Page 24 of The Beastly Earl

He was magnificent.

The thought made her draw in a sharp breath of dismay as she met the earl’s gaze. Dear lord, what on earth had made such a description pop up in her head. Almost as if he could read her mind, the earl narrowed his gaze on her, and she could feel her cheeks growing hot. Something close to mocking amusement darkened his eye color, and this time her cheeks burned even hotter. Eager to divert his attention away from her, she turned toward Sebastian.

“Sebastian, this is Ewan Colquhoun, the Earl of Argaty. My lord, my brother, Sebastian Rockwood.” A somber expression on his face, her brother glanced downward at the insignia on Ewan’s belt as he stepped forward with his hand outstretched.

“I’m honored to shake the hand of a member of the Black Watch. It’s a fine and noble regiment.”

Louisa stiffened slightly at her brother’s quiet words. McCallum had told her the earl had served in the middle east for almost ten years, but had never mentioned the Black Watch. The regiment was legendary for its bravery and fighting skills in every battle they’d fought for more than a century. The respect and sincerity on her brother’s face was in direct contrast to Ewan’s expression. His features had hardened into an unreadable mask as he stared at Sebastian’s outstretched hand, and it took him several seconds to grip her brother’s hand in a firm handshake.

“Mr. Rockwood.” Ewan bobbed his head in a brusque greeting. His expression still unreadable, he turned toward her. “There’s a matter you wish to discuss with—”

“She wants to celebrate Christmas, Ewan,” his aunt exclaimed with dismay.

Louisa glanced at the woman for a brief moment then turned toward her employer. The irritation darkening the earl’s face sent a small chill of misgiving streaking down her spine. She should have spoken to him about the holiday the other day when she’d had his attention. He didn’t look pleased about this new development at all.

“My sister, like most of my siblings, has a habit of asking forgiveness rather than permission, my lord.” The laughter in his voice made Louisa frown at Sebastian with irritation, but he wasn’t fazed in the least by her glare. “Now, if you’ll forgive me, I must be off.”

Startled, Louisa stared at her brother in silent horror. He was actually going to leave her here alone to face the earl’s displeasure. With an unremorseful smile, Sebastian’s dark brown eyes held more than a twinkle of amusement. It was obvious her brother believed that she was about to regret not asking permission first.

Sebastian gave her a quick hug and kissed her cheek before saying his goodbyes to the boys. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, her brother had disappeared through the front door. A small tremor rippled through her as she faced the earl’s disapproval alone, and the frown on his face was a clear indicator the man was unhappy with her. Unwilling to argue with him in front of his aunt, Louisa quickly turned toward the boys in preparation to retreat. At that precise moment, Wills charged forward to stand in front of the earl.

“Are you a pirate?” the boy asked with matter-of-fact curiosity.

Both Louisa and Wallis gasped in horror at the boy’s question. Mortified, Louisa took a quick step forward to admonish her son. With a wave of his mechanical hand, Ewan silently ordered her not to move as he focused his gaze on Wills. Although his expression revealed no emotion, she saw Ewan’s mouth twitch slightly. Was the man actual attempting to refrain from smiling?

“No, but I suppose I could be,” he said in a voice that held a distinct sound of laughter.

Astonished by the possibility her son’s question had amused him, Louisa stared at the earl in bewilderment. Not once had she seen him display such pleasantry and tolerance to his son. The realization sent anger spiraling through her.

What sort of man could be so kind to her son, yet have such a callous disregard for his own child? Ross and Charlie had stepped forward to watch the exchange between the two, and Louisa glanced down at the earl's son. The pain of rejection on the boy’s face only increased her anger.

“Mama wrote to Aunt Patience that you have a mechanical hand.” At her son’s audacious comment, an unreadable look crossed Ewan’s face. He cast a quick look in Louisa’s direction before returning his gaze back at the boy in front of him.

“I do have a mechanical hand. I wear a glove to hide it as it frightens people.”

“May I see it? I’m not afraid.”

“That’s quite enough, William Wallace Morehouse,” Louisa choked out in mortification as she took a step forward. “Apologize to his lordship.”

“For what, Mama? I just asked him a question.”

“There is no apology needed when it comes to curiosity,” Ewan said quietly as his gaze settled on Louisa. “I’ll let you see to settling your boys in their rooms. When you’ve finished, come to my study.”

It was a command that indicated he would come find her if she failed to obey. The man had no worries on that count. She intended to rake him over the coals when it came to the vast difference in his treatment of his own son and Wills. Beneath her glare, an eyebrow quirked upward in a questioning manner before a cynical gleam of humor darkened his gaze. With a sharp bob of her head, Louisa confirmed her understanding of the command then turned to usher the boys upstairs.

§ § §

Several hours later, Louisa knocked on the door to the earl’s study. She’d delayed as long as she could in order to allow her anger to cool to a reasonable level. Ross’s cheerful expression as he helped Wills and Charlie put away their belongings had made it difficult, but she’d succeeded. As she’d watched the children and their friendly banter, her anger had slowly abated.

In its place was the determination not to jeopardize her position. She’d already been subjected to Ewan’s anger once before when it came to the boy. If she challenged him too fiercely she might be dismissed. That was something she couldn’t allow to happen if she was to help Ross. The best course of action was to tread lightly.

At the earl’s abrupt command to enter, Louisa stiffened her back and entered the room. The afternoon sun had set, and the study was softly lit by two oil lamps and a blazing fire. Asadi was arranging place settings on a table, while the earl stood in front of a tall reading table.

The top of the furniture had a small flat shelf that one of the lamps sat on. The remaining surface was angled downward to serve as a resting place for the open book he was reading. Other than it was structured like a table, it reminded her of a parson’s pulpit. The boy looked up and grinned at her as she came to a halt a short distance from the door.

“You should be finished by now, Asadi.” Ewan didn’t even looked in the boy’s direction as he issued his gruff admonishment. Asadi looked in the earl’s direction, his features reflecting hero worship.

“Yes, Argaty sahib.”