An Affair So Right (Rebel Hearts #4)(21)

Once they were alone, she lifted her face to her new employer. “Who is that bust of?”

“My grandfather, the Duke of Rutherford. Don’t worry, Rutherford is fond of hats. He gave the bust to me when I moved here so I would never be without him.” He smiled slightly. “I thought you would be with your mother.”

“Mama has asked me to leave her alone. I’ve checked on her several times, only to be sent away.” She smiled quickly. “She just sits at the window, her hand at her throat, staring at nothing.”

“Has she said very much since we returned from the funeral?”

“Not really.” Theodora worried a little. “Was there something you needed to speak to her about?”

“It can wait.” Maitland sighed as he picked up his mail from the corner of the desk and shuffled through it. “These are all open,” he said sourly as he waved them toward her.

“Yes, I know. Do you always turn the mail upside down?” She sighed, committing his little quirk to memory. “The uppermost correspondence were only invitations. The truly important letters are now on the bottom and are mostly from your family, judging by the return addresses. Family correspondence remains sealed.”

He reversed the pile and then grunted. “Layton never had such a system.”

“Well, I am not Mr. Layton, and if he left you to open everything, that would explain why dust coated some of the letters that were buried on your desk, which you can now fully use.”

While he’d been gone, Theodora had rearranged parts of the room to her liking with the help of a footman. She had placed her desk at a better angle, so she had a view of the door and so she could see who came and went up the stairs. She could also sit comfortably while Maitland dictated or discussed his wishes, and yet still give him the privacy of not looking directly at him.

Once the room was properly dusted, she could feel very comfortable here.

Theodora collected the pile of papers she wished to work her way through and stood. “Excuse me, my lord.”

“Yes, I heard you were moving downstairs so the lax maids can dust, but you didn’t intend to tell me about it,” he said, a slight smile gracing his lips.

“You were listening?”

“Couldn’t help it, and I always find it fascinating what people say in unguarded moments. So great a man you say? Old Layton never flattered me so well.” He laughed softly as she blushed and took the pile of papers and folders she held before gesturing her to precede him from the room. “Ladies first.”

Theodora hurried ahead, feeling her cheeks burning now.





Chapter 9





Theodora hadn’t really needed Lord Maitland’s help, but she was grateful for it just the same. He’d saved her several trips up and down the stairs.

The dining room was a pleasant chamber, and she chose to sit in the middle of the table, spreading her papers around her in a circle. Maitland prowled the room, idly watching her arrange his papers without comment.

She wished Maitland would sit. He was elegantly dressed and disturbingly tall—and was making her concentration scatter away from his business affairs.

“Won’t you sit down, my lord? I have a few questions that could take some time.”

“Oh.” He hooked a chair beside her with his foot and sat down untidily upon it. “I’m used to reading on my feet—an old habit from my days at sea. Old Layton was forever complaining about it too. I used to sway from side to side once.”

Lord Maitland still swayed, though she would not dare bring it up on her first day. When her father had perished in the fire, and Maitland had held her, she’d been gently rocked from side to side as if she were a child. It had been oddly comforting to be held like that once more.

As he began to leaf through the thick pile, Maitland started to fidget. His legs seemed particularly mobile, jiggling up and down in the most distracting way. She watched him in silence for a few moments. However, Maitland didn’t seem aware of what he was doing.

When she could take no more, Theodora placed her hand on his knee briefly to still him. Then she readied her pen to write. “What are your thoughts on the day’s invitations?”

He exhaled sharply and sat at the table properly to study the invitations. “I’ll attend Garrison’s on the fifteenth, the Leavenworth on the eighteenth, but not the Fairborn route on the nineteenth. Lady Fairborn has grown particularly demanding, and I’d prefer to avoid her.”

Theodora wrote notes quickly, but then glanced at him as his words sank in. “Do you not like forward women?”

His brows rose. “I do not like married women who flirt with me before their very large and possessive husbands for the fun of it.”

“Ah, avoidance is a very diplomatic solution when it comes to unwanted advances.” Theodora winced. That probably explained why she had not seen her employer for the last few hours. She’d made him uncomfortable, but not enough to see him turn her and her mother out. Perhaps he hoped she’d take herself away. Theodora straightened her spine, determined not to remind him of her faux pas by acting forward again.

“It can be.” He set down the papers, his knee bouncing again. “I will need a brace of goose sent to Mr. Arnold of the Theatre Royal this afternoon.”

“That is easy to arrange.” She reached for a slip of Maitland’s stationery. “And the note is to say?”