Page 24 of Harpy of the Ton
Lawrence shook his head. “The only adversaries I deal with are unruly gardens. I can wield an axe if you’ve any wood needing chopping. Though you’d have to provide the axe now I’ve lost mine.”
“You mean now that bitch destroyed it,” Millie said, loathing in her voice.
“I daresay I can find ye something to do in the garden,” the innkeeper said. “My Alice is always nagging at me to clear the back corner, but those brambles are so bleedin’ persistent—they come back every year.”
“You need to remove the root system,” Lawrence said. “If you merely cut them at the base, they’ll grow back with even more persistence than before.”
“And you can get rid of them for good?”
Lawrence nodded. “They find a way back eventually, but I can hamper their assault. There’s a tincture you can paint them with, but I’ll not be applying potions in a garden—they can poison the earth and impede the growth of other plants. Tending to a garden is about taking care of the plants and creatures that live there.”
“Your passion does you credit,” the innkeeper said. “Very well—if those hands of yours are up to it, perhaps you can see to the brambles. We’ve some old tools in the store doing nothing. You can take them home with you when you’re done. They’re nothing special but will help you get back on your feet.”
Lawrence shook his head. “Honest work I can accept, Mr. Barnes, but I can’t take charity.”
Millie let out a huff, and the innkeeper rolled his eyes.
“Stubborn fool!” he said good naturedly. “Are you so awash with friends that you don’t need any more?”
Lawrence let out a bitter laugh. “I have but one friend.”
“Who might that be?”
“His name’s Ned—Ned Ryman. He works at the inn in Brackens Hill.”
Millie’s face broke into a smile, and a flicker of female desire shone in her eyes. “Oh,thatNed! He’s a right charmer, he is.”
“He’s kind, certainly,” Lawrence said. “His niece is looking after my children while I’m here. And he’s looking for a home for me in Brackens Hill. I’m down on my luck, you see.”
Which was the understatement of the decade, seeing as he’d been evicted from his former home for rent arrears, turfed onto the street with three children clinging to his breeches, and had rendered himself penniless to travel to Brackens Hill to make a fresh start in the hope that a man he’d befriended at an inn would take pity on him.
Somefresh startthat had turned out to be—losing what little possessions he had within a week of embarking on his future.
“You’ve two more friends right here,” the innkeeper said. “Isn’t that right, Millie?”
“That’s right,” she said. “Any friend of Ned is a friend of mine. Perhaps you’ve little cause to trust anyone if your life’s been hard. But it’s only by taking a leap of faith and trusting the unknown that we can find our true friends—them that stick by you in adversity, not just during times of prosperity.”
Lawrence stared at her, and she laughed.
“You needn’t look so surprised, lovely. A whore’s best placed to have an insight into human nature, seein’ as she experiences the very best and the very worst of it. Often in the same night.”
He squeezed her hand, flinching at the ache in his fingers. “Then I accept your friendship with gratitude and pleasure.”
“Excellent!” the innkeeper cried. “I’ll make sure my Alice gives you a hearty breakfast tomorrow, then you can start your day helping Luke in the stables.”
“I don’t know how to thank you, Mr. Barnes,” Lawrence said.
“You can thank me by prospering and ensuring that you’re never defeated by the cruelty of others.” Then the innkeeper nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, young man. Take care of him tonight, Millie.”
Millie’s eyes flared with desire, but Lawrence had spoken the truth. He was in no mood for pleasure.
And he could hardly surrender to Millie’s ministrations when his mind was filled with desire for another woman—even if he loathed that woman with every fiber of his soul.
*
Millie’s salve wasakin to witchcraft. Other than a slight soreness on the skin, Lawrence’s hands had almost completely healed from yesterday’s ordeal.
Anything a man failed to understand, or find a plausible explanation for, he attributed to witchcraft. Which, most likely, explained why so many women had been persecuted in the past. A man felt threatened by a woman with greater intelligence than he.
