Page 13 of Three Weeks with a Princess
While Lia struggled to contain her fury, Jack thankfully stepped into the breach.
“You’re not to think that way for a moment, Aunt Rebecca,” he said in a kind but firm voice. “You know better than anyone how despair had taken hold of my uncle, even threatened his sanity. You brought him back from the brink and gave him years of happiness. You must never forget that.”
The story was a sad one. In a young love match, Jack’s uncle had married the daughter of one of his neighbors, a prosperous gentleman with a tidy estate. Lady Lendale had, by all accounts, been a sweet and pretty girl. They’d been deliriously happy for two years before Lady Lendale tragically died after a long and agonizing childbirth. The infant boy had survived, only to die a week later when he caught a fever. Lord Lendale had plunged into a melancholy that lasted for years and all but ruined his health. He’d vowed never to marry again, claiming he’d grieved enough for one lifetime.
While Lord Lendale never remarried, he did fall in love again, with a courtesan so notorious that no respectable man would marry her. Lia couldn’t help thinking, with a good deal of cynicism, that it had been the perfect solution for him.
Granny blinked several times before flashing him a grateful smile. “Thank you, dear boy. Your words give me a great deal of comfort.”
“You, on the other hand,” Jack said to Lia with mock sternness, “are quite useless. I think I’ll have to put you to work in the stables to earn your keep. Or set you up as the estate smithy.”
Lia snickered and even her grandmother seemed to relax a bit. They all knew she more than earned her keep, helping out in Stonefell’s gardens and lending whatever assistance she could to the wives and families of the tenant farmers.
“I might take you up on that offer if you promise to give me a nice set of livery,” she said. “But enough silliness. We really have put you in a pickle, Jack. Granny is right about that.”
The beginnings of a plan to address the situation had been coalescing in her mind because she’d begun to suspect Lord Lendale might not have provided for them. But she wasn’t quite ready to trot it out; Jack would not approve.
In fact, he would be furious if he knew.
“Not at all,” he said. “Things will go on as usual. All your bills are to be sent up to Mr. Lindsey and I will provide you with pin money every month.”
Lia scowled at him. “You can’t be expected—”
He held up an imperious hand. “What I expect is that you will not make a fuss about it. Things seem dire now, but it won’t always be so. Mr. Lindsey and I are working very hard to turn things around, and I’ll be discussing the situation with my bankers when next I’m in London. Everything will be fine, I assure you.”
“But—”
The look he gave her was surprisingly stern. “No, Lia. For once, I want you to listen to me.”
“I always listen to you,” she said indignantly.
“Pardon my laughter,” he replied.
She was about to tell him what she thought of his response when her grandmother gave her head a little warning shake. Granny obviously had something to say to her and she didn’t want to do it in front of Jack.
He glanced at his pocket watch and stood. “Please forgive me, but I’ve got to get back to the house. I have an appointment with Richard Hughes.”
Mr. Hughes held one of the largest tenant farms at Stonefell. And like the other tenants, he’d been struggling to keep up with his rent. Lia was sure the meeting would be unpleasant for both of them.
“Poor Jack,” she said, also standing. “What an awful homecoming you’ve had. You must be wishing yourself back on the Continent, far away from all of us.”
His firm mouth curved in a rueful smile that failed to reach his eyes. “I’ll admit there are days I’d rather face a line of French bayonets than wade through another stack of bills, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon enough.”
Lia’s heart broke for him a little. Even though she was thrilled to have him back home, he’d loved military life. She knew he’d never complain about his new circumstances, other than the occasional joke. He’d take up his responsibilities, even if he truly didn’t feel suited to them, and he’d do the absolute best he could. Lia wished she could do more to ease his burden.
That, however, was not her place, nor would it ever be.
Jack leaned down and kissed Granny’s cheek. “I’ll come visit in the next day or so. We can discuss things in a little more detail then. In the meantime, you’re not to worry.”
“Thank you, dearest,” Granny said with a misty smile.
He swept Lia up in an encompassing hug. “And you stay out of trouble, pet. Understand?”
She hugged him back, briefly pressing her face into the fine wool of his riding jacket. “You must be thinking of some other girl,” she said, her voice slightly muffled. “I’m never any trouble at all.”
She felt his lips brush across the top of her hair. “No, you’re not,” he murmured. “In fact, I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
Her chest tightened with a mix of gratitude, sadness, and regret, but he was out the door a moment later, sparing her the necessity of a reply. Lia stared after him for a moment before turning to her grandmother.
