“You lecture me about honor?” The old man’s face turned purple. His son sat up sharply.
Foolish man! Don’t anger the count. Jamie ignored her discreettug on his hand. Panic set in. The assessing look on Victor Filiberto’s face did little to calm it.
“The honor of Savoy is legendary,” Jamie went on smoothly. “That’s why you will follow the dictates of Beaumont’s will.” He said it as if it he believed it. She tugged again. He squeezed her hand without breaking eye contact with the count. He astounded her.Where did my shabby major learn to defy counts?
Castellimonte’s imperious stare never wavered. The young baron’s eyes glittered with an eager, vile look, one Nora had not seen since Edmund had dragged her to a bull baiting.
“We do understand,” Jamie went on, “that you will want to take time to become acquainted with Mrs. Haley.”
Her shoulders almost relaxed under his soothing tone. She avoided looking at Victor.
“You will no doubt want to see for yourself how well your great-niece thrives in Mrs. Haley’s care.”
“No doubt,” Castellimonte repeated dryly. The silence that followed was blessedly brief. The count’s expression remained stoic. She thought she saw a flicker of amusement, but when he spoke, his voice didn’t betray any.
“Very well, Mrs. Haley. We shall see about this betrothal. In the meantime, you may attempt the role of guardian. For now.”
A mixture of English and Italian followed, a blur to Nora’s ears. The count, it seemed, found the thought of Isabella’s guardian in rented rooms an abomination. The keys to Robert’s house would be handed over. Nora left the details to Jamie. Two words reverberated in her mind.
For now.
Chapter Sixteen
Any hope Jamie had of running when they left the count lay in ruins.
Nora demanded to see Isabella as soon as the ordeal ended; he couldn’t refuse. When she snuggled up with Isabella on a garden bench to continue their Italian “lessons,” he knew with a sick heart he couldn’t leave.Two little birds at the mercy of a wolf.
“Is that not so, Uncle Jamie?” Nora asked.
He squashed the surge of delight that ran through him at the sound of his name on her lips and crushed Wentworth’s summons. He stuffed it back in his pocket.
“Sorry, Nora, I wasn’t attending.”
She gave a disapproving sniff. “Isabella wishes to know if it is true that her Papa wanted her to stay with me.”
He crouched down in front of the little girl. “Your Papa loved you very much. He wants you to have a family, your very own aunt, now that he can’t take care of you himself.”
“What of my uncle, the count?” the little girl asked, eyes wary. The quiver in her voice tore Jamie’s heart. The count had given temporary cooperation at best. At worst, he would use Isabella as bait in Castellimonte nets. Nora had no defense against the man. He knew she couldn’t secure her claim if he left.
“He wishes what is best for you also,” Jamie said.That might even be true, in whatever way the man sees “best.”“He agrees your aunt should care for you.”
The little one’s intense concentration exploded in an unexpected outpouring. He rocked back on his heels when she threw her tiny hands around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, unable to speak.
He wrapped her in his arms and, God help him, his heart. He rose to sit next to her aunt. He could not leave.For now.
“Aunt Nora will never fail you, Isabella,” he said. “She will always be there for you.”Unlike me.
He passed the little girl into Nora’s lap. Nora reached for her instinctively. In doing so, her hand closed over his. She swiftly pulled it away, her warm brown eyes full of consternation.
You aren’t so indifferent to my touch, are you Nora? What would it take to make you want me? And how long would it last?He rose to his feet.
“Can you manage alone?” he asked. “I am expected by Wentworth.”
Nora sat bolt upright. “I forgot! You must go. Of course, you must go. We need his help. Isabella and I will do fine.”
“Leaving so soon, Major Bently?” Mother Margarita came briskly through the convent door into the walled garden. “Can you spare a moment?”
“Alas, no, Reverend Mother.” He escaped through the gate before the interfering woman could stop him and complicate his life further.
