Page 31 of Finding the One (River Rain #7)

“Thank you, Christine,” he said. “I assume ye ken Mr. Sharp, Alex and her husband, Rix, and very likely others will be arriving soon.”

She gave him a quick nod. “Mr. Sharp’s assistant has shared the details. I’ve everything in order. Just need you to tell me when you’d like your meal tonight. It’s my understanding Mr. Sharp will arrive around five.”

Blake had barely eaten anything all day, excusing this by saying she wasn’t hungry.

“If ye can manage something substantial,” he requested. “Blake hasn’t been eating properly today.”

“Poor little miss,” Christine murmured.

They heard someone approach.

Christine looked beyond him and did not hide he was correct in his assumptions.

When he turned, he knew it was Jeff coming and he knew that Christine had no respect for him and possibly liked him even less.

Jeff came to Dair and said, “Your fob, Mr . Wallace.”

Decision made.

The man had to go.

“Your bags are upstairs,” Jeff finished.

“Thank you,” Dair replied.

Jeff jutted his chin mock-diffidently, shot an inscrutable look to Christine, then turned and walked away.

When Dair went back to Christine, he caught her mid-eyeroll.

“Not fond of Helena’s butler?” he inquired.

She blanched and said quickly, “No, sir. It’s just?—”

“I ken who he is, or rather, what he is, Christine.” He paused before he added, “We’ll talk later.”

Her eyes widened, but her surprise swiftly turned to relief which then segued to, if he wasn’t wrong, glee.

For certain, Jeff was an issue that had to be dealt with.

Christine’s emotional journey ended on worry.

“Does Lady Blake know that?—?”

Dair shook his head. “I dinnae think she’s put it together yet.”

“For the best,” Christine mumbled.

“We’ll be on our way just now.” He looked at his watch. “Dinner at six thirty work for you?”

“Yes, Mr. Wallace?—”

“Dair,” he corrected her.

Her mouth twitched.

She heard the Mr .

“Dair,” she said. “I’ve all her favorites in, Lady Blake’s. We’ll get something in her stomach. Keep her energy up, if not her spirits.”

“Thank you, Christine. Terrible circumstances, but lovely to see ye again.”

“Yes, erm…Dair.”

After giving her a smile, he walked away and headed toward the stairs, using his memory of where Blake’s room was when they were young.

That was where he found her.

So he collected her, took her to the car, programmed the SatNav and drove them to the morgue.

Early that evening, they were back in the incrementally less formal lounge having a drink.

Blake was sitting on the sofa, barely sipping, mostly staring morosely out a window.

Dair was next to her, definitely drinking, and watching her face.

He was hoping he never again in his life had to identify another body.

Helena had looked peaceful, but the blanket had been pulled up under her jaw.

She hadn’t been wearing her seatbelt. She’d sustained massive internal injuries during the crash and was eventually crushed. She’d also broken her neck.

Her driver was wearing his seatbelt, but he’d also been crushed.

According to witnesses, a boy racer was zigzagging between lanes while speeding, lost control of his car, and on the busy motorway, he took seven other cars with him. Though, the police told him they were lucky he didn’t involve more.

The boy racer was the last on the list who’d lost his life.

Even so, several others were still in hospital, including the dead little girl’s mum.

While viewing her mother, Blake had not wept. She kept the stiff-upper lip her mother’s side of the family gave her, signed the paperwork, spoke briefly to the police, and then Dair hurried her back to the car and home.

“Anything specific on your mind, lass?” he asked.

“I just…” She shot straight then her head whipped to him. “Daddy!”

She put her drink down and raced from the room.

Much slower, Dair followed suit.

By the time he made the front door, Blake was crying, “Nora!”

Dair stood on the front step as Blake ran to give a quick buss to Nora, then she went direct to her father and threw her arms around him.

And aye, there was Nora Ellington, a family friend of Blake’s, looking classy and elegant and not at all like she’d boarded a plane at the crack of dawn her time.

Dair moved into the gravel drive to go to Nora.

He touched his cheek to hers, stepped back and said, “Glad you’re here.”

Nora had eyes only for Blake. “How is she?”

“She’s had half a banana today and my girl likes her food.”

“Hmm,” Nora hummed, then turned, and he saw her brows immediately arch up. Not long later, he saw a supercilious expression come over her face. “Helena, not exactly full of surprises, but still she manages to surprise,” she said under her breath.

