When the maid came downstairs to say Poppy was still asleep, Rhys decided to decline dinner as well. He read for a few hours in the remarkable parlor before his grumbling stomach forced him down to the kitchen.
The staff was most obliging with bread, cheese, and meats as well as a bottle of wine. They offered to bring the food up to his room, but he had other ideas and carried the culinary treasures upstairs himself.
He’d lost his mind. It was the only explanation. Yet suddenly, the idea that Poppy disliked him pained him more than anything else ever had. He always enjoyed their banter and how easily she was brought to anger. Perhaps it was just the kiss, the way she’d responded, or the way she gazed up from that ridiculous divan.
When he’d seen her calm those enormous horses, his heart had broken in two at the notion she might be hurt by either the beasts or the unstable building. Still, her magnificent bravery left him breathless. In such a turmoil of events she had the presence of mind to have them break through the back wall and save the animals.
He knocked lightly on her door.
Something bumped inside. “Ouch!”
Perfectly Poppy, she hopped on one foot when she opened the door. “My lord, is something wrong?”
Heavens, she was a sight in a voluminous white nightdress and cap with no more than an inch of skin showing. He didn’t know when it happened, but he was sure he liked her more than he should and certainly more than she would ever like him.
“I’ve brought food. I’m sure you’re as hungry as I.”
“You didn’t eat?”
It seemed foolish now, but he shrugged. “When you didn’t come down, I didn’t wish to inconvenience the staff. I thought perhaps a kind of picnic.”
Lord, he’d become a complete imbecile.
Poppy stepped back and opened the door. “I am hungry, and there is a very plush rug in front of the fireplace.”
The dying firelight wasn’t enough to note any change in expression. However, she’d invited him in, and he couldn’t ignore the charge of elation that shot through him. Placing the large tray on the rug, Rhys added a log to the fire and poked at the embers until it caught.
Poppy took two large yellow pillows from the chairs and placed them on the rug before sitting. Her nightgown billowed out around her like a rose in full bloom. “Why are you staring so? Have I something on my face?” She wiped her cheeks and chin.
Kneeling in front of her, he took her hands away and held them in his. “You are perfect.”
“Hardly. I am in a giant gown belonging to a very large maid, and I’m still the clumsy dolt I have always been.”
Her warm, fresh scent flooded him with a wave of desire. “Since when are you shy about your accomplishments? I have known you for six years, Penelope Arrington, and you have never been one to dwell on your flaws rather than your attributes. It is not as if anyone is without fault.”
Pulling her hands back, she searched the rug and the fireplace before finally looking at him again. “Shall I be completely honest?”
A knot formed in the center of Rhys’s chest. Yet to deny her would be the end to this evening, and he was not ready to leave her. “Of course.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I hope to think neither have I boasted my gifts nor have I hidden my flaws. I am clumsy and tend to not care what society thinks. I always say the wrong things and will probably spill something on my dress or tear my hem on any given day. Your sudden attention makes me think it’s time I remind you of these things. I couldn’t care less what society thinks of me, but I know these things are important to you.”
Rhys poured the wine from the decanter and handed her a glass. “I know all of these things about you, Poppy. I also know they do not define your character, only some habits.”
Biting her bottom lip, she drew a breath then took a long sip of wine. “Habits you find intolerable.”
Unable to deny some of her mishaps had annoyed him over the years, he shrugged. “Somehow knowing you better this past week, those little faux pas do not seem relevant.”
“Because I calmed a few horses? I’m still the same girl you’ve fought with for years.”
He tore a piece of bread from the small round loaf then placed it on a plate with some meat and cheese. Handing it to her, he wished he could turn back time and behaved better toward her in the past. “If we had not bickered, I would have sorely missed it. I did not lie when I told you I dearly love to see you in a temper.”
She ate the bread and drank the wine, watching him through narrowed eyes. “I don’t believe you. Your sudden attention toward me can only be for one reason, and perhaps this is a good time to remind you that I am a lady, my lord.”
Stunned, he sucked wine down his windpipe and nearly drowned himself. When he’d coughed enough to clear the wine, he found her with her arms crossed over her chest, frowning. His own temper flared. “If you thought my intentions so base, my lady, why did you let me in here?”
Brow furrowed, her gaze fell from his. Her cheeks were on fire. “I was hungry and perhaps a bit curious. Not that many men have shown interest in me…at least none with intelligence enough to be interesting.”
“At least you consider me intelligent.”
“There are a great many smart rogues, my lord. You are not so rare. Only your interest in a social pariah makes you different.”
