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“I am thinking.” He had already mentioned to his family he would be away for a week or two. There should be no alarm that he had not arrived at the estate. However, Simon thought it prudent to send a letter to the steward. “I assume the story to get me down to Cornwall was merely a ruse? There was no fire or damage to my estate?”
The book lowered from her face. Her expression turned thoughtful as she rested her head against the cushions. “I have no notion of how my brothers did it, but I suspect it to be a tale. I highly doubt they had set an actual fire.”
Good God. Her entire family was outrageous. “I see.”
She went back to her reading, and he resumed his staring. A feeling of amusement rushed through Simon. “Did you sleep well, Miss Fairbanks?”
“After all that kissing and snuggling, I think you had better call me Fanny, and yes, my sleep was perfectly wonderful.”
He chuckled, truly unable to stop himself.
The eyes that peeked at him over her book were glittering with good humor, such a remarkable difference from her gaze yesterday, which had been shadowed with a private torment. She was clearly happy he had decided to stay.
“Very well, Fanny. Please continue calling me Simon.” Not that he believed she needed his permission in any fashion. The lady was indeed interesting.
She smiled. “This propriety business is…interesting. You should read this book when you have the time. It will reveal much.”
“Such as?”
“The perfect hypocrisy of society. Listen to this: ‘a lady’s reputation is derived from how she behaves at home and out in society.’ Not even in the comfort of our home can we be ourselves. It is simply ridiculous.”
“Why are you reading it?”
“I’ve been told by the old dragon my sole purpose is to get married, have children, and remain the perfect picture of femininity and grace. I thought her outrageous, but it seems this book is saying the same. I am supposed to flourish under Miss Fernsby’s capable instruction.”
There was an odd note in her voice.
“You do not believe you will succeed.”
“I am well aware of my limitations. They tend to break when others try to shape me into someone I am not. However, I love my family, and I shall try my best to do what is necessary for their happiness.”
He could tell her family was important to her. They also clearly loved her if they helped her with the outrageous scheme to get him to the cottage. Her belly rumbled alarmingly, and she put down the book with a sheepish smile.
“You are hungry.”
“Famished.”
“Why have you not eaten?”
She held up her thumb and forefinger in a pinch. “I made a tiny miscalculation in my plans.”
He arched a brow. “Do tell.”
“Do you know how to cook?”
His mind blanked for a moment. “Cook?”
“Yes, my lord, cook as in prepare a meal, preferably one that is tasty?” she asked hopefully.
“No, Miss Fairbanks, it is not a part of my skillset.”
“I am lacking in that matter as well.”
“I am beginning to sense the predicament, Miss…Fanny.”
Her eyes twinkled with evidently repressed mirth. “I had instructed my brothers to fill the larder, but they forgot to…well bring along a cook.”
Simon thought about the several cold days and nights he had been huddled in trenches with stale bread as his only food. At times they had caught a lone rabbit or a goose and roasted it over a fire. The meat had been tasteless, but it had filled their bellies. He doubted a lady would be able to eat his fare should he go out and try to catch game. A quick glance did not reveal any hunting guns or bow and arrows. Hell. He stood and walked through the small hallway and to the kitchen. He stared at the earthen stove that he had no notion how to operate and the eggs in the bowl.
