Page 24 of The Chef and the Countess (The Duke’s Bastards #2)

Celia could not believe she just blurted that news. Everyone stared at her, and the room grew quiet.

“You’ve got a rich aunt?” Enya asked, her eyes wide.

“Not that wealthy,” Celia murmured as she folded the telegram and placed it on the table.

“You’re not leaving us?” Tommy said, his voice quivering.

“No, lad. Not for a while. That is if I even decide to go.” Aunt Etta said a letter with more details was on its way, including what travel plans to make. Her aunt sounded as if she had no immediate plans to return to London. Well, life could undoubtedly surprise a person. First, Celia had received the money settlement, and now, an invitation to stay with her aunt in Italy.

Celia cast a side glance at Liam. He was stony-faced as usual when faced with a situation that required an emotional response—or any response at all.

“Your fortunes have taken a turn, ducks,” Fiona enthused. “Good for you.”

“It appears as if more than one of us has had our lives take an abrupt turn,” Liam said as he cleared his throat. “As I told you all last night, I appreciate you all. This business does not work without all of you. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. I know I apologized last night, but allow me to do it again.”

Celia’s eyes widened. Liam had apologized to the staff last night and told them he appreciated them? Her heart soared. Perhaps there was hope after all. But why didn’t he tell her that this morning? Celia knew why; he couldn’t speak.

“I am sorry I’ve been brooding more than usual, but I’ve learned something about my past that has thrown me for a loop. You’ve seen Detective Sergeant Mitchell Simpson around before Christmas, and Doctor Drew Hornsby has been here often lately. I discovered in November that they’re my half-brothers.”

Gasps rose from the table.

“Aye, it was a bloody shock to me and all,” Liam continued. “We share a duke father.”

“A bleedin’ duke?” Fiona cried shrilly.

“The late Duke of Chellenham. He was a nasty piece of work. He has offspring all over the city and beyond, seeing he was a careless, arrogant pillock of the first order.”

Fiona shook her head. “All that toff food that came today is from—another half-brother? The new duke?”

“That’s the jist of it. I haven’t met him yet. There’s more of us, the duke’s bastards. I’ll meet them at some point. Nothing’s changed. I’m still Liam Hallahan, faults and all. And aye, I have enough faults to fill a stock pot or two.”

Celia glanced around the table. Everyone had stopped eating, and more than one looked dazed. Liam was telling the truth. She was so proud of him that she thought her heart would burst.

“There’s more,” Liam said in a clear voice. “I’ve discovered I have a son. I learned of it a few months ago. This was a pleasant surprise and I welcome it. It’s Tommy.”

Loud exclamations rose from the table as all eyes swung to Tommy, sitting to Liam’s left.

“It’s true,” Tommy agreed. “My mum told me before she died. My name going forward will be Thomas Clahane Hallahan.” He looked at Liam. “If that’s all right.”

Liam smiled. “Aye, lad. It’s more than all right. I would be proud if you took my name.”

“Good heavens,” Enya declared. “This is like the plot of a play I saw once.”

Light laughter rippled about the table.

“One of those overwrought potboilers, eh, Enya?” Liam teased. “And we all know about pots boiling, yeah?” The laughter grew louder.

Celia’s eyes grew wet. This was the Liam she knew existed deep down—warm, giving, occasionally teasing. He’d finally accepted everything life had thrown in his path. Would he accept her now? Would he accept their growing feelings for each other?

“Everyone tuck in,” Liam urged. “The food’s getting cold. I know I only mentioned it this morning, but does anyone have any names for me, possibly new employees?”

Bruce raised his hand. “I do, Liam. My cousin just started working for the Met Police, and his initial wages aren’t enough to keep him, his wife, and their baby comfortable. He wants to know if he can work in the pub three nights a week. He works days with the coppers. I went around and saw him earlier.”

“Fiona? When are the busiest nights?” Liam asked as he cut into the fishcakes.

“Well, Friday and Saturday, for sure. And Wednesday for some reason,” Fiona answered.

“Bruce, have your cousin come see me tomorrow after his shift. What’s his name?”

“Robert Shepherd. He’s twenty-five and almost as big as me.”

“Brilliant. Anyone else?”

“I’ve someone,” Sally exclaimed. “My older sister, Susanna. She’s looking for a job. She’s got experience working in in a pub.”

“When can she start?” Liam asked.

“Tomorrow night, if you want. I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

“Well, this is all clicking into place. Tell your sister she’s hired, Sally. Morrigan, you can move to the day staff starting tomorrow. You’ll work with me in the kitchen until you learn the rhythm.”

“Sounds good, Liam,” Morrigan replied with a smile. “I’d like to learn about the cooking, and such. I know how to make excellent pork chops.”

“Brilliant.”

“We need another apprentice!” Tommy interjected.

