The Bareknuckle Groom - Holly Bush Page 0,58
Street.”
“Miss Vermeal?”
“I sent a note to her telling her to dine with us if her kitchen or staff are not ready.”
“Miss Vermeal and her father have moved from that mansion they have?”
Elspeth shook her head. “I don’t believe her father has moved there. From her note back to me, I believe she will live there alone.”
“Alone?”
“Quit repeating everything Elspeth says,” Muireall said and shook her head. “Miss Vermeal is no concern of yours. Come sit down, girls. Our coffee is getting cold.”
James headed to the kitchen, not breaking his stride as he picked up the heel of the freshly baked bread Mrs. McClintok was slicing, and down the stairs to the back door. He could have waited until Elspeth was done visiting and ridden with her in the Pendergast carriage to that neighborhood, but he preferred to catch a streetcar and see exactly what was happening right away. He jumped off the streetcar fifteen minutes later and headed south down the alley behind one side of Thirty-Eighth Street, where the larger homes were located. It did not take him long to find the house with a new mistress. All manner of wagons and carts were pulled behind the stables, where men were unloading trunks and cases and carrying them into the house. He picked up a small trunk and joined the line of workmen.
“That trunk goes upstairs. Show Mrs. Howell, standing there on the landing. She will tell you what room it is to go in,” Lucinda said and looked up the steps. “I think these are the bedlinens I ordered, Mrs. Howell.”
“Yes, miss,” the woman said and pointed the men down the hallway. Lucinda turned to the next workman. She could not stop the hint of a smile when she saw who carried the trunk.
“Mr. Thompson. Are you in the moving business now?”
“I’m in the business of finding out whether this harebrained scheme of yours to live alone is true.”
“Harebrained?” She raised a brow.
James glanced around at the workmen and maids coming and going. “May we speak alone, Miss Vermeal?”
“Mrs. Howell? Can you take over here for me? I think we are getting to the end of the wagons.”
Lucinda turned and led James to a small room under the staircase that she planned on using as an office, where she could meet tradesmen or staff. She’d ordered a desk and rolling chair to be put by the small bookcase and a comfortable chair and hassock for in front of the fireplace. It was empty now, although it did smell of paint and wallpaper paste.
“What may I help you with, Mr. Thompson? What could you possibly—” Her words were cut off when he kissed her.
She responded immediately as he pulled her tight against him and plowed her mouth with his tongue. He groaned, and she murmured his name. Several minutes later, she pulled her face from his.
“What are you doing here, James?” Her lips were parted and her eyes soft in response to his claiming.
He moved her away from him but held her firmly by the waist.
“Is your father moving in here with you? Or your aunt?”
She shook her head. “No. Aunt Louisa will soon be married, and the entire point of setting up my own household was to escape my papa.”
“I can’t believe he allowed it.”
She moved away from him. She had to. Her mind was scattered when he was near. “I told him I wanted to move into one of the homes he owns throughout the city, and of course, he refused. I told him then that I was moving in with Aunt Louisa and Mr. Delgado as soon as they married.”
“And he was not happy about that?”
“Truthfully, I’ve never seen him that angry. So much of it is about his plans for me to marry Carlton Young.”
“Who is Carlton Young?”
“The son of one of father’s business associates. He says he is perfect for me. He’ll be easily manipulated by Papa while he is alive and by me when Papa is gone.”
“Does this poor chump know what he’s in for?”
“Of course not. I have no intentions of marrying him.”
James shook his head and held a thumb and forefinger to his temple. “You bought this house instead of marrying Young?”
“No, no. This is Papa’s property. Well, it’s part of the Vermeal estate. He was so furious I’d consider moving in with Mr. Delgado and Aunt that he relented and gave me the keys.”
James laughed ruefully. “You remind me of a quiet Kirsty. She gets her way by hook or