Page 70 of A Fearless Heart
“Well, I should hope so, considering all the work that’s been done to make me presentable. Show him in.” She stood up, feeling nervous all of a sudden.
Half a minute later, Rook reappeared, stepping aside to allow the guest to enter. “Mr Courtenay for Lady Arcadia.”
Cady turned to face Gabe, but her smile faltered as she took in the appearance of the man who entered.
A gentleman, in every sense. No more the rough groundskeeper with muddy boots and canvas work clothes.Thisman was dressed in an excellently cut jacket of rich brown wool. Underneath, his shirt was snowy white, and clearly of the finest linen. The pantaloons were a darker brown to complement the jacket, and so well-fitted that she could see the shape of his muscles.
And he was blond. The black-as-night hair was gone, replaced by waves of dark blond, trimmed but still on the long side compared to the average man on the street. He’d shaved off the rough beard too—he never should have attempted a beard in the first place with the jawline he’d been blessed with. Only the blue eyes were the same, now surveying her intently.
“Surprise,” Gabe said, holding out his hands as if to ask her opinion.
Was this even the same man? With the dye washed out of his hair, and in proper clothing, he looked completely different. He even seemed to have changed his body shape slightly. He still had broad shoulders and he was still an unquestionably big figure, but he looked so much more refined.
Cady gave a little helpless shrug. “My God. You look…I could swear that you’re even walking differently,” she said, managing to put a few words together as he moved to the fireplace.
“I am. Those boots I wore for the groundskeeping made me move in a different way to how it is with these.” He wiggled his foot, now shod in expensive, well-tanned dark brown leather. “Also, I was slouching when I was Gabe Court. Mr Courtenay never slouches.”
“Hard to imagine you being even taller.”
“Well, to be fair, you’re quite little, my lady.”
“Ah, stillmy lady, is it? Mr Courtenay is very proper, isn’t he?”
“Most of the time,” he said, and she was fairly sure his eyes twinkled.
Lord, he was even more attractive now. That wasn’t helpful at all, considering that Cady was already being quite silly about him.
“What do we say if someone recognizes you as my old gardener?” she asked.
“Who ever saw me, outside of your servants who are still at Calderwood? Would you have, if you didn’t know?”
Cady shook her head slowly, saying, “I don’t think so. It’s just too farfetched to think of a lord’s son grubbing around in the cabbages.”
“There’s your answer, then. Though you’re a lord’s daughter who grubs in cabbages.”
“But there’s still the problem of you being an unmarried man hanging about the house. What will people say to that?” Then she winced. “I mean, I’m not sure what theycouldsay. After all, they’re already calling me a murderess.”
“Rumors are easily dealt with. You just look the gossips dead in the eye and dare them to repeat it to you. They won’t, but if by some chance someone is so bold, you just blink like a newborn fawn and tell them you’ve got no idea what they’re talking about. Come, let’s see your innocent face.”
Cady widened her eyes and gave a little gasp. “My innocent face? What are you implying, sir? Are you saying that I possess a guilty face? How impertinent!”
He laughed. “That’s perfect. You are a force to be reckoned with.”
“So what do we say about your presence? It may well come up if more visitors arrive.”
“If anyone asks, I’m a very close friend of the family, here to help you navigate your first Season in London. I’m a son of Lord Hargrave, so it’s plausible. Let people think your father suggested it in his last days, and they’ll fall into line quick enough.”
“I can do that,” she said with a nod. “Papa loved telling me what to do. Hewouldhave a plan to continue doing it from beyond the grave. If we can get Trevor to say he knows you, then that will help too.”
“Soon enough he will know me. I’m going to call on him later today at that location you mentioned to me. I thought we’d go together.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He frowned. “But it’s your brother.”
“It’s just that I had…um, I had another attack last night.”
In an instant, he had her in his arms. “When?”