If she hadn’t been so adorable in her powder puff of a nightdress, he might have been offended. Instead, something twisted inside him. “Why is your opinion of me so low?”
She ate and focused anywhere but at him. “My opinions are none of your business.”
“You have insulted me, won’t look me in the eye, yet you refuse to tell me in what way I could have offended you.”
“I am not offended.” She met his gaze. “You are the same as my father and all the other wealthy men in England. I want nothing to do with any of you or your society. I go to balls to appease my mother in the hope that in a few years, she will give up on my marrying and leave me in peace. Now that I can live at West Lane with Aurora and the other Wallflowers, I need not be a burden on my family. Perhaps they will give me control of a portion of my dowry and I can live a contented life without having to wonder if my idiotic husband is making a fool of me with a dozen mistresses around town.”
Something was coming into focus about Poppy, and Rhys wasn’t ready to let it go. He needed the full picture. “Is it a foregone conclusion this fictitious husband will take a mistress?”
“Of course.”
“Because all men are inclined to lie and cheat?” He leaned back against the chair with his legs toward the fire.
She pushed her plate away and rose to her knees. “Are you going to try to tell me you will be a faithful husband when you take a bride?”
“There is no sense in telling you anything, Penelope. You have decided my character is flawed and there is no defense. I understand your opinion of me in general and admit your father has shown some rather bad judgment, but I do wonder why you think particularly ill of me.”
She huffed and lowered to one side. Her little pink toes poked out from under the gown, and every muscle in his body wanted to touch those feet and every inch above them. Deciding it best to keep his reaction to himself, he asked again, “Why do you think me so base?”
A single tear trailed down her cheek. “You will not remember. Of course you don’t.”
Searching his memory for some offense he might have given, he drew a blank. “Remember what, Poppy?”
“When I came to your country home before Aurora and I were sent away to school.” She leveled her gaze on him.
He’d been just back from school himself. Most of that time he’d spent arguing with his father to keep Rora home. “I recall you stayed a week or so before leaving for Lucerne.”
Nodding, she smiled. “Your mother was inclined to give long speeches about how to be a proper young lady and why your sister and I had failed our families.”
“That must have been unbearable.” He had been on the receiving end of some of Mother’s sermons and imagined the girls had been bored to tears.
She plucked her wine from the small table and sipped before putting it back and gripping her fingers together. “It was terrible. One day, to avoid another berating, I took a long walk around the property.”
Suddenly the image of a young woman from the village and Poppy’s appearance that day flashed in his mind. Heat filled his cheeks. “I see. I do remember now. You think because as a young man I took advantage of the offers of a girl from town, I am of the same ilk as the other men in your life.”
“I know what I saw.” She blushed bright red and took up her wine again.
“And you believe any interest I might have in you can only be dishonorable.” It took a force of will to hold his temper, but as it was his own foolish actions that had caused her low opinion, hold it he did.
Poppy put the wine aside and stood. She wrapped her arms around her middle and peered into the fire. Her kind eyes danced in the firelight. “It makes no difference what you intend. If you wish to have a tumble with a woman you think will have you, I am not she. Perhaps you are honorable and wish to marry me for my dowry. I don’t know, but I will not have a husband who I already know will break my heart or my spirit.”
Fury rushed to his head and he shot to his feet. “Break your spirit?” He took several long breaths. “I will not apologize for actions taken when I was still young and foolish. I am sorry that day changed the course of our friendship, and I will endeavor to change your opinion of me.”
“Why?” She tipped her chin to the side and watched him.
Stepping close enough so she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes, he ran his fingers along her long, dark braid where it lay against her shoulder. “Oh, Poppy. I wish I could answer that question. However, until you think better of me, there is no point. I will just say, I cannot live with the notion you think me a cad.”
“Are you saying you have no lovers?” Her pretty lips twisted with sarcasm.
Her scent left him drunk with desire and something more, which he dared not think about. “Are you certain you want the answer to that question? Beware, I’ll never lie to you.”
Whenever she was deep in thought her gaze shifted as it did in that moment; then she stared into his eyes. “I want the answer.”
Sorrow pressed against the inside of his chest. “I have had lovers. Though, not so many as you seem to think. For most of my adult life I had one mistress.”
“And now?” Her voice trembled.
“About a year ago, I gave her up.”
“Why?” Her throat bobbed with a long swallow.
Rhys longed to run his lips along the curve of her throat and taste her skin. He settled for a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I realized I would soon inherit and it was time to grow up.”
When she made no reaction, he stepped toward the door.
