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Chapter Twenty-Three

"Are you sure about this?"

Red's brow lifted. "Of course. Why would I not be?"

Hannah tucked her bottom lip under her top teeth. "My aunt Ellen is a little eccentric." She paused. "I suppose much of my family is."

Truth be told, Red was keen to visit Hannah's family. It would give him a little insight into her life. All she talked of was her father and their adventures into the annals of history, but she never went further than that. How did she feel growing up motherless? Did she not wish she had a constant parent at times? When she had mentioned they were close to her aunt's, he thought it a fine opportunity to find out more.

"I hope she will not object to you being escorted around by me."

Hannah laughed as she picked up her new bag containing her old dress and the other one he had purchased. She had tried to offer him some money for them, but naturally he had refused. It was likely she had little idea how big a bribe he had used to ensure they had those dresses with haste.

"What's so funny?" He hefted the stone into his hold.

"Aunt Ellen is not one for propriety. You shall see what I mean."

He had to wonder quite what he was letting himself in for. A family that had created a woman like Hannah had to be unusual indeed. They could have continued on to the next coaching inn and squeezed in a few more hours of travel, but why pass up this opportunity? If the woman could tell him more of Hannah, he'd gladly take it, especially after his earlier confession.

He grimaced while he carried the stone up the garden path to the cottage. It was not small by any means, but the long, low thatched roof gave it the appearance of being smaller than it was. Four windows were tucked into the thatch and ivy crawled its way up the side of the white painted walls. The door was painted in a color to match the ivy as were the window frames. It was every inch the sweet country cottage.

His earlier confession…damn, he had not meant to speak so boldly, but there had been something about seeing Hannah up against all those cows, risking her life, that had made him forget all sense. In that moment when he'd had her back in his arms, he had not wanted to let her go.

The truth was, he still did not. He'd told her they would discuss it in London, but what was there to discuss? She lived over one hundred miles from him, wrapped in her bubble of history and research, and was hardly suited to life with a smuggler. He dismissed the idea of his occupation being dangerous and he would never hang for his activities, but that did not mean being married to him would not be risky.

Marriage? Dear God, what had the woman done to him?

A squeal interrupted his thoughts. He peered at the source of the sound—a tiny bundle of wool topped with a lace crap.

The bundle barreled down the pathway and flung herself at Hannah, nearly knocking the bag from her hand. Hannah laughed and embraced what turned out to be a petite old lady. Ringlets that still held the faintest hint of dark brown poked out from under the cap. Boney hands reached out from the woolen shawl and clasped around Hannah's arms. The woman—her aunt, he presumed—stepped back to eye Hannah.

"I did not know you were coming!" Clear eyes studied her niece, a smile coming across her face as she nodded with approval. "You look well, my dear."

"I am, Auntie." Hannah swung a look at him.

The aunt finally noticed him and lifted a set of spectacles from a pocket deep under the layers of wool and muslin. She did not bother to put them on but peered at him through them whilst still folded. She took her time, and Red attempted to look as gentlemanly and as harmless as possible but he could not help fidget under her intense scrutiny.

"Handsome," Aunt Ellen finally remarked. "Is he your beau?"

Hannah's cheeks reddened. "No, aunt. He is taking me to London."

"Travelling alone with a man, tut, tut." The aunt cackled. "Just like me in my day. I am glad to see your father has not tied you to a desk for your studies and is letting you experience the world."

"I—"

The aunt turned her attention back to him. "What of you? Do you wish to court her? Make her your lover perhaps?"

Red nearly suffocated on his own breath. "No, ma'am. Of course not."

Perhaps the courting bit was a lie. Maybe he lied about making her his lover too. He wanted both. The aunt was better off not knowing that, however.

"Pity." Aunt Ellen offered Hannah her arm. "Let us get you inside for some refreshments. Will you be staying long?"

Hannah looped her arm through her aunt's. "Just a night if you do not mind."

