Captain Durant's Countess(13)

“Yes, my lord, she did. But it will take more than clear glass to make a scholar out of me.”

“We’re not interested in your bookishness, as you know. It will be enough to appear as if you are working for me. Sit down, my boy, sit down.” The earl slid back into his leather seat.

“I’m not sure I’ve really changed my mind about this whole thing,” Reyn blurted. He remained standing, wondering if in fact he should bolt out the door and run by the army of footmen.

Kelby gave him a lopsided smile. “Crisis of conscience? That’s what your letter called it.”

Reyn had labored over that letter with painstaking care so as not to show his true ignorance. It had taken him hours to write it. “You must admit your offer was most singular.”

“It was. It is. I understand Maris has explained the situation more fully than I did at your interview.” The earl frowned at Reyn. “Captain, you’re going to give me a crick in my neck if you don’t settle yourself on that chair behind you.”

“I’m sorry, sir. My lord,” Reyn amended. He was not much used to conversing with such exalted personages. He collapsed into the chair and tried to look composed, but there was no disguising the whole situation made him nervous. Absently, his hand rubbed against the long scar on his thigh.

“Maris will be joining us shortly. I want to alleviate any awkwardness there might be. We’re all adults, are we not? With a common goal. I understand why this position may be somewhat distasteful to you, and I’m prepared to offer you an additional stipend, beyond what we discussed earlier, if you are successful. You have a sick sister, I know, and no means of support except for your gambling.”

Reyn swallowed hard. It was bribery, and the earl was good at it.

“Our original agreement was sufficient to my needs.”

“One can never have too much money, Captain. Don’t deny yourself and your sister out of pride.”

Reyn could see it was pointless to argue with the old man. “Very well. But I may not be successful.”

“I pray that you are. My nephew David killed my daughter, or as good as. She drowned herself in the lake because of him.” The earl’s hands shook as he spoke. “That is, of course, confidential. One more secret we have armed you with to destroy us.”

“I would not do such a thing!” Reyn was tempted to get up and leave, ride all the way back to London.

“No, I don’t believe you would. In fact, I am sure of it. I have every confidence in you.” The earl gave him a ghostly smile. “We put it about that it was an accident. To have David step into my shoes”—Kelby shook his head—“no, I cannot let that happen. The thought of it comes close to killing me right now where I sit. Even if Maris is blessed with a daughter from your union, at least she’ll have someone to comfort her when I’m gone.”

“She could marry again.” Reyn wished he could bite off his impulsive tongue.

The earl nodded. “So she could. She’s young enough, and her widow’s portion will be a lure to every fortune hunter in England. But my Maris is shy.”

Reyn harkened back to the avenging angel who ferreted him out at the Reining Monarchs Society. Shy was not quite the word he would have used to describe her, so he said nothing.

“You will have to be careful with her,” the earl continued.

Reyn could feel his ears going hot. He had never in his life had such a strange conversation. The earl was amazingly sanguine about giving instructions to another man as to how to bed his wife. It was clear from his tone and the careful words he used that he had great affection for Maris.

Reyn stood up abruptly. “How can you sit there and give me such advice?”

“What would you have me do, Captain? I’m dying. I don’t have time to *foot around. I need an heir, but I’m not heartless. Maris is a special woman. I’d like her to have some enjoyment over this thing I’ve asked her to do for me. She’s . . . inexperienced. My fault entirely. Consenting to this goes against every rule she’s ever followed, and believe me, she’s a rule follower. Has been since she was a little girl, except when she’s donned breeches to help me in my excavating.” The earl smiled at the memory, and Reyn instantly pictured the tall Lady Kelby’s long legs encased in tight gentlemen’s trousers.

“But I know she loves me, or thinks she does,” Kelby continued. “She’s been loyal. Faithful. I won’t have her mistreated.”

“I would never—” Reyn stopped himself. A week ago he’d wielded a whip on Patsy Rumford’s white behind and thought nothing of it except that it was a bit boring. “I will treat your wife with all due respect and consideration.”

“Good. Then we understand each other. Let’s hope your seed takes and we can be quit of each other soon. I imagine you’d like nothing better. Sit back down, Captain, and try to relax.”

As if he could. “Why did you pick me? Did you think I was the sort of man who would do anything—even this—for money?”

“I had you investigated, Captain Durant. Beyond Mr. Ramsey’s recommendation. You are remarkably honest, even to your own detriment. Honorable. You were brave in service, if a bit foolhardy. Restless. Ready for action. I want any child of mine to be curious about the world, not just sit around waiting for things to happen. I haven’t always been buried behind a stack of books in this library, you know. As a young man, I was active. Spent a great deal of time on the Continent. In Italy, specifically.”

The earl placed a pale broad hand on an ornate stone box anchoring a sheaf of papers. “The Etruscan civilization is my specialty. I dug this cista up myself when I was about your age. Just look at the details! It was my first major find, but not my last. I plan to give a lecture series on all my discoveries next spring at Oxford, if I’m still alive. Publish a book for posterity. Maris has been invaluable helping me get my notes in order and doing some illustrations.”

“Your experiences on the Continent were far different than mine,” Reyn reminded him. “I joined the army when I was sixteen. But it was not a Grand Tour by any means.”

Kelby chuckled. “I dare say not. But you learned a thing or two, did you not?”

“Nothing I could write a book about.” Nothing anyone could read, at any rate.

But if the earl had looked into Reyn’s background, surely he must have discovered his difficulties in school.

“This restlessness of mine you seem to favor—I must tell you, it does not spring from intellectual precocity. Studies bored me stiff. I was the despair of a half dozen headmasters.”

“Perhaps you had not yet found your niche. Some people bloom late.”

“I’m afraid my garden’s overgrown with weeds at this point.”

The earl waggled his fingers. “Nonsense. Learning is a lifelong endeavor. I’m almost in my eighth decade on this earth, and every day brings new information.”

Reyn shrugged and changed the subject. “This inventory you wish me to begin—won’t the work take Lady Kelby away from your own efforts?”

“I’m nearly done with the last chapter. She’ll have plenty of time to get it all shipshape for me. And apropos of new information, I’d really like to know what’s upstairs in all those crates before I shuffle off this mortal coil. You’ll be killing two birds with one stone for me.” The earl chuckled. “I’m afraid my father and grandfather—and nearly every other Kelby earl collected more than they ever could display in the house properly. I understand the housemaids complain about dusting all the objets d’art as it is. That’s why it’s critical we add a gallery wing to Kelby Hall and curate the truly valuable pieces. Another project for the spring, God willing.”

“You would turn the house into a museum?” Reyn asked doubtfully. He couldn’t imagine strangers wandering down the long corridors, rooms roped off and defended by the footmen.

“Not all of it, of course, but some of the greatest houses in the land are open to the public. There are too many treasures here to hoard in dusty attics and packing crates.”

“Why not simply donate them?”

“I thought my wife had explained the unusual stipulations of the entail to you.”

Had she? Reyn had been too busy trying to shock the stuffing out of Lady Kelby to remember everything she’d said.

He did remember the kiss, though, and the way she’d felt in his arms. The softness of her lips. The scent of soap and rosewater. The silk of her exposed skin. The way her body shuddered against his, ever so briefly.

“I’ll try to pay closer attention to Lady Kelby in the future, my lord. I swear to you if I do this thing, you will have no cause for worry. I shall treat her with consummate care.”

The earl raised a feathery white eyebrow. “If?”

“I will try, Lord Kelby. That’s all I can promise. Your wife might not be agreeable in the end.”