Chapter 10

I t wasn't as if Rebekah didn't know what a servant was, but she'd never had any. She'd always taken care of herself. In Aaron's house, the staff were in and out, always about. It amazed her how Penelope had them fluttering every which way, ordering them around as if she were royalty.

But then, she was. They were.

An earl. A noble.

Rebekah had never been around the aristocracy. The only noble she had known was her mother. And she'd been snubbed by her own father when she married a commoner. But it hadn't changed the way they lived. Thank goodness for that. Rebekah learned the value of love and family. Possessions were only material things. Things that were wanted, not needed.

She descended the circular stairway, admiring the beauty of the design. The woodcarver was an artist, indeed. Little carvings in each post, shining to perfection. With a house this big, no wonder Aaron had so many servants.

"Good morning, miss. Lady Blackburn is in the sitting room."

"Thank you," she told the maid. "And thank you for bringing up my breakfast. You didn't need to do that."

"Oh yes, miss, I did. The master told me to get you breakfast first thing. We suspected you might be an early riser."

"Well, it was good. Thank you. I left the tray in my room. I'll go get it."

Before she could turn, the maid stopped her. "Oh, no, miss. You mustn't. That's my job."

Rebekah supposed it was. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, miss. If you will please follow me, I'll show you where Lady Blackburn is."

She followed the maid back up the steps to the second level and down a wing with several doors.

"My lady's rooms are this entire wing. Master Aaron said this would make her feel as if she was in her own home."

"How nice." The house was rather large. Not as large as Greystoke. That place was huge.

The maid gave a soft knock, and opened the door. "Miss Hayes, my lady."

"Good, good. Come in, come in."

"Good morning, Lady Blackburn."

"Pshaw," Penelope said with a wave of her hand. "Thought we settled this yesterday. Call me Penelope. If you marry my nephew, you can call me Aunt."

Rebekah nearly choked. She was not marrying Aaron.

"Glad you're no slugabed. Neither am I. I like seeing the morning sunshine. There are times when I do sleep late. Usually after a social engagement or a ball. You'll learn all about that."

"I don't know that I will. I'm not sure how long I'll be here."

"Did my nephew ask you to leave?"

"Well, no, he didn't."

"Then you are to stay here. I told Mandy to bring you breakfast. Tomorrow morning you will join me downstairs. Be sure to give Cook your favorite dishes."

"Oh, I don't want to be any trouble."

"Dear, it's what we do. Now. Tell me about your discussion with Aaron."

Rebekah had to hide the surprise from her face. Penelope was a no-bones woman. Right to the point. No pretense of polite conversation, then sneak up on the controversial subject.

"Begin anywhere you want. Tell me what's going on."

"Lady—"

"Please don't fall back on etiquette. I told you. Please call me Penelope. I'm not an ogre, my dear." Her face screwed up. "I'll leave that impression to my nephew."

Rebekah giggled. "We spoke a little before Aaron came home." She hesitated before saying his name. It seemed so intimate. "I guess you know everything."

"I'm sorry about your mother. If you like, you can talk to me as though you would if your mother was here. I will listen."

The expression on Penelope's face made Rebekah want to cry. She wished her mother was here. She gave a slight sniff.

"Here dear. Here's a hanky."

"Thank you." Rebekah twisted the material an began her story.

"Mama was from a noble family. She fell in love with my Papa, and they were happy. She raised me with love and taught me some things that were in the aristocrat world, like dancing, and how to speak properly. I guess Papa wanted me to have what my mother gave up."

Penelope didn't say a word. She sat quietly and allowed Rebekah to speak.

"Anyway, I'm not sure how the contract came about. Papa must have slipped something into Aaron's whisky. When I came down stairs to see what was going on, Aaron was passed out on the floor. I didn't know who he was, but I recognized him as a gentleman right away."

"Humph. A gentleman would not have passed out on your floor."

Rebekah swallowed. I helped him up and made a bed on our sofa." She schooled her face, hoping not to give anything away. "The next morning, I woke up and he was gone.

"So, you don't know how his name or his signature came to be on the contract?"

"No." Rebekah shook her head. "Weeks later, my father told me about the ... contract. He must have written to Lord Greystoke, and his lordship replied. Papa thought Aaron was the earl. He kept saying how he done right by me. How I was going to have a fine house and fine things. I thought he was fantasizing.

"Papa took to drinking when Mama died. So, I was excited to see him come out of the despair he'd been in. He was happy. Speaking nonsense, so I thought, but more lively than he'd been in three years. Then he told me about the marriage contract."

"Must have been a shock."