“True enough,” Liam replied.

Timmy raised his hand. “I know where you can get plenty of apprentices—The Strand Workhouse. I was there for three years and knew many boys there.”

“Good lad, Timmy. You and I will plan a trip next week, and you can help me select one or two.”

Excited chatter broke out around the table. Liam spoke of the large boxes of food delivered, and they decided to offer crab croquettes and cheese puffs to the pub customers tonight at one shilling a plate. His gambling customers could afford it.

After the meal, everyone gathered their dishes and headed into the kitchen. Celia stood and picked up her empty plate. She looked at Liam. “We need to talk,” she said.

Liam nodded. “I’ll see you in your room in ten minutes.”

She entered the kitchen where the boys were already doing the dishes. Morrigan and Sally were loading trays with glass mugs and whiskey glasses, and Bruce and Jack carried a barrel of ginger beer from the cellar. The transition from restaurant to pub was in full swing.

Fiona took her hand. “I hope you stay with us,” she murmured. “But I understand if you don’t.”

“Thank you, Fiona. I will tell the rest of the staff soon of my circumstances. I have much to think about first.”

“About Liam, too, I imagine. He’s a stubborn bloke. Thanks to you, he’s opened up to the staff. He ate breakfast with us this morning, chatting and laughing. It warmed my heart to see it.”

“I am glad. That warmth and openness have not translated to me, however. Not fully.”

“It will, I know it,” Fiona whispered fiercely, keeping her voice low so the others would not hear. “Don’t give up on Liam. He’s worth the trouble, I promise you. He has so much love to give. He’s been storing it up all his life. I hoped someday a lovely lady would bring it out of him. You are that lady, Celia. You need each other. You love each other. Don’t be put off by his dogged efforts to stay detached.”

“You are wise,” Celia replied. “And you and Bruce?”

“As you said, ducks, I will grab happiness with both hands. So should you. Good advice for us all.”

Celia nodded and smiled, then took her coat off the hook. Fiona assisted her, slipping it over her shoulders.

“I can do the sandwiches for another day,” Fiona offered.

“How about we do them together?”

“Good plan. See you in the morning.”

Celia stepped outside. Gentle flurries fell from the night sky. At least three inches of snow had accumulated in the past few days. Once she reached her room, she sat upright on the bed, waiting for Liam to arrive. She would have it out with him tonight. Choices had to be made on both their parts.

* * *

Liam sat in his office, looking over the list of food. He had already paid the bills and counted the restaurant income. They did well today. The toff food had helped. One of these days, some aristocrat would wander in, order food, and recognize his personal chef’s handiwork. According to Drew, this food came from peerage houses that agreed to participate in the scheme, so no one would likely cause a fuss. But as he’d said before, he could rely on this food. Enough toffs stayed in London during the winter to have a few weekly trays. Come summer, however, when Parliament took an extended break, the upper crust would travel to their country estates, and there’d be no food for him to reuse. Liam opened the safe, placed the money inside, and spun the lock. He’d have to go to the bank in a day or two to make a deposit. Next on his agenda?

Celia.

It felt as if someone had shoved a sharp spear through his heart when she’d revealed that her aunt had invited her to Italy. Celia should go. She could become reacquainted with her aunt, smooth over their estrangement, recover from her ordeal, and live the life she was born into, the life she deserved. Why would any woman want to share his life? Drudgery, long hours, hardly any profit margin.

Fiona stuck her head in. “Liam, where’s the coffee grinder?”

“It was cleaned today. Ask Timmy.”

“About Celia… Don’t let her slip through your fingers. Tell her how you feel.”

Liam growled.

“Give over with that nonsense,” Fiona admonished. “She’s perfect for you, and you know it.”

“She’s a countess,” Liam snapped.

“I’ll wager you my tips tonight that if you ask her, she’d give that life up in a trice. Try it and see. You love her. You know it. Don’t muck it up.”

Fiona disappeared before he had a chance to respond. Don’t muck it up. Easier said than done. He stood, grabbed his coat, and headed upstairs. He knocked on Celia’s door and then entered. She was sitting upright on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “The injury?”

“It twinges a little, but I am healing,” Celia replied softly.

Liam entered the room and closed the door behind him. He then grabbed the wooden chair and sat at the foot of the bed. “So, Italy. Are you going?”

“I honestly do not know. Aunt Etta was contrite about the past and appalled at what had transpired in her absence. She is sending a letter with more information regarding traveling to Italy if I wish to join her. I want to reconcile with my aunt. She’s the only family I have.”

You have family here. But Liam couldn’t say it aloud. Not yet.

“What did Winterwood want, or is it none of my concern?” Liam cringed at his snappish tone. “I didn’t mean to sound as if I had some claim on you. I’m upset.”

“At my leaving?”

“Aye, that,” he murmured. “You’ve become such a vital part of the restaurant.”

