A Loving Scoundrel
Page 11

She was delightfully amusing in her stubborn adherence to being standoffish. Wouldn’t give an inch, he was guessing. Habit, he was sure. But he supposed she would have had to be defensive, growing up where she did.
“But weare going to be friends, dear girl, so I suppose I will get used to Danny. Actually, it’s a nice name, has a nice ring to it.”
“Get over it, mate,” she grouched, then at his raised brow, added, “Sir.”
He grinned. “Very well. On to the next subject then. Have you any dresses in that sack you’re guarding with your life?”
She shook her head. “Just my pet and one change o’ clothes.”
“More pants, I presume?”
“Course more pants,” she said tersely. “I’ve been a boy for fifteen years.”
“Good God, really?”
She was blushing now, profusely.
“Well, you do realize that you picked the job that will require feminine togs? My father might thumb his nose at convention, but I’m not my father. I don’t expect uniforms, though,” he assured her. “No indeed. This is a bachelor residence, and as such, I expect my servants to enjoy working here. No worrying about collars not being stiff enough or wrinkled skirts or the like.”
“I was expecting to wear a dress,” she said stiffly. “Did I mention I ’ave no money?”
“You did, didn’t you?” He grinned again. “Not to worry. My housekeeper will be able to help in that regard and to get you otherwise situated and instructed. Come along. Much as I enjoy your company, I suppose I should turn you over to her now.”
She followed him, but stopped when they reached the bottom of the stairs, told him, “You’ll let her know you hired me? That she can’t fire me? The last time I tried to be a maid, soon as I met the ’ousekeeper I got fired. She didn’t like the way I talked, or looked.”
“I can imagine,” he said dryly.
“No, ye can’t,” she snorted. “Ye’ve never tried to be a maid b’fore.”
“Well, no, I don’t suppose I have.”
“Don’t be laughing at me again, Malory. I won’t tolerate it. And that was in a lower-class ’ousehold, not one up ’ere on the bleedin’ rich end o’ town.”
He wiped the grin off his face. “So youhave tried honest work before?”
“Never got a chance to. Either got fired quick or couldn’t get ’ired. Can’t read, ye know, which don’t give me many choices for jobs.”
“Would you like to be able to read?” he asked curiously.
“Sure I would, but I’m too bleedin’ old for any schooling now.”
“But you’re never too old to learn. Regardless, you needn’t worry about anyone firing you here. You didn’t exactly get hired under normal means, now did you?”
He was surprised that she actually looked embarrassed by that reminder. She wasn’t going to be easy to deal with. Stepping on eggshells around her came to mind. It was that defensive stance of hers, ingrained, that so easily took offense. And she didn’t have a deferential bone in her body. Cocky guttersnipe was what she was. But that was to be expected from someone who’d never had to deal with their betters before—except to rob them.
“Come along,” Jeremy suggested. “Mrs. Robertson is probably in the back of the house somewhere. You’ll like her. Motherly sort. She—”
He got no further before the front door opened and his cousin Regina barged in. Bad habit, Reggie had, of not knocking. Of course, she did live just down the street, and she did know that he’d yet to find a butler.
She was startled by his presence there in the hall. “Goodness, didn’t expect to find you this quickly. Were you on your way out?”
“No, just getting my new servant situated.”
She looked at Danny then and tossed her a brief smile, but to Jeremy she said, “Well, that settles that.”
He raised a brow at her. “Dare I ask what?”
Reggie sighed. “I came to offer you one of my footmen. Billings returned from his leave of absence. Have to have him back, of course. He’s like family. But that new man who took his place has worked out splendidly, too. But I don’tneed three foot-men, only two, so I was hoping you could take the new man. But you don’t need two, one will do you fine. And—”
“Hell’s bells, Reggie, don’t write a book about it. Spit it out.”