Dair didn’t have to turn, but he did, to see Jeff standing at the front door.

Blake was coming to say a proper hello to Nora as Ned moved his way, his focus on Jeff, his face carved from granite.

Nothing escaped the man, it seemed.

He wiped his expression clean when he offered Dair his hand. “Dair.”

“Ned, good you’re here.”

Ned sent a sideways glance to his daughter who was chatting with Nora.

When he returned his attention to Dair, Dair shook his head once, doing so communicating a number of things including, no, she was not okay, and no, she didn’t know what Jeff was.

Ned let out a sigh.

“God, that would be awesome. I’m so glad you’re here and that will help so much,” Blake was saying to Nora.

“What will help?” Dair asked as Blake clamped down on her father.

Dair offered his arm to Nora who took it.

“Nora is going to help with the funeral arrangements. I’ve no idea where even to begin,” Blake said over her shoulder to him.

Then thank fuck she was there, because he didn’t either.

They stopped awkwardly at Jeff while Blake made introductions.

“You’ll be needing to see to their bags as well, and telling Christine we have an extra so we need another room made up and another plate for dinner,” Dair tacked on when she was done.

“Of course, Mr . Wallace,” Jeff all but snapped.

Ned gave Jeff a narrow look.

Nora raised her brows again.

Blake remained blithely unaware.

Jeff marched to the car.

They returned to the room they left and Dair went right to the bar. “What can I get ye?”

“Man after my own heart,” Nora replied, then said, “Alcohol.”

Ned chuckled and replied, “Scotch would be good.”

“Nora likes martinis and cosmos and palomas and gimlets and negronis and, well…” Blake trailed off.

“Whatever Blake is drinking, dearest,” Nora said.

He made Nora’s cosmo first, then he poured Ned’s Scotch.

As he resumed his seat and reclaimed his drink, Nora said, “Jamie will be here at the weekend. He’s got some meetings he can’t miss.”

“He doesn’t have to come. I know it’s a headache,” Blake said. “And neither did you.”

“Pish-posh,” Nora replied, and spoke no more.

He barely knew the woman. He met her at the wedding.

Even so, he liked her a great deal.

“Alex and Rix will be here in the morning,” Ned stated. “I’ve got a car meeting them at the airport. They should be to the house by ten.”

“Excellent,” Dair said.

Small talk was had until the drinks were drunk and then Nora asked if she could be shown to her room to freshen up before dinner.

Blake popped up to do so.

The women left, the men watched them, and when their voices couldn’t be heard anymore, Ned turned right to Dair.

“Is she fucking joking with that ‘butler?’” he clipped.

“I’m not certain how to answer that,” Dair replied, getting up and taking both their glasses back to the bar cart to recharge.

“It doesn’t seem like Blake has put it together,” Ned remarked.

“She hasn’t and hopefully will continue not to do so until I can get rid of his arse,” Dair said, pouring both of them more Scotch. “The good news, I dinnae believe Christine will state his case for him.”

“I wonder how many more nasty surprises Helena has in store for my girls,” Ned muttered.

This was what Dair was wondering.

Dair brought back the drinks, gave Ned his, and again sat down.

He did this before he asked, “Is there anything particularly nasty she could do?”

“Helena had a knack for ‘particularly nasty,’” Ned said into his drink.

“I mean, regarding the estate or the inheritance.”

Ned looked to him. “Say, bequeathing it to her young stud?”

Dair nodded.

Ned shook his head.

“No. She could name him in her will. Give him a monetary bequest, or a personal gift, but it would be minor and appropriate to a servant, especially since most of Helena’s assets were owned by the estate.

There’s no circumventing the terms of the passing of assets or title in a hereditary peerage.

It’s my understanding, to do something like that, she’d need direct permission from the king, and unsurprisingly, he wasn’t very fond of Helena. ”

“What about providing for him? Any terms that would make it difficult to sack him?”

For the first time since he arrived, Ned smiled. “Absolutely not.”

“Good,” Dair murmured. He cleared his throat and said, “Now’s not the time, but she’s going to have a lot shoved her way she’ll have to get her head around.”

“Helena didn’t manage this house, Dair,” Ned explained.

“The housekeeper, Christine does. I very seriously doubt Jeff has taken on any of those duties. And she has financial advisers who act as trustees for the estate,” Ned shared.

