There had been enough activity inside the manor, with two groups of staff trying to get things done—neither very happy with the other—to keep Jeremy busy until early evening. Mostly, he had been handling complaints, encouraging his people to be reasonable, making a list of rooms, both occupied and unoccupied, and settling into what would be his study.
I’d like to see her find some reason to protest about that,he mused as he left the bright room that overlooked a calming garden. There’d been nothing in it when he’d chosen the room,but he had no doubt that Anna would come up with some rationale as to why he shouldn’t have it for himself.
Thinking he might rest his eyes before dinner after his struggle to sleep last night, he was on his way to the stairs when his housekeeper appeared in the grand entrance hall.
“Ah, Yer Grace!” she called out. “There ye are. I was just comin’ to see what time ye’ll be wantin’ yer dinner? There’s chaos afoot in the kitchens, with two cooks tryin’ to take charge, but it’s well-stocked.”
Jeremy paused and drew out his pocket watch. “I will dine at eight.”
“Will Her Grace be joinin’ ye?”
“I doubt it,” he replied, wondering if he ought to invite her. “Ask her anyway.”
The housekeeper dipped her head. “Aye, Yer Grace.”
As she walked off, Jeremy continued up the stairs to the rooms that now served as his chambers, and he decided he’d quite like to dine with Anna. Distracting as she was, beautiful as she was, it was more a matter of comfort than pleasure: he was sick to death of his own company.
Indeed, before the fire, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d dined alone. It wasn’t something they did at McIver Castle,where meals were meant to be shared, and the dining room was filled with discussion and friendly arguments. The tradition had started with his parents, and the brothers had continued it long after their mother and father were gone.
I could always make her come to dinner with me,he considered with a smirk, as he imagined throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to the dining room. But then she’d just sit there with a scowl on her pretty face, no doubt refusing to speak to him at all.
The matter of taming the lady of the house was proving to be more complex than he’d anticipated. She’d think him false if he took a softer approach, but he didn’t want to scare her with his hardest tactics. No, he needed to figure out a way to strike a balance, keeping her guessing as to which method he might use next.
He stifled a yawn as he entered his chambers and stripped down to just his shirt and trousers, then stooped to remove his boots.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the bed and imagined Anna curled up beneath the covers, waiting for him. But, of course, he was entirely alone.
Ye were a damn fool to trust ye were in the right room last night.He hadn’t punished the maids who had put his few belongings into Anna’s chambers and directed him to that room when he’d sought to retire to bed. After all, this manor was as unfamiliar to them as it was to him; they couldn’t have known they’d got it so very wrong.
Besides, Jeremy wasn’t entirely convinced that a member of Anna’s household staff hadn’t been responsible for the mistake. A trick to make him look foolish or, worse, like a lecherous beast who couldn’t be trusted, adding to the reasons why he shouldn’t be there.
He padded over to the bed and sat down on the edge, reaching for the fastening of his trousers… when he felt something bump against his calf.
An expletive rasped from his throat. That maid of Anna’s had said there were too many ghosts in this manor, and, for a second, he thought she might have been talking literally. A ghoul under the bed, now bashing against his leg.
The next instant, he came to his rational senses and glanced down.
“What the…”
A furry head seemed determined to leave a mark on the pear-shaped muscle of his calves, with the faint tap of tiny, cloven hooves pattering on the wooden floor as it charged.
He raised an eyebrow. “Where did ye come from, eh?”
Reaching down as the little goat attempted to butt him again, he scooped the creature up and held it firmly against his chest. Absentmindedly, he scratched the coarse fur of the goat’s chest as it stared at him, clearly surprised to be disturbed.
It let out an anxious bleat.
“Did that rascally lass put ye in here, eh?” Jeremy asked, as he allowed himself a darkly amused chuckle. “Ye certainly didn’t wander in by yerself, now, did ye? Ye haven’t the hooves for opening doors.”
The goat’s little tail began to flick back and forth, while it strained to try to get a taste of Jeremy’s face.
“I am sorry, but I can’t have ye making a mess in here,” he said as he rose to his feet and set the goat back down. “If that lass thinks otherwise, she’s in for a surprise.”
Leaving the innocent creature to potter around, Jeremy hurried out of his room, making sure to close the door behind him, and headed off to find Anna. Clearly, this was some sort of punishment for him accidentally being in her bed the night before, and he was ready to show her what he thought of her attempt.
Where would she be at this hour? Her chambers?
He turned in the direction of that fateful room, only to see a familiar figure approaching him. Anna’s lady’s maid, walking with her head down and her mouth moving as if she were talking to herself. The same woman who had been out in the goat pen with her earlier. A co-conspirator if ever he’d seen one.
