Dating Mr. Darcy - Kate O'Keeffe Page 0,68

aristocrats, but what we don’t have so much of these days is money.” There’s a note of anger in his voice.

“You can’t tell me you’re broke. Your house is freaking huge.”

“We’re not broke. But a place like this takes a lot of upkeep, which takes money. My family and I live here together. Although Zara and I both work, it’s not enough for us to support Mother and Granny as well as pay all the household bills.”

“Oh.”

“When Johnathan learnt about the fact the production company was looking for a Mr. Darcy, he suggested I apply as a way to make some fast cash.”

“I guess it beats a bank robbery,” I say to lighten the mood. “What would have happened if you hadn’t done the show?”

His jaw locks, his features hardening. “I would have gone down in history as the son to lose the family estate.”

I squeeze his hand. “Seb, I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t. I’m here to find love, not save my family home.” He looks up at me and I can see the pain behind his eyes.

“Why now? What’s happened?”

“It turns out I didn’t know my father very well at all. When he died, we discovered he’d racked up debts through gambling. I always knew he enjoyed going to the races. He loved horses. But I what none of us realized was quite how much he ‘invested’ in them. He’d emptied the family coffers, if you will.”

I can’t imagine even having family “coffers,” let alone emptying them through gambling.

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Seb. It’s a lot for you to have to deal with.”

He gives a tight nod. “I’m trusting you to keep this information to yourself.”

“Of course. I won’t tell a soul.”

He takes my glass and places both his and mine on the table. “Thank you.”

“That must be so hard,” I say. “I can’t relate to it, because I grew up in a total dump I was happy to see the back of. But this place is so special. I can see why you love it so much.”

He leans in and kisses me gently on the lips. “Perhaps now you can see why you were such a revelation to me. We both came here for reasons other than love. We’re not so very different, you and I.”

“I guess we’re not.” Happiness bubbles up inside me as I lean in to kiss him once more. My fears about us being different melt away at his touch, and I finally allow myself to fully admit to my feelings for him.

Neither of us went into this thing looking for the other. But somehow we found each other, and suddenly the prospect of being here to the end, knowing Sebastian and I can be together, has me grinning from ear to ear.

Chapter 22

“Bowls!” Mrs. Watson’s beaming smile makes her look like she’s just told us we’ve all won the lottery, rather than we’ve got to play a game where we roll heavy black balls across a lawn to try to get them as close to a smaller ball as we can.

I mean, really. What is the point?

“The ladies and gentlemen of the Regency period had time on their hands and, consequently, they were fond of many games. Lawn bowls is one such game, and you will be competing with one another to win time with Mr. Darcy. The runner-up will have high tea with him in the parlor, and the winner will be treated to a romantic dinner for two this evening.”

Two dates in one day? I almost feel sorry for the guy.

“Awesome. Another game to dent our dignity,” I murmur to Kennedy.

“What’s left of it,” she replies. “And anyway, isn’t this usually a game played by old guys on artificial turf?”

I snort and quickly clear my throat when Mrs. Watson glares at me.

“Whatever you do, don’t look at the shower cap,” Kennedy murmurs.

I look at the shower cap and instantly burst into giggles, which I try to stifle with my hand over my mouth.

Mrs. Watson turns her scary school teacher glare on me. “Are you quite well, Miss Emma?”

I think of terrible things to stop from giggling. “Yup. All good, Mrs. Watson,” I reply as all eyes turn to stare at me.

Mrs. Watson tightens her features and raises her eyebrows, telling me exactly what she thinks of my little outburst, and I feel like a naughty tween, messing around when I should have been doing algebra back in Mrs. Tosca’s math class.

“Look around you. You’re already standing in