Page 8 of The Scottish Earl (Winston Siblings #3)

CHAPTER 7

B y the time Adam was on his journey home, Beth had finished everything, and she was beyond pleased with what she had achieved.

However, now that her anger had subsided and she had nothing to distract herself with, the fear of what her husband would say when he saw everything became very real indeed.

For one, they had removed a lot of paintings, and while nobody could name a personal attachment to any of them, they could have been wrong. They had placed them in the attic, in case he did want any of them particularly, but he might not care to ask about them if he was angered by the disappearance.

Then there was the matter of his bedchambers and study. They were not rooms that he had given any authority to enter, yet Beth had thought it best to redecorate those too, and so they had braved it and changed everything there, too. She had felt clever in the moment, but now she felt as though she had intruded on his private quarters.

Either way, his return was imminent and it was too late to change anything. She would have to stand by what she had done, even if there was a faint tinge of regret in her chest.

He entered the hallway, greeted her, then left for the stairs.

She hadn’t expected that. Of all of the things that she had planned for, him having no reaction whatsoever and then immediately leaving her again was not one of them.

“Excuse me?” She called, and he turned around.

He did not respond, continuing on his way. Once more, she felt that pang of fury that he was so uncaring towards her, and it gave her the confidence she needed to follow after him, entering the study after him.

“What was that?” She asked.

“What was what?” Adam replied, “I said hello to you. What more could you possibly want from me?”

“Do you truly have nothing to say about all of this?”

“About what, Beth?”

“The house!” She exclaimed, gesturing wildly around her.

“Oh, yes. It looks good. You did very well.”

There were, she realized, two responses that she had not expected. The first was his not caring at all, and the other was him liking it. It did look good, but that did not signify. He hadn’t wanted it, or at least he had not asked for it, yet he did not care about it at all and only saw it as her having ‘done well’.

“Does it not bother you at all that I have spent all this money so quickly?”

“No, not really.”

“Nor that I have fundamentally changed your home?”

“My house,” he corrected, “And no. Would you rather that I was angered by it? That sounds quite bizarre, given that you chose to do it.”

He had caught her completely off guard. She had been prepared for an argument, and now she did not know what to do except thank him, though she did not want to do that.

“So it truly does not make a difference to you?”

“No, it does not. I do not care what happens to this place, and if all of this has made you feel more at home, then so be it. I am pleased that you have made yourself happier.”

She collapsed in a nearby chair, defeated. Adam looked at her with his head tilted to one side, studying her.

“Does my kindness towards you upset you?”

“No, your complete and utter indifference does.”

“Indifference?” He echoed.

“How do you not know what I am referring to? I understand that you and I are not in love, or anything like it, but I would at least expect you to show some kindness towards me. I am not expecting you to be a husband, but I do expect some form of friendship.”

“That was not part of our deal.”

“Living like this will kill me,” she snapped, and at last she saw a flicker of emotion in his face.

“What do you mean?”

“We are strangers, and I admit that. In a year we shall go our separate ways, and I accept that. What I cannot bear, however, is the thought of doing this for a year, with the person that is supposed to care for me most not thinking about me at all.”

“You will have Eliza-”

“I want you. ”

She gasped.

“What I mean,” she said quickly, “Is that we are going to have to pretend to be the very picture of contentment. I think it would be easier for the two of us if we at least come to be friends. I would like companionship, even if it is only for meals.”

“Then we can arrange that.”

“How was that so difficult for you to say?”

“How was it easier for you to do all of this rather than simply tell me exactly what you wanted?”

Beth bit her lip. He did have a point, she had to admit, but that did not mean she was agreeing with him.

“I admit,” Adam continued, “I have not been the easiest man to be around, and I would like to be better, but I shall need you to understand that this is my first time doing all of this.”

“Marriage?”

“Not being alone.”

“What do you mean? Were you alone in Glasgow?”

“I was, for a while, but I mostly mean here. It has always been an empty house with nobody to impress and nobody to navigate issues with. My sisters had left by the time I arrived, and then my father died, and then I was here alone for a year before I left for Scotland once more.”

He had been labeled uncivilized, but Beth considered that perhaps it was simply because he had had no need to be around others, even if it were true.

“I suppose I can understand,” she confessed, “When I was married, my late husband never once ate dinner with me. He never came anywhere near me. He hated me.”

“Well, I do not hate you. I am simply adapted to being alone.”

“And I am desperate not to be for the first time.”

“Then we can do that. Beth, if there is something that I can do for you, be very clear on it and I will do what I can to make it possible.”

“Such as a visit to London?” She asked.

He shifted in his seat.

“I ought to apologize for that,” he sighed, “I did not mean to abandon you, and I understand that the timing was dreadful, but my solicitor required some time with me and there would have been nothing for you to do if you did come with me. Nobody would have seen me there, so nobody would have questioned our marriage, and I should have explained it in that way rather than simply leaving.”

“Even if there was nothing for me to do, I would have enjoyed it. I adore London.”

“Then you can enjoy it in a year, as much as you wish. For now, it is best if we stay here. I have told my solicitor the same, that if he needs me then he has to come here himself. Now that I am here with you, I cannot be at his beck and call.”

“Even if you cannot stand being here?”

“Yes. I do not wish to be in London, as you know, so if anything our marriage has helped me greatly. If it is any consolation, you should know that I am quite excited to spend meals with you, because it means conversation with someone other than my solicitor.”

“Is he not a friend to you, then?”

“The closest I have to one, I suppose. I must admit, though, that he is terribly dreary, a stickler for rules.”

“I cannot say that I am too different,” she laughed gently.

