Thea looked over to him. He once again focused on the passing scenery, but she doubted if he saw anything.
What could she say after realizing how obliviousshe had been? He’d been in danger of loving her. And all she’d been giddy about had been having a friend who’d understood her.
Neal broke the silence between them first. He spoke flat statements. “My mother died seven years ago. She was a lonely woman. There is a companionship in marriage which she never had. Father refused to grow close to her. But then at the age of sixty, he decided to enjoy himself. He first saw Cassandra Sweetling on stage. Cass Sweetling, the Coquette of Covent Garden.”
“He fell in love with an opera dancer?”
“Madly. She was seventeen and happy to oblige him in every way.”
“What did you and your siblings think of this?” Thea asked.
“What we thought didn’t matter. She was everything to him. He showered her with attention. He was warm, kind and generous. He died within four months after their wedding.”
“He was oversixty,” Thea gently argued. “Men die of natural causes much younger.”
“Does it matter?” Neal countered. “The curse lives.” He curled one gloved hand into a fist. “I don’t care about love, Thea. And I am not afraid of death. But I want a son, and I want to see him grow to manhood. My father had that blessingthat none of the others in my line enjoyed. Find a wife for me, Thea. I dare not go looking on my own. The risk is too high.”
“Because you are afraid you will fall in love inadvertently?”
“Exactly. She must be a decent woman who will understand that I have material goods and a fortune to offer her but little else—and she must never ask for more. Ever.”
“You are condemning yourself to the selfish, the frivolous, the sort of woman who can’t make any man happy.”
“As long as she is an affectionate mother,” he answered.
“That may be hard to find,” she replied.
“I’m willing to pay handsomely. In fact, why don’t I start with an advance payment, say two hundred pounds?”
If the heavens above had opened, Thea could not have been more elated. Here was the money for Jonathan’s school, for better lodgings, for more than she would have let herself imagine. “It is too much,” she demurred.
“I’m a wealthy man. Don’t think on it.”
“I shall find you a wife,” she declared.
His gaze met hers. He smiled. “I thought you would.”
“But I don’t know if I believe in this curse yet,” she said.
“You don’t need to, Thea. You don’t need to.”
And on those words, the coach rolled to a halt, a sign they had reached the stables.
In the stables, Neal and Thea found Jonathan and Christopher working around Ajax, Harry’s huge bay, brushing away at his legs and anywhere else they could reach. They had no desire to leave, but their mother insisted.
“I hope they haven’t been too difficult for you,” Thea said to Harry.
“Not a problem.” He gave Christopher a tousle of his hair. But his eyes held no warmth for Thea, and he was absolutely cold to Neal, not that Neal minded. He could weather his brother’s wrath.
Besides, Harry would find other diversions quickly enough and forget he was even angry.
Neal and Thea didn’t linger. The boys begged to stay longer, but Thea wanted them home and in their beds. And of course, they fell asleep the moment the coach started to move.
“This has been a big adventure for them,” Thea said. One arm was around Christopher, who had his head down in her lap. Her other hand restedon Jonathan’s leg. He was leaning against her shoulder, his head back and his mouth open.
Thea saw the direction of Neal’s gaze and smiled. “They are like puppies. They tear around full of energy and curiosity and then just drop where they are when tired.”
“They are welcome to come see the horses in my stable,” he offered.