Page 32 of Her Magnificent Mistake
Hawk twisted in surprise at her bland tone. Marcia wasn’t looking at him, instead focused on stacking the loose papers on the desk. Why did she sound so cold? “Aye,” he managed to croak. “Tragic.”
“Perhaps Roger was not the best horseman?”
With a small snort, Hawk picked up another stack of ledgers and turned back to his shelving. “Everything I heard said he was a shite horseman. He’d never liked horses when we were lads.”
“He had no sons to inherit, I presume?”
“Neither did. They were my age.” Franklin had been making plans to woo a wealthy debutante in the spring. Hawk hadn’t known Roger as well, but assumed he had similar plans. Land needed heirs.
“And so your next uncle inherited? Your grandfather’s younger son?”
Hawk frowned as he slid the last ledger into place. “I hadnae realized the gossip rags had paid so much attention to the Tostinham tragedies.” She was remarkably well informed.
“Oh, well, Bull kept me appraised on your adventures.”
But…Hawk hadn’t been publicly named as the new Baron Tostinham until recently. Had the papers really focused on him so much?
When his Uncle William inherited, Hawk had been informed he would become the heir unless one of his female cousins—William’s daughters—produced a son. Since Anna was already married, that happy occasion was expected to occur long before Uncle William’s death.
But a month ago he went to sleep and just…didn’t wake up. Hawk’s cousin Marianne—Anna’s older sister—protested, but the will was firm and now…
It was only then that Hawk’s name—as the oldest of the grandsons from Grandda’s daughters—was announced as the new Tostinham.
So how had Bull known to keep watch on the Tostinham tragedies? Was it just because his old friend had remembered Hawk’s mother’s lineage?
Hmm.
His hand on the spine of the last ledger, Hawk paused.
“Bull has…kept watch on my fortunes?”
“Oh, Bull is very proud of you!” Her tone was too cheerful to be believed, and he turned back to see her smiling blandly at him. “Speaks of you often. Kept up with all your adventures.”
“Really?” Hawk shifted to one side and crossed his arms over his chest in what he realized was a defensive manner. “We are no’ as close as we used to be.”Before my guilt caused me to pull away.“It’s flattering to know he’s kept up with my life, even if we havenae spoken much.”
She waved dismissively. “Oh, he has been…busy.”
“With his detective business, aye?”
Was it his imagination, or did she just wince?
“Bull is always collecting information, you know how it is.” She seemed to be stacking and re-stacking the same papers again and again. “Allison strikes me as that kind of person.”
Nay, Allie was more like Rupert in that the information she collected wasn’t modern events, buteverything. Still, the mention of Hawk’s niece distracted him onto a pleasanter conversational path. “Aye, she’s a bright lass.”
Marcia’s expression slid into something more natural as she offered him a peek of a smaller smile. “She and my brother are well-matched in that regard.”
He snorted and slowly uncrossed his arms, this topic a sort of peace offering between them. “I havenae seen them in the last few days, but that they werenae sitting with foreheads practically touching, peering at the same book and taking turns to flip the page.”
“I know!” She straightened, her sparkling blue eyes matching the pendant she wore. “He seems quite enamored. It is…” Her gaze dropped shyly. “It is good to see him making friends.”
Friends?Aye. “I have to warn ye. Allie says she isnae planning to marry any time soon.”
Marcia’s grin turned impish and she shrugged, going back to her sorting—truly sorting this time. “Then I suppose Rupert has his work cut out for him if that is his goal.”
“That hadbetterbe his goal, I willnae have him trifling…” As Hawk realized what he was about to say, he bit down on the words.
But Marcia knew—of course she knew. They both knew. They had both shared in a trifling. She snorted. “A bit hypocritical, Hawk. You said you trusted Bull, and he’s a brigand and a rogue and a thief, as well as a sartorial expert. Could you not trust Rupert as well?”
