Chapter 38
Atlas
Ihad not arrived at Norwood Hall with a well-laid plan, only the undeniable certainty that I needed to be here. It was all I could do now not to reach for Estelle and publicly claim her as my intended. Rashness would not win over Lowry though, but I hoped patience and fortitude would.
Augusta moved to the opposite side of Estelle from me where we stood near the front steps of Norwood Hall and linked arms with her. “Everything is going to work out. You’ll see.”
Estelle glanced over at me and shot me a small smile. She had faith in us. I had to have the same. I could have used her presence and assurance at home the last two weeks with my mother. Now I was finally here at Norwood Hall with Estelle, I would not fail her.
“This is my sister I’ve told you so much about,” Reginald said, leading Mr. Hanover to us.
Just like I used to do in a game of cards, I sized up my competition, studying out his strengths and weaknesses.
Mr. Hanover was smaller than me by a good three inches—a weakness—but had a pretty face, medium-brown hair, and an obnoxiously charming grin.
I suppose those could be considered strengths, though it was debatable.
Especially if it motivated Estelle to act violently. The thought almost made me smile.
Hanover went straight to Augusta, scooped up her hand, and bowed over it. “A pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Lowry.” Augusta gaped in return.
Mistaken identity—a rather humorous and awkward weakness.
To be fair, I could see how he might have made the mistake. Estelle had stepped closer to my side at the last moment of our approach, which might have given the impression that we were a couple. Augusta had been a logical choice.
“I am Miss Wilde,” Augusta said, tugging her hand back.
“This is my sister,” Lowry said, pulling Estelle away from me and to his own side.
Mr. Hanover’s skin reddened like the skin of a partially ripened tomato. “Forgive me.” He took Estelle’s hand next.
It was all I could do to allow it.
“Shall we visit inside?” Estelle said, stepping away from their new guest. “I will see that tea and refreshments are served.”
“Yes,” Lowry said. “Let’s visit in the drawing room.” His smile was tight, and I sensed his stress.
Everyone started inside, and I set my hand on Lowry’s arm and held him back.
“My lord?” he asked, his annoyance betrayed with his gritted teeth.
During school, he had idolized me as an upperclassman.
Despite my failings then and after, I had a few desirable qualities that others respected.
I had included Lowry in my circles, and he had been a grateful recipient.
Would any of that make a difference to him now?
“It appears my sister and I will be staying for a few days,” I said.
He studied me. “You’re welcome of course . . . but why stay?”
I smiled. “Because I am to propose marriage.”
Lowry jerked his arm back. “I think not.” The others turned around and Lowry lowered his voice. “Do you propose to all the women you seduce in your employ?”
My brows raised. “I have never seduced a woman in my employ or out of my employ. I resent the insinuation. Moreover, I will not hear your sister’s name sullied with your misinformation.”
Lowry set his hand on his hip. “Let’s say I believe you. Why would you want to marry a servant? And worse, one who lied to you?”
“A companion is a respectable position, as you well know. The situation will lead to speculation, which I regret, but it cannot be helped. As for her lie, I know her character. She is a woman of conscience, and I know she would not lie unless she felt truly desperate.”
Lowry’s face fell.
I recognized the guilt there because it had become such a familiar feeling these many months. “I love her, Lowry.” I hadn’t told her yet, but I would—soon. “If you would have opened the letters I sent you instead of returning them, you would know that already.”
Lowry shook his head. “She is already engaged.”
“What if she chooses me instead?” I did not know for certain, but if I were still a betting man, I would stake a great deal of money on it.
“Of course, she’ll choose you. That woman has been an emotional watering pot since leaving Rosemont,” Lowry growled. He set his hands on top of his hair, mussing it. “Hanover waited all this time for her. He’s traveled farther than you too. I am not very happy about this.”
I would not be either if I were in his position. The poor man was not himself—not after losing his sister and just finding her again.
“Your feelings are valid, Lowry. Anyone would be upset.”
“Can you not be a gentleman and step aside?” he begged.
I shook my head. “Not this time. I am determined.”
