Page 43 of Papa's Captive
Chapter 19
“If you dinna mind my saying so, my lord, it has been a pleasure to have you here for such an extended visit. I know many a steward who would be glad to have as much unsupervised time as I have here, and I appreciate your trust in me to manage things for you, but ‘tis nice to feel as though the castle is fully operational with Lord and Lady Caldwell in residence.”
William studied Angus MacMillan for a moment before responding. He was flattered by the older man’s words and he knew enough of him to believe him sincere. Angus was not prone to idle flattery.
Though William had expected to enjoy his month long sojourn at Craigmul Castle, that expectation was based upon being alone with his darling Rosie in comfort and seclusion. And indeed, he had thoroughly enjoyed time with his little bride. More than he ever imagined possible. Every day his love for her grew until the ache in his chest was nearly unbearable. How a scoundrel such as himself had been so blessed, he had no idea, but he vowed to be the best husband he could in order to be deserving of her sweet affection.
In addition, however, he had been surprised by the pleasure he took in the quiet country life. He had avoided his duties at Craigmul Castle in part due to his belief that it would be tedious and dull compared to the high society of London to which he was accustomed. He had found, however, that a quiet evening with Rosie satisfied his soul in a way no game of cards or day at the track ever could. Not even the most sought after theater tickets could compare to the delight of an evening spent in her company, regardless of the activity.
And he dared not even pause to ponder their amorous activities for fear of embarrassing himself by rushing from his conference with his steward to find his bride and relieve his needs in her welcoming heat.
William refocused his attention on Angus.
“Thank you for your kind words, Angus. I have enjoyed my time here very much and I shall speak for Lady Caldwell and say the same is true for her. It seems just a day or two ago that we arrived, but here we are and nearly a month has passed.”
“Might you be able to stay a bit longer with us, my lord?”
“I would like to, but there are appointments and engagements awaiting us in London. I have not told Lady Caldwell yet, and so I trust you will keep my confidence, but there is to be a fete in our honor given by Lord and Lady Grayson a fortnight hence.”
“How very nice,” Angus said, though William suspected that the idea of attending any sort of fete in London was the rugged steward’s idea of a nightmare.
“However, I believe I can promise that Lady Caldwell and I will be making more frequent trips to Craigmul Castle than I have in the past.”
They concluded their business and as William prepared to go in search of his little bride, he was informed of the arrival of two callers, one of whom being his cousin, Lady Joyce Wartwhistle.
I am surprised it took her this long to show up on the doorstep, he said to himself. Frankly, it was a wonder she had not come sniffing around sooner. Lady Wartwhistle was a notorious gossip and troublemaker and he had no desire for Rosie to have anything to do with her whatsoever, though he supposed some minimal contact could not be helped given their family relationship.
Because of his own happy circumstances, William was able to be a bit benevolent in his consideration of his cousin Joyce. Their mothers were sisters, his mother being the much younger of the siblings. As he had approached his majority, his cousin had been most forceful in encouraging his attentions to her husband’s niece—so much better to solidify the power of the two families. He had humored her and attended a dinner where the young lady in question was in attendance, but she had not inspired any interest on his part and he had said as much to his cousin after the young lady had been sent on her way.
He had not meant to be hurtful in his rejection, but he was young and may not have used the most diplomatic terms. Since then, Joyce had gone out of her way to besmirch his reputation and make his life difficult in whatever way she could. Fortunately, she spent most of her time in Scotland, several hundred miles away from his home in London.
Perhaps he ought to reconsider his plans to spend more time at Craigmul Castle if it increased the likelihood of interaction with his embittered cousin.
He composed himself and greeted his cousin as she entered his study as though she were a long lost relative. He expected her to be miffed at not being given notice of his marriage or getting an invitation to Craigmul Castle sooner, so he laid the flattery on thick in order to forestall any pique on her part.
Lady Wartwhistle had a gentleman with her and William greeted him with a bit of curiosity. He was clearly not a member of the upper class as was evident from his dress and demeanor. No proper gentleman would make a social call in shoes as worn and dirty as his. So why was Joyce traveling about with him?
William started to get a bad feeling and the smug expression on his cousin’s doughy face did nothing to alleviate his concern.
“May I introduce Mr. Hoffman. He is a private detective.”
Despite his generally rebellious nature, William had been trained in the ways of the aristocracy—as well as the poker table—and therefore maintained an outward calm while alarm bells went off inside his head. What sort of shenanigans did Lady Wartwhistle have up her lacy sleeves?
“How very interesting,” he said, and then just to tweak his cousin a bit, he added, “Have you taken a lover, cousin?”
Lady Wartwhistle’s heavy brows lowered and her tiny eyes nearly disappeared. “This is a business arrangement, William,” she hissed.
“Oh, are you in need of protection?”
“No, I am not. But, the same cannot be said of you,dear cousin.” She spat the last phrase out bitterly.
“How so?” He refused to give her the satisfaction of showing undue concern for her words.
“You married an orphan. How could you, William? What’s more, your bride is using an assumed name. Like some sort of criminal.”
“I am cognizant of those things, cousin. If it causes no unease to me, I cannot see how it is of any matter to you.”
“There is more. Are you aware that while she was living in that...thathome...she associated with the worst elements of society. One of those girls belonged to a gang. Cynny was her name. She was a p-pickpocket.” Lady Wartwhistle’s voice rose to a pitch that might have caused the crystal to shatter.
