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He scowled to himself as he sat down and cut a slice of bread and poured hot coffee into a mug. Of course there would have been better ways to stop her crying. Who was he fooling? He’d wanted to kiss her since the moment he’d seen her, and for some damned reason, the moment when she was at her most vulnerable was when he’d chosen to do it. Luckily for him, she had not slapped a hand across his face.

Lachlan would not have blamed her had she done so, but her response he could not have anticipated. He touched a fingerto his mouth. The memory of the warmth of her soft lips still lingered. He took a sip of coffee as though the bitter tang could remove the memory. Though whether he even wanted to forget it, was another thing. Honor dictated that he did. Or what was left of his honor anyway.

She returned swiftly, as promised. Her cheeks tinged with pink from the cold weather outside. She glanced shyly at him and sat opposite. He made himself busy with buttering some toast and digging into the food.

“Is it good? Or at least acceptable?”

He glanced up at her. “Yes, excellent. Better than even my cook’s food.”

She pursed her lips. “Now I know you are lying.”

“Perhaps.” He let his lips curve. “But there is nothing a man likes more than a good breakfast after a morning’s work.”

“You certainly do work hard. I imagine your life at home is not the same. Not if you have a cook.”

“Aye, that is true. My house is some three miles from here, and I never have to cook my own breakfast.”

“Yet, I think you rather enjoy the work.” She tilted her head and eyed him.

“You may be right. I am not used to doing nothing, even though I have owned that house for several years now.” He shrugged. “I don’t know how to change habits that were ingrained into me as a lad.”

“That is very admirable.” She bit into a slice of bread, leaving a little butter on her top lip that Lachlan longed to lean across and swipe off with his thumb. Mostly so he could feel her lips one more time.

“There are other more admirable actions. Like you, for example—he pointed a fork her way—“you have embarked on a journey that you knew would terrify you, and yet, you still did.”

“Well, I have little choice. My older brother Theo, the marquis, has been struggling financially. A lot of people depend on him for their living, and he is trying his best to ensure everyone’s living is safe.”

“Times can be hard, especially for those with large estates.”

“I imagine you are not having a hard time.” She gave a tilted smile. “But our business and estate is in fairly good health. It is his late wife who caused most of the financial problems. Theo does not talk about it much—Theo does not talk about much at all—but I believe she gambled greatly and left huge debts after her death.”

“So, if you gain this inheritance, it will help Theo?”

She nodded. “We have all tried to take as little as we can from him, but with this inheritance, we will be able to be independent from him. My only other option was to marry, and I’m sure you can imagine there are few men wanting to propose to me.”

Lachlan nearly choked on his bread. He had imagined there were men lining up all around London just for a chance to speak with her. “I cannot imagine, lass, no.”

Minerva glanced down at her plate. “Well, it is true. And I could not bring myself to go in search of a man. So, this inheritance will help greatly. But unless each of us completes our tasks successfully, we will not have the money.”

Lachlan frowned. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “If we do not complete this, all of the inheritance will go to an uncle of ours. He is not even really an uncle. He married our aunt and left her in the most dire of circumstances. He does not deserve a single penny.”

She said this with such determination that he almost smiled. “I cannot imagine your grandfather really wanted that for you all.”

“I suspect he wanted to ensure we had extra incentive to complete our tasks. I thought he was mad sending me on such a journey, but he wrote me a letter, and I could see he wanted so much more for me. I think perhaps if I had been given this task any earlier, I would have been unable to complete it. But I had been thinking about my life a lot recently, particularly after his death. It seems a shame that someone must pass away for one to see what their life is really like.”

“I think you underestimate yourself.” He took a long gulp of coffee to wash down the bread. “There are few women who would complete such a task, regardless of past traumas.”

“I have yet to complete it. Until I have returned this thing of my grandfathers to London and his lawyer, my task is not done.”

“About the rest of your journey…” He gulped down a deep breath, aware that his heart was pressing hard against his rib cage. “You realize that to travel to Malmara you will need to go on horseback. The journey may be treacherous.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “But I have to believe that my grandpapa would not have set me such a task if he did not think I could complete it.”

“I think you can complete it, to be certain. But I also think you need help.”

“I have Mr. Johnson and Mr. Young. Mr. Johnson may not look that strong, but he is a capable man.”