Page 26 of The Duke of Lies
“That’s true,” Thomas said with a laugh. “And do you know, I think he’s going to offer Beau that goat since he has a place to keep her.”
“That is too generous of him,” Verity said. “I thought he was rather fond of his goats.”
“He is, but you should know he’s fonder of Beau.”
“Papa! Papa!” Beau’s gleeful voice carried to them.
With a grin, Rufus pivoted. “It sounds as though that offer may just have been made.”
Verity couldn’t suppress her smile as she watched Beau take his father’s hand and excitedly talk while he gestured toward Whist.
“You look happy,” Thomas said, drawing her attention.
She considered herself a happy person—generally. But the way he made the observation made it sound as though it was an oddity. “I am.”
“I wasn’t sure you would be, but Grandfather says His Grace is kind and thoughtful, and that everyone seems to like him, especially the tenants.”
“Yes, I think they do.” They ought to since he spent most of his time with them. And when he wasn’t meeting them and helping them and soliciting their assistance with the audit, he spent his time with Beau. Or building this goat pen for Beau.
Thomas put his hand on the top of the fence and angled himself toward the pen instead of her. “I’m glad for you.” The note of regret in his tone said something different, but she wasn’t sure what to say to that.
She thought back to when Rufus had returned. That same day she’d offered Thomas the steward position, and she’d begun to consider him as maybe something other than someone who would manage the estate. Since her cousin Diana had visited last December—and married her husband—Verity had begun to look at men in a different way, a way she never had before. Only, she didn’t meet very many that were unmarried or the appropriate age. Thomas, however, was near her age, attractive, intelligent, and unmarried. Furthermore, her son liked him, and he was good with Beau.
She hadn’t really considered a courtship, but the possibilityhadentered her mind. But then Rufus had returned, and now all that was moot. Thomas’s behavior seemed to indicate the possibility may have entered his mind too.
“Are you still looking forward to working here?” she asked, wondering if this would be awkward now.
He looked toward her. “Of course. It’s an extraordinary opportunity, and I think I’ll enjoy working for His Grace.” He said this with a bit of the surprise she still felt on a daily basis. One would think she’d be used to Rufus’s alteration over the past fortnight, but the change was just so very drastic.
“Mama, Thomas!” Beau called. “Why are you standing out there?”
“I’ve no idea,” Thomas murmured with a grin. “I’m going in.” He glanced toward her. “Are you coming?”
“How can I refuse?”
He held the gate open for her with a grand gesture. She curtsied to him and laughed as she moved past him. Her gaze moved to Beau and caught a different pair of green eyes watching her closely.
Rufus’s gaze was inscrutable before he withdrew it from her, but not before she felt a flash of heat along her spine. Confused, she ascribed it to the warm afternoon.
Beau excitedly told her about Whist offering his baby goat, and Verity thanked him profusely for his generosity.
“It’s my pleasure to see the boy so delighted. And he’s promised me I can visit whenever I like. Because I’m family, you see.” He winked at Beau, who laughed before taking off running after Racer. It seemed the goat liked to be chased, and Beau was more than eager to oblige.
The sound of a coach arriving in the stable yard drew everyone’s attention. Verity sucked in a breath as soon as the door opened and out stepped her dear cousin. “Diana!” She felt as giddy as Beau with his goats as she hurried from the pen.
By the time Verity reached the yard, Diana and Simon had stepped away from the coach. And Verity instantly knew something was different. Something wonderful. But she didn’t say a word. Not yet. There would be time for them to gossip like magpies.
They wrapped each other in a tight embrace and then Verity hugged Simon next. “I’m so glad you came,” she said.
“As soon as we could.” Diana looked past Verity at the goat pen. “Is that him?”
Verity turned. Though there were three men standing together, it was clear who “him” was. “Yes.”
“And you say he just rode up on a horse after six and a half years?” Simon shook his head. “I hope he had a good reason for staying away.” He said this with humor.
“He was kidnapped and pressed into naval service,” Verity said. “But he won’t say much beyond that. He’s an entirely different person from the man I married.”
“You don’t mean that literally?” Diana asked.
