Chapter Twenty-Six
Hannah was not generally one for pacing, but then again, she rarely had time when she wasn’t occupied with some task or another.
But she and her cousins had decided to close the doors of the Black Sheep on the day that Eoin was scheduled to arrive.
Hannah’s meeting with him was too vulnerable, too personal for a large audience.
She would have even sent her cousins away if she hadn’t needed their support while she waited.
Hannah should have insisted on setting a time. But she hadn’t realized that she’d be so bloody nervous.
She hoped, oh, she hoped, that they would reconcile. If she could bring herself to trust their parting words, she wouldn’t worry at all. Yet doubt had crept in. She’d sorely wounded Eoin, and his sense of betrayal could have caused him to change his mind.
But what if he hadn’t wavered? That, too, was a frightening prospect. He clearly would not make Hannah his mistress. If they were to renew their relationship, Eoin would insist upon marriage.
But could Hannah become a duchess?
“You are orbiting again,” Sophia pointed out.
Hannah wrung her hands. She did not normally twist her fingers any more than she typically strutted aimlessly about the room. “I can’t help it. I cannot stop.”
“What is worrying you?” Charlotte asked.
Hannah barked out a short laugh. “Everything. Will he arrive? What will I do if he doesn’t? What happens if he does? What if everything between us goes right?”
“Worrywart! Worrywart! Worrywart!” Pan cried gleefully from the rafters.
“Oh, do be quiet, Pan!” Hannah shouted in irritation. “I will make a fine duchess!”
“So that is what is bothering you,” Charlotte said quietly.
“Yes!” Hannah huffed out. “I am the daughter of a pirate and the proprietress of a coffeehouse. I’d make a bloody terrible peeress.”
“I personally think you’ll make a fine one,” Sophia said. “You’ve successfully run this coffeehouse since you were seventeen, and you’ve always had a head for figures.”
“Peeress! Peeress! Peeress!” Pan croaked as he tapped his gray foot in time with each word.
“I agree with Sophia,” Charlotte said, entirely ignoring the parrot. “You would have no trouble managing a household, and it is not as if the butler and the housekeeper won’t be able to guide you.”
“Handling the accounts and organizing the staff are the least of my concerns. I’d have to entertain nobs!”
“You’re a fine hostess here,” Sophia pointed out. “I mix up the brew, and you make the customers feel at home.”
“It is hardly the same set of etiquette and rules!” Hannah protested. She’d increased her speed to a pace where she almost felt dizzy. But still, she could not slow down.
“I must second Sophia again.” Lady Charlotte stood up from the chair where she’d been sitting.
Intercepting Hannah, she placed her hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop.
“You will never follow the proper protocol. It’s simply not in your nature.
But you will be a duchess and, thus, allowed to be eccentric.
That means that you can continue to draw people to you with your own unique appeal, just as you do now. ”
Hannah huffed out a sigh, which was half frustration and half relief.
Charlotte was a kind but honest sort. She wouldn’t say those words if she didn’t believe them.
And Charlotte was in the unique position of understanding both the aristocracy and the world that Hannah inhabited.
And Hannah’s mother had been born a noble.
The damn ton couldn’t entirely dismiss her lineage… but…
“I don’t even like nobs!” Hannah practically wailed as she tossed her head back. Then realizing what she said, she quickly amended, “Except for you, your brother, your husband, Eoin, my mother, Calliope, and I suppose some of our new members aren’t terrible sorts.”
A half smile curled Charlotte’s lips as she dropped Hannah’s palms from her soft grasp.
“You do realize that you’ve listed almost every noble who you’ve had the chance to spend time with.
There are absolutely horrid ones like Eoin’s grandfather and his aunts and uncles, along with Lord Hawley and my parents.
But there are good and bad people of all ranks and positions. ”
“I feel as if I will sacrifice my ideals if I become a duchess,” Hannah ground out as she started to rub her fingers together again. “Oh, why did Eoin have to be a bloody duke?”
“But think of the good you could do as a duchess!” Sophia grabbed Hannah’s twisting hands.
“Eoin is clearly inclined to champion reforms. You’ve already told your parents and me how he plans to help his tenants.
