“What on earth are you thinking?” he roared as he neared two silhouettes outlined by the torchlight.
Miss Pembroke visibly started at his bellow and looked a tad alarmed to see him descending upon her. Ethan didn’t intend to frighten the woman, but really, he was at the end of his rope with her thoughtlessness.
“We’re . . . we’re finishing plotting,” she managed to get out through trembling lips, gesturing toward David. “I thought you’d appreciate having it completed early. I was trying to show you that I care about our progress.”
“Yes, you were once again thinking about yourself and how it would makeyoulook. But did you think at all about David, who should have been off work and back home with his family hours ago?”
Her mouth fell open in shock as she tried to defend herself. “I . . . I . . .”
“That’s what I thought, you didn’t think abouthimat all.” Shoving a hand through his hair in frustration, Ethan turned tothe workman. “David, thank you for staying late. You are done for the day. Go home and please make my apologies to your wife.”
David gave a quick nod of acknowledgment before handing Ethan his long spade and turning away.
Hearing quick footsteps behind him, he turned to see Nathalie approaching. “Ethan, stop. She didn’t know any better.”
“Maybe not. But she should have,” he finished, turning back to look at Miss Pembroke. “You can’t simply keep men here to work according to your will and do your bidding. David’s responsibilities don’t end here—he has a wife and children who depend on him and need his help at home. They expect him to be there in the evenings. Now his wife has been forced to manage without him for hours. But you didn’t think of any of that, did you?”
“Ethan—enough!” Nathalie urged, pulling at his arm. But he hardly felt it, his frustration boiling over.
“This is not the way to get into my good graces, Miss Pembroke!”
Ethan finally registered Nathalie’s attempts to abate his tongue when she gave another forceful tug. “Leave her be, can’t you see how badly she feels? You can help her understand in the morning. But for now, please. Leave. It. Be.”
Snapped back to the present moment, his anger began to abate. Having said his piece and seeing David off, Ethan refocused on Miss Pembroke who, to his horror, had tears streaming down her cheeks.
Nathalie rushed past him and wrapped her arms around her. “He’s just frustrated, it’s alright. You were only trying to see the project finished.” His sister sent him a glare. “There’s nothing wrong with working diligently and seeing a project through.”
“No, but he’s right. I should have finished it myself and not asked David to stay. I’m sorry,” Miss Pembroke said with a sniffle, trying to remain as dignified as possible through the tears and shaky breaths, but she did look Ethan square in the face as she said them. Seeing her earnestness, and his rushing blood slowing, he felt like a monster for having reacted so strongly.
“I’m sorry I upset you,” he said, raking his hand through his hair. “Nathalie is right, we can finish in the morning with cooler heads prevailing. Goodnight, Miss Pembroke.”
CHAPTER 10
Alice tossed and turned most of the night, replaying Ethan’s words over and over. While her intentions may have been good, wanting to see that day’s task through to completion, they were also selfish. When Mr. Beaumont had berated her for detaining David without a thought, she’d become upset because it was true, she hadn’t thought about him at all—only how he might be able to assisther.
The multiple disquieting encounters she’d had at Hampton House were beginning to accumulate and constructed an unflattering picture of herself that she didn’t like very much. Though Priscilla advised getting to know herself, maybe Alice wasn’t worth knowing at all.
After talking with Nathalie yesterday morning, she’d hoped to show Mr. Beaumont her dedication to the garden in an attempt to soften him toward her. But it backfired spectacularly. Now he must be even more convinced that she was an unfeeling woman who only served as an impediment to his efforts.
Restless, Alice turned over once more, seeking a cool spot in the sheets. Rather than the relief of smooth linen, her legs encountered a bundle of sheets, twisted from her uneasy churning all night. Kicking her legs out from under the coverscompletely in frustration, she sighed in pleasure as the crisp night air hit her fevered limbs.
A moment later, no closer to quieting her racing mind or finding any kind of rest, Alice sat up and scrubbed her hands over her face, giving up any pretense of trying to sleep.
While she didn’t know the exact time, she did know that it was unbearably early and must be nearing dawn, as she could hear the first stirrings of servants waking up the house. But light had yet to creep over the horizon, the winter sun still making its appearance later in the morning.
Returning to her conversation with Nathalie the morning before, Alice tried to recall her exact words of advice in proving herself to Mr. Beaumont—that she should show a willingness to be part of the work, not simply oversee it. Maybe that had been where she erred—enlisting David to complete the work without doing any of it herself.
Determined, Alice rose and began preparing herself for stepping out into the early-morning cold. Opening her wardrobe, she comprehended none of her dresses were suitable for manual labor. Her garments were either too fine, too flimsy, or too expensive for such an endeavor. The dresses were beautiful, their beaded ornamentation meant to shine in the light of a ballroom, but they weren’t meant for anythinguseful. Alice frowned at the parallel to her own life, which could not be overlooked, while contemplating her options.
Finally selecting a dress with the least amount of trimming around the hemline, she put on her sturdiest pair of half boots, layered a chemisette under her neckline, and added her warmest pelisse over top before heading downstairs.
Wandering out to the garden, she paused before proceeding to where David had been working last night. Turning, she looked up to the sky, the cool morning air reinvigorating her after the night of little sleep and a disturbed mind. It was peaceful out,and Alice took a moment to indulge in it, appreciating the glow that was just beginning to kiss the tops of the trees—their bare branches standing out like dark skeletons against the velvety umber of the sky above.
As a cold gust of wind swept past, it carried with it the distinct ring of a shovel hitting hard soil. Turning toward the sound, Alice made her way to where a new pathway was being cut into ground and was surprised to see Mr. Beaumont already hard at work.
It was a beautiful sight.
Watching the way he moved confirmed what Alice had suspected since arriving at Hampton House a week ago, it was Ethan whom she had observed from her window that afternoon, admiring the grace of his motion and ease in performing physical labor. Suddenly, Alice felt it was imperative to earn the favor of this man whom she had come to greatly admire for his diligence and unrelenting faith in the good of those around him.