"We argued. I told him I wasn't marrying anybody. And I thought that was the end of it. Papa snorted and got mad. Stomped around complaining. I ignored him."

She tried ignoring the feelings that she remembered too. But she dreamed of Aaron most nights. Everything came back as clearly as the night they were joined.

Heat flushed her face, and her breathing grew heavy. Thinking of Aaron and their night together made her want more. But it was not to be.

"Go on, child."

Rebekah blinked. "Then Aaron showed up. He was angry. Accused me of setting a trap."

"That blind fool."

"My father was wrong. And I didn't realize what he'd done until after Aaron left."

He didn't remember me.

She'd been shocked to see him. Embarrassed. Tongue tied. And he didn't even recognize her.

"He was looking for my father. When he realized I was the daughter, his whole temperament changed. He thought it was my idea. He was infuriated. There was no explaining anything to him. The more he shouted, the angrier I got, and I shouted right back."

"Good for you."

"I'm sorry, Penelope. I wasn't nice." Rebekah thought about what she was going to say and hoped the woman would let her explain. "I'm ashamed to say I plotted revenge."

"Revenge?"

"I'm getting ahead of myself. Through the shouting, we somehow managed to discover that neither one of us were going to accept the agreement."

"Did you question his signature?"

"I don't think we got that far. He refused to be trapped and I told him I wouldn't marry him if he was the only man on Earth."

"Ha. I would have liked to have seen that. Boy considers himself a ladies' man."

She could see why. Aaron was handsome, sizable, and too darn fetching not to think highly of himself. Any woman would drool over his attractive looks. Herself included.

"Then what?" Penelope asked.

"We agreed that neither one of us wanted to marry the other, and we considered the contract void."

"You both agreed?"

"Yes."

Penelope frowned like she was thinking. "Are we at the revenge part?"

Rebekah nodded. "The more I thought about his accusations, the madder I got. I thought it would serve him right if he'd gotten stuck by that contract. He needed to be taught a lesson. As far as I knew, the contract still existed."

Penelope gave a nod.

"I came up with the idea to make him pay. Make him squirm. I thought if I came to his home and demanded he honor the agreement, I would shake him."

As far as she was concerned, Aaron needed to be brought down a peg or two. He was too darn good-looking for his own good.

"That's why you came here? To rattle him? Did you change your mind about the marriage?"

"Heavens, no!" Rebekah leaped from her chair. "I'm sorry, Penelope. But your nephew is an arrogant, rude, pig-headed, condescending bully. I have no intention of marrying him. Or anyone for that matter."

"So what happened in the library yesterday?"

"He called my bluff."

"Naturally. One thing I can say about my nephews: none of them are weak. They're about as stubborn as an ox and ten time meaner when they want to be. Oh, don't get me wrong. Aaron is a good man. A respectable, upright man. He's always been the buffer between his hothead brothers. He has more patience, more tolerance when it comes to Nathaniel and Edmund, than I do. I've seen him angry. I've seen him worried. But I've never seen his temper. Usually, around ladies, he is considerate to a fault. But he is clever."

Rebekah released a long breath. What was she to do?

"He called your bluff."

"Yes," she answered with a nod. "I even told him I would tell his brother he took advantage of me." She hadn't planned to bring that up, but Aaron would most likely tell Penelope.

"As in compromise?"

Again, Rebekah nodded.

Penelope laughed. "I can only imagine what came next."

"Nothing," Rebekah hurried to explain. Anything to avoid repeating what Aaron did. "I told him I did not want to marry him and that was the end of it."

"Did Aaron accept that?"

"He will have to. He mentioned gossip. I told him that was his problem. I plan to go home and forget this whole mess."

"Hmmm. That's just it."

"What?"

"I'm afraid, my dear, you have created a bit of a muddle."

"I haven't done anything. I challenged Aaron, and he called my bluff. That's the end of it. I'm going home."

"You told him that?"

"Of course, I told hm."

"What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter. This charade is over." Rebekah rose to leave.

"Not so fast, Rebekah."

She halted in her tracks.

"Sit down, dear. Let me explain something."

What in the world was there to explain?

She turned back toward the little table and sat down.

"Let me tell you a story about three boys. Their father raised them with an iron hand. His will as strong as any devil I've ever seen. Once he set a course, there was no veering off. The oldest son was to inherit, so he started working with the boy at an early age. Then, along came a second son, and then a third where the mother died in childbirth.

"The father was not a kind man. He demanded his rules be followed and his instructions obeyed. Questions were not allowed, and no whining. "Nathaniel never whined. He was as stubborn as his father. I'm afraid that set a pattern for them. The father thought he could beat the mulish attitude out of his firstborn."

