An Affair So Right (Rebel Hearts #4)(28)

She glanced up at his face, alarmed by how still and unnatural his usually expressive features had become since she’d interrupted his dinner to share the horrible news about his father.

Her mind whirled with questions that she did not dare ask. About Amy, a sister he comforted with such sweet affection but who was not spoken of at Maitland House; about the mistress; about his father being at his mistress’ home. She’d heard enough whispers that night to know the particulars of what Lord Maitland had discovered upstairs, and to become furious about it. She held her tongue though, watching in silence, observing the anguish of the man at her side, powerless to say or do anything to soothe him. It was not her place to look after Lord Maitland, but she was surprised that she wanted to.

She clung to his arm a little tighter as they were met by an old butler. “I must see my mother immediately,” Lord Maitland explained.

The old man winced. “Lady Templeton is always abed at this hour.”

“Lord Templeton has fallen gravely ill and will be brought home shortly. Have the staff prepare to receive him from the mews,” Lord Maitland said so coldly, he might have been speaking of bringing home fish from the marketplace. “Have Lady Lenore roused, too. The countess shall need her cousin’s comfort after I’ve spoken to her.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Lord Maitland drew her to the staircase and started up. Shadows shrouded the portraits adorning the walls and, once at the top, they strolled quietly down a long, carpeted hallway. Newberry House was very grand but at the same time seemed quite comfortable.

The viscount paused eventually to tap on a closed door then waited, eyes closed. For a change, his body was utterly without fidgets. “Mama, it is Quinn.”

“Come,” an older woman’s voice called sleepily from within the room.

Theodora separated herself from her employer and stood back. “I’ll wait here.”

He nodded, opened his mouth to speak, but then disappeared inside the room without saying anything more. He’d been like that earlier. Appearing willing to talk but unable to voice his thoughts aloud.

Theodora sagged against the wall. Now that she was apart from Lord Maitland, she could breathe freely again.

“What!” Lady Templeton cried out suddenly inside the room.

Theodora straightened as footsteps marched through the room, her employer’s voice a steady murmur under the sound of his mother’s outraged outbursts. There was silence for a time, and then Theodora strained to hear anything at all.

An older woman burst out of a room further along the hall and hurried toward Theodora wearing a robe and a mop cap over her silver hair. “Is Lord Maitland still with Lady Templeton?”

Theodora nodded. “They’re still talking.”

The other woman held out her hand. “Lady Lenore Roswell. Lady Templeton’s cousin. And you are?”

“Theodora Dalton. Lord Maitland’s new secretary.”

The other woman smiled. “A pleasure. My lady was speaking of you and her son earlier tonight.”

“She was?”

The older woman nodded. “She hoped you would be a better influence on her son than his last secretary. She has missed her son, and would like to see more of him.”

Theodora took the request to heart. “I shall do my best to remind him to visit her more often in the future.”

“Good.” Something crashed and broke inside the room, and Lenore’s face fell. “Oh, she’s in a vile temper over this latest scandal if she’s throwing things already. I’d better go in.”

The door opened, and Lord Maitland stepped out. “She waiting for you.”

The other woman said a quick goodbye and disappeared into the room. Quinn pulled the door closed but stood there, hand on the knob, his eyes closed as the women inside discussed recent events in ever-rising tones.

Concerned by his stillness, Theodora placed her hand on his chest. “My lord?”

Lady Templeton screamed out from within the room, “He will stop at nothing to humiliate us!”

Lord Maitland refocused on Theodora’s face, ignoring further crashes as objects were destroyed inside Lady Templeton’s bedchamber. “He will be here soon.”

She drew her employer down the hall without really knowing where she was going except with a vague idea that the stairs were back in this direction. The farther they were away from Lady Templeton, the better. Some furies were not meant to be shared.

However, before they could reach the head of the staircase, Lord Maitland tugged her sideways into a room and shut the door. Theodora blinked until her eyes had adjusted to the lower light of a moonlit room. A little-used bedchamber, judging by the chill in the air and the dust covers draped over furnishings. Lord Maitland kept his back to her, his fingers pressed so hard to the wood of the door that his knuckles showed white.

Theodora had a sudden insight into what bothered her about her employer’s reaction tonight. What she had noticed earlier when they’d talked. Lord Maitland’s responses were not those of a concerned son.

“You hate him,” she said, keeping her voice very low. “You hated him before tonight.”

He sagged and slowly turned around, leaning against the door for support. His eyes were huge, too full of pain to hold for long. “Yes, I hate him,” he whispered. “He made my life hell.”