Chapter Seventeen
Angus had been looking forward to his next outing with Selina. This time they were meeting during daylight hours. Selina had been appalled to learn he had not seen any of the famous London sights. “At least let me show you the Tower of London,” she said.
Angus was agreeable to most of her suggestions, as long as he could spend time with her.
He had discovered he enjoyed her company a great deal.
She was amusing and made him laugh, and for two people from such vastly different backgrounds, they seemed to be remarkably like-minded when it came to their thoughts and opinions.
He acknowledged to himself that he would miss her when he returned with Callum to Bonnyrigg.
If the lad found a wife, that was.
It seemed that once again his and Selina’s thoughts were following the same path, and it wasn’t long before she mentioned her mistress. That was when he remembered that although their opinions may be mostly compatible, there was one subject on which they could not agree.
“I know Penelope is smitten with MacKenzie, although she refuses to admit it. I saw them. They were . . .” She shot him a sideways glance, her cheeks pink. “Well, I won’t tell you. I’m sure you can guess.”
Angus’s eyes widened as he caught her meaning. “You dinna say! Where was this?”
“In the sitting room. They are quite shameless,” but she was smiling.
“Callum has seemed verra cheerful, and now I know why.” Angus thought a moment. “Mabbe it will run its course. These things often do.”
She glanced at him as if she wanted to ask how he knew and interrogate him about his own encounters with women but didn’t quite dare. He didn’t mind if she did, he wasn’t ashamed of his past, but those brief encounters seemed tawdry when compared with his feelings for Selina.
“What if it doesn’t?” she said. “Run its course, I mean.”
Angus considered. “I’m sorry, but I still dinna think the duke will be happy if his son comes home with such a wife.”
Selina looked annoyed. “You say it like she worked in some horrid brothel! She is beautiful and intelligent and would make MacKenzie very happy.”
“Aye, but there is the small matter of her being another man’s mistress.”
Selina took umbrage at that. “The term is ‘old man’s darling’, and that was only because she had no choice. If he had decided to help her and her brother financially, without strings attached, then everything would have been all right. But no, he had to be selfish. So many men are.”
Angus thought that was probably true and wondered if it was aimed at him. He decided to ignore it. “That still doesna change things, Selina.”
She wanted to argue, he could see that, but she didn’t. She just looked downhearted. “No,” she said, and looked up at Angus, her blue eyes moist with unshed tears. “I just want her to be happy. More than anyone else I know, she deserves it.”
His heart ached for her as he said gently, “I know ye do. I just don’t know how it can be brought about.”
Selina thought a moment. They had been wandering through the Tower and were now standing in the room where the crown jewels were kept. For all her talk of them earlier, she did not seem to notice. “Does Callum never stand up to his father? Could he choose Penelope and say to hell with the world?”
Angus chuckled. “The duke is not a tyrant. But he feels he must do all he can to raise the family up, because it was his marriage to the old duke’s daughter that caused them to be looked down upon.
He was a gamekeeper, and that is what people remember.
He wants his son to have a wife who can win them over. ”
“But that is exactly what Penelope can do!” Selina cried.
Several people looked in their direction, and she shrank into Angus’s side.
“Aye, I see that,” he said quietly, smiling down at her, “but it is not up to us. Callum and your mistress must find their own way out of this maze.”
He could tell she wasn’t happy with that, but Angus refused to be further drawn into the tangle.
“Now show me your favorite jewel,” he said.
To her credit, Selina shook off her anxiety and was soon chattering away again.
He listened, smiling and looking awed at the right times.
He felt for her, and for Callum and Penelope, but what was to be done?
The duke would not be happy if his son brought home a woman who did not fit in with his future plans, although Angus had to wonder if Maxwell was not being rather hypocritical.
Over the years, Angus had learned that interfering in the lives of others, even if it was well meant, did not end well.
“Will you take some supper with me after this?” he said abruptly. “It is your day off, isn’t it? You do not have to go back by dark?”
Selina smiled with delight. “Yes, I would love to take supper with you.”
“I have been looking forward to your company and I don’t want it to end,” he said, the words a little stilted because his heart was pounding. “You say that Penelope deserves to be happy, but Selina, so do you.”
She was gazing at him as if he was everything she could wish for, which embarrassed him even more.
Angus was well aware of his faults, and he had never imagined he would find a woman he cared about like this.
One thing he knew for sure: He would be willing to do almost anything to see Selina Halliday smile.