Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

“I do every night in my dreams.”

God, he couldn’t get her words out of his head. He’d not seen her for longer than a few moments the past few times she’d been out to take care of the books, other issues demanding his attention.

Not that it mattered. The moment he entered his office he could smell her, the incredible scent she wore like a blanket. A smell he was desperate to have on his sheets and all over his skin.

Permanently.

Whenever he walked into his office, it was in pristine condition. Nothing out of place, even the books put back. Again, if not for the knowledge she’d been there or the scent lingering in the air, he wouldn’t have known.

At first, he’d thought she had been avoiding him, but he’d realized that it was he who had been otherwise occupied when she’d been here.

He needed to see her. And they needed to discuss the fact she was still working all those other jobs.

Did he want to monopolize all her time? Fuck yes. But regardless of his selfish desire, he was one hundred percent impressed with the woman she was and how she made sure to handle her business. She wasn’t rolling over and letting anyone take care of her.

Fine, it is not anyone else, but I should be allowed to care for her.

Possessive?

Hell yes.

He walked around his desk, dragging his fingers along the back of the chair she’d been using. Closing his eyes, he envisioned her in there with him. His gut clenched as he envisaged her bent over the books, working to make sure all his numbers were in order.

“My lord.”

Phillip rubbed the nape of his neck. “What is it, Keating?”

“You asked us to keep an eye out for someone snooping around. Two of the footmen caught a man in the back, in the stores.”

Shoving thoughts of Fyre to the back of his mind, he walked with purpose to where Keating stood by the door. Their gazes met and together they headed to the outbuilding where he stored his harvested items before they were taken to the docks and shipped out.

Davie and Marcus were the two holding the man. Marcus had a pitchfork aimed at him as they stood over him, keeping him on the ground and unable to run.

Phillip didn’t recognize the man and walked closer, noting how the intruder paled at the sight of him. The man’s tanned skin was pockmarked and he was missing some teeth.

“I did not mean any harm, my lord. Please let me go. You will never see me again.”

“You meant no harm? Yet my men find you trying to steal from me? How is that not doing harm?” He crossed his arms. “Who are you and why are you trying to steal from me?”

He blanched and squirmed on the hard, unforgiving floor. Phillip had no sympathy for him.

“My family is hungry.”

Phillip didn’t blink. He just stared at him.

“The man said he would pay if I did this for him.”

“Who said? What man?”

“He will kill me if I give his name. Then he will go after my wife and children.”

Waving off his men, Phillip waited until it was just the two of them in there before crouching down by the man. “I do not recognize you from this island. Where were you recruited? And did this man who hired you tell you that I was an earl?”

He hadn’t thought it possible for the man to pale further.

“You can have me killed.”

“Yes, and I would not lose any sleep over it. I do not tolerate people who steal from me, or try to. So, we will try this again. You will tell me what you know, all of it, and then I will decide if you will be able to see your family again.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The man got up, slowly, and together they walked outside. Phillip saw Elonne riding up and wondered what he was doing here. He still needed to have words with him for daring to lay a hand on his sister. Right now, Phillip forced himself to remain focused on the problem before him.

It took over an hour to get the information he needed. Then he locked the man up and sent Davie off to confirm the news he’d been given. It would take a while for the man to get there and back. Content that Pavel, the man they’d captured, would not be going anywhere, he made his way back to the main part of the house.

Heading to the kitchen, he smiled at the cook, who fixed him a quick meal. As he finished, Keating found him once more and let him know that Elonne was still waiting for him.

It was after six at night and he hadn’t been looking forward to doing any more discussion today, but this man he would see. So he returned to the study and found Elonne standing by the window, staring out.

“You asked to see me, Mr. Parker.” He walked behind his desk and watched the man at the window. “How can I be of assistance?” He made his way to the sideboard and poured two drinks. He handed one to Elonne then went to his chair and sat.

“I came here to discuss my sister, my lord.” He lifted the drink. “Thank you for this and I appreciate you seeing me. As the man of the family, she is my responsibility.”

Leaning back in his chair, Phillip waited for the man to get to the point. The words dangling at the edge of his tongue weren’t nice ones.

“I told her to stop working for you and just maintain the other jobs she has. You know this, I know she confronted you.” He bounced his broad shoulders. “My sister, she is not listening to me. I was hoping you would be able to tell her she no longer had this job.”