"Mind? Why should I mind? I do not get to see you enough as it is." Her aunt led her along the path to the front door, and Red followed obediently.

Hannah had been right about the woman not caring about the lack of a chaperone. He'd already known her father did not think much of her travelling about alone, but he could hardly have expected a female member of the family not to object. What an unusual lot they were.

"I will put you in the daisy room," her aunt murmured. "Your friend can stay in the room next to you."

From the slightly mischievous smile on the woman's face, Red suspected the aunt expected him to do something devious like slip into Hannah's room at night. It had not occurred to him until now.

Now it was all he could think on, even as they stepped into the comfortable drawing room, lit by a low fire.

The cottage had feminine touches everywhere which had to mean she had no husband or was a widow. Flowers sat on almost every surface and the curtains were sprigged with tiny flowers in shades of blue. Lace tablecloths finished the look, covering the side tables and the one to the side of a pale blue armchair. A bundle of wool and knitting needles sat on the table, placed in such a way that they looked as though he and Hannah had interrupted quite the knitting frenzy.

"Flora!" the woman called with surprising ferocity. "Flora, dammit."

Hannah grimaced at her aunt's coarse language for which she got a tap to the hand from her aunt.

"When you get to my age, there is little point in airs and graces. Besides, I do so enjoy using colorful language." She grinned at Red, and he laughed.

"As do I, ma'am."

"Good. I am glad to see you are not one of those dandy types."

She urged them to sit down on the sofa opposite. He waited for Hannah to sit and perched awkwardly on the small piece of furniture that had a low back and short seat. Hannah barely fit next to him.

A maid hastened in, her apron smeared with what looked to be jam and her hair dusted with flour. "What is it?" the maid demanded. "I do not have time to—" She paused when she saw the visitors. "Oh."

The maid, though younger than Aunt Ellen could only be five and ten years or so her junior. Her cheeks were rosy with exertion and her black hair, streaked with grey, revealed itself under her cap.

"Forgive me, Mrs. James. I did not know we had visitors."

Aunt Ellen chuckled. "You remember my niece, Hannah?"

The woman finally peered at her. "Oh goodness, of course I do. It has been so long, Miss Hannah. You look so well, and so beautiful. I should have known you would turn out to be beautiful. You grew into your nose then."

"Flora!" the aunt snapped.

The maid clamped her mouth shut while Hannah wriggled awkwardly next to him.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Flora," Hannah said politely. "May I introduce my friend, Lord Redmere, the Earl of Redmere."

Flora looked ready to faint. She pressed a hand to her stomach and stared at them both. "Goodness."

"An earl, eh?" Aunt Ellen narrowed her gaze at him. "Are you rich?"

He pressed his lips together to prevent a laugh escaping. "Yes."

Elle made a dismissive sound. "Rich men are boring. Are you boring?"

"Not if I can help it," he replied evenly.

"Good. My Hannah needs constant stimulation. She is a clever girl, but I imagine you have discovered that for yourself, have you not?"

He tried not to think of the sort of stimulation he was interested in giving her. Even as she sat next to him, wriggling her little bottom so that it kept brushing up against him, he could feel his mind slipping. It did not matter that the aunt and the maid were present. His thoughts had well and truly sunk into the gutter these past few days, and apparently they were sinking further.

"Some tea, Flora," the aunt demanded. "Tea and cake. A strong man like the earl will be hungry."

He smiled and tried to focus on the aunt's words as she talked of Hannah's father and asked about his latest adventures, but he kept considering how good it felt to have Hannah practically flush against him. Not to mention, they were not usually crammed into a small seat. He could feel every little movement in her body. Including when she tensed as her aunt declared, "Your father is too neglectful of you. I always said to him ‘History is not as important as the future. And your daughter is the future.'"

Red focused his attention back on the aunt. He had wondered if anyone else had thought her neglected or whether it was his own assumption.

