You might have asked her, Ewan thought as he stared at the man. Clearly, Lord Blackstone wasn’t one to worry much about the feelings of those close to him. For the second time that day, Ewan felt a bit sorry for Lady Theodora. He’d already decided that he had no intention of telling Blackstone that his daughter had sneaked into his stables on at least three occasions in the middle of the night. Blackstone’s flippant attitude toward the young lady made Ewan confirm that decision. Further, Ewan had no intention of revealing to the earl that his only daughter had been dressed as a lad when she’d done it. “I see,” Ewan replied simply.
Blackstone shook his head again. “Theodora is the most stubborn girl I have ever known. The most stubbornperson.”
Ewan smiled. “Don’t judge her too harshly, Lord Blackstone. It’s a good trait to have. I’ve found myself thinking that it’s too bad she cannot be an army officer. I fear the French would surrender immediately if faced with Lady Theodora across a battlefield.”
Lord Blackstone chuckled. “Seems you’ve already come to know my daughter a bit, my lord. I am sorry that she’ll be an inconvenience to you. I understand Dr. Blanchard has said she shouldn’t move.”
“That’s right. He fears the journey home might be too much for the fractured bone. It might make it a clean break.”
Blackstone opened his coat and pulled out a small leather purse from an inside pocket. “I’m prepared to pay for her expenses while she’s here, room and board, of course. And anything else she requires. Please send all her bills to me.” The earl opened the purse and removed several large bills.
Ewan waved the money away. “That will not be necessary, my lord. I intend to treat her as an honored guest. She is my neighbor, after all.”
Blackstone frowned. “She is not your burden, my lord.” He sighed. “She is mine.”
“Be that as it may,” Ewan replied, thinking it was hardly fatherly of the earl to refer to his only daughter as a ‘burden,’ “I do not require funds to keep her here.”
Blackstone gave Ewan a look that clearly indicated he thought the viscount was a bit mad, but he stuffed the bills back into his purse and returned the pouch to his coat pocket. “Very well. I’ll leave her to you with her chaperone, Maggie, and one of our footmen, Giles. I’ve given Maggie instructions to send me a message via Giles should Theodora require anything from me while she is here.”
“Thank you, my lord. You have my word that I will do everything in my power to ensure the news of her presence here is a closely guarded secret. However, if anyone finds out, we can always say she was here visiting the horse and broke her leg while riding.”
Blackstone gave him a skeptical glance. “If that was the way scandals worked, Clayton, I would agree with you, but if word leaks that she was here in the middle of the night, I’m afraid no amount of storytelling will make it right.”
“I cannot argue with you there, my lord,” Ewan replied, standing and escorting the man to the door. “Regardless, rest assured that your daughter will be entirely comfortable during her stay.”
Lord Blackstone opened the door and glanced back at Ewan. “Don’t make her too comfortable, Clayton. She could use a bit of discomfort, that one.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
No sooner had Dr. Blanchard left after checking on her, than the door to Thea’s bedchamber opened again and Maggie rushed inside. The maid came hurrying to Thea’s bed, her eyes bright with worry. “Are you quite all right, Thea?”
Without waiting for an answer, Maggie flipped the covers back to see Thea’s injury. She gasped and stepped back as soon as she saw her black and blue leg. The bruises were visible above and below the white bandages. “Oh, dear. It looks awful,” Maggie breathed.
“Itisawful,” Thea allowed, pulling the covers back to hide her leg. “But the leg is the least of my concerns at the moment.”
“Your father informed me that we’re to stay here … forweeks,” Maggie said, surprise obvious on her features.
“Father has quite lost his mind,” Thea retorted.
“Just now as he was leaving, he mentioned something about a limp,” Maggie replied. “It didn’t sound good at all.”
Thea pounded her fist atop the mattress. “Is a limp worse than being ruined? Than Anthony being ruined? If anyone learns that I’ve been here, our family name will be dragged through the mud. But apparently, Father doesn’t care about that.”
“It does seem rather short-sighted of him,” Maggie replied, wringing her hands. “Surely there are precautions that could be taken with your leg to get you home.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Thea replied. “But he wouldn’t hear of it.”
Maggie bit her lip. “Your father asked me to pretend as if I am newly hired by Lord Clayton.”
“As if that won’t generate gossip belowstairs,” Thea replied, rolling her eyes.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Maggie said.
“So, apparently, we’ll be staying here for at least a month,” Maggie continued, with a sigh. She walked around in a circle, taking in the details of the large room. “At least it’s a beautiful bedchamber. From what I’ve seen, the house is well taken care of. This room is quite large and finely decorated. Lord Clayton must have quite a fortune.”
“Yes, but we won’t be remaining here that long if I can help it,” Thea replied, arching a brow.
Maggie whirled around to face her. “Oh, no. Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of trying to escape with a broken leg.”
