Honor Reclaimed (All About Honor) (22 page)

Chapter 9

Drew returned to London with the
intent of completing his business as quickly as possible and then leaving the
country.
 
He did no want to be in
London when John and Eirian returned.
 
On his second day home, his man awakened him, “Excuse me sir, but your
father is waiting for you in your study.
 
He says to tell you that he is not leaving until he talks to you so you
might as well come on down.”

“Thank you Patrick.
 
Tell him I will be down as soon as I am
decent.”
 
God that is all I need he
thought, another lecture on it being time to settle down, marry and produce an
heir.
 

He entered his study already
angry.
 
God’s teeth!
 
He was a grown man.
 
He did not need his father giving him
lectures on how to conduct his life.
 
“Good morrow father.
 
I hope
this morning finds you in good health.”

“Cut the crap son.
 
You know why I am here.
 
I am damned tired of waiting for you to
settle down and accept your responsibilities.
 
You need to find a woman and start shelling out heirs.”
 
Sir Alex informed him.

“Father, I am in no hurry.
 
Let James produce your heirs, I do not
care.
 
He seems to enjoy shelling
out the babies.
 
They have one
every year it seems.”
 
Drew
pleaded.

“True enough, but he does not seem
to be able to produce anything but daughters.
 
Our family needs male heirs and it looks like it will be up
to you.
 
I would like for you to
seriously look for a wife to take back to the colonies with you if you must,”
his father persisted.

 
“Father they have women in the colonies I might remind
you.”
 
Drew said sarcastically.

“They do indeed, but your stature
requires that you find a lady of quality, one which may not be readily
available to you in the colonies.
 
If you do not get busy and find yourself a wife, then I am going to set
your sister to looking for a proper young lady for you.”
 
Sir Alex threatened.

“No father not that, I beg of
you.
 
God’s teeth, she is like a
dog with a bone.
 
She will not turn
loose until she wears me to the bone.
 
I will make it a point to be on the look out for a suitable young
lady.
 
If I find one you will be
the first to know.
 
Should I also
report each time I bed her?”
 
Drew
snarled.

“That is enough.
 
There is no need to be crass. Be a man,
do your duty for your family.
 
I
will give you three months to find a proper lady or I will enlist Celeste to
help you.
 
You have been
warned.
 
Have a good day son.”
 
Sir Alex left Drew angry and
frustrated.

“Damn, the old busy body.
 
Why can he not mind his own
business?
 
If, and when, I marry is
my business.
 
Since I can’t have
Eirian, I do not want anyone.”
 
Drew muttered to himself.

He did not have any appointments
until later that afternoon when he was suppose to meet with Thomas to go over
the latest contracts for shipping his tobacco to London.
 
He was glad that Thomas and Gwen had
decided to relocate back to London and take over the legal matters for the
Lewis Shipping so that John and Eirian could return to the Priory.
 
He did not want to have to locate a new
company to represent him at this late date.
 
As soon as he tied up a few more loose ends, he would be
headed back to the colonies.
 
He
had wasted enough time here pining after Eirian.
 
That was over.
 
It was time to turn his attention back to his estates.
 
John had handled his legal matters for
his estate here in England; he would have to make other arrangements now.
 
His loss of John’s friendship was
almost as painful as losing Eirian.
 
They had been closer than brothers for more years than he cared to
remember.
 
He had always known that
if he were really in trouble that John would bail him out, as he would have
John.
 
He had ruined it all.
 
He knew he was playing with fire when
he agreed to escort Eirian home.
 
He should have just refused knowing how he felt about her, but he
thought he was man enough to act the gentleman.
 
He wished he could take it all back, but he could not.
 
He only hoped that there would not be a
baby, but if there was, he hoped she understood that he was serious about
having the child sent to him in the future.
 
He gave up the possibility of being a father with Elle; he
would not do it again.
 
He had held
out hope that Elle would find herself pregnant, and need him to be father to
her child.
 
He had not even cared
if it was his.
 
When she did not
turn to him for help, he eventually put his disappointment behind him and made
himself go on with life. Funny, it had been a while since he had spent much
time worrying about it, not until he fell in love with Eirian.
 
His morning for the loss of the
children he would never have with Eirian made him wonder about Elle.
 
At first, he had thought of nothing but
Elle, but it had been a long time now since he had given her much thought.
 
He had not been able to bring himself
to ask John how his cousin was faring.
 
He could not help wondering if she had ever married, and if she had
overcome the trauma of her kidnapping and rape.
 
That had been what, six years ago?

He decided that he needed to hit
something, so he might as well go to his gentleman’s club where he stood a
chance of locating a sparing partner on whom to release some of his tension.

That afternoon found him completing
his business with Thomas.
 
“So
Drew, what are your plans?
 
