Brooke snorted. “He already said I must take a footman with me from now on.”
“So tell him it’s more appropriate for him to escort you since he’s your fiancé. Be assertive, him or no one.”
Brooke chuckled. “Do you know what it’s like to be insistent with him? It’s like barking at the wind. Both are pointless.”
“You’re starting to makemelose hope, poppet. I know this mountain between the two of you seems insurmountable, especially now that we know he blames your brother not just for his sister’s death, but also for the death of her child. I wish you didn’t find that out when you read the girl’s diary.”
“Me, too,” Brooke said a bit dismally.
When Alfreda had caught her reading the diary, Brooke had mentioned the part she’d seen at the end of it. Alfreda had offered again that day to make Brooke a love potion to at least get past the animosity and straight to the nicer parts of a marriage. Brooke had declined again. She wanted Dominic to really love her, not just to think he did.
“You should have listened to me the other day,” Alfreda said, bringing that up. “This situation is more extreme than we first thought, and that calls for extreme measures. I’m making you that potion.”
“But it’s not his lust that I want.”
“Love, lust, they go hand in hand.” The maid stood up and headed for the door. “At least you’ll have it on hand in case a situation arises when you think it will be useful.”
Because of her harrowing ordeal the previous day, Brooke gave in to her tiredness and went to bed while it was still dusk outside. It was dark when the loud howl woke her. She lit her bedside lamp and looked at her pocket watch. It was half past ten. She grabbed her robe and went quickly to Dominic’s room to make sure he was in it, but she was hesitant to knock on his door. What excuse would she have if hewasin there? But if he wasn’t and was out howling on the moors instead? Of course he wasn’t. She shook off that ridiculous middle-of-the-night thought. It was just a silly rumor, but she wanted to disprove it once and for all, and not just for her own satisfaction, but so she could support him in debunking it.
She knocked softly and waited. The door opened only a crack. It was Andrew and he said immediately, “He’s gone for a walk, m’lady.”
Wonderful, just what she didn’t want to hear, support for that silly rumor. “Did you hear that mournful howl?”
“Dogs from the village out wandering this way.”
Was it? Or were the servants used to making excuses for their lord’s eccentric habits? “Where does his lordship usually walk?”
“To the village. He frequents a pub when he can’t sleep.”
She thanked Andrew and went back to her room, but not right back to bed. A pub, eh? Maybe he had a favorite serving girl there? She was miffed that he was turning to other women instead of her, first his former mistress, now a tavern girl? Wide-awake now, she dressed and left the house, deciding to see for herself.
On this beautiful summer night the wide path to the village was bathed in moonlight. It didn’t take her long to get there and spot the one building that was lit up and noisy. She headed straight for it, but stopped at one of the windows to peer inside. She spotted Dominic immediately, taller than anyone else in the room. Gabriel and a half dozen other men surrounded him.
He was dressed casually and didn’t even look like a lord tonight. Nor was he acting like one. She was seeing a new side to the wolf and was fascinated, watching him laugh and drink with the commoners, and good grief, was he the one singing? She was impressed that the local men seemed to like him and feel comfortable with him. When Dominic suddenly let out a howl, the other men did as well, and soon they were all laughing about it.
Brooke grinned. No, indeed, that rumor about his being part wolf obviously didn’t bother him at all anymore—if it ever did. That thought made her wonder how many of the other things he’d told her about himself were true and how many he’d made up to chase her away.
At least he wasn’t there cavorting with women. She turned away from the window to walk back to Rothdale, but gasped when she bumped into someone.
“Steady, lass,” the man said. “If you’ve got a chap in there who’s stayed longer than he ought to, come tell him.”
Before she could protest, she was pulled into the tavern. She would have bolted right back out if Dominic hadn’t seen her immediately. Her eyes locked to his across the room, she didn’t move. Then a perky red-cheeked serving girl thrust a drink in her hand and smiled. Brooke felt bad about having had such angry thoughts about the women who worked at the tavern.
“So who is he?” asked the man who had led her inside.
When she glanced at the grinning villager who looked as if he was hoping to see one of the men get yelled at, she probably disappointed him by saying, “I’m Dominic’s fiancée.”
The last thing she expected was for him to laugh and shout that information to the room. Hoots and hollers filled the room, and men started patting Dominic on the back.
“We heard that gossip,” one of the men admitted. “Now we know it’s true!”
Another man, who was having trouble taking his eyes off Brooke, told Dominic, “You’re a lucky man, m’lord.”
Dominic actually smiled, though he replied, “That remains to be seen.”
That got quite a few laughs, probably because everyone in the tavern had guessed that she was checking up on him. And how was she going to explain this to him? She took a big sip of the local beer when he started toward her. Then the toasts started, and hearing so many people wishing her and Dominic health and happiness, she couldn’t stop smiling.
That might have been why he didn’t rush her out of the tavern. After a few more sips of beer, which she’d never tasted before, she stopped worrying that he might be annoyed that she’d come to the tavern.
