Percy’s expression changed from confused to disgusted. ‘The old fraud. We have scraped and bowed for a decade, tiptoeing about the house to spare his nerves while he leans back in his pillows and laughs.’
‘You were young when it started,’ Thomas reminded him. ‘You could not have known that he was lying when you first came to him.’
‘Then you were gone, Percy, and it was easier on me if I did not ask too many questions,’ Louisa said. ‘I had hoped that itwould be not so different from living with Mother and Father. But when he did take an interest in me, it was only to criticise my behaviour. In the end, I found as you did that it was easier to speak when spoken to and avoid him as much as possible.’
‘That is unfortunate,’ Thomas mused. It explained her quiet demeanour. She’d had the silence trained into her by the old man. If talking brought her nothing but censure, he could not blame her for not engaging in conversation when she was with him. ‘As I said to Percy, you can hardly be faulted for not enquiring further into his condition. You saw many doctors and an equal number of remedies. But there is no cure for an illness that does not really exist.’
‘Why would he do such a thing?’ Louisa asked.
‘Does he need a reason?’ Thomas replied with a shrug. ‘Some people are born sour, and your grandfather might be one of those. He is happiest when you are miserable. It is food and drink to him.’
Percy shrugged in response, but as she so often did, Louisa looked worried.
Thomas smiled to put her at ease. ‘Do not let it concern you. Starting tomorrow, we are going to put him on a diet. It might take longer than originally planned but we will succeed.’
Louisa looked back at him for a moment, then away, with a blush, her thick dark lashes shading her eyes.
Perhaps it was the angle of the light in the room, or the glow of the candles, but he had never noticed how long those lashes were. They were worthy of a storybook princess, waiting for the kiss that would bring her to life. The kiss she’d told him at Vauxhall that she’d never received.
If she had yet to awaken, it might explain the dreamlike look in her eyes. As he looked at her now, he wondered if she saw him at all, or if she was focused on some distant horizon he might never reach.
Something poked him sharply in the arm. He looked down to see Percy’s fork still sticking in the wool of his coat sleeve.
‘What are your plans?’ Percy said, in a slow, loud voice, as if he’d had to repeat the question.
‘Sorry. I lost my train of thought for a moment.’ He smiled at each of them and watched Louisa’s blush grow deeper. ‘First of all, we must come up with an excuse for me to remain here, so I may have the time to work. What think you? Has there been an outbreak of some communicable disease at the inn?’
‘That would not prevent you from taking a coach to another,’ Percy said. He took a bite of beef and chewed thoughtfully. ‘The inn is full, but you have business in the area that is not concluded. The local stock auction for the county is in a week’s time. Do you fancy buying a bull for your farm?’
Thomas grinned. ‘That sounds like a wonderful idea.’
‘I will say I encouraged you to remain. The old man will shout a bit and call me a noddy for disobeying him, but he would have done that even if I’d sent you away.’
‘Tell him he won’t be bothered by me if he refuses to come downstairs,’ Thomas said, grinning wickedly up at the ceiling. ‘There is no chance that the staff will bodily put me out, is there?’
Percy shook his head. ‘They are more loyal to us than to him. They only stay because it is easy to have a master who cannot be bothered to leave his room and see what they are up to.’
Louisa cleared her throat, then took a sip of wine to hide the fact that she’d done it to get their attention. ‘What precisely do you mean to do that will change his mind?’ She hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘It is not that I doubt your abilities. But if you aggravate him and do not succeed, I will be the one to pay the price for it.’ She raised her eyes to look into his and blinked those long lashes, scattering his thoughts.
He took a gulp of wine as well. ‘From what little I’ve seen of him, it would be hard to make him any worse. But you have nothing to worry about. I will succeed.’
Her eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch, an expression that might be scepticism, but which he hoped was pleasant surprise. Then she turned to look at her brother, as if hoping he would intervene.
Percy, always the loyal friend, said, ‘You have nothing to worry about, Lou. If Bonham says he can help, it will be so.’
Her chest rose and fell in the tiniest of sighs. He wondered for a moment if she doubted his ability. Then she said, ‘Perhaps you can find some role for me to play in all of this. It is my problem, after all. I have been part of the cause. I would like to be part of the solution, as well.’
‘Do not worry,’ Thomas said. ‘And do not blame yourself. I want to help. It is a privilege. I will see to everything.’
She looked down at her empty plate with an unreadable expression. She got up and pulled the bell cord. When she spoke next, it was with her usual soft voice and even softer smile, and the words were directed to the footman who entered the dining room. ‘Tell Cook we are ready for dessert to be served.’
Thomas smiled and nodded. He was satisfied that she would go along with his plan, once he figured out what it was. But as the tart was served, his good mood faded.
It was clear that she could not stay here. The place, and the man, were unbearable. She would be happier anywhere else, with any future he could give her, but she was not happy now.
She maintained her polite smile, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Her current behaviour was no different than it had been in London. She was just as civil and hospitable as always. But that had been an illusion and so was this. When the meal was finally finished, and she called for the port and left them alone, he could not decide if he was relieved or disappointed.
After the meal, Louisa went to the library to get the book she had abandoned earlier. It was tempting to hide there, avoiding the sitting room where the men would go after their drinks to spend the rest of the night with cards or chess. If she joined them, she might have to focus on the game, negotiate another difficult conversation or be painfully aware of the presence of Thomas Carew and the degree to which he wasn’t noticing her as a woman, only as a problem to be solved.
