Gentlemen Prefer Spinsters (Spinsters Club #1)(12)

“You should have accepted his help, Merry,” said Arabella. “You could probably clear the house in half the time with a strong man to help.”

“And Lord Harcourt Easton is certainly strong,” giggled Sophia.

“So is Lord Thornford,” added Bella. “So strong.”

“Have you forgotten everything we said?” snapped Merry. “No men. We made vows!”

“Yes, not to marry them. It does not mean we cannot admire a muscle or two,” Sophia said saucily. “If you had once been married to a dry old stick of a man, you might wish to admire muscles too.”

Merry pressed her lips together and tried not to laugh. How Sophia had ever survived a marriage to such a man, she did not know, but she was grateful she had come out of the match with her sense of humor intact.

“No matter how muscular a man is, we do not need them,” Merry determined. “We shall fix the dower house ourselves. We do not need men.”





Chapter Five





Like a miniature version of the main house, the dower house had tall windows and square proportions. Two grand pillars marked the front door. Harcourt paused and peered up at the building with a shake of his head. Ivy clung to one side, crawling its way up to block out the light of one of the upper windows.

Even from here he could see that the windows were cloudy with grime and dust. The building had been neglected since the death of Merry’s great-grandmother—long before Merry was born. If he didn’t know Merry better, he’d think her ridiculous for taking on such a project but, of course, Merry could tackle most things she put her mind to.

The front door was slightly ajar, so he pushed it open and stepped inside. Griff had decided to remain abed, for which he was grateful. Griff was a good friend, but he’d already started coming to his own conclusions about the local ladies and he did not need his friend interfering—especially when he knew he’d be horrified Harcourt had decided now was the time to take the path to matrimony.

The scent of dust and mildew greeted him. Underfoot there were tiles that had once been red but were lost under a sheet of dust. He glanced into the two rooms to either side where furniture lay under white sheets but saw no sign of Merry. A creak from upstairs made him pause, and then the slightly out of tune humming made him smile. At least the stairs looked in good condition. The large oak staircase that led all the way up the center of the hallway would need a little cleaning and that was about it. Harcourt headed up and followed the sound of humming.

He found Merry in one of the bedrooms. Sheets covered all the furniture here too. She wore gray and black, but the gown had been marred by streaks of dirt. Her curls were a wild array with several escaping down her neck and clouding around her head. Her humming meant she didn’t hear him approach as she stared up at a disconcerting hole in the ceiling.

“Merry.” His voice echoed around the room.

“Oh.” She whirled, her foot catching on a floorboard as she did.

Harcourt leaped forward and caught her as she tumbled forward. She pushed herself up and away from him, a little color staining her cheeks.

“You startled me.”

He gave a rueful smile. “Forgive me. I called at the house, but they said you were here.”

“I thought it was about time I started work.”

He swung his gaze about the room. “There’s a lot to do.”

She straightened. “I can manage.”

His lips quirked. So defensive, so damned stubborn. It was one of the things he loved about her. He’d been raised by a strong woman and had come to appreciate such qualities. There was no tougher woman than Merry, though. Her intellect had always set her apart from others and had made her seem odd to many. Being a viscount’s daughter and being ‘odd’ was no easy task, but she’d survived it admirably.

“How exactly are you going to fix a hole in the ceiling?”

She glanced back at the hole and sighed. “Well, I have other things to worry about first. Follow me.” She led him into what must have once been another room but was now cluttered with furniture, paintings, vases and books, as well as endless curiosities. “I think someone used this house as storage for the big house at some point,” she explained. “I had no idea we even owned this many...things. This is not even the only room like this. The other bedroom is full, as well as one of the drawing rooms downstairs.”

“What will you do with it all?”

She shrugged. “I’m not certain. I cannot sell any of it as it all belongs to Daniel now, but I could move some of it to the attics at the house. And some of the furnishings could be used here.” She patted a chair, sending up a cloud of dust that tickled the back of Harcourt’s throat.

“Some of it is quite nice underneath all the dirt.” A sneeze exploded from her and Merry fished a handkerchief out of her sleeve.

The embroidery on it caught his gaze and he allowed himself a small smile. It was the one he had given her. She’d kept it then. That had to mean something.

“You’re going to need help, especially if you want to make this house livable before Daniel returns.” He paused. “It’s the curse isn’t it?”

She wrinkled her nose. “How do you know about the curse?”

“Dan and I are friends if you recall. I think he brought it up one drunken night. Gave us all a good laugh.”