“He is even worse than you. You at least had the recklessness to marry me the way you did. I shall not bore you with the lecture he dared to give me about it when he saw me.”

“It is rather mad.”

“Perhaps, but it has nothing to do with him. It is our marriage and nobody else’s, do you not agree?”

“Certainly.”

“Good, in which case you are already less insufferable than him.”

“I should like to think so, yes.”

“Now, so that I might feel like a better man, would you be so kind as to show me the changes that you have made?”

“It would be easier to show you the changes that I didn’t make,” she joked, “But of course.”

She led him out of the study, and pointed to his bedchambers. He pushed his door open and looked around for a moment before turning back and thanking her profusely.

“At last,” he sighed, “It isn’t something my father would have chosen.”

“And the hallway is one of the things that only changed slightly. It was blue before, I think, but it had turned gray. We made it blue again.”

“It looks wonderful.”

They continued, with Beth explaining each change that had been made and Adam nodding along in agreement, telling her how different it all looked and how it was far better than before. It had been one of the first times in her life that she had been given such compliments, and she adored it, even if she was unsure of how to accept it.

“Who supplied you with all of this?”

“A man in the village. Mrs Henshaw called him James.”

“He has some beautiful work. I cannot believe that he has been in this village all along and I didn’t know.”

“Eliza knows him, too. A friend of her mother’s. That reminds me, Mrs Henshaw was telling me that there is no gardener here, which is leading to her having far too much work to do, and Eliza’s mother is in need of work, and so I promised Eliza that I would discuss it with you.”

“Is she a gardener?”

“She helped to make all of these things. From what I’ve been told, she has to tend to everything in her home, as she is alone. Eliza sends what she can to help her, but it is no way for her to live.”

“Very well, I shall have her sent for. Even if she isn’t a particularly skilled gardener, there will be something for her to do here. I know that I haven’t brought in enough help. It was simply so that I could have a household that ran itself for the most part, but now that you are here it is important to have you live comfortably.”

Beth couldn’t help but smile.

She wanted to believe that he was as easy going as he was leading her to believe he was. He had been harmless, if a little aloof, and now that he had been told to be nicer he was doing it seemingly with ease.

“Thank you,” she said gently, “This will mean more to Eliza than you could ever know.”

“You would be surprised,” he replied, “I know what it is like to have a mother that deserves more than she has been given.”

“You haven’t talked about her. Was she kind?”

“She was the best, and I wish I had told her that more before I lost her.”

“I am sorry,” she responded, “I’m sure that she knew, though.”

“I hope so. I truly do.”

There was peace between them for the first time since they had met, and it was lovely. She wondered if it might be a good time to ask him more about Scotland and his life there, but she did not want to spoil it. He was enjoying her company, and in spite of everything she was enjoying his, and she did not dare ruin that.

“It will soon be time for dinner, My Lord,” Mrs Henshaw announced, “Oh! Good evening, Lady Winston.”

“The house looks wonderful,” Adam said kindly to the housekeeper, who smiled, “Thank you for your efforts.”

“It was nothing, I assure you. Shall I have your meal sent to your study?”

Beth looked up at him, and he looked back at her with a smirk.

“Not tonight,” he smiled, “I shall take my meal in the dining room with my wife tonight.”

Mrs Henshaw looked at Beth triumphantly before nodding and leaving to arrange the dinner.

“That was not as difficult as I expected,” Adam said quietly, “Now, are you ready for dinner?”

“I am certainly not dressed for it.”

“Then find Eliza and ready yourself quickly. We shall do the proper thing, as a proper earl and countess would.”

She nodded with a grin before going to find Eliza, which was quite easy given that she always stayed close.

“I cannot believe it,” Eliza smiled as she laced Beth into her gown, “The earl is far kinder than anyone gives him credit for. My mother shall be most pleased.”

“Will she come straight here?”

“I fear that she might be quite stubborn and claim that she can do everything herself, but I hope not.”

“I shall warn the earl, and ensure that we do not give in easily if that is the case.”

“I cannot thank you enough. Life with you here will be far better than before.”

“Did you not live with your mother before you came here?”

“I did, but it was nothing compared to this. You have brought adventure with you, be it trips or decorating, and it is the excitement that I have been missing, and I know that the other staff feel the same way.”

Beth had never been referred to as adventurous before. She had always been the proper one, the one that did exactly what was expected of her and nothing else. Since she had stumbled across Adam Winston, however, she had been turned completely upside down, and she was unsure of how to feel about that.

“I was not expecting him to like the house,” she confessed, “Nor had I expected him to like me.”

“I cannot say that I’m surprised. You are a kind person, Beth.”

“That does not mean that I must be liked by all. Truly, I cannot believe that things have changed so much in such a short space of time.”

“Well, that is what happens when one makes big changes, and that is most certainly what you have done.”

“Then let us hope that this continues. I should like my marriage to be happier this time. At least, I would like there to be a certain understanding there.”

And she meant it. She had already been in a loveless marriage once, and while she was perfectly happy to do it again, she needed some sort of happiness, a friend that was not paid to be there for her.

Soon enough, she was ready and on her way to the dining hall for the first meal that she would ever share with a husband. It was the first step towards friendship, even if they were both adamant that it would never be anything more than that. She would be the perfect lady, and she hoped that he would follow her in such efforts.

That was when she entered the room, and he was sitting in the seat next to hers, not in dinner clothes.

“There you are!” He grinned.

“There is no knife and fork for you,” she remarked, brow furrowed.

“Of course not,” he laughed, “I never have them set out for me. It is a waste of time, given that I do not use them.”