“Yes, Blake will have to familiarize herself with all of this, but thanks to Christine and the trustees, I believe the estate runs very well without the need for her to be overly involved, unless she wishes to be.”

“Good,” Dair repeated and took another drink.

“I’ve made arrangements to stay a while,” Ned informed him.

It might have come late, but he was a good father.

“I won’t get underfoot, and if you need me to give you privacy—” Ned continued.

“It’s a big house, Ned,” Dair murmured, not wishing to get into the awkwardness of why they would need privacy.

Ned swiftly set that aside. “But I intend to be here not only to support my daughter, but to look over everything and go over it with her so she understands what she’s taken on.”

“That’s good too,” Dair replied.

“She looks pale, haunted,” Ned got to the important shite.

“She’s barely eaten today. Christine said she’s making Blake’s favorites.

She needs food. She needs rest. She slept like the dead and woke like she hadn’t slept in a year.

You’re here. That helps. Nora helping with the funeral will be appreciated.

And when Alex is here, I think she’ll feel even better. ”

“And you’re not saying?” Ned prompted.

“The last time she saw her mother, she struck her violently.”

“I was worried her mind would turn to that,” Ned sighed.

“It can’t but,” Dair replied. “Regardless that Helena deserved it for a variety of reasons.”

“We’ll watch over her,” Ned decreed.

Aye.

They certainly would.

It was the first day since they’d started having sex that they didn’t have sex.

Dair was completely fine with that.

What he wasn’t fine with was watching his woman wander around listless.

The edification of Ned and Nora showing wore off after dinner and Dair was heading straight to alarmed at how little energy and life Blake had while going through the motions of getting ready for bed.

But now they were snuggled in bed. It was dark. Quiet. No city sounds could be heard as white noise.

Just them in this big room in this massive house.

“Ate well at dinner, hen,” he noted.

“I forgot what a great cook Christine was. Her garlic roasted chicken and Boursin mash is the best. And I can’t believe she pulled out the Eaton Mess. That’s my favorite.”

It had been a stick-to-your-ribs dinner, that was undeniable.

And fortunately, Blake had her fair share.

“I’m a bit worried about ye,” he admitted.

She lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him through the dark.

“I don’t want you to be worried, honey,” she said softly.

“Of course ye dinnae,” he replied. “I still am.”

“My mum just died.”

“I ken.”

“I haven’t really…” she trailed off, Dair said nothing, she picked up the thread, “I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“Do ye need to define it?”

“I…well, I guess not.”

“It feels shite. It’s going to feel shite for a while.

Ye dinnae have to make it harder on yourself by untwisting all you’ve got to have twisted in your head right now.

Ye have time. Get through the funeral. Get a handle on the changes this has made to your life.

Then ye can get a handle on what losing Helena makes ye feel. ”

“The changes this has made on my life?” she asked.

Well…

Christ.

Had she not put it together?

“You’ve inherited a rather important title, lass,” he said carefully.

He heard a snort, and only Blake could make a snort sound ladylike.

“All my life I’ve wanted to be Marchioness of Norton,” she decreed. “I mean, how kickass is that?”

He felt a smile forming. “It’s pretty kickass.”

She pressed closer. “And anyway, I was gearing up to be in the UK a fuckuva lot more. Right?”

His tone was guttural when he replied, “Right.”

“So that’s not a thing,” she said.

“Good to know.”

More apt: great to know.

“I know it’s going to sound crazy to say this,” she began, “but it’s true. I just wish I had a mum who, when she died, suddenly and without warning, I was devastated.”

Fuck, his poor wee lass.

He turned into her and gathered her tight against him. “I wish that too.”

“As macabre as this is, and warning, it’s very macabre, I think she’d like that she went out the same way the most famous princess in the world did.

She hated her. Said she was the death of the true monarchy.

But she was obsessed with her. Even after she was gone, Mum watched every documentary and read books about her.

Is it weird that I feel some solace in that? ”

“Nothing is weird, lassie.”

She tucked her face in his throat.

He stroked her back.

“I’m going to be okay,” she assured. “I just need Alex here. With Dad here, Nora helping with the necessities, Alex here and you here, I’ll be okay. So don’t worry. All right?”

He’d worry until he knew she was all right.

But he said, “All right.”

“So go to sleep,” she ordered.

“That’s my line.”

If he wasn’t mistaken, he felt her smile against his throat.

And he was surprised when, not long later, she drifted to sleep.

Since she did, he followed her.