What if you were his North Star, helping to guide him on that path?
Imagine what such a duchess would have meant to our grandparents and fathers?
Their lives would have taken an entirely different trajectory.
And Eoin will sit in the House of Lords with your cousin.
He and Alexander have the opportunity to accomplish more if they work together, especially if you are there helping Eoin to devise laws that will benefit folks like our customers! ”
“I… I never thought of it that way,” Hannah said as a kind of peace started to flow through her.
“Do you love Eoin?” Sophia asked her.
“Yes,” Hannah said without a moment’s hesitation. “We… we just fit together. I am not sure if I can explain it more than that. When we argued, I felt a loss, even though I could still feel that connection.”
“That is how it is with Matthew and me,” Charlotte told her.
“Do you picture yourself married to him? In a partnership with him?” Sophia continued to press.
“If he wasn’t a duke, then I most certainly can. I can see him coming to the Black Sheep and us finding a small place of our own nearby. We would sup together and tell each other about our days,” Hannah said, finally admitting to the daydreams that she’d worked so hard not to envision.
“Try envisioning living on one of his estates,” Charlotte prompted.
“I suppose I imagine us going over his ledgers. I really enjoyed when we reviewed accounts together, and he was exceedingly happy with my assistance,” Hannah said. “I know nothing of agriculture, but I wouldn’t mind learning if he would let me implement my ideas.”
“I will not lie to you.” Sophia held her gaze, her golden brown eyes somber.
“Your life will change. Even if you work at the Black Sheep when you are in London, there are many times when you will need to travel to Eoin’s holdings.
But that does not mean that you will not embrace your new circumstances.
You, my cousin, will shine wherever you go. ”
Guilt stabbed Hannah. “But that means leaving you alone to run the coffeehouse.”
Sophia grinned. “I’m perfectly capable of operating it myself. But do not forget that I have Charlotte’s help now.”
“I’m happy to take over the accounts and your hostess duties,” Charlotte said. “It is time that we officially announce my part ownership.”
“You would both do that for me?” Hannah asked as a happy warmth filled her. She was blessed with her family.
“And for the Black Sheep.” Sophia gave Hannah a gentle nudge.
“And for myself,” Charlotte added. “I don’t want to remain in the shadows. I am a noble who chooses to operate a business.”
And Hannah could be too. After all, so had her mother. It would not be easy entering the rarefied world of the aristocracy, but Eoin was worth it.
Just then a knock sounded on the door. Excitement and joy fluttered through Hannah.
“I think it is time for Charlotte and me to retire to our quarters upstairs.” Sophia immediately started to leave the room, but she did pause long enough to address the parrot. “Come along now, Pan. Hannah doesn’t need a feathered chaperone.”
“Beast with two backs! Beast with two backs!” The bird screeched out the words, but remarkably, he complied. As soon as Pan landed on Sophia’s shoulder, Hannah swore that the little imp sent her a wink.
But she had no time to consider the antics of a parrot. She needed to prepare herself for when she opened the door.
As she strode across the familiar, creaky floorboards, anticipation crackled through her, prickling her flesh. She wished she could steady her heart or, at the very least, her breathing. But both were terribly erratic.
What if Eoin had come to say good-bye? Had it been presumptuous of her to think that he’d make her—a proprietress of a coffeehouse—his duchess? Yet he had already proposed to her. But then she’d gone and nearly smashed his heart apart. And he’d had time to reconsider his unorthodox decision.
Oh, she was an utter mess.
Before her trepidation could overtake her, she flipped the latch and yanked back the door. Eoin stood before her—his face alive with emotion. His stoicism had utterly vanished, and Hannah had no trouble reading his anxiousness. After all, it mirrored her own.
But Eoin’s nervousness wasn’t what held Hannah in thrall. It was the softness in his blue-green eyes. It was not the visage of a fellow about to cast a sweetheart aside. It was exactly how Eoin looked before a kiss.
Relief flooded Hannah, along with utter joy. Eoin wasn’t here for an ending, but for a new beginning—a beginning that Hannah absolutely wanted to embark upon.