home. Not yours. You live here on sufferance.”
She always had, a comment she didn’t bother to make.
Did he never give any thought to who would do the quarterly allowances if she didn’t? Who would do the accounts? Who would ensure that the repairs to the Hall were made so that the bricks didn’t fall down around their heads? Who would perform the inventory, instruct the housekeeper, meet with the majordomo and the stable master?
Harrison had no concept of how things ran. He probably thought that elves came out of the woodwork or brownies worked after midnight to polish the silver and clean the floors.
“Have you seen your wife today? Or your daughter?”
“Calling me to account, are you? A clever way to deflect from the point of this conversation, sister. However, I won’t be questioned by you. See that he’s gone. I would hate to have to escalate the issue.”
Harrison was capable of doing anything. He believed himself to be a prince and Adaire Hall his kingdom.
“You really don’t have any humanity, do you?”
“For McDonnell? Why should I? He’s been spoiled, Jennifer. Someone should have pointed out to him exactly who he was. The gardener’s boy. That’s it. Nothing more.”
“I would worry about your own behavior, brother. You haven’t seen Lauren today, have you? Have you even seen your daughter? Or do you intend to ignore them completely?”
“I should like to know the answer to that question myself.”
They both turned to see Hamish Campbell standing behind them, flanked by his two bespectacled secretaries, young men who rarely smiled but were assiduous in their note-taking.
Jennifer had only seen the man a few times, the first at Harrison’s wedding. She didn’t doubt that he would have been here more often if he hadn’t been in America. The minute he’d heard that his daughter was about to become a mother, however, he’d changed his plans and booked passage home.
If nothing else, Hamish should be an example to her brother.
Mr. Campbell was short, stocky, and possessed a face that regrettably reminded Jennifer of an English bulldog. Yet what he lacked in physical charisma, he made up in genuine charm. She, herself, had been the object of his interest at the wedding dinner. She had the feeling that he’d wanted to assure himself that she was sufficiently proper company for his daughter.
“How is Lauren?” he asked, turning from Harrison to Jennifer. “She wrote me, Lady Jennifer, and said that you were instrumental in her happiness. I thank you for that.”
Jennifer felt a little odd. “Lauren is a friend of mine. We do what we can to help our friends.”
He nodded. “That we do, Lady Jennifer. That we do.”
He’d insisted on calling her Lady Jennifer despite the fact that she had urged him to dispense with the honorific.
“If you will tell me where my daughter is, I will leave you to your celebrations,” he said.
Jennifer stepped forward and placed her hand on Mr. Campbell’s arm. “I’m afraid it’s not a celebration, sir, but a funeral supper.”
“My apologies, then.”
Jennifer told him about Sean as they walked up the stairs to the earl’s suite. She glanced behind her to find that Harrison hadn’t followed them. What was her brother thinking? Didn’t he realize that Mr. Campbell was teetering on the edge of full-blooded anger?
She almost wanted to warn him, but then thought about what he had said. Perhaps it was time for people to stop protecting Harrison from himself. It was time he reaped what he sowed, and if that was Mr. Campbell’s anger, then so be it.
Mr. Campbell, as a successful industrialist, was no doubt a financial genius. However, he didn’t have as tight a rein on his temper as he did his empire, especially where Lauren was concerned. Over the past several months, Jennifer had exchanged several letters with Mr. Campbell, all of them centered on his daughter’s welfare. She’d hurried to assure him that Lauren was healthy and that Mrs. Farmer had made several visits to Adaire Hall to assure herself of that fact as well.
After entering the earl’s suite, Jennifer witnessed a reunion that brought tears to her eyes. It was evident that Hamish Campbell was overwhelmed with love, not just for his daughter, but his new grandchild.
That little girl was not going to lack for anything, at least if her grandfather could provide it. Hopefully, that would make up for her father’s indifference.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“What’s the bastard doing here?”
Jennifer looked up at Harrison, shocked. He rarely showed up for breakfast, but he’d evidently made an