tempted her to speak so freely?
Chapter Six
“I know you’ll never control that lot who live in the cottages, but I thought you’d put an end to shenanigans up at the manor at least...” Miss Morris, the village shopkeeper didn’t mince her words as she cast a beady eye towards Rosie’s uninvited guest.
Rosie was appalled. “There are no shenanigans at the manor, I can assure you.”
“Hmm.” Miss Morris made a song and dance of glancing meaningfully over at Theo again before turning her attention to packing groceries into shopping bags. “If you say so.”
Rosie could feel her colour rising and glared at Theo with her best look-what-you’ve-done-now expression firmly in place. Infuriatingly, he didn’t seem in the least concerned. Definitely not a gentleman or he would have backed her up. Instead, as she watched, he shrugged a shoulder and she could have sworn he was suppressing a grin. She grabbed a carrier bag and left the shop with as much dignity as she could muster.
“Why did you let her get to you?” Theo asked as they stowed the shopping in the boot of his car.
Could he really be that dense? Rosie closed her eyes and counted to ten. “This is a small community and there’s already been enough gossip about my family.”
She had no doubt there would be more after today. Miss Morris was a fast worker and a word in her ear was more effective than taking out a full page ad in one of the Sunday papers.
***
Theo shook his head. Rosie Farnham was a mass of contradictions – on the one hand, she was about as prickly as a hedgehog and overflowing with don’t give a damn vibes and yet, on the other, she was obviously mortified by the prospect of a scandal... “There are worse things than gossip.”
“And you’re speaking from experience?”
“You learn not to care – to grow a thick skin.”
She shuddered visibly. “There’s not just me to consider,” she told him quietly. “Evie’s at an impressionable age.”
There was more to it, Theo was sure. But the journey back to the manor would take only a few minutes, not enough time to get to the bottom of the matter. No worries, there’d be many opportunities over the next few days to find out exactly what was going on in Rosie Farnham’s head.
He powered the engine and turned the car back towards the estate. Rather disconcertingly, it already felt like he was going home. He decided to ignore the feeling and pressed his foot onto the accelerator.
While there wasn’t time for in depth probing, the journey would take a good few minutes where he could try to come to grips with the complicated family tree.
“How long ago did you lose your mother?” He glanced across in time to see Rosie bite her lip and wondered if, perhaps, he’d been tactless.
“She died giving birth to me,” Rosie answered after a moment. “I never got the chance to get to know her, but I still miss her.”
“What about Harry’s and Evie’s mothers?”
“Harry’s mother’s still alive – but she, understandably, didn’t have any time for me or Evie. Dad left them when Harry was a baby and I think she’s still bitter. Evie’s mother, Glory, disappeared shortly after Evie was born and we haven’t seen her since.”
Theo drew the car up in front of the manor and glanced over to see Rosie’s green eyes swimming with unshed tears and something in his gut twisted. He was furious with himself. Only a complete idiot would have interrogated her with so little sensitivity.
He was overwhelmed by a yearning to take her in his arms, to kiss away her tears to promise her everything would be fine. He guessed she wouldn’t thank him for it, though. In all honestly, he wouldn’t thank himself, either – he’d never been fond of rescuing damsels in distress. He much preferred his women to be self-sufficient, especially emotionally. But something about Rosie made him behave in all sorts of strange ways.
***
Rosie threw the cash book down onto the desk. The
Chapter Six
“I know you’ll never control that lot who live in the cottages, but I thought you’d put an end to shenanigans up at the manor at least...” Miss Morris, the village shopkeeper didn’t mince her words as she cast a beady eye towards Rosie’s uninvited guest.
Rosie was appalled. “There are no shenanigans at the manor, I can assure you.”
“Hmm.” Miss Morris made a song and dance of glancing meaningfully over at Theo again before turning her attention to packing groceries into shopping bags. “If you say so.”
Rosie could feel her colour rising and glared at Theo with her best look-what-you’ve-done-now expression firmly in place. Infuriatingly, he didn’t seem in the least concerned. Definitely not a gentleman or he would have backed her up. Instead, as she watched, he shrugged a shoulder and she could have sworn he was suppressing a grin. She grabbed a carrier bag and left the shop with as much dignity as she could muster.
“Why did you let her get to you?” Theo asked as they stowed the shopping in the boot of his car.
Could he really be that dense? Rosie closed her eyes and counted to ten. “This is a small community and there’s already been enough gossip about my family.”
She had no doubt there would be more after today. Miss Morris was a fast worker and a word in her ear was more effective than taking out a full page ad in one of the Sunday papers.
***
Theo shook his head. Rosie Farnham was a mass of contradictions – on the one hand, she was about as prickly as a hedgehog and overflowing with don’t give a damn vibes and yet, on the other, she was obviously mortified by the prospect of a scandal... “There are worse things than gossip.”
“And you’re speaking from experience?”
“You learn not to care – to grow a thick skin.”
She shuddered visibly. “There’s not just me to consider,” she told him quietly. “Evie’s at an impressionable age.”
There was more to it, Theo was sure. But the journey back to the manor would take only a few minutes, not enough time to get to the bottom of the matter. No worries, there’d be many opportunities over the next few days to find out exactly what was going on in Rosie Farnham’s head.
He powered the engine and turned the car back towards the estate. Rather disconcertingly, it already felt like he was going home. He decided to ignore the feeling and pressed his foot onto the accelerator.
While there wasn’t time for in depth probing, the journey would take a good few minutes where he could try to come to grips with the complicated family tree.
“How long ago did you lose your mother?” He glanced across in time to see Rosie bite her lip and wondered if, perhaps, he’d been tactless.
“She died giving birth to me,” Rosie answered after a moment. “I never got the chance to get to know her, but I still miss her.”
“What about Harry’s and Evie’s mothers?”
“Harry’s mother’s still alive – but she, understandably, didn’t have any time for me or Evie. Dad left them when Harry was a baby and I think she’s still bitter. Evie’s mother, Glory, disappeared shortly after Evie was born and we haven’t seen her since.”
Theo drew the car up in front of the manor and glanced over to see Rosie’s green eyes swimming with unshed tears and something in his gut twisted. He was furious with himself. Only a complete idiot would have interrogated her with so little sensitivity.
He was overwhelmed by a yearning to take her in his arms, to kiss away her tears to promise her everything would be fine. He guessed she wouldn’t thank him for it, though. In all honestly, he wouldn’t thank himself, either – he’d never been fond of rescuing damsels in distress. He much preferred his women to be self-sufficient, especially emotionally. But something about Rosie made him behave in all sorts of strange ways.
***
Rosie threw the cash book down onto the desk. The
Similar Books
