Chapter Twenty-Five
The next afternoon,Althea sat with Flynn in her drawing room. He had just made the most preposterous suggestion as if it was an invitation to take a walk in the park.
She clattered her teacup into the saucer and stared at him. “You want me to go to Ireland?” She found his calm manner quite exasperating.
Flynn stirred his coffee. “Regrettably, I must come straight back to England. As Crowthorne must be stopped.”
Unnerved, she plucked at her napkin. For goodness’ sake, was she to be dragged off on some wild goose chase? And with a man who’d made plain his scandalous intentions toward her? “Flynn, I think you’re overreacting. Crowthorne wouldn’t dare come after me again.”
“He’s desperate and on the run. He doesn’t know the king has the diamond. That fact will not be made public. The jewel represents Crowthorne’s only chance to disappear to the Continent and live free from English justice.”
“But Flynn….”
He folded his arms, not prepared to listen. She recognized that look of determination in his gray eyes. “I can’t just uproot myself and go to Ireland.” She crumpled her napkin and placed it beside her plate. “What about my staff?”
Flynn seemed confident he could rearrange her life at his whim as he invariably had in the past. She glanced at the stubborn set of his jaw, unsure whether to waste a good deal of her energy arguing or to give in. Well, she wasn’t giving in. Not this time.
She took another fortifying sip of tea, stretching out the moment while she considered her words carefully. “I’m sure there’s another alternative. I simply can’t see the sense of rushing off to Ireland.”
He arched his brow. “You did say your lease here is coming to an end. Owltree Cottage remains uninhabitable. Where else can you go? To your brother then, in Dorset.”
“No, no,” she said hastily. She wasn’t ready to resign her fate to a small country town as a permanent guest of her brother. “Perhaps to my aunt who is in Paris at present,” she said, her voice hoarse with frustration. She knew as soon as she said it that he would find fault with the idea.
“How long does Lady Bellingham intend to stay in France?” His melodic voice was pure honey, but she wasn’t fooled. There was a good deal of steel beneath.
“I received a letter from her a few days ago. She was about to embark on a trip to Italy.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms. “Italy? That makes it difficult, doesn’t it? I only ask you to remain in Ireland until Crowthorne is no longer a threat.”
“How long might that be? I can make arrangements to join Aunt Catherine in Rome.” She accepted it would be a huge expense and most impractical. The urge to fight him ebbed away. Might a tiny piece of her want to embrace this new adventure? The thought surprised her. She had changed since she’d met Flynn. He had changed her.
“My house in County Wicklow is a far better option,” he urged, sensing her hesitation.
She sighed and shook her head. “When you look so determined, I feel I might as well agree, otherwise you’ll remove me by force.”
A corner of his mouth quirked up, and he did not attempt to deny it. “Please be packed and ready to leave tomorrow. Bring your abigail if you wish. You will have need of her.”
She tried one last time. “What makes you so sure this is necessary?”
“Crowthorne has been seen recently, here in town with Percy Woodruff.”
“Oh.” Just thinking of that brute and his sly companion vanquished her last shreds of confidence. She had not recovered from that awful episode. The thought of falling foul of that man again made her stomach clench. “Very well, I’ll be packed and ready.” She looked at Jet lying by the fire. “I’ll have to leave my cat.”
“Only for a short time.”
“Will it be, though?”
“If it worries you, I’ll have Jet sent over to Ireland.”
She smiled. “You would do that for me?”
His passionate glance heated her from head to toe. “I’ll do anything you ask of me.”
“Thank you, Flynn,” she murmured. She was so moved by his declaration that her vow to never become involved with another man crumbled. Could it be possible that what she felt for him was love?
“I’ll arrange for someone to watch the house tonight.” He stood. “My home will provide a safe retreat, and I hope it will be a comfortable one. Quinn, my butler-cum-footman, will take excellent care of you.”
“It seems I am to be forever in your debt,” Althea said.
