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He wasn’t overly concerned about his comic failure. Gillian was slowly, almost imperceptibly, turning away from them all.
“I hope you learned more specifics than that,” Charlie said. “If you’ve any hope of making repairs, you need to know which values to insert in your equation.”
Mr. Layton looked to Artemis. “Does your husband think of anything other than mathematics?”
Artemis smiled broadly. “Not often.”
“This would be a fine place to retreat to when working on a new paper,” Charlie said, glancing out the window. “It’s comfortable and quiet, with not a soul anywhere to cause distraction.”
“If you have a particularly difficult mathematical quandary, you are welcome to work out your frustrations by repairing plaster,” Mr. Layton suggested.
Gillian still hadn’t joined the discussion. Artemis had clearly taken note, as she had begun to glare at Scott despite having smiled at him moments earlier.
“I truly don’t mind being put to work here,” Charlie said. “I’ve made repairs on other houses.”
“And managed to fall off the roof of one of them,” Artemis said. “I would request you not undertake a repeat performance.” Shehad a smile for her husband, one that disappeared the instant she looked at Scott once more.
“Artemis, Charlie,” Mr. Layton said, “let us see if we can find two guest chambers in good enough condition to be used.” Without providing them an opportunity to object, Mr. Layton led the couple from the room, pausing only long enough to give Scott a very pointed look.
Somehow, the gentleman knew Scott had already made a mull of things.
Gillian moved for the first time since Scott’s arrival in the drawing room. It was obvious she meant to follow her traveling companions.
Scott couldn’t leave things between them the way they were. “Please don’t go yet, Gillian.”
She paused. Everything about her indicated wariness, the same wariness she had shown him when he’d first arrived at Brier Hill. Had he really lost so much of her trust?
“I did a poor job of welcoming you. I was so surprised to see you that I bungled the entire thing.”
Her expression softened.
“But more than surprised, I was happy to see you. Iamhappy to see you.”
A full smile didn’t form, but a hint of one did.
“How long can you stay?” he asked.
“How long would you like me to stay?”
If he answered honestly, he would say, “Always,” but that confession felt like too much to make so soon.
“I hope you’ll stay for as long as you want,” he said. “I can’t promise all the comforts here or even some of the necessities. And there is absolutely no society anywhere nearby.”
“I don’t mind that,” she said, much of her wariness slipping away.
“I suppose if we all get bored, I could always hum a waltz.”
And then she smiled, and all was right with his world again.
“Iamglad you came, Gillian. I truly am. That was quite a distance to cover.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again, so I decided to make certain I did.”
He took her hand, bent over it, and pressed a lingering kiss to her fingers. “Welcome to Thimbleby, Gillian Phelps.”
Scott stood on the threshold of the front door, watching as Gillian and Strickland discussed at great length plans for beautifying the approach to Thimbleby without incurring extra cost or much additional labor. She hadn’t been horrified by the sparsity of the home. From the moment he’d offered his second—sincere—welcome, she’d seemed perfectly content to be here.
Mr. Layton stepped into the doorway as well. “Miss Phelps is remarkable.”
