“I bloody well will not.”
He looked as though she’d punched him. “I am your brother—”
“Yes, but not my father, not my husband, not my king. You do not reign over me. Besides, I want to do this. I’m excited by the prospect of it. I have the skills for it. I can make a difference.”
Even as she spoke the words, she realized they were all true, truer than she’d fathomed. Having been so focused on securing her future, she hadn’t truly taken the time to consider how she felt about what she’d be doing.
He appeared dumbfounded as he dropped into the chair at the table. “So you won’t be here any longer?”
It occurred to her that he wasn’t objecting so much to her position as he was to the fact that he would now be alone. He would awaken in the morning and return in the evening to an empty house. Joining him at the table, she lowered herself into the other chair and placed her hands over his. She needed to tend to his palms before they retired. After tonight, he’d have to tend to them himself. “I overheard you and Marcus talking last night. Griff, I don’t need a nanny.”
With a groan, he squeezed his eyes shut. “Althea, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“I know. Look at me.”
He opened his eyes, as blue as hers, and she saw so much regret there.
“I don’t know precisely what Marcus is doing, but I heard enough to know it’s incredibly dangerous, and I know he needs you at his side, more than I do. With my new position, I’ll be facing no peril whatsoever. No drunken gentlemen about to misbehave. No walking alone late at night. I’ll be sleeping in a bed. I’ll have a fire. I’ll be safe. If you decide you are better needed elsewhere, you are free to go without battling any guilt.” She squeezed his hands. “If you do decideto join Marcus in his endeavors, please, please, please take care. I cannot bear the thought of losing either one of you.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “I think we both see you as that irritating little girl who wanted us to join her for tea parties with those tiny little cups that held no more than three drops of liquid.”
They’d never accepted her invitations, although she’d always assumed it was the small table and the dolls occupying the chairs to which they’d objected. “I’m far removed from being interested in tea parties these days.”
“Marcus probably won’t like it. On the other hand, I think you’re correct that this new position will create less worry for him... and me. It seems this Trewlove fellow has already taken it upon himself to shelter you, to ensure you are unharmed.”
“From what I observed when he came into the Mermaid and what others have told me, it appears he’s made it his life’s work to see that people are not treated unfairly.”
“No doubt comes from being born a by-blow. He can’t have had it easy growing up. Although, I daresay the Trewlove name has more respect these days than ours. Imagine that.”
It sounded as though imagining that left a sour taste in his mouth, and she wasn’t certain if it was because Trewlove had become synonymous withbastardor because Stanwick had become synonymous withtraitor, and that the majority of the population would choose an association with a Trewlove over one with a Stanwick. Which had not been the case not so long ago.
He glanced at the hearth. “He sent the coal, I assume.”
“He insisted on having a fire last night, so he sent it to replace what he had used.”
“With interest, it would appear. It does seem he will see you well cared for.”
She decided against telling him about the additional money she would earn because she didn’t want him realizing this was only temporary, three months at the most. The knowledge might prevent him from assisting Marcus and might force her to reveal her future plans. Not only would Marcus most definitely not approve of those, but neither would Griffith.
“I do feel I’ve made the right decision regarding my employment. He’s expecting me to arrive at ten in the morning, so I’ll see you off at dawn.”
“I’ll be going with you.”
Her heart gave a little stutter. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’ll see you to your new vocation, so I’ll know where to find you.”
“I can simply give you the address.”
“I want to reassure myself that it is an acceptable, respectable abode.”
“Dear God, Griff. Look where we live now.” She flung her arm out in a wide arc. “A pigsty would be more acceptable than this.”
He blanched as though she’d taken a gardening spade to his head. From the moment she had crossed the threshold into this sparse, cold, hideous dwelling with its faded and flaking paint, its chipped and scratched wood, its creaky water pump that tested her muscles every time she had to use the blasted thing, she had not revealed her desperation or despair that they had been brought so low.
“There are worse places, Althea. I expect Marcus is living in one right now—if he’s living in anything at all. For all I know he’s sleeping on the street.”
She took a deep breath, and drew her cloak more securely around her, striving to regain some of the warmth she’d lost when she’d reacted as she had. In her new residence shewould be able to hang up her cloak. She would no longer be forced to walk about inside as though still outside. “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. It’s not your fault or Marcus’s that we are where we are. Escort me on the morrow if that is your wish, but know that no words you utter will deter me from the path I’ve chosen.”
