Lord Switchingham sighed and placed his drink on the table by his chair. He then pulled on the lace of first one cuff and then the other, making sure the many layers of it showed like a billow of froth from beneath the sleeve of his coat.
“It’s always something to handle with those two. If only my brother were still alive, but no, he had to foolishly challenge a man to a duel shortly after his daughter was born.” The earl sniffed and then sighed. “And then got himself killed. So their support is left up to me. Loretta seems to have taken quite well to Mammoth House. I thought for sure she’d come begging for me to let her live at Switchingham again but she hasn’t. Not yet, anyway.”
Hawk couldn’t see Loretta ever begging this man or anyone for anything.
“A more contrary gel I’ve never had the displeasure of being acquainted with,” the earl continued. “But then I suppose she’s just like her mother, my dearly departed sister-in-law. She was strongheaded, too. However, I’ll seewhat I can do about allowing Loretta to accompany her brother.”
A pang of frustration settled between Hawk’s shoulder blades. He wanted this matter settled now. “Would you mind doing that for me at once? I’m hoping to have them visit in the next couple of weeks while I’m there.”
The earl grunted as he reached for his port. “That soon?”
“It’s important to me.”
“And you want them to go all the way to Hawksthorn, you say?” The earl sniffed. “I don’t know, Hawksthorn, that’s quite a distance from Mammoth House and will require much preparation. And within a couple of weeks? That will be almost impossible for me to arrange. I’ll need to see to getting a carriage and driver and—”
“No, my lord,” Hawk said, interrupting him. “There will be no details for you to worry about concerning this visit. Since Mr. and Miss Quick would be coming at my invitation, I’ll send a carriage for them and one for their staff, too. It will take some planning but all will be taken care of by me. I’ve already looked into the arrangements. If they leave Mammoth House at sunrise, they can be at Hawksthorn before dark—assuming the weather is not drenching. That way there won’t be any overnight stay at an inn to worry about. I’ll see to it the horses are changed often and the carriage wheels are checked along the way as well. So you see you won’t need to do anything but assure me Miss Quick will be allowed to come.”
“I must say that’s most generous of you, Your Grace. I suppose I can talk to her right away, though I don’t look forward to the long drive out to Mammoth House. I do try to go out every spring, just to make sure everything is proper there, but it’s not as easy for me to travel as it usedto be. Why my great-grandfather built a house that far out in the wilderness, I’ll never understand.”
Hawk couldn’t find it inside himself to feel sorry for the man about having to make the journey out to the isolated hunting lodge. The earl should have never banished Loretta to the Mammoth House in the middle of nowhere in the first place. And Hawk wanted to get her away from it. If only for a short time.
It was a strange feeling for him, this need to rescue her—or perhaps it was more of a protective feeling. He just kept thinking that she should be with him. And it wasn’t simply because he desired her. He had wanted many different women over the years. He’d pursued more than he could count. But he was certain he’d never longed for any of them the way he hungered for Loretta.
Loretta?
Yes, he thought. He liked the idea of thinking of her as Loretta. It was a beautiful and poetic name. Much more intimate sounding than Miss Quick. He would call her by her name. And it was time he told her to address him as Hawk, too.
“I would appreciate you making the effort for me, my lord, and I’ll personally consider it a favor that I’ll be happy to repay one day, should you ever find yourself in the position of seeking me out in some way that I might be of service to you.”
Lord Switchingham’s eyebrows rose, signaling his appreciation of Hawk’s declaration. “I’ll remember that when we are in contract negotiations for the marriage.”
Hawk swallowed a silent sigh. Now he was talking the earl’s language. As he’d told Loretta, he knew men, peers, and the common man alike. If you wanted something from someone, you had to give something in return, and hewould honor his pledge to do a favor for the man when he asked.
Though it would irritate Hawk to do it.
“Of course. I want to have a settlement agreed upon and contracts signed before the Season starts.”
The earl sniffed again and picked up his port, drained the glass, and held it up for his servant to take. “I understand, Your Grace, and I’ll do it posthaste for you. Perhaps I’ll just send a letter to her with instructions about what she is to do,” the earl continued. “I don’t think she’ll dare disobey me again. She did that once, you know. Of course you do, everyone does. And though I’m sure she’d rather drink burning oil than ever admit it, I do believe she regrets her unthinkable disregard for my feelings and wishes she’d married Viscount Denningcourt when she had the chance. But there’s nothing to be done about that now. The man seems happy enough with the wife he has.”
Hawk looked at the earl and, once again, had to bite his tongue to keep from telling him what he thought about his poor treatment of Loretta. Hawk would have liked to boast to Lord Switchingham that he was certain she didn’t regret not marrying the viscount. But that was for Loretta to say to him one day, not Hawk. It’s just that he hoped to be around to hear it when she did.
“I am most appreciative that I can rely on you to accomplish getting Miss Quick to Hawksthorn for me.”
The earl took the refilled glass from his servant and lifted it in a toast toward Hawk. “Consider it done.”
Chapter 13
A gentleman should never try to get the best of a young lady. You may win the argument, but you might lose the lady in the process.
APROPERGENTLEMAN’SGUIDETOWOOINGTHEPERFECTLADY
SIRVINCENTTYBALTVALENTINE
Loretta smiled.
It was amazing the kind of things one could find in the attic of an old house. There were the usual things: old furniture, dusty trunks, and paintings of family members long departed. Disintegrating mounds of newsprint, chipped china, and cracked chamber pots were just some of the items Loretta came across, and couldn’t understand why someone deemed them worthy of keeping. But then the attic at Mammoth House also had a collection of unusual things: a generous number of trophies from deer to boar, and stuffed fowl of varying sizes. Some were in flight, displaying their wing size, while others had been perched on a short limb. Piled high in one corner of the huge dark room were more antlers than anyone could imagine, several dozen pairs of worn riding boots, and, sitting away from the massive collection of discarded familytreasuresnear the stairway door, a chair with wheels instead of legs.
Just what she needed.
