Page 21 of The Seductive Love of a Lady
As Andrew’s hard footsteps resonated along the hall, his father’s voice followed. ‘Good riddance!’
The butler encountered them mid-flight. ‘Master Drew…’
Andrew cast him a look that was so cold it could have turned him to stone. ‘I will show myself out without thieving, Potts. There is nothing I want from this house.’
The butler hurried after them.
‘Andrew,’ Mary said, in an attempt to slow him down as she struggled to keep up with him. He did not slow. But when they reached the stairs, he released her hand and left her to follow as he jogged down.
If he could have sprouted wings and flown from the house, she thought he would have.
In the hall he opened the door, and left it open for her to follow.
Her heart pounding, she hurried out. He had stopped on the pavement and reached into a pocket of his morning coat. He withdrew a thin cigar and matches. He placed the cigar in his mouth, squatted and struck a match on the pavement, then rose and lit the cigar, drawing heavily on it. He looked upward and blew the smoke out, then looked at her. ‘Are you ready then?’ His voice sounded emotionless. ‘We will walk home, if you do not mind. I cannot smoke in a hansom and it will take several streets to find one anyway, by which time we will be halfway home.’
His arm lifted, offering her the option to lay her hand on his forearm. The action denied what happened only moments ago, as though he did not care.
But he did care. She had seen his anger and she knew him now; she knew that beneath his anger was pain.
She accepted his arm, unsure what to do, and he walked on.
The muscle in his arm beneath her fingers gradually relaxed as he spoke animatedly about the weather, commented onpassers-by and carriages, occasionally sucking on his cigar, and then blowing the smoke out away from her.
He had shut what had happened out of his mind in the way a maid might sweep dirt beneath a rug. The memory would still be there to find later.
When arguments exploded among her brothers, her brother Robbie was the quiet one. But he would let disagreements fester. Andrew reminded her of Robbie.How long has the argument with his family festered?
If she knew the cause, she could help. Maybe if he apologised, then he and his father could lay new foundations.
As they walked, and he talked nonsense, her mind plotted. Considering ways to help him establish a truce with his family. The argument was hurting him, there must be a way to repair the rift.
When they reached his rooms, she untied the ribbons of her bonnet. ‘Why did you fall out with them?’ she asked as he closed the door. She pulled the ribbons loose. ‘What did you do to upset them?’
‘What did I do…’ He glared at her.
Her lower lip caught between her teeth for a second, but she wished to speak. She would not be able to stand being at odds with her family. ‘I shan’t judge you if you tell me, and I might be able to help you heal the rift.’
8
Drew’s anger reignited. It had been glowing like coals since they left the Marquis’s house. ‘The rift… Were you not in the room, Mary?’
Did she need him to spell it out for her? He had no intention of doing so. He was an unwanted bastard. He would not explain that.
‘Andrew.’ She came towards him, all sweet innocent charm and quiet voice. ‘What harm would it do to tell me what happened? Whatever you did it must have been years ago.’
It cut that she automatically laid the blame on him. He thought her opinion of him had changed. That she no longer thought him bad. But this mess was not her fault. He calmed his temper – silencing the urge to yell at her. ‘It is not a rift,’ he said quietly, walking over to the decanter to pour himself a brandy. ‘It is a canyon a mile wide and there are no bridges. Let it rest.’
‘But apologies can make?—’
‘I have nothing to apologise for.’ He lifted the stopper from the decanter.
‘I know that it often seems that way,’ she said more hesitantly, as he half-filled a glass. ‘But sometimes an apology can help, even if you do not think you are in the wrong.’
Am I to apologise for my birth?
He swallowed some brandy.
Her fingers slipped about his middle, holding him from behind, as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. She was offering comfort, but he had a feeling she sought to appease him too.
