Chapter 5 #3
She jumped at the sound of her mother’s whisper cutting across the silence of the yard. Tamsin jumped away from Kildare, breaking the connection.
“Tamsin, are you out here?”
“Yes, Mama,” Tamsin whispered back. “Go inside. I’ll be up in a moment.
” She glanced toward the coffee shop, where her mother stood in the doorway to the back room.
The lamp illuminated Mama in her tattered robe and threadbare stockings.
As Tamsin and Kildare had moved away from the lamp, Tamsin wasn’t certain how much her mother could see of what she’d been about to do.
“Two minutes, Tamsin,” Mama said. “If you’re not in bed in two minutes, I’ll come haul you in myself.”
Tamsin smiled. Clearly, her mother had seen enough. “Yes, Mama.”
The door closed quietly, and Kildare chuckled softly. “I feel like I’m fifteen again.”
“It doesn’t matter if I’m five or five and twenty, she’s still protective of me.”
“As she should be.”
“I should go.” Tamsin backed away, toward the coffee shop.
“Meet me back here in two nights. I’ll have a plan.”
“Mr. Kildare—”
“Don’t say no. Hear my plan first.”
Tamsin sighed. As though she could ever tell him no. How could she refuse another chance to be close to him? “Fine. I will hear the plan. I make no promises.”
“Noted. I’ll see you soon, Archer.”
And it wasn’t until his form had merged into the darkness and the rising fog of the night that she realized she still held his handkerchief and wore his greatcoat.
She latched the outer door and silently climbed the steps to her chamber. As soon as she closed their chamber door, her mother said, “Who was that and why are you wearing his coat?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“I haven’t said what I think.”
“You think he wants to bed me, and I’m considering it because we need the blunt.”
Her mother rose from the chair she’d been occupying and took Tamsin’s cold hand. “You wouldn’t be the first woman to consider such a path, and I wouldn’t judge you for it. But I also won’t stand by and let it happen. You are no man’s lightskirt.”
“I know, Mama, and that’s not what he’s asking.”
Her mother raised her brows at the greatcoat around Tamsin’s shoulders. The garment was probably worth more than either of them made in wages in a year. “He lent it to me because I was cold and forgot to take it back. I’ll give it to him next time I see him.”
Her mother’s hand went to her hip. “So you’re seeing him again.”
“He wants to help with Charlie and Joanna.”
“I see. What’s his price for that?”
Tamsin sighed. “He’s not like that, Mama. He’s a good man. A kind man.”
“And how exactly do you know so much about him?”
Tamsin took her mother’s hand and pulled her over to the small bed her mother slept in.
Tamsin usually slept on a pallet on the floor.
Her mother had made it up for her, but when they shared confidences, they always sat on the bed together.
“I’ve met him before.” She told her mother about that night selling flowers and seeing him again as she was escaping the ball then of the events at the pawnshop this afternoon.
“Tonight he overheard me speaking to Snoozer, and he wants to help.”
“Well, he can’t.”
“I know. Snoozer is already on edge, and I don’t want to give him a reason to disappear. But Mama, he’s asking for ten quid.”
“Ten quid? That’s a fortune.”
“I know.”
Her mother put her head in her hand. “We can never pay that much.”
“And he knows that. He wants to string us along and keep us paying a few shillings here and a few shillings there on top of the free labor he’s already taking from Charlie and Joanna.”
At the sound of her lost children’s names, her mother let out a quiet sob. “I’ll never see them again.”
“No.” Tamsin put her hands on her mother’s shoulders and gave her a firm shake. “We can’t think like that. I will find a way. I think it’s worth it to hear what Mr. Kildare has to say, even if I tell him we don’t want his help in the end.”
Her mother nodded. “You’re right. It can’t hurt to listen.
But Tamsin Mary Archer, listen is all you better do.
Don’t give me that face. I know what I interrupted out in the yard, and I saw your expression a few moments ago when you were speaking about him.
I know that look. It’s the same one I had on my face when I met your father, God rest his soul, and your stepfather, God rest his soul. ”
“I’m not a fool, Mama. He’s a nobleman, and I’m one wrong step away from living on the streets.”
“Since when did infatuation care about social class? Just make sure you remember who you are and who he is. Nothing more than infatuation is possible between the two of you.”
“Yes, Mama,” Tamsin said.
“You think you’re too old for my advice?”
“Never.”
“Good. Then shove over. I’d like to know if that coat is as warm as it looks.”
Tamsin laughed and moved over on the bed, making room for her mother to lie down.
She snuggled beside her, draping the coat over them both.