"I enjoy history, as you know, Aunt Ellen. Father always involved me."

"Unless he was off trekking around the world, digging in the dirt. It is admirable he did not let your sex get in the way of your pursuits, but we all know it was not through choice. He simply does not have time to govern you."

"I do not need governing," Hannah protested.

Aunt Ellen glanced at Red, a slight smile on her lips. "Others would think differently."

Flora emerged through the low doorway and placed a tray of tea and cakes on the side table. Her cheeks were redder than ever and the entire room could hear her huffing and panting.

Hannah's aunt waved a dismissive hand. "Go sit down for a moment, for goodness sakes. No one can hold a conversation with you making that racket."

The maid grumbled and left the room. The slam of a door sounded shortly after.

"Aunt Ellen," Hannah cautioned.

"Oh she will be fine. She likes to lose her temper with me. It gives her something to think about."

Hannah shared an apologetic look with Red, but he shook his head marginally. He was beginning to quite like this aunt.

Aunt Ellen went to pour the tea. Red tried to stand to help, but she motioned him down. "So you are to go to London?"

"Yes." Hannah accepted a cup of tea from her. "You know Father is in France, helping with the recovering of artifacts. We are to take one to London."

"A fool's errand, if you ask me. He would be better off with you rather than risking his safety for some dusty old objects that no one cares about anymore."

"It is not very dangerous," her niece insisted. "And many people care about the artifacts. We cannot let Napoleon steal away history."

"Do you love history?" Aunt Ellen directed the question to him.

"Not particularly, but Hannah is teaching me to."

Hannah looked at him, surprised. "I am?"

"A little," he admitted.

"You are a sensible man then," Aunt Ellen announced. "Do not get your head buried in the books like Hannah's father does."

"There is a little chance of that, ma'am. I am a busy man."

"No doubt." Aunt Ellen's eyes twinkled. "I bet you have many a woman after your hand. And your title, of course. They likely keep you busy."

If she was inferring he was busy bedding his way through all female society, she was wrong, but he hardly knew what to say.

"Red is quite the businessman," Hannah put in. "His work keeps him busy."

"Red?" Aunt Ellen grinned at this. "Red. I like it. May I call you Red?"

"Of course."

"Then you must call me Ellen."

"As you wish."

"Well, I must ensure that useless maid can ready your bedrooms." She pushed out of the chair, and Red and Hannah rose. She waved for them to sit down. "You two enjoy some tea and cake. You no doubt need it." She peered out of the window. "If you need to stretch your legs after your journey, the gardens are a little damp but looking quite fine." She clasped Hannah's hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I am glad to see you, my dear. You look so well, and it is quite nice to see you in handsome company. Your father always did keep company with such dry old sticks."

Hannah pressed her lips together.

"Are your horses being seen to? I assume you came by coach?"

"Yes, Aunt Ellen. We did have Red's private coach, but it became stuck in the mud. We hired a private coach in Taunton."

"Goodness, what a journey you must have had." Aunt Ellen shuffled to the doorway. "I shall ask Flora to hustle along the stable hand. The lad can take some food out to the men. They will stay comfortable enough in the stables."

"Thank you, Aunt." As soon as she had left the room, Hannah turned to him. "I did warn you."

"That your aunt curses and is quite the naughty old lady? Hardly."

"She was quite the adventurer in her time, I think. Her husband was not the nicest of men. Father spoke several times of her taking lovers. Of course he does not say this approvingly. Once her husband passed away, she became the mistress of someone quite wealthy, though I do not know who. He gave her this cottage."

"She lived for herself by the sounds of it."

Hannah gave a sad smile. "She did, and I do not think she regrets it one bit."

"That is all anyone can ask for, is it not? To live with no regrets. I can only hope we can say the same when we are her age."

Red could not help fear he would have one regret if he did not figure out a solution to his problem. He wanted Hannah, in many, many ways, and if he did not have her, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

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