Captain Jones's Temptation - Audrey Harrison Page 0,70
go and prepare some dinner for you both. It is very good to see you.”
Samuel smiled at the reference to being home. “Thank you, Cook. That would be delightful.”
Esther looked up in shock. She could have cried at the thought of his seeing her the way she looked at the moment, for he looked resplendent in her eyes. His greatcoat had been removed, and his blue frock-coat brought out the colour of his eyes. He looked a little tired, and thinner than when she had last seen him, but he still looked finer than any man she had ever known. And she was a frump. Then she cursed herself; vanity was the least of her worries at the moment.
“Not pleased to see me?” Samuel asked. He had taken in her tired eyes and drawn features. Promising himself that he would pummel Mr. Boyd until the man regretted ever showing his face again, he pulled himself together. She needed help, and being angry was not going to help anyone. “Now, what’s all this about you being in a spot of bother? Anything I can do to help?”
“I … you … I don’t know what to say,” Esther stuttered.
“How about ‘how do you do’, and we shall start from there.”
“It isn’t a good time at the moment, Captain Jones,” Esther said. She stood as if to walk him out of the room.
“I think it is the perfect moment to rid you of a pest, encourage you to stop supporting that woman who is a menace, and put a smile back on your face, even if it is caused by abusing me. Which we both know you are expert at.”
“Please do not be nice to me, for I might turn into a wet goose, and you had enough of that the last time you were here.”
“I most certainly did. Your words are enough to make me shudder. Come, let us retire to the drawing room, where I can indulge in your port and we can make a plan,” Samuel said. He opened the door and stood on the threshold of the room, clearly brooking no argument.
Esther complied but sent a glare in his direction. “I like my study.”
“It is perfectly fine if one is intent on being melancholy. It’s rather a dark room, don’t you think?”
“When you have quite finished criticising my house.”
“I offer a critique only when something offends my sensibilities, my dear. Any other time, and that would suggest taking an interest in things that cannot be of concern to any sensible person.”
“And I am not your dear. It makes me sound as if I am a hundred years old.”
“Oh, I think you are, and if we don’t get some colour in those cheeks, you might start to pass for a grand age. Ladies who neglect themselves do not age well, I can assure you. Once the bloom of youth is gone it is gone forever, or so I am told. I would not risk it if I were you.”
“You brute!” Esther stopped in the hallway and punched Samuel in the arm.
Laughing, Samuel rubbed the spot she had just hit. “You, my dear, are a termagant, and it is lovely to see you again. Please stop opening and closing your mouth. It isn’t an attractive look.”
Esther laughed and stormed into the drawing room ahead of Samuel. “There, I have done as you wish. What now?”
“I have a glass of port, then we eat, and then we form a plan of action.” Samuel moved to the decanter and poured himself a large measure. It had taken every bit of restraint on his part to hold back from taking her in his arms the moment he saw her. He ached to realise how much she must have suffered in the days since he’d seen her last. He was determined that Boyd and Sophie would pay for the anxiety they had caused her, even if he had to pay them both a visit himself.
Esther sat heavily. “I cannot think of a solution. I have thought of every outcome possible.”
“How tedious it is, but as you are insisting, we shall have the serious conversation before our stomachs are filled with Cook’s delightful concoctions. I would prefer to plan the downfall of a pest on a full stomach, but I am here to serve, so I shall set my own needs to one side. Just this once. I would not like to make a habit of it.”
“You are ridiculous. You do realise that, don’t you?”