Skye wasn’t deterred by his adamancy. She had vowed to help her uncle and she wouldn’t give up. More important, she wouldn’t abandon her pursuit of Lord Hawkhurst when she had barely begun.
She put on her most expressive face and softened her tone to a plea. “My lord … I have traveled a long distance to speak to you. My grooms and coachman are wet and cold and hungry. Surely you will give us shelter for one night?” When he remained silent, Skye added for good measure, “If you make us leave now, my horses could be hurt.”
She could see him wavering and persisted in laying out more arguments. “I suspect you are too much of a gentleman to expel us.”
Her claim elicited a curt response from Hawkhurst. “I am too much of a gentleman not to expel you. You cannot sleep here alone, overnight, in a deserted bachelor’s abode.”
“What is the harm? You are a dear friend of my aunt. It isn’t so shocking that I would seek refuge in your home until the storm passes. Besides, no one will even know I am here.”
“The servants will gossip.”
“You said you have very few servants employed here, and mine are completely loyal to me.”
“I have few servants employed in the house, but I brought half a dozen grooms from my home on the Isle of Cyrene.”
“Why so many?” Skye asked curiously.
“Because I breed horses. Purchasing blood stock in conjunction with this trip is an efficient use of my time and keeps me occupied.”
And is a way to distract yourself while repairs are under way, Skye thought to herself, feeling another keen pang of sympathy for him. “My aunt tells me you possess a superb stable, and you said the buildings are in better condition than the house. Would you have room for my coachman and two grooms?”
“Yes, my stable hands have their own quarters behind the barns, and there is ample room for visiting servants, but the issue is not space but your reputation.”
“I am not worried about that.”
She was almost certain any potential damage to her reputation could be contained. Her advantages of breeding, family, fortune, and high-ranking connections would largely shield her from society’s condemnation if word got out about her brazen actions. And risking scandal was well worth the chance of finding her soul mate in Lord Hawkhurst.
As for her family, her aunt and cousin Kate wholeheartedly supported her plan to pursue the earl but hadn’t accompanied her because she needed privacy to conduct her evaluation.
Wisely, she hadn’t told the rest of her family. Since she was female and the youngest Wilde, her brother and uncle and male cousins were overly protective. And she had only prevaricated a little when she’d claimed her brother was too occupied to help her. Quinn had indeed made himself scarce recently, but less out of contrariness than to avoid Kate’s matchmaking schemes.
Quinn outright laughed at the notion of legendary lovers. Skye, on the other hand, had embraced the possibility, even one as far-fetched as a fairy tale about a beast who was not truly a beast and the beauty who freed him from an evil spell. Her cynical brother didn’t understand her deep-seated desire to find her own true love. Quinn often accused her of being too idealistic, of constantly dreaming of what could be, and he wasn’t mistaken.
“Please, my lord,” Skye tried once more. “You may send me away tomorrow, once the storm subsides.”
Thankfully, the earl’s reluctance gave way to reason. “Very well. But you will leave first thing in the morning, storm or no storm.”
Skye hid her vast relief. “Thank you. You are very generous.”
“No doubt I will regret it,” he muttered.
Before he could change his mind, Skye rose and went to the hearth to don her damp cloak.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to tell my servants we are staying and to make certain they have food and beds for the night.”
“I am not letting you go out to the stables.”
“Then perhaps your caretaker could go for me?”
Hawkhurst frowned. “I told you, he is elderly. He’s so frail, he might be blown away by the wind. I will go myself.”
It was another sign of his uniqueness, a nobleman volunteering to perform menial tasks in place of his elderly servant.
“That is kind of you to spare him,” Skye replied. “But I should go. I am already half soaked.”
“Did you bring a valise with a change of clothing?”