This excess of emotion was positively alarming, and Grayson let out a low breath before seating himself at the table.Perhaps it would be best to concentrate on the most pressing problem first.
“Yes, you do very well,” he admitted smoothly as Kate placed before him a plate piled high with eggs, fat sausages, and slices of toast.
“Hmm.Wonderfully well,” he said, the delightful aroma making him realize just how hungry he had grown.“However, a little help does not seem amiss.I will take care of the expense.”
Before Kate could protest, he turned to Tom, who was gaping at him, his food unattended.“I have some messages for you to deliver to my town house today.”
The old man shut his mouth and gave Grayson an assessing look.“And just how do I know you aren’t going to call in the authorities because of the little nick Katie gave you?”
Grayson lifted his brows as he picked up his fork.“That little nick is more like a good-size hole in my shoulder, but Kate and I both know it was an accident.And unless you plan on murdering me outright, you had better let me contact my staff,” he said.
“Although I’ve been known to disappear into the hells on a gambling bent, sooner or later someone’s going to wonder where I am.The longer you delay, the more hue and cry there will be, and I am sure you do not want to draw unnecessary attention to the earl’s daughters.”
The implicit threat stilled any further protest from Tom, and Grayson turned to Kate as she seated herself at the worn table.
“How did you know?”she asked quietly.She neither burst into tears nor flew into a temper, and Grayson realized just how much he admired her poise.Despite her size, she was strong.And sensible.And beautiful.
“As I told you, I have been here before,” he said.“When I went out this morning, I recognized the north face at once.”
Tom’s snort of disbelief made him shoot a swift warning glance at the older man.The fellow must have forgotten the understanding they had reached the night before.“Did you say something?”Grayson asked coolly.
With a glum scowl, the old man shook his head, and Grayson looked back to Kate, waiting until she lifted her incredible eyes to his before speaking.
“We were here to celebrate your birth,” he said softly.He wanted to say more, to describe the baby she had been, to reveal the history that lay between them, but Tom was watching.
For her part, Kate appeared neither surprised nor pleased by the information.She simply nodded as if the news were just another burden to add to those already weighing down her delicate shoulders.
Her lack of faith disappointed him, and Grayson found himself annoyed by her closed expression.Did she think so little of him?There was a fine line between keeping her dignity and shutting him out, and though aware of it, Grayson nonetheless chafed at that boundary.
His jaw tightened, and he might have spoken injudiciously again, if Lucy had not chosen that moment to wander into the room.Obviously, she had just risen and had not lifted a finger to prepare the breakfast she served herself.
One look at her told Grayson that despite whatever misfortunes had befallen the Courtlands, Lucy still managed to play the part of an earl’s daughter.The fact that she had turned her sister into a drudge to do it put a damper on Grayson’s appetite.
Absurdly irritated by her languid pose, he felt like lurching across the table to throttle the stupid chit.Instead, he clutched his fork and tried to come to terms with this unusual temperament.He had argued for hours with lackwits in the government and never lost his head.What the devil was the matter with him?
“So you will be leaving now.”
Kate’s low comment pricked Grayson further.Was she that eager to be rid of him?The females of thetonlong ago had learned not to throw themselves at his feet, for such behavior only earned his contempt.
He preferred to be the aggressor, or at least to be on the receiving end of a more subtle approach to his bed.Never, however, had his attentions been rebuffed, even in his youth.He was not accustomed to being denied, and he did not like it.
“I am not leaving until I find out who has been using my name,” Grayson said, with surprising vehemence.In actuality, he did not have to see to the business personally.He could have a Bow Street runner investigate or put his resources to work at finding the culprit, but he had already rejected those options.
Even the most highly paid and discreet searcher might let something slip, and Grayson did not want news of this imposter to get out.He had a position to uphold, and he had no intention of letting some country lout make a laughingstock of him.
Still, he did not have to stay at Hargate when he had a hunting box nearby.As Grayson recalled, it was small, but well-appointed, and he could have a staff at the ready in a few days.The idea was appealing, but he rejected it, for he did not want to alert his prey.
Better to remain hidden here at Hargate.His decision, he told himself, was purely logical, and had nothing to do with his reluctance to leave the poppet alone with none but a surly old retainer and a spoiled shrew.
Lost in his musings, Grayson suddenly realized that Lucy was sniffing delicately over her breakfast plate.“What the devil is the matter with you?”he snapped.Unaccustomed to weepy females gracing his table, nevertheless he might have spoken more gently if the woman in question had been anyone other than this vain creature.
She glared at him with eyes that were darker and harder than her sister’s.“You cannot stay!I will not allow it!”
“I would think you would like to discover the identity of your child’s father,” he said.
Lucy gasped and stood, a picture of feminine distress.“And then what?”she cried.“What happens when you find him?You’ll clap him in irons.You’ll hang my beloved!”Then she burst into tears and rushed to the door, leaving it standing open as she raced into the garden.
The silence that followed her departure was almost palpable as Tom and Kate turned toward him.Tom’s expression was blackly accusing, while Kate’s held a mixture of exasperation and censure that made his jaw tighten.Biting back an oath, he realized that he had no choice.
