Page 138 of The Lord Meets His Lady
“No?”
“It’d save our venture, spare you and Khan a dangerous race—”
“Which thrills Khan.”
“And you wouldn’t have to put him up as collateral for a loan, but it would break the heart of a certain housekeeper, who I’m certain was never your housekeeper to begin with.”
“Because I love her,” he said, leaning against the post where his wife had announced he’d delivered a nice, impersonal kiss—unlike Miss Rutherford who had wanted toexperiencehis kisses. Genevieve didn’t want an experience. She wanted him.
“Does she know?”
“I haven’t found the right time.”
“Right time? You fool. There is no such thing.”
“When did you become an expert on matters of the heart?”
“This isn’t about me. That woman could slip away, and you’d lose her forever.” Samuel leaned against the stall. “You know what else I think? Your housekeeper wants your happiness, and she wouldn’t hesitate to take drastic measures to make sure you get what you want. Such as that letter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday. You said she chased after Lord Barnard…to spare us any more trouble.”
Marcus held up the letter. “I still wouldn’t be free to marry a wealthy woman.”
“Pffft!If Barnard truly has the king’s ear, your problems are solved. He can take care of all legalities and make your Coldstream elopement disappear quickly and quietly on the grounds a woman duped you. The stagecoach records alone are damning. Proof she traveled under a false name.”
Was Samuel goading him?
Marcus made his way to Khan’s stall. “I couldn’t let that happen. Genevieve’s suffered enough from the maneuverings of men.” He petted Khan’s nose. “If or when she wants to leave, the burden of this will fall on me.”
“And the letter?”
“I’ll write North and tell him I must decline on the grounds I’m already a married man. It’s time I faced what I want on all facets.”
Samuel’s manly grunt of acknowledgment was his answer as he toed the stall’s bottom slat.
Marcus stuffed the letter in his pocket. “It doesn’t change our struggles.”
“There’s nothing bad about having struggles, Marcus. It’s what you do with them that defines you.”
Samuel moseyed back to his morning task of scooping oats for hungry horses. The side of the barn Samuel worked brimmed with the second needy herd. Already coats were thicker, eyes clearer, the cloud of misery lifted. There was satisfaction in having had a hand in those changes.
Marcus pulled an apple slice from his pocket and offered it to Khan. “You and I, my friend, are close to facing our defining moment.”