“What of the woman?” Poppy asked.
Stopping, he took him a moment to realize she was concerned for a woman she didn’t know and whose position in life was quite far beneath hers. “Poppy Arrington, you are a rare thing. Her name is Melissa; she is an actress. I gave her a pension in case she wished to retire to the country. I’ve heard since she’s befriended a young viscount.”
“Are you jealous?” With her back to the fire and her arms wrapped around her middle, she looked like an angel. Perhaps she was exactly that. Her shapely legs shone in shadows of the firelight.
Rhys closed his eyes. “I wish Melissa happiness. No. I harbor no jealousy as I was not in love with her.”
“Then why offer her retirement if you didn’t wish her to never take another lover?”
“This conversation has taken the strangest turn.”
“You said you would never lie to me?” She raised her chin as if daring him to go back on his word.
“All right, Poppy. Melissa was very good to me. She was a good friend and a good companion for several years. I thought I owed her whatever options she wished for her life. It was not my place to make any decisions for her, nor would I have wanted that responsibility. I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“I don’t know what to make of you now.”
It was the best he could have hoped for. “Perhaps you might think I am not the terrible person you’d believed me to be.”
When she remained silent, he went to the door. “Good night, Poppy.”
“Thank you for the meal. It was very thoughtful.” She turned away and walked to the bed.
Despite the fact she was not looking, he bowed. “It was my honor, my lady.”
* * * *
Rhys poked at the sausage and coddled eggs on his plate. He’d slept very little after learning the source of Poppy’s low opinion of him. It had never occurred to him that the folly of his youth would come back to haunt him one day.
He couldn’t change the past. The best he could do was prove to her he was not that boy anymore, nor was he like her father. It was important she think better of him. He would need to sort out why it was vital she like him, but he shook away the thought.
Kosey bowed toward the door as Poppy entered wearing the same white day dress as she’d worn the day before. It was clean and dry and looked as fresh as the lady herself. “Good morning, my lady. Shall I make you a plate?”
“Good morning. Thank you, Kosey, but I will do it.” Poppy took a dish and filled it from the sideboard before joining him at the table.
He stood. “I didn’t know if you would join me this morning or break your fast above stairs.”
She was suited to the finery around her. At Aaru even the breakfast room was ornate with gilded trim around the large window. No curtains blocked the light filtering through as day had fully broken. The tablecloth was hemmed in red and sewn with gold thread.
Sitting, she forced a smile. “I have never cared for the habit of avoiding the mornings with others. Besides, taking one’s morning meal in bed is for married ladies.”
“I don’t think anyone would fault you here. The staff is half in love with you after what you did for the horses.” It was the perfect opportunity to discuss his feelings, but Rhys kept silent on the matter since his mind and heart were in such a jumble.
“I did nothing so grand but coo at them until they could be rescued.” She nibbled a bit of bread.
“That is not what I heard.” Geb Arafa strode into the breakfast room as grand as the decor itself. Wearing a morning coat of burgundy and a crisp white cravat, he beamed at them both. His olive skin and rich accent was welcoming.
Rhys stood and bowed. “Sir. Forgive us for intruding. Your staff has been most hospitable. I am Rhys Draper, Earl of Marsden, and this is Lady Penelope Arrington.” Poppy stood, and Rhys hesitated. “We had planned to pay you a call yesterday but were detained by the weather.”
Waving off the apology, Geb bowed then took Poppy’s hand and bowed over it. “You are most welcome. I heard you saved my best horses from serious injury. Kosey related the entire story this morning. He is not given to exaggeration, so I am sure the lady is being modest. Running into a damaged barn with hysterical beasts is a remarkable act of bravery.”
Blushing, Poppy resumed her seat. “I’m glad the animals survived unharmed, sir.”
Geb sat and accepted a plate made up by Kosey. “It was fortunate for me you were detained or I might have lost them and I would not have the pleasure of meeting you.”
It was incredible, but Rhys had all but forgotten the reason they’d come. The storm and everything that followed had clouded his purpose. “We came for some enlightenment, sir.”
“I am intrigued, my lord.” Geb raised an eyebrow and shoveled eggs into his mouth.
“We just have a few questions.” Poppy’s blush had not faded.
Rhys didn’t like a shy Poppy, and he wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed by all the praise for her actions or if she liked the look of their host. Perhaps she was thinking of the picnic in her bedroom. Whatever it was, he preferred her boldness to this meek version of the girl he’d come to know.
