Page 7 of A Summer Romance
She found herself wonderingwhyhe frowned.What was so weighty in his life that he felt the burden of it so?
Breana used the wooden gate rails to mount her horse, settling herself and smoothing down her blue skirts.She noticed stains around the hem from the grass in the orchard, which would need to be explained, but she would think of something.
She always did.
***
Theo stood just outside the glass side doors that led onto a paved area where his mother liked to sit and nap.Dandelions grew through the cracks in the terracotta, and he made a mental note to inform the gardeners.Well,gardener, as there was only one left.The Norris family had been gradually sliding down the social scale, frittering away the funds their father had inherited from his father.It had been shaky enough to begin with.Now they were hanging on by their fingernails.
Their London house had been sold, and they had leased another in a less influential part of the capital.Theo had taken up a position as secretary to his maternal uncle, which at least meant he could help with some of the bills that were forever flooding in, even if the majority of the debt remained untouched.It hadn’t helped that his brother Francis had a penchant for gambling, but no skill.His steady losses only made matters worse.
Theo was only in Barton Lacey now because his mother had begged her brother to give him leave so that he could help.His father was unwell and spent most of his days reliving his past in the library, with those revolting heads of dead animals on the walls.
The two youngest Norris boys were still at school—one at Cambridge and the other at Eton.For how long they would remain no one knew, but Theo feared the next time they were asked to pay what was an increasingly large bill the bewildered boys would be sent home.
Someone, and Theo suspected that would be him, would have to explain to his brothers that the glory days of the Norris family were well and truly behind them.That they needed to find employment and quickly.
Which meant the last thing the family needed right now was for Francis to create a scandal with one of the Starling girls.The Starlings were well thought of in Barton Lacey, and Breana in particular was treated like everyone’s favourite sister.Should Francis visit scandal upon her, his family would probably be drummed out of the village.
His hope that Breana might see through his brother’s smiles had amounted to nothing; she was still bedazzled by Francis, and had barely looked at Theo.
But he had a secret, although he wasn’t sure whether to be ashamed of it or jubilant.Both, perhaps.
At his mother’s ball this spring, while their guests were dancing or gorging on the sumptuous supper Theo’s family could ill afford to provide, he had spotted Breana and Francis whispering secrets.He suspected his brother was up to something, and had kept a close eye on them.He told himself he wasn’t jealous, just disappointed Breana should be taken in by Francis, and worried she would be hurt.
Then Breana had slipped away, and Theo had followed.She had gone into the library, and although he had waited patiently, she hadn’t come out.
Hide and seek?It was one of Francis’s little tricks, his way of getting a girl alone.He saw Francis start off in the same direction, but intercepted him before he left the room.He’d sent his brother to accompany a gaggle of ladies to the supper table, which would keep him occupied for some time.Once Francis was out of the way, he hurried into the library.He had assumed the sight of him would have her scurrying back to the party, but Breana was nowhere to be seen.Then he had noticed the fold of her skirt trapped in the door of his father’s treasure cupboard.
Theo’s only intention had been to rescue her from his brother’s questionable games, but when he had opened the door and stepped inside, he had been unprepared for the reception he got.
“Oh, I am so glad you found me!”Her cry had startled him into silence.“Are you going to kiss me?”
He had imagined kissing Breana Starling many times.She had soft, plump lips, and he had thought far too often about what they might taste like.Well, now he knew.They tasted of the strawberries he had seen her devouring earlier.
He had felt guilty about abandoning her the way he had, but he had begun to lose control, and feared doing something even more foolish.Theo had seen her before she left the party, looking for his brother, but he had sent Francis on an errand to replenish the champagne.By the time he returned the library was empty, and Theo had caught him sneaking out of the room.His brother had made up some excuse for being in there but Theo had known the truth.
Breana had not suspected it was Theo who had kissed her.He knew he should be relieved—she would not be happy with him—but he was also disappointed.
He wanted her to know.He wanted to kiss her again.
Now, he pushed his way through the doors from the terrace and into the cool, dim interior of Barton Manor.There were spots on the walls where paintings were now missing, having been sold.An expensive Chinese vase had also disappeared off its plinth.Family heirlooms, all of them.The most depressing thing was that no matter what was sold, it was never enough to make more than a chip in their debts.
Theo knew what had to be done.The house in Barton Lacey had never been viable, and as much as they loved it, there was no justification in keeping it.
Except… in his heart, Theo believed hecouldmake the place a going concern.Look at Starling Hall.Will Starling had done extremely well there with hard work and clever planning.Why couldn’t Theo do the same?Turn Barton Manor into a working farm, fix up the cottages that now stood empty and take in paying tenants, grow crops and keep animals.He could picture it all in his head, just within his grasp, but the frustrating thing was he could not do it.
And the reason?His father.Theo had broached the subject several times, and on each occasion Mr.Norris had waved him away, saying he was busy and he would listen to him later.But later never came, and Theo couldn’t wait any longer.
He dreaded the coming confrontation between himself and his parents, and the timing couldn’t be worse.Francis’s engagement to Miss Ingham had come as a windfall.A decent dowry could help settle some of the worst debts, and Theo may even begin to return the family to solvency.The problem was his parents would think the matter sorted, when in fact it was only a brief reprieve.
“Theo!”His mother appeared suddenly in the doorway, a handkerchief clenched in her hand, her eyes wide and teary.“Maybelle says she is leaving!”Maybelle was his mother’s maid, a French woman who had been with her since Theo was a baby.
“I will speak to her,” he said soothingly, already trying to work out how he was going to persuade Maybelle to stay.
“She says she hasn’t been paid in ages!”his mother wailed.
Another of his father’s failings.It was he who dealt with the servants and the running of Barton Manor, and when Theo had tried to make him listen to sense, he had resisted.
