“Thank you.”The tremulous smile on her lips was more than worth such an easy promise.Matthew decided against telling her that he would also consult his coin.Not everyone understood his faith in his luck to steer his course.
But he also knew that it was her decision.He would consult the coin to see if he needed to try to convince her to another one.
Hopefully, there would be no need.
The house was still bustling when they returned, though the noise had moved from the foyer to farther into the house.Not just the children, but also the sound of the staff, who had come together to set things up.There were going to be a lot more people for supper than anticipated.
“Johanna!”The young man who appeared at the top of the stairs looked as though he wanted to pelt down them to his sister, but he held himself together and kept to a slightly more staid pace.She, however, rushed to meet him at the bottom of the stairs, throwing her arms around him.
“Micah!”
Matthew hung back as they hugged, curious about and slightly envious of the interaction.He’d always wanted a sibling.Someone to share the burden of his father’s focus, though perhaps that had not been very gracious to wish upon someone else.But it would have been nice not to be so alone.
“How is everyone?”
“Good.We’re good.Mother is fine.”The young man’s bright gaze moved to Matthew.“I hear we have you to thank for our relocation, Your Grace.”
Although he was young, Micah Ashmore, Earl of Falmouth, obviously had his pride.Like his sister, he had the pale white-blond hair and stunning violet eyes, but his skin was not quite as translucent, and his jaw was more square.The threadbare clothing he wore did nothing to detract from his quiet dignity.
He sounded torn between gratitude at being saved and a kind of resigned embarrassment that it had been necessary.
“We’re happy to host you for our wedding,” Matthew said, coming forward to shake the young man’s hand.“Also, I was hoping I could speak to you beforehand.As the man of the house.”
Falmouth blinked in surprise, then nodded, squaring his shoulders.Because he was the man of the house, even if he had not been able to act as such.Behind him, Johanna smiled at Matthew in a manner that had him wishing they were alone…
But it was not to be.
Turning slightly, Falmouth looked at his sister again.
“Mother is asking for you.”The words were barely out of his mouth before another of the siblings appeared at the top of the stairs.The middle sister, Bridget, Matthew thought her name was.She had the eyes as well, but her hair was a darker blonde, more wheat and honey than cornsilk.
“Johanna!Mother is asking for you.”
“Micah just told me,” Johanna responded, with only a touch of exasperation in her voice.“I am coming.”
She glanced at Matthew, who nodded.He certainly was not going to keep her from her mother or from checking on the rest of her family.
“Your brother and I will be in the library,” he told her.
Falmouth puffed up his chest a little, and Matthew hid a smile.
The young man had inherited his title even earlier and more unexpectedly than Matthew had, and although his title was a much lower one than a duke’s, that only made Matthew’s acknowledgment of him as a man count even more.
Johanna nodded, appearing relieved, and hurried up the stairs to her sister, who greeted her with another fierce hug before pulling her down the hall.
Matthew was not certain which rooms his grandmama had put everyone in, but he knew he would find out later.
“This way,” he said to Falmouth, pulling his attention back to the matter at hand.“How was the journey to London?”
“Rather trying, though I have very little to compare it to,” Falmouth replied seriously.Now that his sisters had disappeared from sight, the smile had fallen away from his lips.Matthew felt for him.“This is my first time in London.”
Through some gentle probing, Matthew found out that the prior earl had meant to take his heir to London for the first time the year he’d died.An unfortunate circumstance, as the young man’s new guardian decided that Falmouth had no need to visit London after his mourning was over.He should stay on the estate and learn about it.
Except that Mr.Blash was rarely there to teach him anything, and all Falmouth learned was how everything was falling into disrepair.
Sitting on one of the chairs in Matthew’s library, head hanging, shoulder slumped, it was easy to see how defeated the young man already was.Matthew could not imagine being in such circumstances, and he was grateful his own road had been far different.Even though his father had been a righteous old bastard, and often cruel to boot, he’d ensured that Matthew never wanted for anything physically or materially.
“Falmouth, I need to speak to you man to man,” Matthew said, bracing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward.“I did not have the chance to ask for your blessing before proposing to your sister.”