“Just capital,” Lowry sighed. “I never should have left Estelle’s side.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
He eyed me long and hard before dragging his gaze to his impressive manor house. “It was not easy being here without my parents. I was not ready for all the responsibility. I thought finding Estelle a good man to marry was doing my duty.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me,” I said. “I have my own failings.”
Lowry crossed his arms. “What am I to do? This is a disaster.”
My lips curled into a small smile. “How about you start by giving me your permission?”
I had hoped to find another moment alone with Estelle, but once Hanover joined the party, it was impossible.
I had so much I needed to say. We had said all we could through stares across the room, and brushed fingers together in passing from one room to the next.
Granted, I had tried to make those moments worthwhile.
Now it was time for a more concrete plan.
Since I had already forced myself upon the household, sneaking around in the dead of night did not seem to be too much more of an imposition.
Once I found the kitchen, I searched their larder for the right supplies.
I set everything out on the kitchen table.
Lowry would no doubt huff and puff if he saw the liberties I was taking.
When I finished lining up the bread, jam, cheese, and two plates, I took a seat and waited.
I wasn’t certain if Estelle would come. She had scarcely touched her dinner, so I trusted that her hunger might lead her to me.
The kitchen was smaller than Rosemont’s, but it was still an adequate size.
A clock hung above a door to the side yard, and I watched it as it ticked a quarter hour and then to the half hour.
If I was smart, I would retire to bed. I shed my jacket and draped it on the end of the bench at the table. Leaning my elbows on the table, I set my jaw in my hands. I might as well get comfortable. Apparently, I am more stubborn than smart.
I started to drift off when a door creaked open from the top of the stairs leading to the rest of the house.
My mind sharpened and I sat up straight.
I heard her soft footfalls before I saw the whole of her.
Her nightgown stuck out beneath her long cream wrapper, and her long raven hair was pulled back into a braid again.
I grinned. It was like falling back in time to the night she had surprised me in the larder. Or perhaps I had surprised her.
“Atlas?” Estelle hurried down the rest of the steps.
I hadn’t realized my own feet had been moving toward her. When we met, I did what I had resisted since I had arrived and wrapped her in my arms.
Holding her was heaven.
She curled her own arms around my middle and relaxed into me with a sweet sigh. Finally. It had been too long, and I was completely to blame for it. After a long moment, I pulled back. There was much that needed to be said. But first things first. “Hungry?”
“Very.”
I took her hand in mine and led her to the table. “Courtesy of Norwood Hall larder—I present our bedtime feast.”
Estelle laughed. “You are a godsend! I am half-starved.” She went straight for the bread and jam. I added a chunk of cheese to her plate for good measure.
She picked it up. “Cheers.”
I lifted my own cheese and met hers with it. “Cheers.”
I slid onto the bench beside her, our shoulders touching as we ate. It was such a simple pleasure, eating beside her, but it brought me an unreasonable amount of joy.
“What do you think? Will Hanover make the cut?” I wasn’t worried about her answer. Not with the way her eyes had wandered my way all evening, but I had to ask.
Estelle swallowed her bite. “He has potential, I admit. But I do not think he is the kind of man capable of holding a knife to a woman’s throat one minute and saving her from drowning the next.”
“No, that takes a special kind of man.”
“I wholeheartedly agree. Indeed, it is a quality of extreme import to my happiness. I could never marry a man without it.
“Is that so?” My lips betrayed how happy it made me to hear her mention marriage. I set my arm on the table, leaning into it and bringing my head closer to hers. “What is your opinion of men who kiss ladies in kitchen larders?”
Her eyes widened. “Why, they are the very worst.”
I frowned. “The worst?”
“Yes, a man who only kisses in the larder and nowhere else is positively shameful. If you know such a man, please tell him straightaway that his lady enjoys kissing in a variety of settings.”
I reached up and smoothed a raven curl behind her ear.
“The message has been received.” I dipped my head and claimed her soft lips with my own.
My hands cupped her neck and jaw while I told her with my mouth exactly how much I loved and missed her.
Her touch was as beautiful as she was—her lilac perfume the scent of home.
How was I so fortunate to have found her?
With her arms wrapped around me, she clung to my waistcoat and returned my kiss with equal ardor, filling all the empty crevices in my heart with her own love.