“I do, of course.”
“I should never have doubted you.” He sketched a little bow and lifted his arm in the wrong direction. “Lead the way, Lady Lucy.”
Lucy took a few steps in the correct direction and then stopped. James grunted and stopped short behind her.
“We should skirt those hedges and then wrap around. If we take the direct path, they’ll see us from the house.”
A masculine chuckle rumbled at her back. “You really are determined on subterfuge. Go too far with this and they’ll think I’ve absconded with you.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Lucy didn’t mind that they’d frown at the two of them spending time alone, but they needn’t give the staff more reason to distrust him. “Let’s just take the main path. It’s not far.”
“You’ve come this way often?”
“No, not often.” Lucy glanced back in surprise and nearly tripped on a stone in the path. “But I did have a wander this morning before heading to the archery field.”
“I’m sorry you may not have much more time to explore Invermere.” A bleakness came into his eyes.
“One man is to blame, as far as I can tell.” Thelate Earl of Rossbury. “If your uncle had paid his debts or gifted the manor to Lady Cassandra, you wouldn’t be here, and Invermere could be hers as long as she liked.”
He said nothing to that, and Lucy started walking again.
“She wrote about walks down to the loch in many of her letters, even sending sketches of the view of the water in various seasons.” As soon as the words were out, she saw that view for herself and bounced on her heels. “There it is.”
The loch was more beautiful than she imagined. Clouds hung in the sky, dark shapes reflected in the deep blue water. Heather dotted the ground and colored the distant hills. She had to come back with her camera or paper to sketch.
“My uncle is to blame for a great deal.”
The darkness in his tone drew her attention from the view.
“But he’s not the only reason I’m here now, or why the sale of Invermere must take place soon.”
Lucy had sensed that from the start, but now, seeing the misery in his gaze, she was afraid of the rest of the story.
“I have debts too. I made... an error in judgment and lost a great deal as a result.”
“What did you lose?” Tragedy lay behind his words and she wanted to know the whole of it, not just out of concern for her aunt but out of a desire to know him.
“Everything.” He swept a hand through his hair, then let out a shaky laugh. “My shipping business, the trust of colleagues, my peace of mind.”
“I’m so sorry.” Lucy had heard of men of business and even noblemen who dabbled in commerce losing their fortunes at gambling tables or because of a bad investment. Such falls from grace and wealth could happen, it seemed, overnight. And in her parents’ social circle, more than one gentleman had been snubbed as dishonorable for being unable to pay his debts.
“I’ve been working for months to rebuild.” He shook his head.
“And funds from the sale of Invermere would help?”
“In essence, yes.”
“There’s something more.” Lucy felt it in every word he spoke, a tautness and resistance, as if he was parsing out what he wished to share and what he was determined to conceal.
The wind kicked up, tugging at her hair and the skirt of her gown. James stared at her a moment and then turned and stalked away. He paced as he had in the drawing room.
“I’m being impertinent. My mother often tells me my curiosity will be my undoing.”
At first, Lucy wasn’t sure if he’d heard her, but soon after, he came back and reached for her. He placed a hand gently on each arm.
But he still wasn’t going to tell her the truth. Lucy read the reticence in his gaze and something else. Fear?
“I admire your curiosity. I even like your impertinence. But it’s best if you don’t know the rest.”