“How is this any different than when you were using her to pretend to be doing the work on my books? Your sister is incredible with numbers and my books have never been in better shape. Every blunt is accounted for and I am not worried that she is attempting to fleece me. And we have already had this discussion and I told you I would not do it.”

He placed his drink down on the desk and leaned forward. “To be honest with you, Mr. Parker, I want to hire your sister full time. I want her to only work for me, not everyone else she is working for. You can take over those smaller accounts. My ventures are about to grow and I will need more of her time given she is the best at what she does. I’m accustomed to having nothing but the best and have no plans to change that. So, no, I will not tell her she no longer has a job. I mentioned to you before that I was going to take care of her and that still stands. But I will be talking to her about my thoughts on taking care of her, and while I understand you are the man in the family, I am her friend and one of her employers.”

Elonne narrowed his eyes slightly.

Phillip rose and walked toward the man, leaving the glass on the desk. “One more thing, and this, in my opinion, is the most important. If I ever see another mark on her skin from where you hit her, the next discussion between the two of us will not be even half as civil as this one has been.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Are we clear?”

“She told you I hit her?”

“Do you deny hitting a woman that you are easily twice the size and strength of? No, she would not talk about it, but I have eyes and ears all over this island and word reached me.” He moved closer. “I cannot stand a man who feels he has a right to hit a woman, and I will take him to task. This is your one warning from me.”

Elonne gulped but didn’t look away. Phillip wanted to give him credit for that. But it wasn’t worth it, the fucker never should have dared to lay his hands on a woman, much less his own sister. When he’d found out from Marta what had happened, it had taken Phillip more control than he’d believed he possessed not to go kill him right then and there.

“She is my sister.”

“She is a woman who should be protected, not hit. And I am letting you know, she is under my protection.”

“My sister is not going to be your whore.”

“I have far too much respect for her to even continue that discussion. I can get a whore when I want one. I will never look at your sister in such a light. Have a good night, Mr. Parker.”

Phillip walked out of the room and, in his peripheral vision, watched as Keating entered to help Elonne on his way.

* * * *

Laughter spilled through the kitchen. Fyre wiped her eyes before tackling the large ball of dough before her. She was hanging out with Georges and Marta in the large bakery belonging to Georges.

The man had broken his arm and she and Marta were helping him so he didn’t fall behind. While she could cook and bake, Fyre didn’t have his expertise in doing all the breads he did. So the man was giving directions while she did her best to follow them.

The sun had yet to even think about cresting the horizon and she had been at this for two hours already. Every second that passed gave her more and more respect for the baker. At least they had coffee and food to snack on, because this…this was some incredibly serious physical work.

She worked the dough as Georges regaled them with stories of his youth, while Marta formed loaves from the dough she’d already worked to slide into the oven.

Using the mezzaluna Georges had placed beside her, she cut sections off to create more loaves. Her stomach rumbled again. This baking bread smell was making her mouth water.

He moved closer to her, his damaged arm in a sling as he looked over what she was doing.

“You ever want to get into baking, Gwen, you could be a fantastic assistant.” A grin. “Perhaps even take over when I am no longer able to work.”

“Thank you, but I think I would eat all of this if I started working here. How do you not just eat every bit of it? The smell is incredible.”

“It balances out. You work it off.”

She nodded. Her arms were already aching and she knew her back was going to be sore as well. But she would see this through because Georges was so nice to her, she wanted to give back.

Feeling as if she’d already put in a full day when the sun finally peeked over the horizon, she moaned as she stretched. She was sore, but in a good way. As soon as Georges opened up his shop, there were people there to purchase the fresh bread.

She and Marta carried bread to people and helped them get their loaves. Marta cleared her throat and Fyre looked up to see Mrs. Callie, the cook’s assistant for Hawk’s Cove, there in line.

The other woman gave her a smile and a small wave.

“Morning, Miss Gwen.”

Unable to not return the smile, she gave a small curtsey. “Mrs. Callie, good morning.”

“You work here as well?”

“Helping out Georges as he hurt his arm.” She took the sheet the woman handed over and skimmed it fast, making note of how many loaves and what kinds were wanted for the house. “I will be right back.”

