He knew he had hit the nail on the head when the dowager couldn’t hide her guilty expression. Rather than give him a reply, she hurried to the door without saying a word.
“I shall throw her out on her ear myself so get a spare room ready for her,” Aidan called after her as he turned his cold gaze toward the window. “She will be with you in a thrice.”
Not deigning to answer him, the dowager let herself out of the room.
CHAPTER SIX
Once she had gone, Aidan contemplated his mother’s behaviour. It was clear that she was, once again, going to do what she wanted. Regardless of what was best for everyone else. He just had no idea how to get his point of view across to her. It hadn’t been enough for her to have ruined Jerry’s life by bullying, pushing, and harassing him into marrying someone she considered suitable. In spite of the fact that it was evident to anybody with eyes in their heads that Jerry and Alice weren’t a suitable match, the marriage had been forced upon them, anyway. As a result, the four years of their union had been laden with misery, upset, and a complete lack of regard for each other.
Right up until the day that Alice had fallen down the stairs and died from her injuries.
Thankfully, Jerry had been in London at the time, but the questions as whether she had actually fallen or had jumped still remained unanswered. Her husband’s absence from the house had proven his innocence in the entire affair. Unfortunately, it had done little to eradicate the lingering memory of the darker days of the family’s past.
Having witnessed just how much despair the whole ordeal had subjected his beloved brother, Aidan was determined to be the one to choose his bride, as any man should do. At the moment, he didn’t want to get married. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of the matter. He just wished the dowager would take the hint.
He was still mulling the problem over when Jerry appeared an hour later.
“Should you be there?” he asked when he saw where Aidan was sitting. He sauntered casually into the room and glanced at the empty bed as he passed it, but shrugged and continued across the chamber to sit in the window seat.
“I have to get up and about,” Aidan replied absently.
“How did you get there? Don’t tell me you persuaded Edwards to do something for you for a change?”
Aidan snorted. “I don’t want that woman doing anything for me.”
“So?” Jerry prompted when Aidan didn’t tell him. “How did you get from there to here? The last I knew, you were barely able to stand up.”
“I had a little help,” Aidan replied with a small smile.
They were suddenly interrupted by Petal, who arrived carrying a large tray full of food. She didn’t hesitate as she crossed the room and slid her burden onto the table beside him.
“I am really not hungry, Petal,” Aidan murmured, eyeing the tray warily.
“Do you want to get back into that bed by yourself one day?” she countered, completely oblivious to Jerry, who had yet to speak.
Aidan watched Petal lift the lid off the serving dish and almost groaned when the delicious scent of meat and gravy teased his senses.
“You can at least try a small piece,” she said firmly, refusing to give up.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Aidan couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her. This gentle yet relentless nudging was by far the complete opposite of his mother’s rather stringent determination. He was a little bemused by it, and helpless to deny her.
“I will try some. How about that?”
When Petal beamed at him, he did a double take and stared at her in disbelief.
Petal took the opportunity to hand him a plate heaped with pie, steaming vegetables, and lashings of gravy. He took it off her absently but when he opened his mouth to protest, he closed it again and watched her lift the lid off a large slice of seed cake.
“Right. I will be back in a little while to fetch the tray,” Petal declared, gathering the abandoned tea things up. “I will bring you some fresh tea then.”
“Brandy,” Aidan corrected as he skewered a piece of pie with his knife. “I cannot abide tea. Bring me the brandy bottle instead.”
Pleased that he was at least eating now, Petal nodded and scurried out of the room.
Jerry couldn’t hide his smile as he watched them. He was intrigued by what he had just seen. Not just the easy-going familiarity between Aidan and the maid, but the brisk, no-nonsense efficiency in which she did it, without Aidan even appearing to notice. Petal had gotten what she wanted; Aidan eating a hearty meal, and she hadn’t put him out of sorts to get her own way. Jerry suspected she was the one responsible for Aidan’s new seating arrangement as well.
He waited until Aidan had eaten most of what was put before him, and Aidan poured them both a brandy from the bottle Petal delivered to the room.
“I have eaten, thank you, Petal,” he assured her when she asked if he would like something to eat.