Chapter 28
Tom ripped off his livery and threw it on the floor of the small room he shared with Jack.
That man had clearly injured Lady Lavender.
To have the audacity to come back for her was going beyond the pale.
He pulled on his gardening clothes and worn boots and trudged out to the garden.
He’d weeded just yesterday, but he needed to do something that made him sweat.
He checked the swing, making sure the ropes were still tied securely and trudged through the meandering paths looking for something, anything that needed his attention. It was his rotten luck to find the garden looking immaculate. On his way back toward the house, he encountered Jack.
“Her Grace sent me out to help you,” Jack said. “What are you doing?”
“Do you think the duke and duchess want to keep all their trees? I’m of a mind to chop one down.”
Jack’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “Oh, which one?”
“Any of them.”
Jack led Thomas back to the lion statue, well out of sight from the larger path. “If you’ve some anger to take out, kick Rockwell there.” He pointed at the lion.
“You’ve given him a name?” Thomas asked, trying not to be amused.
“Just now, actually. But it fits him, doesn’t it?” Jack smiled. “Do you want to kick poor Rockwell or not?”
“Not.” Thomas deadpanned. He valued his ability to walk more than that.
“Is it Lady Lavender?” the young man asked.
“It’s never been anyone but her.”
“What has she done this time?”
Thomas pounded a fist against his thigh.
“I can’t keep this up. One of these days, a gentleman is going to swoop in and steal her from right under my nose.
Thank goodness it wasn’t the peacock that came here today.
” Whatever that man had done to Lavender wasn’t a minor incident, Thomas could feel it, and all he wanted to do was hunt the man down and challenge him to a duel.
Jack put a hand on his arm. “Remember, I’m going to the pub tonight. Rumor has it that Lady Lavender will be staying at home for the evening. Maybe she’ll decide to come talk in the garden.” He waggled his eyebrows at Thomas.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep myself from asking her to run away with me,” Thomas ran a hand through his hair. “What kind of man does that make me?”
Jack chuckled. “That makes you a man in love.”
“You’re too young to know about that,” Thomas said with a grin.
“Maybe, but even I have to admit that if anyone can inspire those feelings in a person, it’s your Lady Lavender.
Maybe if she won’t have you, she’ll consider me.
” Jack winked at Thomas. “Be patient, and hopefully tonight I find out something good.” He started walking back toward the house.
“If you’re looking for some manual labor, there’s always mucking to do in the stables. ”
The Duke of Gilfordshire’s stables likely never looked so clean, and Thomas had likely never been more disgusting in all his life.
One thing about getting yourself covered in horse manure was that you weren’t necessary as a footman inside the house.
Instead, Mrs. Bitters made Thomas take a bath before supper, claiming that if he didn’t clean up, his stench alone would ruin everyone’s meal.
He hadn’t particularly enjoyed mucking the stables, but he’d faced a hard truth about himself in the process.
He wasn’t much better than that ridiculous Mr. Lanscombe.
He’d hurt Lady Lavender as well. How could it be any other way?
Thomas had all but told her he loved her but that he wasn’t willing to be with her.
In Lady Lavender’s mind, it probably seemed he chose his work over fighting for a life with her.
He scrubbed his skin raw, dumped the water, and then repeated the entire process all over again. By the time he entered the kitchen for supper, he looked like a different person from the afternoon.
Jack bumped Thomas’s shoulder when he sat next to him on the long bench. “Where did my friend go? I don’t recognize you.”
Those who had gathered at the table all laughed. Mrs. Bitters wagged a finger at Jack. “Don’t you give him a hard time. If you’d had to sit next to him in his previous state, the only thing you’d be smelling for supper would be your own vomit.”
The stable boys were washing their hands in the kitchen sink, but one of them called over his shoulder. “Next time, Tom, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make us all look like sluggards. I’m tempted to eat supper straight off the floor of the stables; it's so clean.”
“It isn’t natural,” his companion said. “Stable floors don’t need to be that clean.”
Mrs. Bitters only shook her head at them all. “Be that as it may, thank you, Tom.”
“Huzzah, Tom!” called the two stable boys. It wasn’t the first time Thomas had heard that cheer today.
His face was likely as red as Jack’s hair. He looked at Mrs. Bitters with as much desperation as he could muster. “Can we eat now?”
She laughed. Conversation around the table turned to other things, but every now and then, Thomas would overhear his companions talking about his glorious display of mucking the stables. One thing was certain: he had made an impression on them all.
Jack leaned over. “You’re going to watch the garden tonight, right?”
Thomas nodded, his mouth being full of mutton stew.
“Then I’m off.” Jack tipped his head toward Thomas and climbed back from the bench.
Thomas put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Be careful.”
Jack smiled. “Where’s the fun in that?”