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Authors: Rowan McAllister
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had a good rest and a decent meal. You’ll be able to see things much more clearly when you’ve slept and had a chance to recover fromthe trials oflast night and this morning. Please, do us the honor ofacceptingour hospitality.”
“Yes, please, Mr. Allen, don’t go until we’ve had a chance to keep our promises to you. It will all work out. You’ll see,” Anna chimed in, her eyes pleading and intense, making James a little concerned at the possible strengthofher feelings for the youngman.
Allen seemed to want to refuse but thought better of it. “I… yes, all right, thank you, thank you so much, my lord, Miss Ashton. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have met you all. I am humbled by your generosity,” he said with an acutely embarrassed look on his face.
“We certainly can’t have that, now can we?” James said, chuckling, some of his good humor returning in the wave of relief he felt at Allen’s acceptance. “Let’s get you settled and we’ll have our chat when you come back down. Don’t hurry on our account, though. Sleep as long as you like; we’ll send someone to wake you if youaren’t downbydinner.”
James directed a footman to take Allen to a guest room and send up a bath. With that done, he left his niece to her own devices and made his wayto his nephew’s rooms.
Uncomfortable as the conversationwould be, he needed to find out what the twins had witnessed the night before and whether Charlotte would need to be told. He dearly hoped not, but if there were delicate matters that needed to be explained to his niece, James would certainlynot be the one doingit.
Gritting his teeth, James knocked on his nephew’s door and said, “Andrew, mayI come in?”
“Ofcourse, Uncle, please,”came the sleepyreply.
Andrew was sitting in his dressing gown at a table near the window of the small antechamber in his suite. James remembered his nephew had chosen these rooms specifically for the view to the gardenbelow.
His nephew’s valet was in the bedchamber arrangingAndrew’s clothes for the day, so James turned to speak withthe manfirst.
“Young man?” he said. James couldn’t remember the valet’s name. He’d only seen him once or twice since he’d been hired for Andrew.
“Timms, my lord,” he said, bowing and coming forward anxiously.
“Timms. We have a guest in the green room, a Mr. Allen. He will need to borrow some nightclothes and a suit of evening clothes, as well as any other necessities you can think of, from Mr. Ashton. Will you please see to it and allow me and my nephew a few moments alone?” James instructed. Andrew raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
“Yes, my lord. Excuse me, my lord.” Timms bowed, retreated to the bedchamber to gather the requested clothing, and closed the door.
“He’s here?”Andrew asked after Timms had left.
“Yes, he’s here, and we’ve had quite an eventful morning,” James replied.
Taking the chair opposite his nephew, he waited for the sounds of the outer door and Timms’s retreating footsteps before satisfying his nephew’s curiosity. Starting with his conversation with Allen in front of the house and ending withAllen’s acceptance of his offer of hospitality, he related the tale ofthe morning’s events, leavingout only what Weir had said and the conclusions he had drawnas a result.
No need to fill in any holes in my nephew’s education if it isn’t absolutely necessary .
“What I would like to know now, nephew, is what exactly happened last evening and what it was you and your sister witnessed that led to you offer aid to this young man, whom you’d only just met,”James continued.
“We didn’t actually see anything, really,” his nephew replied, much to James’s relief. “Anna and I were just looking for a bit of quiet time together. So, just like old times, we went upstairs to some ofthe unused rooms at the back ofthe house, where we used to play with the Sutcliffes’ children. We heard someone in the
“Yes, please, Mr. Allen, don’t go until we’ve had a chance to keep our promises to you. It will all work out. You’ll see,” Anna chimed in, her eyes pleading and intense, making James a little concerned at the possible strengthofher feelings for the youngman.
Allen seemed to want to refuse but thought better of it. “I… yes, all right, thank you, thank you so much, my lord, Miss Ashton. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have met you all. I am humbled by your generosity,” he said with an acutely embarrassed look on his face.
“We certainly can’t have that, now can we?” James said, chuckling, some of his good humor returning in the wave of relief he felt at Allen’s acceptance. “Let’s get you settled and we’ll have our chat when you come back down. Don’t hurry on our account, though. Sleep as long as you like; we’ll send someone to wake you if youaren’t downbydinner.”
James directed a footman to take Allen to a guest room and send up a bath. With that done, he left his niece to her own devices and made his wayto his nephew’s rooms.
Uncomfortable as the conversationwould be, he needed to find out what the twins had witnessed the night before and whether Charlotte would need to be told. He dearly hoped not, but if there were delicate matters that needed to be explained to his niece, James would certainlynot be the one doingit.
Gritting his teeth, James knocked on his nephew’s door and said, “Andrew, mayI come in?”
“Ofcourse, Uncle, please,”came the sleepyreply.
Andrew was sitting in his dressing gown at a table near the window of the small antechamber in his suite. James remembered his nephew had chosen these rooms specifically for the view to the gardenbelow.
His nephew’s valet was in the bedchamber arrangingAndrew’s clothes for the day, so James turned to speak withthe manfirst.
“Young man?” he said. James couldn’t remember the valet’s name. He’d only seen him once or twice since he’d been hired for Andrew.
“Timms, my lord,” he said, bowing and coming forward anxiously.
“Timms. We have a guest in the green room, a Mr. Allen. He will need to borrow some nightclothes and a suit of evening clothes, as well as any other necessities you can think of, from Mr. Ashton. Will you please see to it and allow me and my nephew a few moments alone?” James instructed. Andrew raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
“Yes, my lord. Excuse me, my lord.” Timms bowed, retreated to the bedchamber to gather the requested clothing, and closed the door.
“He’s here?”Andrew asked after Timms had left.
“Yes, he’s here, and we’ve had quite an eventful morning,” James replied.
Taking the chair opposite his nephew, he waited for the sounds of the outer door and Timms’s retreating footsteps before satisfying his nephew’s curiosity. Starting with his conversation with Allen in front of the house and ending withAllen’s acceptance of his offer of hospitality, he related the tale ofthe morning’s events, leavingout only what Weir had said and the conclusions he had drawnas a result.
No need to fill in any holes in my nephew’s education if it isn’t absolutely necessary .
“What I would like to know now, nephew, is what exactly happened last evening and what it was you and your sister witnessed that led to you offer aid to this young man, whom you’d only just met,”James continued.
“We didn’t actually see anything, really,” his nephew replied, much to James’s relief. “Anna and I were just looking for a bit of quiet time together. So, just like old times, we went upstairs to some ofthe unused rooms at the back ofthe house, where we used to play with the Sutcliffes’ children. We heard someone in the
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