Page 45 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
“And left me on the floor like rubbish?”
“Do you have any idea how big and heavy you are?”
Rexton pushed himself back until he was leaning against a chair. He was beginning to feel better. He suspected Jamie had put something in addition to coffee into the mug. “I’m not as big and heavy as you.”
“You didn’t seem to mind the floor.” Jamie leaned forward, planting his forearms on his thighs. “I know you enjoy a glass of good whisky but I’ve never seen you so wrecked. What happened? Has it anything to do with the lavender and orchid lady?”
Rexton shook his head, no longer feeling as though the room was spinning. “Don’t think I want to know how you came to that conclusion.”
“You kept mumbling lavender and orchids.”
His laughter was harsh, self-mocking. “She isn’t to be.”
“Why?”
“She discovered the truth. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Sounds as though you like her.”
“She’s strong. I always thought my mother and Grace were strong—but I think she has them beat. She’s American. Scandalous. Her past has touched her sister, would touch her children if she stayed here. Children shouldn’t have to suffer because of the sins of their parents.”
“So you were drinking to forget her. Did it work?”
“Think it just got me a busted lip.”
Jamie chuckled. “Be glad that’s all you got. Dressed as finely as you are, I’m surprised I didn’t find you robbed, with a knife in you.”
“As you said, I’m a big fellow.”
“You are that. Want something to eat?”
Rexton shook his head. “No, I should be off. I appreciate you looking after me.”
“Let’s not make a habit of it.”
“I won’t.” He forced himself to his feet. He hadn’t been drinking to forget Lady Landsdowne. He’d been drinking because he’d known he’d never forget her.
Chapter 8
“You offered Black Diamond to the Marquess of Rexton?”
Tillie had barged into her uncle’s study with the question more a statement leading the way. While leaping out of his chair from behind his desk, he had the good graces to look abashed.
“He told you? He was supposed to keep it to himself.”
“Last night a situation developed which caused it to be known to me. Whatever were you thinking to make such an arrangement? Black Diamond belongs to me.”
His jacket was draped over a chair. He hitched his backside onto the edge of the desk, the buttons of his waistcoat straining to gain freedom. “I figured you’d indulge my whim. You want your sister to be happy, don’t you?”
“You should have discussed it with me first. You didn’t because you knew I would find fault with it.” She marched over to the window and gazed out on the townhome’s small garden. As a bachelor, he didn’t require much room. He spent his money on indulgences such as rich foods and fine spirits. Hence the abuse to his buttons. “You demeaned Gina and her value in the process.”
Coming to stand beside her, he offered a glass of whisky. She took it, sipped.
“No one was dancing with her,” he said quietly. “I have no wife to introduce her about, no lady friend to take her under her wing. What was I to do? Ignore the longing in her eyes, not notice the overly bright smile she projected whenever a gent walked within a foot of her? We’re Americans, not highly regarded to begin with. Then add to that...”
His voice trailed off, but she heard the words as though he’d delivered them with a blow to her midsection:your scandal.
“I promised your father I would see you both well situated. I don’t worry about you. Marriage forged you into a formidable woman. But Gina—you cannot deny she is not yet made of firmer stuff. She wants marriage and children. She deserves them. She wants to marry into the aristocracy.” He shook his head. “I admit to not understanding this obsession with the upper class but I intend to see she is not disappointed by life.”
