Her Secondhand Groom(6)

The carriage came to an abrupt stop and Patrick held onto his seat so he wouldn’t be thrown to the floor. Climbing out of the carriage, he heard so much noise coming from inside the cottage; he was rather shocked the bricks didn’t crumble on the spot.

Patrick ran his hand through his already unkempt hair. There was no need to bang on the door, nobody would hear him, and so he let himself in and walked in the direction of the racket. Blinking to let his eyes get adjusted to the room, Patrick stood stock-still just inside the door as two wild boys came running straight at him. Instinctively, he moved out of their way at the last minute and tripped over a small animal. Putting his hand on the wall next to him to keep from falling over, Patrick’s eyes landed on Kate who was sitting on Miss Hughes’ lap while Miss Hughes read to her from a book.

A chorus of high pitched giggles caught his attention, and he turned to see Celia and Helena playing with the other Hughes girls. Unable to stop himself, he smiled. For all the chaos that was going on in this house―and nobody could deny the only word to describe it was chaos―there was also a lot of fun being had, too. And fun was something his daughters were sorely lacking.

Stepping carefully so not to trod on anything or anyone, Patrick made his way over to the settee where Kate was sitting on Miss Hughes’ lap and sat down.

Miss Hughes looked at him with a thin, brittle smile, and he could have sworn she muttered something about it being about time.

He chuckled. “Are you ready to go, Kate?” he asked, ignoring Miss Hughes altogether. She might not be a looker who demanded the attention of men everywhere she went, but he was nearly certain she could level a set down on a man that would make him think twice about ever crossing her again. Of course, he was the lord and it was in his right to throw out bothersome tenants, but he couldn’t blame her for being irritated with him. He’d said an hour, maybe two, and it had only been a fraction past that. He almost snorted. If he were honest, he’d have to admit that it hadn’t been a fraction past that. Instead, it had been more than double that. He glanced at her and felt a sliver of remorse for her. He was getting a headache after spending four minutes in this madhouse; she must be ready to start gulping laudanum after four hours.

“I like it here, Papa,” Kate said, wiggling on Miss Hughes’ lap.

Miss Hughes looked down at Kate and gave her a light squeeze. “It looks like it’s time for you to go home.”

“Do I have to?”

Nodding, Miss Hughes pushed a lock of brownish-blonde hair that had escaped her coiffure behind her ear. “Yes. But maybe you could come another day.”

Kate’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Do you mean it?”

Miss Hughes smiled down at her. “If it’s all right with your papa you may come again.”

“Can I come? Can I come?” Kate asked, bouncing up and down with excitement.

Smiling at his daughter, Patrick said, “We’ll see.”

Kate’s head dropped sadly. “That means no.”

Wisely, Miss Hughes didn’t voice a comment on that. Patrick stood and walked over to where Celia and Helena were playing. “All right, time to say goodbye.”

Startled, Helena looked up at him. “Oh, that was quick.”

Patrick blinked. Quick? He hadn’t been quick at all. “Yes, well, tell your friend goodbye, it’s time to go.”

“Can we come back again tomorrow?” Celia asked, her eyes full of excitement.

“Uh…”

“No,” Kate supplied, coming up beside him. Her little arms were folded across her chest and her lower lip had the slightest tremble.

Pushing aside an inkling of guilt, Patrick cleared his throat and announced, “It’s time to go, now. Tell everyone goodbye.” Reluctantly, the girls did as they were told while he stepped aside to go speak with Miss Hughes. “Thank you for watching them,” he said earnestly.

“You’re welcome, my lord.”

He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out the little bag where he kept his coins. Loosening the string, he held the bag in his right hand and dumped a few coins into his left palm. Satisfied with the amount, he put the bag of coins back into his pocket and held his palm full of coins out to Miss Hughes. “For your trouble.”

Behind the thickest set of spectacles he’d ever seen, her grey eyes flashed with what he thought might be rage. “It was no trouble, my lord,” she said flatly, shaking her head in refusal.

Frowning, Patrick cupped his hand and shook it. The change in his palm clanged and clattered. “I’m sure it was trouble, and you deserve to be compensated.”

“Apply it toward the debt my father owes you,” she said without much emotion.