“Mama hates London. She never wants to spend time here. So I grew up on an estate in Bedfordshire with my siblings. Papa divided his time between Bedfordshire and London, but he’s staying here longer as of late. He does feel lonely, so I decided to keep him company. I’m his thirteenth child. My brothers and sisters are scattered all around the kingdom and the Continent.” She waved a hand. “For business or because their spouses are from another country.”
“Thirteenth?” He kept caressing Zeus, more to calm himself than the horse.
“I also grew up surrounded by horses and animals, and Mama has never stood on ceremony when we were out of London. Papa is the opposite. He prefers the city to the country.”
Zeus finished the water and licked his lips.
She took the reins. “We’d better let him walk for a while.” She led Zeus along the stable alley.
The clip-clop of Zeus’s hooves echoed off the walls of the stables. The chatter of the stable hands and grooms came from every corner.
“Do you have siblings?” she asked.
“No.” He exhaled. “I mean, yes. A brother.”
Almost. Rowan was the son of Father’s second wife, who had eloped with a Scotsman, leaving her son behind. Such a lady.
“Do you get along? I love all of my siblings. They’re my best friends.”
“Rowan is a boy.”
“And? Is age an impediment to brotherly friendship and love? You love Zeus, and he isn’t even human.”
So his test in patience wasn’t finished yet.
“Lady Effie, I’m grateful for your help, but I’d rather talk about your father. I really need to see him.”
Her hazel eyes flashed with a quick glint. “Papa is visiting Colin, my eldest brother, who lives in Greenford. So he’ll be back late this evening and have dinner at the Criterion.”
“Greenford, West London. I bet he paid a ticket to my railway company.”
She let out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know. That would be ironic, wouldn’t it?”
They reached the end of the alleyway and turned around. Zeus’s moves were less stiff and his muscles more relaxed.
“Why is it so important to see him?” she asked.
“I told you. He rejected my more than reasonable offer.”
“Well, maybe your offer wasn’t so reasonable.” She laughed. He didn’t.
“I offered him thrice the value of a piece of land he owns in Easthollow.”
“Easthollow? Isn’t it that strip of uninhabited rocky land where not even grass grows?”
“Precisely, yet he refused my offer.”
Out of spite. Winchester was convinced Father had robbed him of a great business deal, which was ridiculous. Father hadn’t robbed anyone; he’d simply been a clever businessman.
She checked Zeus’s belly. “Papa must have his reasons.” She smiled, and he had to admit her smile was disarming. “And he helped you once,” she added in a whisper.
“We both know you were behind the earl’s generosity.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to his house.
Her cheeks flushed. “He needed to be persuaded, but he made the final decision. Anyway, I’m glad you overcame your troubles.”
“I did.” It’d taken nearly two decades, but his family wasn’t starving anymore. Quite the opposite.
They reached the other end, so she turned Zeus around to walk back again.