Fyre didn’t take long to fill the order and was placing the bread in Mrs. Callie’s basket in short order. With another smile, Mrs. Callie was on her way and Fyre got back to work.

They didn’t finish their rush until a little after eight. Having been up since two, she was ready to get in a nap. After ensuring that Georges was good for the rest of the day, she walked home to get changed and head out to do some of her normal things for the day.

At least she only had one person on her schedule for doing books. Unfortunately, it was Albie.

At her home, she cleaned up and was partaking in a small cup of tea when the door opened and her brother walked in. Her heartbeat began to race as the hair lifted on the nape of her neck. Clenching her fingers around the warm cup, she willed them to stop shaking.

Not willing to show him how much his actions scared her, she remained at the table, working hard to make sure to keep her face closed off from all expression. He would pounce like a predator if he knew her weakness.

“Where have you been this morning?” He slammed his hands down on the table.

That got her to flinch.

“You are not my keeper, Elonne. You have no right to barge into my home and demand to know where I was.” One hand she kept around the mug, the other she hid in her lap, to keep her trembling a secret.

“I was here around six and you were not home.” He leaned closer. “Where were you? Were you with that English lord?”

She shook her head and got to her feet. “You have gone too far, Elonne. I appreciate all you have done for me in the past but this is over. Who I am with and what I choose to do is my business. You have made it abundantly clear that I am already a disappointment to you and the family because I will not listen to you now that I have moved out. I want you to leave.”

“That man is only using you.”

“To what end? What possible reason could he have to use me?” The man could have taken what he wanted from me by now and everyone would have looked away because he is a man and an earl.

“To get at me.”

“Again, to what end?” She shook her head at her brother. “We are not exactly in his social circle, Elonne. What good is using me to get to you going to do him?”

He sneered at her, suddenly no longer the brother who had always protected her. And she could say for the first time, she truly feared him. She had no more belief that he would never hurt her. This man was different. He had something hounding him. She wasn’t sure if it was the stress of his home life and the lack of money they now had coming in or what. All she knew was at the moment, she was their target. He had changed, and she wasn’t confident about the person he’d become.

“Cara told me that you had a high opinion of yourself because I kept you from working in the fields. Told me you think yourself better.” His words poured out in a rush, making her shiver.

Wanting nothing more than to run and hide from this person who only looked like her brother, she didn’t move. She wasn’t sure she even could move from her spot—her legs most likely would not hold her.

His eyes held a maniacal gleam as he stared at her.

“I have to get ready. I am due at Mr. Caulfield’s shortly.” The words slipped from her mouth without wavering and she was proud for that, at least.

That name seemed to snap his brother out of whatever trance or fixation that had held him. Didn’t do a thing to ease her own mind, however.

“You owe me. You owe us,” he hissed.

Fyre squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before focusing on her brother. Anger pumped through her. This was her brother, the man who had protected her. Sheltered her. Guided her.

But it wasn’t. Because her big brother would not be looking at her with such anger and hatred.

She forced herself to move, slowly and cautiously, until she was sure her legs wouldn’t buckle beneath her fear. Hands on the table, she stared at the man she used to adore with every fiber of her being.

“No, Elonne. I do not.”

His gaze widened before it narrowed on her. “What?”

“I do not owe you or your wife anything.”

His face twisted into something ugly and he moved toward her. “I gave you a place to stay. I helped you find work.”

“And I gave you and your wife three-quarters of what I earned, plus I cleaned and cooked while looking after your children as your wife shopped. I put back into that household. And I never asked for you to help me. I always wanted to live on my own. When I first mentioned that, you said no and that I wasn’t a burden because you are my older brother and your job is to protect me. Yes, when we were younger you protected me. You were with me as I recovered from the accident, but I held those jobs, all of them, on my own. Because of my work ethic and how good I am at what I do. I owe you nothing.”

He moved like lightning, and she was against the wall with his hand around her neck before she knew what had happened.

“I own you, sister. And you will provide me with the money I need. You will marry Albie and he will pay me a handsome dowry for you.”

She clawed at his hand and wrist, gasping for air. He didn’t let go. Spots danced before her eyes and still he wouldn’t release her.

“You were a sickly child and I stopped them from killing you after the accident. Now you will pay me back for saving you. One way or another.”

His words echoed in her mind as she sank into the dark world of unconsciousness.