I’ve taken compassionate leave till next term.’
His smile was accompanied by a drily amused gleam in his eyes. ‘Ahh. But boys of that age are not boys at all, just wild little savages. I was thinking of the slightly older species, which begins to appreciate the difference between boys and girls. And how old are you, exactly, Marina?’
‘Twenty-five.’
He said ‘ahh’ again, as though highly satisfied with her age.
The green saloon turned down a narrow street at that point, angling between cars parked down one side, then turning into an even more narrow and slightly cobbled lane. The brick buildings on either side were three storeys high, with doors which opened straight onto the street. So did the windows. Only the window boxes spilling with brightly coloured flowers gave some relief to the austerity of the architecture.
‘These are mews,’ His Lordship volunteered, on seeing her glance around.
‘Oh, yes, I’ve read about them. They used to be the royal stables, didn’t they?’
‘Not all of them royal, but certainly once belonging to London’s wealthy. They’ve all been converted to apartments nowadays.’
‘They must still be expensive, being so close to the city.’
‘I dare say. This one’s been passed down through the family. I inherited it when my father died. It might normally have gone to the eldest son but I think Father wanted to keep some of the estate out of Laurence’s spendthrift hands. As it was, my brother did his best to bankrupt the estate.
‘But I shouldn’t be telling you any of this,’ he muttered, seemingly irritated with himself for doing so if his expression was anything to go by.
He frowned and leant forward to tap his chauffeur on the shoulder. ‘William, just let us out here at the door.’
The car stopped next to a large brown wooden door with a brass knocker and doorknob. Geraniums and petunias blazed from hanging baskets at eye-level on either side.
‘And give me the key for a moment. I’ll get Miss Spencer’s luggage. No, don’t argue with me. I know how painful your knee is. If I’d had my way you’d have stayed home in bed and I’d have driven myself this morning. Now, after you’ve parked the car, come inside for some breakfast. We don’t have to leave for the bank for another hour at least.’
The chauffeur sighed heavily. ‘You spoil me, My Lord. Your brother would not have—’
‘My brother is no longer in charge, William. I am.’
Which, clearly, he was.
Magnificently and mercifully.
Marina saw then that it was not just the Earl’s handsome face which had captivated her. Or his tall, well-proportioned body. It was the man himself. His whole person. His character. But especially his compassion.
‘Wait there till I help you out,’ he ordered her peremptorily, before climbing out himself.
But she didn’t wait there. That wasn’t her way. She was out of the car and standing beside the passenger door by the time he brought her suitcase around.
His smile carried wry reproach. ‘I thought you said that when in Rome you were going to do as the Romans do?’ he chided.
She shrugged, smiling. ‘My mind is willing, but my flesh is weak.’
He stared at her for a second, then shook his head again. He seemed to be always shaking his head at her. ‘I doubt anything about you is weak, Marina,’ he complimented her, though in a cool voice. ‘Like most Australians, you flout the old-fashioned ways and traditions for the sometimes foolish habits they are. But you haven’t encountered our Henry as yet. Believe me when I warn you things in this apartment are done Henry’s way, or not at all!’
CHAPTER FOUR
‘WHO’S Henry?’ Marina asked after the car had moved off.
‘He’s my valet. He used to be the butler at Winterborne Hall.’
‘Oh? What happened? Didn’t he work out?’
‘He worked out very well for over thirty years. But my brother forcibly retired him when he turned seventy—packed him off to live out his days at the damned gatehouse like a broken-down racehorse banished to a far paddock.’
It was clear by his irritable tone that he had been furious at his brother for this action.
‘Henry was still fit for service,’ Lord Winterborne swept on. ‘All he had wrong with him was the odd touch of gout. The poor old chap would have died through sheer neglect and boredom, so I brought him up here to London—told him I needed some company, plus someone of his experience to put some well-needed order into my wretched existence.’
‘And was your existence really wretched?’ Marina asked, thinking to herself how typical it was of this man to do such a thing, to care about a poor old retired servant.
‘Lord, no. I was in my twenties and living the life of Riley! It was Henry’s existence which was wretched. I quickly came to regret my foolishly generous gesture. Henry took me at my word and, indeed, put order into my life.’ He rolled his eyes at the memory.
‘How did he do that?’ Marina was intrigued.
‘You have no idea.’
‘No, I don’t. Tell me. I’m dying to know.’
His glance was drily amused. ‘You have a compulsively curious nature, I think. But you’re also very easy to tell things to, do you know that?’
‘Yes, I’ve been told that before. Children come up to me in droves when I’m on playground duty to tell me their problems. And I’m always getting beseiged by little old ladies in buses and trains, and even supermarket queues. Maybe they’re just lonely and need someone to talk to, but why it’s always me they choose to pour out their hearts to, I have no idea.’
‘It’s your eyes,’ His Lordship said as he looked right into them. ‘You have understanding eyes.’
She flushed slightly under his compliment and his direct gaze. ‘So…er…what did Henry do?’
‘What didn’t he do?’ His Lordship grumbled as he reached out and rang the doorbell. ‘Firstly, he converted my reading room into a gym, into which I was dragged every morning for a work-out. As a man whose only exercise before that had been turning on my computer and moving chess pieces, believe me when I tell you I was in agony for weeks. I nicknamed one particularly diabolical piece of equipment “the rack”.’
‘Well, it seems to have done you good,’ she said. ‘You look very fit.’
‘I’ve suffered for this body, I can tell you.’
Marina thought the suffering well worth it. ‘So what else did he do?’
‘Changed my daily diet to a boring menu of low-cholesterol, low-salt meals. I hardly enjoy eating any more, except when I crack and go to a café and order
