Page 56 of Everything a Lady is Not
She squinted at him in disbelief. “Then you approve of my oddness?”
“I did not say that, either. I am still debating.”
“Good, then. It comforts me to know I am not alone in withholding a verdict.”
His spirit seemed to return as he cocked his head. “Your verdict of me?”
“Yes.”
“What is there not to like? I am quite the fellow.”
“Well, for one,” she said, “I question your humility. But I do agree that you are quite thesomething.”
“Quite the what?”
“I cannot say aloud. Steadman forbade me from cursing.”
He chuckled. “That bad, am I? Then perhaps my brother was right to disown me.”
She shook her head and gazed upon his features, so handsome when he smiled. “No. He was not right to do that.”
His eyes flashed with surprise and then perhaps gratitude. He stared ahead at the path, unspeaking. They walked in silence for a time, drawing nearer to the patch of trees. Lucy soon spied a covey of stone houses with sod roofs huddling in the embrace of the two hills.
“Who lives there?” she asked.
“Tenants of Ardmoore. Shepherds and farmers, mostly.”
“Are you taking me there to learn the proper manner in which to address tenants?”
“If you like.”
As they neared the settlement, she wrestled with a question weighing heavily on her mind until she could no longer contain it. “What will you do next, Mr. Beaumont? After we have failed utterly in this enterprise and the duchess releases you from your impossible contract?”
His eyes grew distant. “Bring lawbreakers to justice, and as many as I can. First with Bow Street and then perhaps as a barrister. The pursuit of criminals may prevent me from association with them. Or so I hope.”
The mention of association with criminals stabbed Lucy unexpectedly. Only then did she realize how her connection with Steadman conflicted with his desperate campaign to rise above his perceived corruption. She forced a growing frown from her face, hoping to hide encroaching dismay.
“And if your plan fails?” she asked. “What then?”
He grinned sadly. “If all else fails, my mother’s brother owns a smithy near Edinburgh. Perhaps I might work for him. He seems a decent man despite our shared heritage.”
She smiled, thinking him joking. However, his features remained unmoving. Her ache for his situation grew. She slowly gathered the courage to revisit his plan. “Perhaps you could find a delicate and pure lady of Society who might aid in your quest for betterment.”
His smile returned. “No. That would not be possible due to my fatal flaw.”
“And what is your fatal flaw?”
“It seems I am drawn to audacious women. The attraction lands me in all manner of trouble, present situation included.”
Her brow furrowed as she parsed his words. Had he said what she thought he had? He seemed to realize his admission because he abruptly looked away. “Ah, here we are. Let us meet the tenants.”
He pressed ahead so that she fell two steps behind. Several men and women came to meet him.
“Mr. Beaumont,” said a white-haired man. He bowed warmly, and Henry stepped forward to grasp the man’s hand.
“Isaac. Well met again.” Then he addressed the woman at the man’s side, who produced a serviceable curtsy. “And Mrs. Cain. You appear as vigorous as ever.”
The old woman blushed. “’Tis this old codger who keeps me spry, what with ’is never-ending nonsense.”
