Page 84 of The Wolf of Mayfair
He stopped just a foot away.
She knew what he intended. Still, her heart hammered and Helia had to dig the tips of her toes into the floor to keep herself planted where she stood.
Shaken by his nearness and her body’s awareness of him, Helia did not back down.
She lifted her eyes to his. “You allowed me shelter, Anthony, when I was nothing but a stranger who gave you only my word—”
“You’re still a stranger,” he jeered.
“And still, you let a stranger share your home.”
“It is not a home,” he spat.
Aye, she’d agree with him on that score. This household possessed none of the familial closeness and warmth that made a house a home.
She’d not, however, let him distract her from what they actually discussed—him and the goodness in him.
Helia raised her gaze to his. “You cared for me when I was ill,” she reminded him. “And then when you found nothing which linked our mothers, even then, youstilldid not turn me out, Anthony.”
Something flashed in his eyes this time. Not his usual annoyed or harsh glint but somethingvagueand indecipherable.
“Enough,” he said, his warning whisper proving fiercer than any rage-filled shout. “I’m not some pathetically merciful lord.”
How very sad his views of life and love, in fact, were. “There’s nothing pathetic in showing mercy, Anthony,” she said gently. “And I do not want you to fire anyone because of me.”
His mirth faded. He locked a hard stare on her. “Caring about others and not yourself? It is a foolish thing to do.”
“I—”
“Let me guess,” he interrupted dryly. “You disagree?”
“In fact, I do.”
He again folded his arms at his chest. “Absolutely shocking.”
Her lovely lips only dipped down farther at the corners. “You’re being sarcastic.”
Anthony brought his hands together in a derisory little clap. “You are becoming somewhat more worldly, Miss Wallace.”
He stopped. A muscle rippled along his jaw. “I will not fire anyone.”
Helia’s heart swelled, along with the smile on her lips.
“I don’t want to hear anything else on—” He scowled. “Why are you smiling like that?”
Her grin grew wider. “How am I smiling?” She knew precisely what he spoke about. His reluctant goodness had an inspiriting effect, and she could not suppress a grin, even if her staying here were dependent upon hiding her joy.
Anthony scowled. “Do not get it in your head that I in some way care about those in my employ.”
Helia adopted a somber expression. “Of course not.”
His brows dipped menacingly, and he snarled like an angry lion. “I don’t even care about the people who gave me life.”
Her smile instantly fell. How lonely, how sad his life was. She yearned to take him and show him the good that existed in the world.
“The sole reason I’ve not fired them this time is because I’ve grown tired of having this discussion repeatedly with you, Helia. In the future, might I suggest if you’re actually worried about costing my servantstheir employment, you’d not put them in a position of doing something that will see themunemployed.”
For all his forceful protestations and repeated denials, there could be no doubting from the leniency he’d shown that he was not only the benevolent lord he insisted he was not, but that good dwelled within his guarded heart.
