“No,” he said while his blood rushed faster through his veins. His body refused to allow him to lie to himself, but it didn’t matter if he wanted Miss Halliday. He couldn’t afford her. “Danby wouldn’t like it, and we can do nothing to jeopardize the agreement.”
“I thought the old duke mentioned flirting,” James said sotto voce. “I could meet his terms.”
“Not and keep your nose in joint.” Colin entered the room ahead of his brother.
Miss Halliday was alone, standing at the window looking over the rolling pasture beyond the glass. Sunlight illuminated her profile—slender nose, high cheekbones, pert chin. And her rich brown hair was shrouded in a hazy glow. Her beauty struck him like a punch to the gut, and a strange wheezing sound escaped him.
She turned toward the noise, coming up short. Her cocoa gaze shot back and forth between him and James. “T-twins,” she murmured.
“Cut from the exact same cloth,” James confirmed. “I am James MacBride, and you have met my brother.”
“Yes, L-lord Blackwood. W-we met when he collided with the f-footman yesterday.” Pink tinged the apples of her cheeks as James graced her with a winsome smile.
“How interesting. Colin failed to mention an accident. Please, you must sit and tell the story.”
Colin snapped out of his stupor and came forward to escort her to the sitting area. “I am sure Miss Halliday is looking forward to meeting her charges. We shouldn’t fritter away her teaching time with anecdotes when there are more important matters to discuss.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Her smile was shy when she linked arms with him and allowed him to guide her toward the most comfortable chair. Her gaze darted toward the doorway. “Will Lady Blackwood be joining us soon?”
He managed a strained smile. “I am afraid the countess is indisposed at the moment. I expect she will visit the classroom this afternoon.”
“Oh.” Miss Halliday halted, swallowing hard. “M-my maid is waiting in the servants’ quarters.”
Of course, she required a chaperone. Danby would insist upon protecting her reputation when his true intentions were to see her married. “I will request Mr. Bickley send someone to retrieve her.”
“No, no. That is unnecessary.” A nervous titter accompanied her words. “We will not be long, will we?”
“The servants at Blackwood Castle are loyal,” James piped up from his place on the sofa. “You needn’t worry anyone outside of the castle will become privy of this meeting.”
She looked to Colin for reassurance, which he readily gave. Danby was the closet neighbor, and it was to the duke’s benefit to keep the entire affair secret. Colin was certain Baron Lovell would never know his bride had once dabbled in education.
Reaching the chair, Colin urged her to sit. No sooner did her derriere touch the butter yellow upholstery than she was back on her feet. “I wanted to write notes while we speak. I left my notebook...”
Colin followed the direction of her wagging finger and found she’d placed a stack of books on a table close to the window. “Allow me,” he said.
Miss Halliday offered her gratitude before sitting again. Colin retrieved her notebook, found a pencil in a drawer of the rarely used Chippendale desk, and settled on the sofa beside James after delivering the items.
She opened her notebook and initiated a small interview of her own, asking for the children’s names and ages, how well the three oldest girls could read, and if the younger ones had started learning their letters.
“Rebecca can read,” Colin answered. “I’ve seen her reading to her sisters before bed.”
Miss Halliday consulted her notes. “The oldest girl, and she is twelve-years-old.”
“Correct.”
“At ten, I would expect Emily to be a proficient reader as well.”
“I’m sure she is,” Colin said, although he knew very little about his nieces’ education.
Malcolm had hired a governess for his daughters, but the troubles with keeping one hadn’t occurred until this summer when Colin was in London attending his first session of the House of Lords. He imagined his older brother had served as a buffer between Audrey and the help, and without Malcolm’s calming presence, tensions had run too high.
To Colin, it seemed the best course of action to take with Miss Halliday would be to keep his distance and allow Audrey to run roughshod over the young woman until she quit. Throwing Miss Halliday to the lioness, however, struck him as unnecessarily cruel.
She finished jotting in her notebook. “I see Iris is nine. Where is she in her education?”
Colin shrugged and appealed to his brother for help.
“I cannot recall ever seeing her with a book,” James said. “I suspect she has no interest in reading. She is more likely to be racing through the corridors than sitting still.”
