The Unquiet - J. D. Robb [63]
Ida nodded, and Lydia could almost hear her trying to discern what devilment she and Lord Chase were up to.
“To call this ‘the back room’ hardly does it justice.” His eyes scanned the room, the shelves. “It’s like a treasure cave complete with a magic carpet on the floor.
She nodded. “Alexei felt one should be comfortable wherever one spent the most time.” You should see our bed, she thought, but wisely kept that to herself. “And there is no doubt that both of us spent as much time in here as we did in the flat upstairs. Sometimes we even took dinner here.”
Lydia sat at the table where the teapot and cakes waited. The cot was on the other side of the room, pressed against the wall, in front of shelves of great bolts of purple, lilac, and lavender cloth.
They did not speak while she poured their tea. When she offered him the cakes, she broke the silence, which seemed to her to be growing awkward. “I count myself lucky on those days when Mr. Florencio does not sell all his orange cream cakes. They are my favorite, and he sends them over so they do not go to waste.”
“Then I will take this lemon bar, or is that your other favorite?” He smiled, and she felt her heart speed up.
“Have one of each, my lord.”
“Ah yes,” he said, as if just recalling why they were seated in such a private place. “My name is Chase Weldon Cyrus Bourne. My mother is the Duchess of Bournemouth.” He cleared his throat and went on. “The duke recognizes me as his third son, but I am no blood relation to him.”
Chase paused. Lydia was almost sure he was waiting to see her shock, if she would send him on his way without hearing another word. What she wanted to do was to cover her ears. She didn’t want to hear this. It was too intimate, too personal a thing to share with a casual acquaintance.
She only nodded, unwilling to send him away when he would surely misinterpret her reason. At her nod, he relaxed and relief began to overtake his embarrassment.
“I do not know who my father is. My mother will not discuss it. My situation is not common knowledge, so you must know how highly I value your opinion that I would tell you this. I trust you will respect my privacy.”
“Yes, Lord Chase.” Lydia leaned toward him. “I do, and once again I promise you my complete discretion.” She picked up her teacup but did not think she could swallow even a sip.
“Thank you.” He took a long sip of his tea. “My family prefers to see as little of me as possible. I accept the allowance that the duke sends quarterly and make the required appearances with the family during the Season when we can appear to be en famille but do not actually have to speak to one another.
“For all intents and purposes I fill my time the way many gentlemen do: gambling, dancing, boxing, going to the theater, and buying anything that appeals to me. In truth, I spend my time finding and caring for children—boys actually—who are bastard sons not as fortunate as I am.”
“You mean you consider it your life’s calling?” She paused a moment then went on. “The boys who were guarding me. They are your foundlings.” The last was a statement. Her surprise was so genuine that the words burst from her without thought. “I beg your pardon, my lord. But you must admit that is an unusual calling for a gentleman. Not for a monk, perhaps,” she added.
“I am hardly a monk.”
His wry smile made her shiver, and not out of fear. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling back. “Most English gentlemen are barely aware of those in need.”
“I decided long ago that the ton is not as blind to these troubles as I thought. Rather, they are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem and have no idea where to start. They think in grand terms and leave it to the government. Some like Mr. Wilberforce succeed, but most bills fail.”
“Wilberforce might have put an end to the slave trade, but it took him years and years.”
“Yes, a lifetime, I expect.”
So he saw it as a life’s work. “But you have help from among your friends?”
“I would say that one out of three wants to be included. Here in Birmingham, Mrs. Griffin’s son has