“I’m not such a prude,” the maid said. “If you make Captain Neill happy, and he makes you happy, then who am I to say it ain’t right? Besides, I’d rather be here with you than down the hall. You might get snippy when you’re cross, but at least you don’t slap or pinch me like Miss Mary Rose.”
Angelica let Bessie escort her downstairs. She didn’t much care for having a servant—a handler, whether she admitted it or not—but she enjoyed having an ally in the house. If they took Bessie with them when the week ended, at least she would have someone to talk to on the long, lonely days when Captain Neill was gone.
“Here you are, Miss,” the maid said once they reached the drawing room.
Angelica heard a great commotion of chairs, all scraping the floor as the men stood to greet her. In an instant, Captain Neill had taken her hand. “Good morning, Angelica. Feeling better?”
“Much better, thank you,” she said, letting him help her into a seat. “Who’s here?”
“Oh, just Markie and me.”
In response, Marcus said, “Good morning, Miss Grey.”
“Good Morning, Mr. Neill.”
Captain Neill spoke from somewhere over her shoulder. “Let me fix your plate. What will you have? There’s bacon, ham, eggs, fruit—”
“A little bit of everything, please.”
After a moment, he sat the plate in front of her. “Coffee?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“To your right,” he said, placing the steaming cup at her elbow. Then, he settled into the seat beside her. “It’s usually just us chaps at breakfast. To be honest, I wasn’t sure you were coming down.”
“A pleasant surprise, I hope…”
He laughed with his mouth full. “Absolutely. But, if you’d rather have tea and toast in your room—”
“No, I’d rather be down here,” she said, stirring milk into her coffee. She had to be careful, because his flirting was a distraction, and she’d hate to spill a drop. “You two can keep me entertained.”
Captain Neill pretended to pout. “The lady laughs at us, Markie.”
“Don’t they always?” his brother said, good-naturedly.
“Ha! At you maybe. Not at me.”
She smiled at her plate. “You’re chipper this morning, Brody.”
“I’m not usually up this early…”
Marcus explained, “He doesn’t have to earn his living like the rest of us.”
“No? For some reason, I thought you were all gentlemen of leisure.”
“Only me,” Captain Neill replied, turning to Angelica, “I’m the family ne’er-do-well.”
“While I hang about the office,” Marcus said, “making myself look good in front of Father. Speaking of…I’m running late. I trust the two of you can amuse yourselves until dinner?”
Captain Neill took a long sip of his coffee. “Oh, yes. Good morning, Markie.”
Marcus stood, turning to address his brother, “You know, Brody, for the first time in my life, I’m jealous of you.” At that, he was gone.
They were alone now—or, at least, devoid of anyone except servants. Angelica could hear one or two bodies tinkering around the room.
Captain Neill leaned over and kissed her temple. “He knows about us. Well, he knew about us before. I haven’t quite brought him up to speed.”
So Marcus believed they were in love, and possibly even getting engaged. That explained why he’d been so kind and welcoming from the very start. He thought he knew something that the other Neills didn’t.
“You and your brother are close. Do you tell him everything?”
He must have nodded. “He’s the only one who understands me.”
“Bessie, the maid, knows about us, too.” Angelica whispered, careful of the ears who might be listening.
“Servants don’t count.”
“Won’t they gossip?” she asked. “Or run tell your mother?”
He didn’t seem very concerned. Wasn’t he worried that his mother would discover they were lovers? Mrs. Neill would object to having her in the house if word got out. Likely, she and Captain Neill would be tossed out on their ears.
“You drink your coffee and let me worry about Mother,” he said. “I thought we could go for a drive this morning. Would that please you?”
Every time she climbed into the passenger seat, she feared for her life. But he did love that motorcar of his, and had been so cheerful all morning, when she was sure he’d rather be in bed.
Angelica smiled over at him, hoping she at least sounded sincere. “I think a drive sounds lovely.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Without morphine to sedate him, Brody was full of energy. He suddenly wanted to go, and do anything. Everything. He was restless and bored, and needed to let off some steam. Since he couldn’t take Angelica upstairs and make love until neither of them could walk, he did the next best thing.
He took her driving.