She gave him a reproachful look. “I was getting to the point. This fellow here is too young to be a butler, so it’s obvious you’ve just hired your footman. Which is perfectly—”
Danny interrupted her this time. “I’ve taken the maid’s job, ma’am. Decided footman would be too easy.”
Reggie blinked at her, then rolled her eyes at Jeremy. “Very funny. I see why you’ve hired him. He’ll amuse you endlessly with drollery like that. Now I must run. I’ve hundreds of things to do today. And don’t forget you’re coming to dinner.”
“I am?”
“Youdid forget!” she said, appalled.
He grinned at her. “No, I’d say you did. This is the first I’m hearing about it.”
“But Nicholas was going to stop by to—famous, I supposehe forgot. Well, never mind. Now you do know, so don’t be late. Uncle Tony and Ros will be there. And Drew. Derek and Kelsey, too. I’ve even invited Percy.”
“Drew is back in town?” Jeremy asked in surprise.
She nodded. “His ship docked this morning. And since your father and George are visiting Uncle Jason at Haverston, I imagine Drew will be at loose ends. Though I also expect George will be rushing back to London as soon as she knows her brother is here.”
“So you thought to entertain him?”
“Of course. Your father might still hate his brothers-in-law, but the rest of us like them well enough.”
Jeremy chuckled. “You know he doesn’t hate them. He just— well, doesn’tlike them. Principle, don’t you know.”
“Yes, just like he doesn’tlike my husband,” she grouched.
Jeremy laughed. “Well, old Nick did try to get him hanged.”
“So did George’s brothers, but who’s counting,” she huffed on her way out the door.
Jeremy almost felt out of breath after that brief visit. But Reggie was like that, a whirlwind of chatter. He glanced back at Danny to find her looking a bit dazed as well. He imagined all that rapid chatter hadn’t made a bit of sense to her.
Considering the conclusion Reggie had drawn, Percy as well, for that matter, Jeremy asked her curiously, “Am I the only one who sees the woman in you?”
Her lips twisted in disgust. “Aye, you are. It’s the pants. They usually serve me well, but didn’t fool you none.”
He took a step closer, but he only had to glance down a few inches to meet her eyes. “No, I’d guess it’s the height. You’re taller than many men. That’s very rare.”
She broadened the space between them again before she spat out, “Like I can bleedin’ well ’elp that.”
“Don’t get defensive. It’s not a bad thing to be tall. Though come to think of it, Mrs. Robertson will probably have trouble finding you any ready-made clothes. Having you making the beds wearing your—”
He stopped that thought abruptly. Thinking of her near a bed quite undid him.
“Was that yer sister?”
A safe subject, thank God. “No, m’cousin Regina Eden. She and her husband, Nicholas, have a town house just down the street from here, though they are more often at Silverley, his country estate.”
“It were easy to tell ye were related. Yer whole family like that?”
“No, most of the Malorys are big and blond like m’father. There’s just a few of us who took after my great-grandmother’s side, m’self included. Why, I look so much like my uncle Tony that most people who meet us think he’s m’father.”
“Ye look like ye find that amusing.”
“But it is.”
“I’ll bet yer father don’t think so.”
He chuckled. “Course not, but then that’s why it’s amusing.”
Chapter 14
DINNER WAS RELAXED THAT NIGHT. It usually was when it was just family and close friends. Anthony had to get in a few digs at Reggie’s husband, Nicholas, of course. It was the one thing that James and Anthony Malory were in complete agreement on, that Nicholas Eden, former rakehell, just wasn’t good enough for their favorite niece and never would be. That the brothers had both been notorious rakes themselves before they married didn’t make a bit of difference.
Reggie was special to them. All four Malory brothers had had a hand in raising her after their only sister died. And despite that Reggie so obviously adored her husband, James and Anthony weren’t going to let Nick forget that he’d be dealing with them if he ever hurt her.
But Anthony’s digs tonight were more good-natured than derogatory, and after his wife, Roslynn, kicked him under the table as a gentle reminder to behave, he turned his attention to Jeremy instead.
