James stared out the carriage window and a sound rumbled in his chest, like the echo of laughter without the laugh itself.
“I was a fool. I realized everything too late.”
Lucy had more pieces now, and she tried to draw the picture of this Beck man and James’s entanglement with him in her mind. She understood that an unsavory lender might want their funds back and use force to get them.
“You have that look,” James said to her with a little of his usual teasing tone. “Like you’re scheming.”
“Just trying to work it all out. Beck can only allow his brutal tactics to go so far. If he kills you, then he’ll never get his money back.”
“True enough, but there’s a great deal of harm you can do to a man other than kill him.” He turned then and looked at her, not in the heated way he sometimes did. His eyes were full of concern and a fierce protectiveness.
“You think... he’d harm me?”
“Before I left London, he sent men to my home. Frightened my staff. Threw around threats. They departed, but I’ve no idea if they came back. And”—he ducked his head, and when he faced her again, his expression had hardened—“I was followed today in Edinburgh.”
Pebbles of gooseflesh rose on Lucy’s skin, and she fought to hold back a shiver. “Followed by whom?”
“A man I’d seen at Beck’s warehouse during a meeting.”
“Did he harm you?” Lucy scanned his body as if she might be able to see through the fabric to check for bruises or scratches.
“No. The fear is what Beck likes. Intimidation. I suppose the man was meant to be a reminder.”
“So somehow he heard of your departure from London.”
“Which means he has probably induced some member of my staff, and I hate even contemplating how.”
“You need to get back, don’t you?” Lucy struggled to keep the disappointment from her voice. She’d miss him so very much. “It’s why you kept emphasizing how urgent this trip was.”
“At least you understand a little better.” He released her hand and settled into the squabs, pushing his back against the bench. “And now you know the man I am. A fool with exceedingly poor judgment and very few pounds to his name.”
He held up a finger as if he’d recalled somethingmore. “Plus a title, of course. I wonder what Beck will make of that.”
Lucy laid a hand across his wrist. “But maybe that will help you. If he learns of your inheritance and the earldom, perhaps he’ll have more patience. He’ll be more convinced his money is coming soon.”
“The earldom is skint, Lucy.”
“But does Beck know that?”
“My god, you’re clever.”
Lucy beamed inwardly but she wasn’t ready to allow his compliments to make her melt just yet. “And your title might work on others too. Perhaps you could secure a loan to—”
“No more loans. I can’t take on more debt when I already owe one of the most unsavory devils in London.”
Lucy stared at him a moment, studying his handsome face, noting the signs of worry and fatigue. Wishing with all her heart that he’d hear her without letting his fears and self-recriminations keep him from good solutions.
“I understand you lost a great deal, and you blame yourself as much as this terrible man, Beck. Once fooled, twice shy, isn’t that what they say?”
“I believe it’sbitten.” He chuckled. “But close enough.”
“I think you should consider any means to get out from under the man’s influence.” He’d assumed Invermere would allow him to do that, of course. “And I’m not just saying this as some device to keep you from selling the manor. I know you must.”
At that, he only nodded. He seemed suddenly exhausted by his revelations. Though they were sitting so close their arms and thighs bumped each other’s with every rut and turn in the road, he seemed to have distanced himself. Drawn inside himself. And Lucy didn’t know how to get him back or follow.
Having it out, all of the ugly truth laid unvarnished before her, brought James a sense of relief. An actual physical lightness that he could feel in his chest, as if everything he’d kept back had been ballast weighing him down.
But once the truth was out, one had to look at it, examining every ugly piece. And Lucy, in her spectacular way, wanted to find a solution. He admired her for it. No, the truth was that he loved her insatiable desire to assist others.
