He gave her a long intense stare. Then he began, to slowly nod his head. “Fine” was all he said.
“Then you agree?”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s settled.”
“Good.” She exhaled a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding.
“The way I figure it, with room and board and expenses, I should be able to pay you—”
“Pay me?”
“Aye. I have you to thank for this idea, George. You were the one who told me that I didn’t need a wife. You said all I really need is a nursemaid. You’re right.” He straightened, drove his hand through his hair, and laughed a nervous and shaky laugh, the kind that sounded as if he had just escaped all the pains of hell. “To tell you the truth, it’s a relief. We don’t exactly see eye to eye. It would have made for one hell of a difficult marriage.”
He let loose a big sigh and looked directly at her. “So now, let’s come to an agreement, Let me think about this for a second...” He was tapping one finger against his chin while he mouthed and grunted something that sounded like a pig doing arithmetic. “I’ve got it. Here’s my offer. I’ll pay you twenty-five dollars a month.”
“Are you really that stupid?”
“Okay.” He grinned, then gave her a knowing wink. “Can’t blame a fellow for trying.”
She relaxed. “Well, I should say so.” She shook out her skirt with a couple of sharp snaps, then raised her chin.
He was grinning at her.
She certainly wasn’t above a little humorous jest. But really. The very idea. It was so ludicrous. Georgina Bayard as a nursemaid. She gave in and laughed with him. When her laughter finally faded she shook her head at the silliness of it all. “That was, without a doubt, the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You’re right, George. You Bayards are just too sharp for me.”
She was still laughing.
“I’ll double my offer. Fifty dollars a month and you can have Sundays off.”
Her laughter stopped as abruptly as a train wreck. Was he really that stupid? She examined his expression, searched it for a long time to see if he was doing this to goad her. His usual approach.
“Of course you’ll want me to deduct your bail from the first month’s pay. I know how proud you Bayards are, George. You wouldn’t want to owe me anything.” He looked at her as if he had just given her the best gift in the world. He stuck out his hand.
She stared at it as if it were a dead herring.
“Now, George. Don’t get sly. I can’t go any higher on your salary, so don’t think you can wheedle more money out of me. After all, I’m being very generous.”
Wheedle?She just sat there staring at his outstretched hand and wishing she had an axe.
It took her a very long time to find a calm and controlled voice. “You want to pay me fifty dollars a month to be a nursemaid to your children.”
“Aye.” He walked over and gave her a hard slap on the back. “That makes for the perfect business alliance.”
That makes me a slave.
“Get up now so we can get to bed.” He paused, then added in a pointed rush, “Inseparaterooms. I don’t want you to get confused like Amy did. You’ll not have to worry about your virtue now that our relationship is master and servant. You know... all business.”
Servant?He all but dragged her out of the chair and up the stairs. He stopped in front of a room and opened the door. She looked inside.
It was the size of her closet. Her two valises sat on the floor and covered most of it. The floor appeared bare from what she could see of it and the room was musty and smelled old and unused.
“I’ll need to get up early and ride over to the other side of the island. I have to get Fergus to bring Kirsty and Graham back first thing in the morning. The sooner the better.”
She looked up. Besides breathing, looking up was the only thing she could manage at the moment. Her feet were lead, her arms numb, and her jaw felt as if it were locked together.
“You’ll need to keep a sharp eye on those little devils of mine. Especially on their schooling. I’m certain you Bayards had the best education all that money you used to have could buy. That’s a real good thing too, because I can’t hire a tutor for them until at least spring.” Then he turned around and sauntered away whistling.
