‘And what made you think it was a good idea to bring him here?’
She shifted the items she was holding from one hip to the other, buying time as she searched for an answer. What would Tom Smith’s fiancée answer?
‘Because I love him.’
At the moment, she didn’t even like Thomas Carew very much. But Smith had done nothing to her. The man was a paragon.
‘The feeling will pass,’ her grandfather said dismissively. Then, he gave her a long searching look, as if he could sense there was something wrong but could not tell what. He gave a small sniff. ‘Have you been drinking?’
Was that all? ‘I was feeling faint,’ she lied, then added, ‘Thomas gave me a tiny bit in a glass to settle my nerves.’
He was still staring.
‘Just a sip,’ she said. ‘And I didn’t like it.’ That was only half true. It had been like swallowing liquid fire, but she wished she could have another glass, right now.
‘I do not approve of strong spirits for women,’ he said, eyes narrowing. ‘Not even for medicinal purposes. It is a sign of a weak will. But then, you have always been weak.’
Her weakness was one of his more popular criticisms. But she must have some strength in her if she’d lasted this long in this house, she thought grimly. She shifted the book again, holding it in front of her like a shield and wrapping her arms around it.
‘So, Smith gave you my brandy.’
She nodded.
So did he. ‘More proof that I was right in my assessment of him. He is no better than your idiot brother, finding any excuse to drink my liquor. He was probably planning to take advantage of you while you were bosky.’
‘Certainly not!’ She hugged the account book tighter, blushing furiously.
Her grandfather snorted. ‘What else could he possibly want from you? Now that he knows he will not get your money, he will settle for whatever he can take from you. If you have not given him that, already.’ Then, he fell silent, again, waiting to see how she would respond.
She gritted her teeth. Goading her until she cried was one of his oldest tricks. It would make him laugh, which would make everything worse. She must not let it work today. ‘I have not been unchaste. I will take your words as the sage advice I am sure you intended them to be.’
He let out a sharp bark of a laugh as if her sarcasm was almost as satisfying as her fear. Then he went silent, playing the same game as he had done with Thomas earlier.
The account book in her arms was heavy and the plans for the wall kept trying to slide down her body to the floor. He probably enjoyed seeing her awkward and uncomfortable, juggling household tasks he would not do for himself and hinting that she did not deserve any better than this.
And she was allowing him to do it. It was not as if her feet had been nailed into the carpet. She must not fall into the old rut of duty and respect that he’d worn into her soul, coming whenever he called and doing exactly what he said.
Her life would never change if she did not do something immediately. Thomas had been right. She wanted a change.
She took a breath, summoned all her courage and said, ‘Is there anything else, Grandfather?’
It was a simple question, but compared to her usual silent suffering, it was an outright act of defiance.
‘Am I keeping you from something?’ he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
‘I need to go over the accounts.’
He sniffed. ‘Go on then. Now that you are home, we have all the time in the word to talk.’
Before he could think of another way to harass her, she spun on her heel and marched out of the room.
CHAPTER TEN
After Louisa had left Thomas, Percy found him and they drank together as he explained how his talk with Lord Skeffington had gone. Percy was not terribly surprised by the result, nor his sister’s response to it. Louisa could hardly be blamed for her pessimism, Thomas reflected. She had lost the guidance of their parents at a formative age and everything about her life had changed dramatically. When one’s spirit was broken early, it was hard to escape the grip of a tyrant, especially if one was ordered to respect one’s elders and yield to the head of the family in all things.
Thomas had been raised to obey his parents, as well. But his father had known he would need to think independently in order to take the coronet when it was time. He needed to share a bit of that strength with Louisa now.
Or rather, Tom Smith did. He might not be a duke. But any man worthy of the fair Louisa would not be put off by the blustering of an old man who might hold the purse strings but could not be bothered to leave his room. He would stay and fight for his sweetheart. He was not leaving until he could take Louisa and her money with him.