“The rain finally stopped early this morning. I’m afraid my small bridge is under water. I got through on horseback, but your carriage will not manage the path. As you are somewhat trapped here, we can walk in the garden after your appetites are satisfied and you can ask your questions.”
Poppy stood, forcing both men to rise. “I am quite done. Your staff has been very gracious in providing me dry clothes to wear, sir. I will just get a shawl and meet you gentlemen in the garden.”
They watched her go before sitting again. Geb pointed with his fork toward the door. “Remarkable girl. My horse, Pharaoh, is a fierce beast. Kosey told me she calmed him as if he were a lamb.”
“It seems the lady has a way with animals.”
“Has she tamed you as well, my lord?”
Shocked by the question, Rhys took in his host.
Geb laughed. “Forgive me. It is none of my business and we are strangers. It is rather unusual for a lady of her standing to travel alone with a gentleman. I would think she risks her reputation embarking on such a journey. She must hold you in very high regard.”
Pushing back his plate, Rhys’s appetite fled. “She made the journey for her friend, not for me. It was meant to be a short trip, which would go unnoticed by society. Hopefully we will return today and no one will care about our absence.”
“An unusual arrangement, my lord. It has been my experience that you English care a great deal about such things.” Geb signaled with a wave to Kosey, who poured him more coffee.
Annoyed by the truth of what Geb said, Rhys stood and bowed. “I will see you in the garden, sir. Thank you for your very fine hospitality.”
Still holding his fork, Geb waved off the thanks. “It was a blessing you and your lady were here last night. I owe you a great debt.”
“It was our pleasure to be of service in your absence, Mr. Arafa.” With another brief bow, Rhys left the breakfast room and barreled through the house until he reached the back garden.
The summer brought much of the ornate garden to bloom while the heavy rains of the previous night left the walkways strewn with pink and white petals. The air was fresh with only a slight breeze carrying the earthy soil and florals. Only fluffy white clouds remained from the torrents, and the sun shone through, warming Rhys’s face.
It was lovely, but Geb’s words haunted Rhys. He had no idea what their return to London would bring. Poppy’s reputation might well be ruined. Only the fact that she lived with Aurora and not her parents might save them.
“It is a spectacular garden, isn’t it?” Poppy stood several yards away on the path below the veranda.
To join her, he trotted down the stairs. “It is very nice. I have always loved the world after a good rain.”
She fell into step beside him, and they walked around a maze of low shrubs dotted with fountains, flowers, and dwarf trees. “Yes. It is as if the rain has washed away life’s dust and left everything new again.”
Geb strode toward them from the path to the right. “I’m glad you enjoy the grounds. My staff works very hard to keep it in the English tradition.”
“Are the gardens of your country so different?” Poppy asked.
Closing his eyes and raising his face to the sun, Geb smiled. “They have more trees, and in a wealthy man’s home, there would likely be built a small pond with fish in the center. The climate is quite different, my lady.”
They walked along the path to where the quaint garden opened up to a field. At the far end a small fenced area held the horses from the night before. “I see they are pleased with their new arrangements.” Rhys pointed toward the paddock.
“Ah yes. A temporary arrangement until the barn can be repaired.” Geb turned the corner of the path and walked along the edge of the garden. “You have questions for me, my friends?”
Rhys said, “It is with regard to the Duke of Breckenridge. I don’t know how to say this except to be blunt. What can you tell us about his character?”
The lightheartedness fled Geb’s expression. “His Grace is a great friend of mine. I’ll not speak about him to you or anyone else. It would be a breach of our relationship.”
“You don’t know us, sir.” Wide eyed, Poppy shook her head. She clutched her hands in front of her. “Forgive us for asking. I can see how it would not be proper for you to give details about His Grace to people whose motives are a mystery.”
“I am pleased you understand, my lady.” Geb’s expression softened as he offered her a warm smile.
Poppy’s smile would have melted any man’s heart. “It’s only that he is to marry my dear friend and we have no knowledge of his character. You can understand our desire to see a friend safe.”
“Why would you think her unsafe with His Grace?” Geb cocked his head.
“Men have not proven themselves to our small group in the past.” Poppy avoided a direct answer, but her clear gaze remained on Geb’s.
Geb’s quick frown was replaced with a neutral nod. “I see, but I’m afraid I will never betray my friend by speaking of him without his knowledge.”
“I see. Forgive my impertinence, sir.” Poppy curtsied and kicked at a pebble in the path.
Perhaps Rhys should have let Poppy handle the questions. She seemed to have Geb half in love with her already, which grated on his last nerve. The fact that he had no rights to those feelings annoyed him even more.