“I’ll get something in the taproom later,” he said.
“Are you going to leave the boys on their own?”
Consternation pushed his eyes wide. She had wondered if they were grey or blue. It appeared they were both. “I hadn’t thought. I best have a bite.” Through bites of bread and cheese he asked, “What do you want them to do this afternoon? I have no idea how to teach boys.”
It seemed to Patience he’d done a good job so far. She made some suggestions, he mulled them around. “Norb might manage his numbers better if he was counting horses,” he said, making her laugh. His next words sobered her. “Tell me about January. He never speaks.”
She breathed deeply. “Perhaps later. I have work to do. Send Stump to help Walter with the hamper. The Queen’s Barque can keep the two of them busy.”
She left less worried about the boys than she had been, and muddled about the man she left leaning on a shabby landau.A lover of books and small boys. What other surprises lie in store?A smile sprouted on her face and took root in her heart.
* * *
It had been a long time since Zach Newell had dinner with a lady, and he had never felt awkward before as he did this night. Standing next to his cot in the loft above the stables, he pondered the matter.
Neither he nor Patience Abney were servants of The Queen’s Barque, but neither were they precisely paying guests. A lady would require a private parlor, but he believed a woman of Miss Abney’s class might dine with a man in a public place without giving offence, and he knew he was welcome in the Taproom after the dinner rush. He didn’t believe the Brewsters would object to her joining him, though she labored—albeit temporarily—among their servants. She sent word she was willing.
Why so uneasy, Newell?Hair, coat, and boots all brushed as well as could be managed, he gave a moment’s regret for his overlong hair and unstarched cravat, and shook off his bout of nerves. The sight of an umbrella tucked in the corner by the door at the foot of the stairs brought a smile. Some may regard an umbrella as effeminate but, in the persistent storm, he was pleased he didn’t have to get wet. He ducked under the thing for the ten yards or so to the inn, then left it at the door for the next man.
Making his way down the central hallway to the lobby, he found Brewster absorbed in his ledger while in an earnest conversation with a customer. Zach approached the tap room, looking about for Patience, but stepped back when two ladies sailed from the private parlor into the lobby and on up the stairs like the queen’s barque itself—the royal barge.
Overdressed and overflowing with their own consequence, neither would have drawn his interest when they brushed by—they certainly hadn’t drawn Brewster’s—if a snatch of their conversation hadn’t startled him.
“I tell you, I saw Patience Abney cleaning the room and carrying out the night waste. She didn’t see me, thank God. How mortifying that would be. The Earl of Montour would turn over in his grave if he knew that his niece mucked out rooms in a common inn. What will the new earl do if he finds out his cousin shames the family?” This pronouncement by the older woman, decked out in feathers and puce, stupefied Zach.
What followed merely puzzled. The younger woman’s voice faded away as they climbed the stairs. “You must know—earl’s cousin or not, she already spent time as a common teacher at that charity school in Yarmouth. They let her go, and I heard…” Whatever the viper meant to say was lost, but Zach had heard enough. He struggled to absorb it all, torn between proceeding to a table in the tap room and bolting to the door.
He didn’t notice Patience until she spoke. “Planning to withdraw your invitation?” Every line of her body rigid, she stood chin high as if daring him to cry off.
His immediate thought,of course not, stuck in his throat because he’d been considering exactly that.
“If the company of the Earl of Montour’s disgraceful cousin shames you, then by all means walk away.” Her body listed left as if she meant to turn from him.
“Good God, no!” That sort of language had no place in front of a lady, and his discomfort grew, but at least she stopped walking away. He took her hand and pulled her to the side where the Brewsters had placed a woebegone fern in an overlarge pot. In its shadow, he whispered, “If you think I’d take the example of those horrid women, you’re wrong.”
“Something upset you.” Her lips were drawn tight.
“Miss Abney, I had no idea that you were an earl’s niece. I would never have presumed, if I had known.”
When she wrinkled her brow adorably as if trying to make out his words, he pressed on. “You must see that you are far above my touch.” At the word ‘touch’ he glanced down to the hand that still held hers. He dropped it as if it were on fire, mumbling an apology.
Light rekindled in her owlish eyes. “I never took you for foolish, Sergeant Newell. It is you who do me an honor, asking me to dine.”
“Hardly. I don’t pretend to be any more than I am, an invalided soldier and common coachman, but if you’re willing to share mutton with me, it would be an honor indeed.”
The light in those eyes threatened to engulf Zach in its flame. He winged one arm, and, when she took it, he floated along on a river of warmth, pushing aside the niggling thought that, if the viper and her companion saw Patience in his company, she would sink even farther in their regard. He vowed that would never happen.
But for tonight, just for tonight, he would enjoy the lady’s company.
CHAPTER5
The server’s obvious flirting and exaggerated hip movements seemed lost on the Zachary Newell.Are all men oblivious?Charles Remington had been. She pushed the unpleasant memory of his ill-fated courtship years ago from her thoughts. Sergeant Newell was not a dandified fool.
The girl persisted in her efforts to attract his attention.Alice, Patience remembered.Her name is Alice.Day help, thank goodness. We don’t have to put up with her upstairs.The girl’s not so subtle spite tossed in Patience’s direction firmed that opinion.
A pint of ale arrived, presented with a flourish in front of Sergeant Newell. The sherry Patience requested did not. The sergeant’s firm reminder sent the server off in a huff. He set his drink politely aside to wait.
“What—?” Whatever Patience meant to ask was overridden by his simultaneous “When—”
