but no tears fell. Her jaw was clenched tight, and her hands shook slightly. Her shoulders were practically by her ears.
“Your brother put a huge amount of trust in me, and I would not begrudge any request he made of me.” Tobias took a step towards her, his voice sounding distant to his own ears. “What he asked was born of his love for you and your children.”
“I do not doubt that, but it does not change the reality of our situation. My brother was my financial lifeline, and now… Well, now he is gone. I have my children to think of, a crumbling estate, and the added embarrassment of my sweet but foolish brother sharing the direness of my financial situation with someone who cannot even remember what I look like.”
Her cheeks flushed at the last words, and Tobias bit back a wince.
“I would not take my forgetfulness personally, My Lady. Call it military training and a somewhat singular focus.” He shrugged, flashing her a small smile that felt strange on his face.
She arched an eyebrow at him. “The fact remains, I would rather not have the world know about my misfortune.”
“I am hardly the world, just one man,” Tobias argued.
“When all you have left in this world is your pride, even one man knowing of your shame is one too many, Your Grace.” Lady Rowen’s lips quirked into a half smile, though it did not meet her eyes. “I cannot afford to look weak or incompetent, not when so many people already expect me to fail.”
Her words were like a knife in his chest, cutting through the fog around him.
“People are swift to pounce when they sense such things.”
“They are.” She cocked her head, eyes searching his face as though trying to work out if he was one of those people.
Tobias met her gaze, unclenching his jaw. He forced his shoulders to relax and let his hands drop to his sides.
She nodded and turned away from him, her eyes growing distant. Tobias found himself watching the shadows play across her face.
His right hand twitched as though to reach up and stroke her cheek, but he held it down. He breathed in slowly and then out, counting the beats of his heart as he did, feeling them slow on his exhale.
“I suppose I could—no, that would never work. Maybe if…?” Lady Rowen’s voice brought him back to the present as she began to pace around the room.
“No James, practically no jointure, the settlement is long since gone. How am I supposed to fix any of this? What am I supposed to do? No, I have to be strong. I have to figure this out.”
Tobias tilted his head to the side as she wrestled with the emotions within her.
She has just learned that her brother is probably dead, on top of the damage this storm has caused, and who knows what else, and she is already trying to plan her way out of it.
“I am impressed.” The words slipped past his lips before he could stop them, pulling her up short. “You have just had your life turned upside down, and instead of falling to pieces, you seem to be planning your next move.”
“I am a widow and a mother, Your Grace. I do not have the luxury of falling to pieces. I would do anything to save my family.” She swallowed and added, “Though I wish James had not involved you in all of this. It is not as though you could do anything to help us.”
“And what makes you think that?” Tobias arched an eyebrow at her and straightened. “Do you think I could not afford such a thing?”
“It is not a matter of means, Your Grace, but propriety.” Lady Rowen made a placating gesture as she resumed pacing.
“While I have pushed the boundaries, I suspect that it would raise more than a few eyebrows if anyone found out that you were sending me any amount of money, let alone what James was sending me.”
Tobias’s eyes followed her movement. The slight sway of her hips contrasted with the tension in her shoulders. “I have no intention of providing less than what Jenkins gave you.”
“Which makes this whole situation even more ridiculous! I cannot imagine your wife—when you take one—will be particularly happy about you sending us money. I know few women who would be happy that their husbands were funding other families.”
Her fingers twitched as though closing around an invisible object, and Tobias had the sense that, to her, the situation was more than hypothetical.
Before he could say anything else, she continued, “And even fewer who would put up with the kind of rumors that it would trigger.”
“Then it seems to me that I will have to marry an exceptional woman.” He shrugged.
She shook her head. “That kind of woman is in short supply.”
“Then it is lucky that I have already found her.” The corners of his lips quirked upward as her eyes widened and then narrowed.
“You are engaged?” The furrow between her eyebrows deepened.
“I think you mean, we are engaged, Lady Rowen.” He canted his head towards her. “After all, you are to be my wife.”
It is our only choice.