like to do?”
He would like for her to be at his side all day. Not to do anything, but just to have the company. Asking for that might sound odder than what he’d already requested, though. He thought hard. “You could accompany me to the mine from now on.”
“I could do that.”
Something was going on in her head. He could see it behind her eyes. Some sort of machinations. He wouldn’t blame her for wanting something out of this.
He decided to launch a preemptive strike. “In exchange, I’ll provide you with something you want. Within reason.”
Her brows went a centimeter higher. “I would like access to your library. To the books there.”
“You like to read?”
“I love to read.”
“Then that will be part of our day. We’ll spend our afternoons there. Doing just that.”
Her lips parted, and a second later, a brilliant smile lit her face. “That would be wonderful.”
He nodded. “It would be.” He loved to read, but being alone in that enormous space sometimes felt worse than being alone anywhere else. He had no one to share all those stories with, no one to talk to about them.
But that was a small request on her part, and he wanted to do more than that for her. “What if I arranged for one of the master lapidaries in town to give you lessons? There’s a guild, you know. You said you weren’t able to finish your studies after your mother passed. Is that something you’d still be interested in?”
Her hand went to her mouth, then down to her necklace. She shook her head, and when she spoke, she seemed a little breathless. “I can’t believe—I absolutely would be. And that’s very generous of you, but I am here to pay a debt, not leave you with one.”
He spread his arms. “Does it look like I cannot afford lessons?”
“No, it doesn’t look that way at all.” She took a deep gulp of air. “Thank you. Lessons would be incredible. Life-changing.”
“Then it’s settled. You’re no longer downstairs help.” He got up. “Come on.”
She stood. “Where are we going?”
“To move you upstairs.”
Chapter Eleven
Becoming a lapidary, a trained stonecutter, would change Theo’s life in a way nothing else could. A profession like that would not only keep a roof over their heads but could actually help pay down her father’s debts. In the year’s time that she had ahead of her, if she studied hard and practiced often, she could build on the rudimentary skills she already had and end up with enough training to apprentice with any of the gem cutters in Limbo. The apprenticeship would only pay a little more than she made working her current jobs, but once she proved herself, she’d be set.
This opportunity was beyond anything she could have hoped for. Anything she could have dreamed of.
She wasn’t even sure Robin understood everything he was offering her.
Sadly, Theo already knew none of what His Lordship wanted would be well received. Mrs. Applestock and Lolly probably wouldn’t care. Henry or Fenwick either. But Mrs. Baton and Elswood would undoubtedly explode at the impropriety of it. That seemed to be their favorite word, after all.
Oh, they might not say much to Robin’s face, but behind his back, they’d have plenty to chatter about. And then they’d make their feelings known to her in the way they treated her. She would bet on that with every single cent she had, if she were a betting person. Which she would never be. Even if she came into money.
But she held her tongue and followed him downstairs.
At the bottom of the steps, he stopped and turned to her. “Show me your current room. Please.”
“Sure. This way.” She led him through the hallways and down the last one to her door.
“Why the last one? All these rooms can’t be in use. Did you pick this room?”
“No, it was given to me.” She opened the door. “This is it.”
He looked in but stayed where he was. Didn’t make a difference. There was no more of it to be seen by walking through the door. “It’s so…small. And plain.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“It’s like a prison cell.” He frowned. “Where’s the bathroom?”
She pointed over her shoulder. “End of the hall there.”
Still frowning, he glanced at the door, then back at her room. “Who assigned this to you?”
She hesitated, hoping against hope that this wasn’t about to take the turn she suspected. “Elswood.”
Robin’s frown deepened. He looked back the way they’d come. “Elswood! Where are you? Show yourself, man.”
A