Marriage - Married In Haste Part 36

Willa came out to meet her, complaining about needing to unload the coaches. "Where's the house, my lady?"

Tess stopped. She glanced back over her shoulder at the great ruin of Erwynn Keep. Brenn still stood

there, hands on hips, his dark head silhouetted against the sky. He looked every inch the blackguard he

was.

She walked past Willa. The maid followed practically on her heels, repeating her questions. Think, Tess told herself. What do you want to do?

She opened the cottage door. She took a tentative step in.

The cottage interior was more pleasant than she had antic.i.p.ated. The floor was of polished wood. A

table, several chairs, and a rocker sitting in front of the hearth made up the meager furnis.h.i.+ngs. There were no rugs to add warmth.

She supposed that this was adequate for a man, but her woman's eye saw many improvements that

could be made. Willa watched from the door as Tess walked from room to room. There was only one furnished bedroom. The main room served as sitting room, dining area, and kitchen. Two of the other rooms off to the side of the main room were empty now.

Tess returned to Willa. "Not all of my trunks will fit in the bedroom. Put the extra trunks in one of theside rooms." She began pulling off her gloves."You can't mean to live here...my lady?" Willa added almost as an afterthought."I do," Tess said simply. "Now please unpack."Willa didn't move.Tess raised an eyebrow. "Did you not hear me, Willa?"

"I did, my lady. But this can't be the grand house?""Unpack us, Willa. I've asked once already." Few servants dared to cross Tess when she used that toneof voice but Willa did.

"I don't think you should live here," she said. "No countess should live in such a hovel."

At that moment, Brenn appeared in the doorway. Willa had the good grace to blush. There was no doubt that he had heard her words.

"I wanted to bring this in," he said stiffly, indicating the money chest in his hands. He placed it on the

table. "I'm going riding." He walked out of the cottage without looking back. Through a window, Tess saw him saddle Ace and set off in the direction of the mountains.

Willa stood wide-eyed and silent.

"Please do as I ask."Straightening her shoulders, Willa said, "I will, my lady. But I'll not be staying here. I am the finest lady'smaid in all London-"

"Thanks to my patronage," Tess reminded her."Yes, my lady, and I appreciate all you've done. But I expected civilization. I can't stay here.""What do you propose to do?""I'll return with the coaches to London."For a moment, Tess was tempted to go with her. But her pride would not bear it. "Very well. I shall pay your wages until the end of the year."

Willa curtseyed. "That is very generous of you, my lady. I will also need a reference."

"I will provide a reference. And we won't be in this cottage forever," Tess added, wanting to make the

point clear. "We are going to rebuild Erwynn Keep. It will be the finest house in all Wales," she finished, conscious that she echoed her husband's words.

"Yes, my lady," the maid answered dutifully.

It took less than an hour for Willa, Tim, and Clarence to unload the coaches. Tess had them put the silver chest, the money chest, and other valuables in the bedroom. The other trunks she had stored in one of the empty rooms. After short good-byes, they were gone and Tess was alone.

She sat in the rocker by the cold hearth. How strange it was to be here. She couldn't remember any time

in her life when she had been so completely alone. There'd always been servants about.

As if sensing her thoughts, Miles jumped up into her lap and nudged her hand. She got up from the rocker, nuzzling the cat against her chest and crossed to a food hamper Brenn had ordered from the last inn. Pulling a cold roasted duck from it, she tore off a piece of skin and offered it to Miles. The cat batted it playfully with one paw before sticking out his pink tongue and taking a lick.

A second later, he s.n.a.t.c.hed it by his teeth, jumped from her lap, and headed out the still-open front door with his bounty. Tess rose and shut the door after him. She rubbed her arms. She felt cold. If only there was a fire in the hearth.

If only she knew how to build a fire.

Spying a bucket by the door, she went out in search of water. She found it in the form of a pump on the back side of the house. Daylight was fading. The low clouds continued to threaten rain.

Priming the pump, Tess stared at the sh.e.l.l of Erwynn Keep. She blurred her gaze and tried to superimpose Brenn's drawing over the real version of the house. For a moment, she could imagine it in brick, with rosebushes climbing alongside the front door. She even imagined the dragon weathervane proudly measuring the wind on top of the cupola.

Water splashed out of the pump. Its force knocked over the bucket and wet her shoes.

With a soft cry, she righted the bucket and managed to fill it. She might not be able to build a fire, but she could pump water.