Rebekah gasped in shock. Nathaniel's father beat him? What about his brothers?

It was as if Penelope heard the unspoken question. "Mostly he ignored the second and third son. He only needed one to inherit. But still, the father was just as demanding with the younger two. It's a wonder any of them survived." Penelope looked down at her hands. Her expression one of despair. "I tried to interfere. Of course, I was sent packing." She raised her head, meeting Rebekah's eyes. "A man has control of his property. The Earl of Greystoke considered his sons his property.

"It wasn't easy for Aaron, growing up with a monster for a father. He is close to his brothers, even if it does not appear so. They are siblings. They bicker."

Rebekah shook her head to sort out everything Penelope told her. It sounded like all three boys had a horrible upbringing.

"Aaron is a good boy. A strong man. He's endured a lot for his younger years. He's as honest as men come. And he is an aristocrat. He knows what is proper, after all, he had a father who drilled it into him. He watched his brother suffer under his father's rule. I only tell you this because I want you to understand him. He is a nobleman. But he has a heart.

"I've lived in this house with him for years. He could have put me out at any time, yet he did not. I'm sure I get on his nerves, but that boy has never raised his voice to me. And I know he has a good set of lungs because I've heard him shout at his brothers."

"I believe I have seen a little of both sides of Aaron. I've seen him angry. We shouted at each other." Rebekah lowered her head timidly saying the last part. "When we spoke in private, I expected a tongue-lashing. He actually asked me what I wanted."

"What do you want, Rebekah?"

"I want to go home."

"That's not what I mean. What do you want in life?"

"What?" Her confusion, surely, must have shown on her face. "In life?"

Penelope shook her head. "What would you honestly like to have for yourself? A family perhaps? Children? Romance?"

"Doesn't every girl dream of a handsome man that will rescue her?"

"Do you need rescuing, Rebekah? Not from Aaron. Perhaps from something at home?"

Rebekah stiffened and arched her back into a straight line. "My father and I have a good life, Lady Blackburn."

"Perhaps loneliness? Perhaps you'd like a home of your own."

"Lady Blackburn, I came here to annoy Aaron Greystoke, not for any other reason. I do not want his money. I do not want a title. I make bad decisions when I'm in a temper."

"I understand," Lady Blackburn said with a nod. "However, Aaron can give you a different way of life." Rebekah opened her mouth to profess her case, but Penelope held up a hand.

"Not that you asked for it, but why turn it down? You are a lovely girl. You made a splash when you came to London. It was not your intention, but you have given food for fodder to the gossipmongers. They can be a grueling lot."

"I never meant—"

"I know dear." Penelope patted Rebekah's hand.

Her fingers ached from the strenuous punishment she was giving them.

"Aaron needs someone in his life. I think he's a likeable enough fellow. The ladies bat their eyes and pretend to swoon just to get his attention. If the two of you would spend some time together, I think you could work out a reasonable compromise. All that said, you should extend your stay here."

Was she serious? Why?

"We are not bad people, Rebekah. I think you would enjoy your stay."

Rebekah gasped. "I don't think you're bad. That is to say, I'm sure you are a kind person."

"My nephew is another matter, am I right?"

"Uh, no." Her face flushed and she knew it was turning red. "I mean, he seems a gentleman."

"Good, then you'll stay."

Rebekah closed her eyes to keep her head from spinning. She didn't think she had agreed.

"I'm asking you to think about your discussion with Aaron. Stay here with us, at least for a little while. Give us time to sort this out."

Rebekah didn't know what to do. Aunt Penelope was so nice, and her words were reasonable. No matter how much Rebekah wanted to run, she supposed she didn't need to leave right away. And what of Papa? He boasted to everyone that his daughter was marrying a nobleman. It was all too confusing.

She wished she'd never come to London.

Penelope dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "Would you like some more tea, dear?"

"No thank you."

"I'm done. Do you have plans for the day, Rebekah?"

"Um, no. I haven't thought about anything past feeling quite ridiculous."

"Nonsense. Give me a half hour to get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs. We'll talk about what to do. The first thing is to call Madame Laselle. We will order you gowns, and bonnets, and slippers, everything you will need while you are here."

"I don't need gowns and bonnets. I have clothes."

"You are betrothed to Aaron Greystoke. He can easily afford to dress you. You will have appropriate attire and I will assign you a lady's maid."

What had she gotten herself into? It seemed once Penelope got an idea in her mind, she ran with it. Rebekah still had a lot of thinking to do. For now, she would go along.

"All right." Rebekah rose to leave. Before she opened the door, Penelope called to her.

"Rebekah. Promise me you won't leave without telling me."