Selina looked at Barbara now. The young lady was patiently waiting for her to answer her question. Her fingers tapped unconsciously in her nervousness and her eyes betrayed her despite the courage she tried to show. How could she leave her?
“No, Lady Barbara. I will not be running away.” She touched her hand to hers, a look of promise in her eyes.
CHAPTER9
Morgan’s carriage rumbled slowly along the dusty road, the rolling countryside passing behind, the evening sky painted a beautiful hue as the sun set slowly in the distance.
The carriage ride back to the Wynten Estate from the gentleman’s club seemed to last a lifetime. Arthur sat opposite Morgan, with both men staying silent for most of the ride.
They had spent the entire afternoon at the club discussing business with potential partners. While they had made headway in several ventures, no one presented a better business opportunity than Duke Osborne Reeves of Emex and his goldmines.
Morgan kept his eyes outside the window, watching the trees pass by. He heard Arthur clear his throat and turned his attention into the carriage. He saw Arthur staring at him and frowned.
“Are you going to say what’s on your mind?” Arthur asked.
Morgan glanced at him and grunted. Arthur had an unusual ability to know when Morgan was bothered.
“That was quite the glare you were giving Duke Osborne back at the club.” Arthur had a playful grin on his face.
Morgan frowned back. “It was? ‘Tis a true miracle that you are always there to smooth things over.”
“Indeed, I had to cut in before your expression started a duel,” Arthur replied, with a chuckle. “He couldn’t make ten sentences without mentioning his lovely mines. I regretted taking that conversation over immediately.”
Morgan grunted. When Arthur had suddenly cut in and walked the older Duke away from him, Morgan simply guessed he had been rude without realizing it again. Turns out his expression had been distasteful. No wonder the man had been so red in the face.
“A lot of gentlemen are investing in those mines. What say you? Shall we?”
Lines appeared on Morgan’s forehead as he scowled. “I don’t trust his shifty eyes. If we invest, it must be a conservative amount, such that we would not mind losing.”
Arthur cackled loudly, smacking his knee in amusement. “I agree. His beady, little, eyes did quite remind me of a mouse.” He wheezed as his laughter came to a stop. “In any case, I will do as you suggest. I always defer to you on things like this anyway.”
Morgan narrowed his eyes at Arthur. “I wish you would not always act with so much levity when it comes to your business. You can’t always just defer to what I have to say. Maybe if you actually paid attention during these pitches, you might decide for yourself if there was anything you wanted to take an interest in.”
Arthur shrugged with a lazy grin playing on his face. “Well in all honesty, you know I always considered those things quite boring. Way too boring, my friend. That’s where I have you to thank for my informed business decisions.” Arthur gave Morgan a toothy smile.
Morgan narrowed his eyes. He was opening his mouth for a retort when the carriage lurched to a stop outside the Wynten mansion. Arthur poked his head out of the window, then returned to his seat, a wide grin on his face.
“Come now, let’s not keep the Dowager Duchess waiting,” Arthur pronounced, slapping Morgan jovially on the knee. “Let us go in and see your grandmother, shall we? I have not seen her in a while and I rather miss her.”
Arthur smiled as he stepped off the carriage hurriedly, happy to escape the conversation. Morgan rolled his eyes, then got down behind Arthur, following him into the house.
As Morgan caught up with Arthur, a thought crossed his mind for the first time. He remembered that Selina was also at the estate. When Arthur had informed him of his visit, it had not clicked in Morgan’s mind that it meant Selina and Arthur would meet.
Morgan knew that Arthur really did miss his grandmother. They had a close relationship for years. Under normal circumstances, Morgan would have loved for Arthur to see the Dowager Duchess.
Now that they had gotten here, however, he found himself reconsidering that decision. Morgan had no idea why it gave him so much pause to think of Arthur meeting Selina.
Why did he care that they were meeting? He could not figure out why the thought bothered him so much. Regardless, he felt a slight discomfort in his throat, which he did not understand, but he shrugged it off as they stepped into the house.
Morgan led Arthur through the house until they arrived at a room on the western end. Morgan pushed the doors leading into the music room open. He and Arthur were bathed in warm sunlight streaming in through the open French doors at the opposite end of the room.
The music coming from the pianoforte in the corner of the room stopped the moment the doors opened. The Dowager Duchess, Selina and Barbara all turned to face the door at the same time.
Barbara had been sitting on the bench, receiving instructions from Selina on the pianoforte. But as she saw Morgan, she abandoned her lessons, eyes bright like a bonfire, and streaked towards her older brother.
“Brother!” Barbara said in a shrill voice as she wrapped her arms around a smiling Morgan. “Welcome home.”
“Come now,” Morgan teased. “Surely I wasn’t away for that long... or was I?” He hugged Barbara, looking down at her red cheeks and big smile. The Dowager Duchess was smiling as well, obviously pleased to see the two men.