“So how’s the new residence shaping up? All staffed and furnished and ready for a grand party?”
Jeremy coughed. “Half-staffed, barely furnished, and as for parties, perhaps by the winter season.”
“You have your own place now, Jeremy?” Drew Anderson, his stepmother’s brother, asked in surprise.
Jeremy grinned. “Just. Uncle Tony and m’father decided it was time for me to experience true bachelorhood.”
Anthony coughed now. “Bloody hell, makes it sound like we bought him a license to debauch.”
“I believe he does that very well without a license,” Reggie replied with an impish grin.
“Don’t encourage him, puss,” Anthony scolded. “Charming scamp that he is, the idea was to introduce him to property management in running his own household, to become his own man, as it were.”
“Well, he didn’t need help with that,” Reggie disagreed. “He’s been acting the man since he was twelve.”
“I didn’t meanthat sort of manly endeavors.”
“Och, Tony, you’re falling for her teasing,” Roslynn chimed in with her soft, Scottish brogue. “We know your intentions were good ones.” Then she teased a bit herself, “Though you do need to leave management out of your excuse, since he’s been helping your brother manage our investments for quite a few years now.”
Jeremy came to Anthony’s rescue this time. “Inspecting rentals, seeing to repairs, and keeping agents honest is quite different from dealing with a household staff.”
“And good servants are so hard to come by, especially those you want to keep,” Reggie added. “By the by, Jeremy, how’s your new footman working out?”
“Actually, I’ll take your man,” Jeremy replied. “Send him round tomorrow.”
“Splendid. But I hope you didn’t let that handsome young lad go just because I offered—”
“No, no, nothing like that.”
Jeremy didn’t bother correcting his cousin about the sex of his new servant. He’d installed Danny as an upstairs maid, so there wasn’t much chance of Reggie coming across her again. And truthfully, he didn’t want to talk about her or explain why he’d hired an ex-thief—well,hopefully an ex-thief—to work for him.
Thankfully, the conversation turned in other directions after that, because having been reminded of her, Jeremy became quite distracted with thoughts of his new maid. It was a novel experience, having to deal with two such opposing emotions where she was concerned, anger and desire. The anger he could control, the desire he wasn’t so sure of. The anger should have canceled the desire. But it didn’t, not even a little.
Being distracted around his family had its disadvantages as Jeremy found when he realized Drew Anderson was coming home with him. He wasn’t sure how he got elected to put Drew up until his father and his stepmother returned to town, though it was probably because the whole family knew he and Drew had hit it off well, and now that Jeremy had his own bachelor residence, they figured Jeremy would enjoy the company. Which was true enough.
He liked Drew Anderson. They got along famously, enjoyed the same things, which was women and more women. They’d had some rousing good times together since the Anderson brothers had started coming to London, after their only sister, Georgina, had married into the Malory family. But now wasnot a good time to have a houseguest, and in particular, one as handsome as Drew was.
George had said of her brother once that Drew had a sweetheart in every port he’d ever sailed into, and that was probably true. The second youngest of the five Anderson brothers, Drew was the most devil-may-care of the lot, and at thirty-four, still a fun-loving rogue with no intention of ever limiting himself to just one woman, so matrimony was absolutely out of the question for him. Even seeing how nicely his older brother Warren, confirmed bachelor that he’d been, had settled into marriage with Amy Malory and had never been happier wouldn’t change Drew’s mind. Like Jeremy, he was of the firm opinion that variety was the spice of life, and the more of it the better.
Above average in height at six feet four inches, in prime shape from captaining his own ship for so many years, Drew was definitely a man the ladies cast their eyes toward. With a golden brown mane of curls and eyes so dark it was impossible to guess if they were anything other than black, he was an extremely handsome man—which was why Jeremywouldn’t have invited him to move in, no matter how temporarily, at least not now when a female was under Jeremy’s roof that he had designs on himself.