Her mother was soon breathing regularly, deep in sleep, but as tired as Tamsin might be, she couldn’t stop imagining what might have happened if her mother hadn’t come down looking for her.
· · ·
Garret was greeted by his mother at breakfast the next morning.
This was remarkable as she usually took a breakfast tray in her room.
It was also remarkable because no one save Dawkins, the butler, was present in the breakfast room.
Usually, Liam, Mariah, and Daire were squabbling at the table when Garret came down.
Killian rarely rose before noon, and he often slept at his studio.
But Garret’s siblings were conspicuously absent.
They knew something he didn’t, and Garret began to back out of the breakfast room almost as soon as he’d entered.
“Sit down, Gearoid Kildare.”
Oh, hell. Running would only make it worse, but Garret had to tamp down the urge to sprint.
His mother’s emerald eyes cut into him, and he took his seat like a scolded schoolboy.
Dawkins came forward and poured him tea then whispered, “Good luck.” The traitor then slipped through the servants’ door, leaving Garret alone with the countess.
“How was the dinner party last night?” she asked, her voice overly sweet.
“The…?” Garret had completely forgotten about the dinner party.
He hadn’t given Lady Callista Stanhope a second thought once he’d seen Tamsin Archer.
In fact, he hadn’t stopped thinking of Miss Archer since he’d left her last night.
He couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to kiss her again.
Would it be as erotic as the first time?
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the way her blue eyes met his and seemed to sear into his soul—right before her mother had interrupted them.
Seeing her mother had only made him more determined to help her.
Not only did Miss Archer have to search for her two missing siblings, but she also had to care for her mother, who was missing a limb.
“The dinner party, dear?” his mother said slowly.
“Surely, you recall the invitation I garnered for you after an entire day traipsing about Town, calling on friends and acquaintances, not to mention women I don’t even like, and listening to hours of their endless chatter about the weather and Brussels lace?
I visited house after house, telling every matron how serious you are about matrimony, how intelligent you are, how eligible.
Hour after hour while you—where were you that morning? Sleeping off a night at the Blue Boar?”
Garret felt his cheeks heat. “Ah. The dinner party. It was…fine.”
“Fine.” Her brows rose slightly.
He sipped his tea. “I, er, spoke to Lady Callista at length.”
“Did you?”
Garret nodded. “We spoke of withers and”—he waved a hand—“forelocks.”
“So you did not walk out of the drawing room while she was still practically mid-sentence?”
“I, er…Why would I do that?” Had he done that? He’d left somewhat abruptly, but she hadn’t still been speaking. Had she?
“You tell me.”
“I had another appointment. I don’t know what Daire told you, but—”
“Daire didn’t tell me anything. I heard this from my maid who heard it from the kitchen maid who heard it at the market this morning from one of the Stanhope maids. Apparently, Lady Callista came home last night vocally fuming at your rudeness.”
“You heard it from your maid who—”
“My sources don’t signify. The point is, Gearoid, you asked to become better acquainted with heiresses.
I spent considerable effort to grant that request, and this is how you repay me?
What appointment could have been so pressing that you would abandon Lady Callista in the drawing room, embarrassing her and turning her completely against you? ”
“I…”
“Need I remind you that this heiress scheme was yours, not mine? Before we are forced to vacate the town house and sell Castle Glenister, must we also turn half of Society against us?” Her eyes shimmered with real tears, and Garret felt immediate shame.
The reality of the family situation could not have been easy for his mother, who was the daughter of a duke and had grown up in wealth.
Her uncertain future and the shaky future of her children probably weighed on her more than he’d realized.
And that was his own fault. He hadn’t been thinking of anyone but himself.
And Tamsin Archer.
Garret rose and went around the table, kneeling at her chair. “Mama, I am so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to embarrass Lady Callista.”
“I know. You’re a good man, a thoughtful man.” She sniffled. “But sometimes I don’t know what to do with you!”
He smiled slightly. “You should probably beat me with a stick.”
“I should.” She laughed.
“How can I make this right?”
“I think you know.”
He winced. “Call on her and apologize?”
“Yes, Garret. Perhaps bring her some flowers.”
She was back to calling him Garret. Unfortunately, the cost was having to spend a quarter of an hour today with Lady Callista—an angry Lady Callista.
His mother rose and took her leave, and Garret slid back into a chair and drummed his fingers on the table.
He had planned to speak to his friends about the situation Tamsin Archer found herself in with the chimney sweep.
Several of his friends had studied law. They might have solutions for him.
But something his mother said niggled his brain. I visited house after house…
That was it! He knew how to help Tamsin’s little brother and sister. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. He had an heiress to fawn over and his own family to save.