“And?”

“And a vital part of my life. And my heart. I do have one.”

Celia’s look softened. “Oh, I know you do. I knew it from the start. Winterwood came to make amends. His wife, the new countess, told him ‘to make it right’ regarding my situation.”

“As he bloody well should,” Liam muttered.

“Franklin apologized and said he’d been following the solicitor’s advice. I cannot fault him entirely.”

Liam crossed his arms. “Franklin, is it?”

“Yes. I forgave him.” Her luscious mouth curved into a smile. “Especially after his proposal.”

Liam listened, transfixed by her explanation, and, in turn, was heartsick because Celia now had the means to live her own life. She could live as she pleased between the money and her aunt’s invitation to Italy. He should never have allowed himself to feel deep emotions because this would always be the result. People left, people died--like his mother and Walter Henning. He should have learned that by now.

But Liam understood these were the conclusions of an emotionally damaged boy. He was thirty years old! And it is time to step into the light. He had already made a start with his staff and his son. Now came the most challenging part of all.

“What do you think?” Celia asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“I’m pleased for you.”

“Did I ask for too much? I figured the amount would equal the dowry I should have had from my uncle and a stipend from my late husband.”

“Honestly? You should have asked for more.”

Celia laughed lightly, and the pleasant sound reminded him of trickling water in a fountain. Then she sobered. “I do not like leaving things unsaid or unresolved. On the day my parents died, I never told them I loved them. And I did every day before that. But not that day. Instead, I’d acted hurt and disappointed that they were not taking me on the boat trip. It never entered my ten-year-old mind that my parents wanted to be alone. I did not throw a tantrum. It wasn’t my way, then or now. I just wish I’d told them I loved them.’”

“You had no way of knowing their fate,” Liam said.

“No, but I swore I would never hold back again.” Celia met his gaze. “I do not regret telling you how I feel because it is the truth. Why can’t you say you love me in return? Unless you do not feel that way toward me.”

Her frankness was admirable; he envied Celia’s ability to verbalize how she felt aloud. If only he possessed the intestinal fortitude to do the same. He should at least attempt it.

“I’m a brooding bastard, in more ways than one. I always believed that I didn’t deserve love. I also don’t want you to give up your chance at joining society. You deserve every good thing. You’re beautiful inside and out and too good—for the likes of me.”

“Liam, don’t ever say that. Everyone is entitled to love. I have yearned for that ever since my parents passed away. I did not find it at my aunt’s home, and while I discovered the warm camaraderie of friendship with Corrine and Selena, fate pulled us apart. Perhaps it’s my lot in life to be alone.”

“Everyone here cares for you,” Liam said gruffly. “Very much.”

“Including you?” He nodded in response. “As I said earlier, I know you care. You have from the first. I came to that conclusion swiftly. You gave me shelter and a job. You made me a special chicken dinner and a full breakfast when I was ill, as well as the flummery dessert. You sent telegraphs on my behalf. You took a loss on the gambling debt for my aunt’s address and a small settlement. You ended your affair two days after meeting me. Why?”

“I told her that I’d met someone who caught my interest,” Liam croaked, his voice laced with emotion.

“Most importantly, you kissed me. More than once. Passionately.”

Liam’s heart thundered in his ears. “Ask me the question again.”

“Which one? Oh, ‘including me?’ That one?” she asked softly.

“Aye, that one. Most especially, including you . I’ve become so anxious, I don’t know what to do. What could any lady, a countess no less, want with a cook from an East End eatery, the by-blow of a notorious duke? A man who has been lonely for so long that he forgot how to feel. A man so incapable of recognizing emotion that he failed to comprehend he had a family right under his nose, including a son?” Liam paused, his vulnerabilities laid open.

“You opened my heart and allowed me even to consider that I was worth loving after all,” he continued. “I didn’t know it until you came into my life like a breath of fresh air. You gave me the strength to take a chance—on love.” He stood. “God, how I love you,” Liam rasped. “You are—life. Everything. I want you—in my arms, by my side, in my bed, and in my kitchen.”

Celia clapped her hands together and laughed joyously. Her eyes shimmered with tears. He had come this far, so he might as well go all in.

“Marry me, Celia. Make my happiness an everlasting reality. Make me whole. For I cannot live without you.”

Celia jumped to her feet and ran into his arms. “Yes, Chef!”

Liam laughed, long and loud. His joy was unfettered at last. He spun her around, holding her close.

Celia laid frantic kisses across his whiskered chin. “I love you, Liam. So very much. I think I have from the first. It appears I find grumpy men attractive. I suspected that your sullenness was a protective shell. I knew that a passionate man lay hidden within.” She pulled back and caught his gaze. “Make love to me.”

“Here? Now?”

“Yes. Take me to bed. Your bed.”