Of course, the full bucket was too heavy for her to carry. Sighing, she poured some of it out. Now she'd

learned something else, she told her self. Don't ever fill the bucket too full. She carried it into the cottage and came to a halt.

Brenn stood in the middle of the room.

He turned to her. "I thought you would have left with the others."

Sitting the bucket down on the table, she straightened. "I have nothing to return to."

"I didn't mean to be so harsh earlier.""No, you were being honest." She danced her fingers along the tabletop. "I don't think we should keepany secrets any longer."

"Sounds fair." His voice betrayed no emotion. He barely looked at her.

Tess struggled with the sting of tears. She blinked them back. If he showed no emotion, well then, shewouldn't. "I can't make a fire. Show me how.""Where's Willa?""She went back with the coaches. She's a London girl."He didn't acknowledge her poor joke. "I'll get wood."They were strangers, she realized. Intimate strangers. She knew his body almost as well as her own. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine him inside her, feel his strength moving against her.

Many women had marriages in name only. As an heiress, she had been expected to make one. Ofcourse, proud, proud Tess had wanted something more. Brenn had taught her that there was.He'd also, just as easily, destroyed her trust.He returned with his arms loaded with wood. He set it in the hearth and began building a fire."I don't think I want to sleep with you anymore," Tess said softly.His hands stopped moving. But he didn't look at her. "I'll sleep in the barn. You can have the cottage."The agreement didn't make her happy. It only made matters worse.For a stark moment, she wished they were back on the road, that they didn't know each other's secrets.Dinner was quiet. Neither one of them had an appet.i.te. Brenn counted the money in the chest. "Two hundred and thirty-seven pounds and a fistful of change."

"That's a goodly amount."

"I spent a portion on the seed and supplies that will arrive in the next week or so." He put the money

back into the chest, the coins jangling together. "However, if we are frugal we shall be able to make the best of it. Rents are due, so there will be income."

Sitting across the table from him, Tess picked at her skirt nervously. "How much would it cost to rebuild

the manor?""That's out of the question. We may be able to think about rebuilding, but not at any time soon.""How much would it cost?" She'd never considered the cost of anything in her life. This, too, was a new experience."I'd estimated twenty-five thousand pounds should be enough.""Twenty-five thousand pounds?"His lip curled. "I suppose it doesn't sound like a great deal to a woman whose petticoats cost three hundred."

She stood, her chin lifting. "That wasn't fair. My father was alive then. It was a different time and a

different place." She almost added that she was a different person now but stopped herself, surprised by the thought.

Instead, she marched over to the hearth, attempting to sort out her confusion.

His chair sc.r.a.ped wood as he pushed it back. "Good night, Tess."

She didn't answer but listened to his boots walk across the floor. The door opened, and then closed. He

was gone.

Tess sank to the floor, buried her head in her arms, and cried.

Once Tess was able to pull herself together, she almost had to crawl to the bed. Tears were exhausting.

She climbed under the sheets, certain she would be fast asleep in no time.

But sleep was long in coming and when it did, it was fitful. She dreamed that everything in the world was

gray. She was standing on the crag jutting out into Llyn Mynyndd but there was no house.

Slowly, walls materialized out of air and before she realized it, a house was being built around her.

Her father stood beside her and Neil was there, too. She reached for them but they turned their backs.

Hurt rushed through her. She shouted at Neil, blaming him for her disgrace as she left the room and went

in search of Brenn. Wandering from room to room, she called to him. He didn't answer.She entered the dining room. Her mother's furniture was there but not Brenn. She went to leave but thedoor had no handle. Frowning, she turned and discovered she wasn't at Erwynn Keep any longer butback in her house in London. Someone told her to set the table.

She had to set the table.

And she kept trying to but there were no plates, forks, or knives. Only spoons. Hundreds and hundreds of spoons. They seemed to fly out of nowhere toward her...

Tess bolted upright from the dream. "I know what to do," she said to the empty room. "I know how to rebuild Erwynn Keep."

Brenn lay in the dark, staring up into the barn rafters, listening to the rain.

He felt ashamed of himself. He should not have lost his temper but Tess's news had been almost morethan he could stand. How could she have deceived him?Still, he wasn't ready to forgive her yet, even if his conscience bothered him. She'd helped her brother play him for a fool.

He would rebuild Erwynn Keep even if it took most of his life. Over and over in his head, he worked the numbers from the rents. But the land needed so many improvements.