Will
you be returning to the colonies soon?”
 
Thomas asked.

“I had thought to in the next week
or so, but my father has other plans for me.
 
I may be here another three or four months.
 
Have you heard anything from John
recently? How is Aislinn doing?
 
Has she fully recovered?”
 
Drew tried to sound nonchalant.

“I understand that she suffered from
the Chicken Pox.
 
While it is not
so difficult for a child, it can be very debilitating for an adult.
 
She has been suffering greatly from
rheumatism since her recovery.
 
I
am sure having Eirian there to help her has been a comfort.”
 
Thomas replied.

“And Eirian, has she suffered any
adverse effects of the illness that struck her while we were in route?”
 
What he really wanted to know was if
she was suffering morning sickness.

“As far as I know she is fine.
 
There was no mention of her suffering
an illness.
 
I believe John’s last
message stated they were both in good health.”
 
Thomas could tell that Drew was hedging about something, but
he could not imagine what it could be. “Gwen would be angry with me if I did
not invite you home to dinner.
 
Are
you engaged this evening?”

“No, not really, I have tried to
keep a low profile since I have been back in town.
 
Very few people even know I have returned.
 
A quiet evening with old friends might
just be what I need.
 
I thank
you.”
 
Drew was not ready for the
social scene just yet, but he thought he would enjoy this couple’s company for
the evening.
 
He looked forward to
a quiet uneventful evening.

They arrived home well before
dinner, only to find Gwen still out paying social calls.

The gentlemen retired to the
office.
 
“Can I fix you a drink
Drew?” he asked as he as he began pouring himself a glass.

“I believe I could be
persuaded.”
 
Drew replied.
 
Drew knew he had been drinking too much
since he returned to London, but it did help the lonely evenings pass quicker.
 
He quickly threw back the first glass
and placed it back in front of Thomas to refill.

Thomas had never seen Drew in this
kind of a mood.
 
He was glad he had
invited him home.
 
It was obvious
he was troubled and that the company might be good for him.
 
He hoped Drew would find what he needed
tonight.
 
Both men turned towards
the door when they heard a knock on the panel.

“Enter.”
 
Thomas responded.

“Sir Thomas, this message was
delivered just a few minutes ago.
 
The messenger said it was of some importance and to see that you read it
as soon as you arrived.
 
It is of a
private nature.”
 
The butler held
out a small silver tray that contained a note.

“Drew, I am sorry.
 
You might enjoy walking in our
gardens.
 
They are really very
lovely this time of year.
 
I should
not be too long.”
 
Thomas
apologized.

“It is no problem.
 
Please see to your business.
 
I could use a little sunshine.”
 
Drew excused himself and, being very
familiar with the Lewis townhouse, took himself out to the gardens in the
back.
 
He heard the voices and
laughter of children towards the back of the property.
 
He always enjoyed the innocent sounds
of children’s laughter.
 
He was
drawn to it like a moth to a candle.
 
As he rounded the corner of the hedgerow, which had separated him from
the children, Drew was presented with a view of the rather nice looking backside
of a young woman who was overseeing the children at play.
 
Instantly Drew reverted to his true
nature and began to speculate if he would be able to get the children’s nanny
in his bed.
 
It was a game he
played with almost all women, and it was second nature to him.
 
In a way he saw it as a healthy sign
as, for the first time since puberty, he had not desired a woman’s company for
the last three weeks- since he left Eirian.
 

“Good afternoon, mistress.
 
Excuse me for intruding… Elle?
 
Honey, what are you doing here?
 
You are the last person I thought to
see today.
 
Have you been well?”
Drew was pleased to see her and thought it was strange that he had just been
thinking of her today, and several times over the last few weeks.

“Drew, I had not expected to see you
again either.
 
How have you been,
and what brings you to London?” Her heart was racing.
 
What if he saw Alexander and recognized the resemblance to
himself.
 
Would he even acknowledge
him if he did?
 

“I’ve been in England for quite
sometime on business.
 
I make it
here at least every two or three years to take care of business.
 
I have interest on both side of the
ocean that requires my attention.
 
How have you fared?
 
Are you
married?”
 
Drew was making polite
conversation, but his interest was divided between Elle and the children at
play.

“No Drew, you of all people should
know I
shall
never marry.
 
After what happened to me, I am no longer marriage
material.
 
Who would want a wife
who was cast off by six, no seven, other men?”
 
She replied honestly.

Drew cringed and felt a momentary
twinge of guilt.
 
“Nonsense, you
are a lovely young lady.
 
The men
of this country are crazy to pass you up just because of something that
happened that was out of your control.
 
You must not let it affect the rest of your life.”
 
Drew felt so sorry for her and for what
she had suffered through no fault of her own.