Rescued By A Viscount(16)

“Perhaps that is because you keep swallowing a yawn when you think I’m not looking.”

Her family did not know she had trouble sleeping since Anthony’s death, and why would they, as they were sleeping when she was not. Furthermore, she wasn’t close enough with Mathew to confide in him. And she had no wish to worry her mother.

“More tea, Miss Belmont?”

Claire gave Plimley a grateful smile. He was always near when she needed a diversion. Her mother, she could usually distract, but Mathew tended to be more tenacious. “Thank you, Plimley, and how is Helen this morning?”

“Much better, thank you, Miss Belmont. Her headache is passing, and she should back to work tomorrow.”

“Who is Helen?”

“Honestly, Mathew, Helen is one of your maids and she suffers terribly from headaches. But we seem to be getting them sorted, as this is the first in many months.” Claire lifted her cup and took a sip.

“Do you know the names of all the staff here, Claire?”

Simon Kelkirk was the only other person who stared at her the way Mathew was doing right now. It was as if no one else existed at that moment. For the most, Claire avoided her brother’s penetrating looks and probing questions, but occasionally, when she wasn’t concentrating, he caught her out.

“Yes, Mathew, I do.”

He looked at her steadily. “You haven’t answered my question little sister. Are you tired this morning?”

“Of course I’m tired, Mathew. I danced until my feet hurt and did not find my bed till well past midnight.”

“Before he died Anthony told me he was worried about you because you had stopped sleeping since he returned, as you insisted on caring for him during the night. He feared that with his death this would not change. Is that the case, sister, do you struggle to sleep?”

His question surprised her, as they rarely mentioned their brother. The subject was too painful for both of them.

“Claire?”

“Why are you asking me this now when he has been dead many years?” Claire kept her eyes on the plate before her. “All this brotherly concern is quite overwhelming,” she added, keeping her tone light.

“Because he also told me you needed watching, and to my lasting regret, I have provided for you but perhaps not watched over you as well as I should have.”

Claire gripped the sides of her chair hard as she looked up at the concern in his eyes. Why now did he want to play the big brother when before, he was indifferent to her?

“I am all grown up now, Mathew. There is no need for this, I assure you. We are not like that, you and I–”

“Like what, Claire? Close, do you mean, as you were with Anthony?”

She had told Anthony everything. There had been moments since their brother’s death in which Claire had needed Mathew, had wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be all right and that the pain of missing Anthony would ease, but he had never been there for her, and perhaps she had not been there for him, either, but it was too late now to establish that kind of relationship. “I am not sure why we are having this conversation now, Mathew.”

She wanted to pull away from his intense gaze, yet could not do so. It was almost as if he was willing her to look at him.

“I hope you would come to me if you had a problem, Claire.”

“What problem could I possibly have, Mathew? My life is exactly as it should be.”

Again, she was subjected to a long, silent look.

“And yet you received a note yesterday, delivered to the servant’s entrance, and then you left the house without your maid.”

Dear god!

“I want to know what was in that note, sister.”

“I-It was just a note from a friend in need, Mathew. Nothing nefarious, I assure you,” Claire said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Who had told him?

“What are you two talking about?”

Dragging her eyes from her brother, Claire looked gratefully at her mother as

she walked back into the room. Forcing herself to let go of the chair, she reached for her cup and took a large mouthful of the lukewarm tea. “Mathew was telling me his eggs were cold,” Claire said quickly.

“Well, perhaps if he had eaten them when they were hot instead of burrowing into the paper, he would have enjoyed them more.”

“Thank you, Mother, I had not thought of that.”

Claire knew she should have told Mathew about the note. However, she hadn’t because it had singled her out, and said not to tell anyone. She also believed that whatever Anthony had left behind was very important, and Claire wanted nothing to hinder her chances of retrieving it.

“Are Eva and the baby still coming for a visit this morning, Claire?”