“Apples and scouting for the Irish eejits take their toll,” Daniel quipped. “He can ride with me. We will tie his pony to Constance.”
“That is kind of you.”
“It is my pleasure.”
His words were soft and warm and curled around her. She stood transfixed before she forced herself to move away. Her steps were heavy as she made her way to the Mabrys’ house, her thoughts straying to Edmund.
Surely he would listen to her. Like his brother, he would understand. They could not be that different, could they? But if she were honest, she had absolutely no idea of what Edmund would do, and that frightened her most of all. She should know the man’s thoughts. After all, she was going to marry him. To spend her life with him.
She firmed her lips and lifted her chin. She would speak to Edmund, and soon she would know everything. She had gotten one side of the story here. It was time to get the other. Edmund’s side.
Chapter Nine
THEY visited more tenants over the next few weeks. Julia and Emily wheedled their way into their good graces with food baskets and queries about needs the parish might be able to address. While Julia dispersed their bounty, Daniel met with some of the veterans working in the fields, culling those out who had building, engineering, or experience working in a mill. He spoke to Taunton about potential mill owners or men in trade who might be interested in leasing the land.
As he gained Mabry’s trust, Daniel casually asked if the tenants recalled the fire at Lakeview Manor and any discussion of it afterward. Mabry’s reply had been strangely enigmatic, and they were the only words he had ever recounted as having come directly from Edmund.
Fire was of grave concern to anyone living in the vicinity, so his brother had made a rare appearance after the manor’s blaze to assure the tenants of it being an isolated incident. He had told them that now that Lord Bryant had left the country, they were not to worry over it. Mabry repeated Edmund’s words with a dismissive shrug while Daniel had snorted at the strange, Shakespearian edict. All was well, so sayeth His Grace, the arrogant prig of a duke.
But what the devil did he mean?
Had he held Daniel responsible for the fire? And therefore with his absence, they were safe? It had been all he could do to hold his tongue before Mabry. He forced himself to shelve his questions, but they simmered.
Like his and Julia’s project, he had reached another impasse. Until Robbie turned up something in regard to the fire, he had no leads to pursue. And until Edmund returned and sanctioned their business proposals, they could not implement their plans. It was like waiting for the blockade to end all over again. The forced inertia rankled, and he noticed Julia’s impatience was palpable as well. Both shared a restless spirit, biting at the bit to put into action all they had discussed. To act.
Each day his admiration for her increased. Like peeling back the layer of a succulent fruit, he had been delighted to uncover the woman beneath. She was sweet and magnificent. Her striking beauty had first arrested him, then her dare that had culminated in their kiss, but there was so much more to her. She fascinated him.
Why in God’s name is she marrying my bastard of a brother?
Like a knife plunged in his gut, it damn near killed him. When he was not fighting his urge to yank Julia into his arms and kiss her again, he wanted to reach out and shake her. To make a blind woman see.
His mood souring, he brooded as he returned to his room at the inn. The Regal Swan was located on the outskirts of town, a first welcome before travelers reached the village proper. He had chosen it for its location away from the raucous festival near the common.
He stormed inside, startling the stooped innkeeper, who stood behind the front desk. He quickly regrouped, but his expression was apologetic. “My apologies, my lord, I didn’t see you leave again. I take it you have your key this time? Haven’t forgotten it?”
Daniel stopped short, staring at the man as if he had lost his sense. His key? The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and a sixth sense born during years under Edmund’s fists kicked in. The blockade had ended.
Edmund had arrived.
Worse, the bastard had taken advantage of being his twin to gain entrance into Daniel’s room. He cleared his throat. “No, thank you. I am quite set.”
“Good, good. And as requested, I sent up a decanter of my best vintage cognac. I take it you received it? Did it meet with your approval?”
“Ah, I have yet to have a chance to partake.” He had to give Edmund points for the order, for it was cleverly done. It should set Daniel back a pound note or two.
Nodding to the innkeeper, he hurried upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. He strode down the foyer and shoved open the door to his room, appreciating the resounding crash of the heavy oak against the wall and his brother’s startled expression. “Edmund. Do come in and make yourself comfortable. Oh, my apologies, you have already done so. Some things never change.”