The Reluctant Duke (A Seabrook Family Saga)(7)

And could you be so kind as to tell me again your connection to my papa? I believe, a long time ago, Papa told me about a friend of his back in England. Is that friend you? Is that why you came to inherit all that belonged to him?

Good gracious. Thomas could just picture the young girl’s face if he broke the promise he’d made to Mr. Hamilton and imagined her response if he explained just how he acquired all that belonged to her papa. The chit’s lips would tremble, and she would turn into a watering pot until her eyes puffed and her nose turned an unattractive shade of red. His body quivered violently at the thought of having such a ward in his care. He’d welcome grave bodily injury before a weepy female in his home. To avoid such a scene, he would do whatever he must to keep the truth from coming out. Thomas would honor Mr. Hamilton’s wishes. Nothing good would come if the truth were known, even if he told her how reluctant he’d been to take on all this.

He ignored Myles’s devilish smirk and continued reading the letter.

I do not want to sound ungrateful for your kindness in stepping into my papa’s shoes, but I believe I am of an age to look after myself. If only you could find it in your generous heart to give me a meager allowance, I shall find a small cottage near my previous home where I lived so happily with my papa. There I will live a simple, quiet life alone.

She could not be serious. At ten-and-seven, could she really think herself mature enough to manage all on her own? Mr. Hamilton would haunt Thomas until his dying day if he agreed to anything as preposterous as to allow her to do that. As happened during other readings of the missive, his teeth began grinding of their own accord. Thomas tightened his grip on the parchment and closed his eyes, envisioning his hands gripping the shoulders of Miss Hamilton and shaking her until she came to her wits. This gel was driving him crazy, and he hadn’t even met her yet.

God forgive him, when did he start having violent thoughts against women? He swore not to read the missive again until he landed in America. But first he had to finish this reading of it.

Please forgive me if I have overstepped the boundaries of propriety. It is just that Papa raised me to be my own person, and that is what I indeed intend to be. If you decide I must accompany you and leave the only home I have ever known, then I suppose I must. But understand it is only until I come of age, and then I intend to travel back to my homeland. Also, if you would be so kind, please explain to me what you intend to do with me once you collect me from Miss Beauregard’s. Toss me onto a ship bound for England and have me deposited at your doorstep? I would like to remind you gently I am not a piece of baggage. I would like to be treated as a young lady with preferences and a mind of my own.

Graciously,

Your Ward, Miss Emma Hamilton

He flung the letter across the way to Myles. “Read this. You won’t believe the nerve of this chit. She insulted me numerous times without any regard for social graces. If this is how they teach ladies in finishing schools in Boston, I will have to procure her enrollment in one of London’s elite finishing schools. If she speaks her mind in person as she does in her letter, she will scandalize the ton within moments.”

When Myles did not react, Thomas continued.

“I have high expectations of sending her off with Mama, Amelia, and Isabella for a season, in hopes of marrying all three of them off at once. I almost pity the three gentlemen who manage to win their hands.” He shrugged. “But then again, the men will be all the richer for it with the handsome dowries they will receive upon their marriages.”

Myles was absorbed in his reading. When he finished, he looked at Thomas and smiled as he offered the letter back.

“Well?” Thomas glared at Myles. “Have you nothing to say?”

He waited and waited, but for naught, because Myles did nothing but laugh uncontrollably until his eyes watered and he gasped for breath. So much for Myles standing by Thomas in his time of need. He would remember this moment the next time his friend asked for a boon.

***

Standing at the deck railing, Thomas got his first glimpse of America, and the view suspended his breathing. The coastline, full of beige sand, went on for miles and miles. The captain had informed them the storm they had struggled through had pushed them a bit south of their destination, and they were presently off the coast of Plymouth. With a spyglass he was able to glimpse large, stately homes in the distance as the ship tacked north. The large houses were set a good distance from the water’s edge along beautiful desolate beaches.

Sometime later Myles joined Thomas deck side and requested the use of the spyglass. Soon they would be docking at Boston Harbor, scene of the infamous Boston Tea Party.