Page 18 of The Beastly Earl

“What about Charles’s holdings. They can’t go unattended for forever.”

“I trust you to manage them for him. You know I’ve never had a head for numbers, even when Aunt Matilda tried to teach me how to manage the abbey’s accounts of her tenants and properties.” She shrugged her shoulders, which earned her a glare from her brother.

“I think this has to be the most reckless idea you’ve ever concocted,” Sebastian snapped with frustration.

“No, it’s not, Sebastian,” she said quietly. “Caleb would not have come to me if this wasn’t precisely where I’m supposed to be. Even if the an dara sealladh hadn’t shown me what I need to do, my heart wouldn’t have let me walk away. I simply can’t.”

At the soft conviction in her voice, Sebastian closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. He slowly exhaled in a manner that said she’d won him over. Satisfaction spiraled through her. Now she only had to persuade the earl to take her on as Ross’s governess.

Chapter 5

Ewan pushed aside his dinner plate and took a drink of the claret that had been on the supper tray McCallum had brought him earlier. He glanced at the note lying on the table next to the serving platter. Asadi had delivered it to him a short time ago. It was the fifth one since yesterday afternoon. With a grunt of discomfort, he massaged his forehead in an effort to ease the headache he’d developed from lack of sleep.

McCallum had delivered the woman’s third note this morning just as Ewan had been on his way out of the keep. He’d been relieved he’d made arrangements to meet with one of his tenants and was unavailable to meet with Mrs. Morehouse, as McCallum referred to her. Any other time his excuse would have been a lie. But Duncansone was the only tenant Ewan visited on the estate.

McCallum had managed the estate and its properties while he’d been in the Sudan. Upon his return, Ewan had told McCallum he had no interest in changing the order of things. Duncansone was the only exception. Ewan found the old Scotsman, who was going blind, to be a kindred spirit. A fellow soldier, Duncansone had lost his leg while fighting in Burma. He was the only person who understood Ewan’s anger and frustration when it came to his injuries.

When Ewan had returned shortly before lunch, a fourth note had been waiting for him. He’d not even bothered to open it. Instead, he’d sent Asadi to tell the woman he was still out on the estate. Lying made him uncomfortable, so he’d gone to the stables to saddle Lachlan again and ride out onto the moors. The moors were his refuge. It was the one place where he was free of his mother’s vitriol.

But his refusal to grant Mrs. Morehouse an audience hadn’t stopped her from writing. If anything, she’d become increasingly insistent on speaking with him. With a growl of irritation, Ewan rose quickly to his feet and shoved his chair away from him. He strode to the window and pulled the curtain aside to stare out at the moors. The only thing he saw was the faint reflection of his own image.

The scars on his cheekbone beneath his eye patch made his reflection an ugly sight. Louisa Morehouse had been horrified when she'd seen the beast in all his glory the other night. Even with him wearing the patch or his metal hand covered by his glove, he was certain she would act no differently than when he'd found her on the moors.

It was why he’d been refusing to meet with his guest. He had no wish to frighten her again. Ewan snorted loudly. He was lying to himself, and he knew it. He was avoiding the woman like the plague for a completely different reason. The memory of her lovely face and soft, voluptuous curves had been haunting him since the moment Maggie had helped him get the woman into bed.

He’d been transfixed by her. The few hours of sleep he managed to catch over the past couple of days had been filled with dreams of Louisa Morehouse's soft naked curves. Dreams that had made him ache with the need to explore every inch of her with his mouth before he buried himself inside her. But it was the hours when he was awake that caused him the most difficulty.

He was taunted constantly by the memory of a full, lush breast with its dark pink nipple. Every time the image filled his head his cock would stiffen. The way his body reacted at the mere thought of her emphasized how dangerous being in the woman’s company would be. Ewan grunted with aggravation.

It had been months since he’d visited Alana in Stirling. The brothel madam was used to sharing her bed with men who were missing parts of their body. A small whisper slipped through his thoughts taunting him with the fact he wanted to visit a different bed altogether.

Irritated by his obsession with his guest, he turned away from the window and reached for the woman’s note. Her handwriting was as lovely and lush as her body. Ewan muttered an oath at his fanciful thinking. With a sharp tug, he pulled the note from the envelope. As he unfolded the missive, he crossed the floor to stand at the hearth where he tilted the letter so the firelight could shine on the woman’s words.

Dear Lord Argaty,

I understand your time is quite valuable, but I have a matter I must discuss with you immediately. I assure you the matter is of great importance as it concerns your son. I hope you will send for me at your earliest convenience.

Regards,

Louisa Morehouse

Louisa. The name suited her. Ewan closed his eyes with self-disgust at the thought. He shouldn’t give a damn what her first name was, and what the hell could she possibly have to say about Ross? If the lad had been bothering the woman, he’d give the boy a tongue lashing he wouldn’t soon forget.

Yesterday the woman’s brother had paid a visit to their invalid while Ewan had been at Duncansone’s farm. When Ewan had questioned McCallum as to why their guest was still in residence, the Scotsman had reported her brother’s visit had exhausted the woman. It had been obvious to McCallum and Mrs. Selkirk the woman was still recovering and would most likely be here for the next two days.

The news meant he needed to spend as much time away from the house as possible. The fact Mrs. Morehouse had already charmed McCallum and Mrs. Selkirk annoyed him almost as much as the idea of her remaining in the house for a few more days.

Ewan shrugged his shoulder slightly to adjust the leather shoulder straps that held his artificial arm in place and allowed him to manipulate the metal fingers. The movement caused the leather to pinch the stub of his arm despite the layer of soft wool he’d used to protect his skin.

He drew in a sharp hiss of air at the unpleasant sensation and looked down at the unnatural metal hand attached to his body. At least the hideous steel fingers were hidden by a black glove at the moment. It made him understand the repugnance he saw on people’s faces when he came into view. Even he found the metal contraption revolting to look at.

From the day he’d first woken up in the hospital more than a year ago, he’d found his appearance nothing more than that of a maimed beast. The unnatural appendage attached to his arm along with his missing eye and facial scars were daily reminders of the fact. He’d never consider himself a vain man, but he now doubted that belief simply because he’d had all the mirrors in the East Wing and the downstairs rooms removed. He’d even found it necessary to throw a sheet over the mirror in the King’s bedroom while he’d been tending to Louisa Morehouse.

The memory of having done so made him resume making plans to avoid his guest. As he was debating where he could disappear to, he recalled McCallum mentioning the mines. Ewan smiled with relief. The Scotsman had been nagging him to visit the southern properties in Cumbernauld and Shotts for almost a year now. This was the perfect opportunity to do so.

He’d leave after breakfast in the morning. Between the ride and the time he’d have to spend at each mine, he would not be back until well after dinner. That solved the problem of how to avoid the woman tomorrow. The day after, he’d find something else to occupy his time and take him away from Argaty. A quiet knock on the study’s door interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see Asadi enter the room.

“McCallum sent me for your tray, Argaty sahib.” The boy eyed him with a questioning look and Ewan nodded toward the tray.