Page 30 of An Affair at Stonecliffe

“Mr. Thorne supported Adam out of his own pocket? I thought it was Lord Drewsbury.”

“No, Thomas was certain Adam would come back if he cut him off entirely. But Carlisle knew my son better than that. Carlisle was like an older brother to him. Always rescuing him from some scrape or other.” Tears glittered in her eyes.

Noelle had trouble reconciling her own view of this stern, arrogant man with Lady Drewsbury’s image of a loving and generous Carlisle Thorne. But she had seen him be good to Gil and the countess; clearly he was a different person with those he loved. It was doubtful that she would ever experience that with him, though.

Lady Drewsbury blinked back the tears in her eyes, and looked out the window. “We’ve reached the village. We’re almost home.”

They rattled through a small, sleepy-looking village, and before long, the carriage turned into a tree-lined lane. Stonecliffe loomed up before them, massive and dark. Two wings on either side extended forward from the main building, and a stone wall ran between them at the front to form an enclosed courtyard. No wonder Thorne had said they would be safer here. The place looked like a fortress.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” Adeline said with a little laugh. “Stonecliffe is formidable when you first see it. But once you’ve lived here a bit, it’s quite beautiful.”

Carlisle handed his horse over to a welcoming groom and came to the carriage to open the door and give the countess a hand down. He would have done the same for Noelle if she had extended her hand to him, but she did not. Cocking an eyebrow at her, he put his hand under her arm anyway to steady her. Mortifyingly, her foot slid on the little pebbles of the driveway, and she might have fallen had Carlisle not dug his fingers into her arm, keeping her upright.

He held her arm a moment longer, leaning in to murmur, “Careful. Sometimes it’s good to accept a little assistance.”

She sent him a quelling glance, rather spoiled, she suspected, by the fact that her cheeks were red with embarrassment. He released her arm and looked beyond her to Gil, who was standing in the doorway of the carriage, staring wide-eyed at the huge house before them.

“It’s all right, Gilbert, you’ll be quite safe here.” Carlisle lifted the boy down. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“I know,” Gil replied, looking up at him. “You’re Carlisle Thorne.”

“Yes. I am,” Thorne responded, looking bemused.

“That’s what Maman told me,” Gil explained. “If something bad happens, I’m to tell them that they must take me to you. You wouldn’t like it if anyone hurt me.”

Thorne cast a quick glance at Noelle, but said only, “And your mother is correct.”

“Come, dear.” Adeline took Gil’s hand and started into the house. “Let’s go explore your new home.”

CHAPTER TEN

THE INTERIOR OF the house was as imposing as the outside, with a cold marble sweeping staircase and portraits of long-dead ancestors sternly looking down on any who entered. Gil had a set of rooms for himself and his future governess, with a place in between filled with toys and books. Noelle’s own bedroom was even larger than the one she had had in the house in London and beautifully decorated, with a view to the lovely garden below. One could not ask for anything more comfortable and spacious, but she knew it would take her some time to get used to living in such luxury.

Any degree of uneasiness was well worth it, though, for the amount of time she had with her son. Except for his naps and his daily lessons in riding—for Carlisle had made good on his promise of horses—she was free to be with Gil all she wanted. The two of them explored the gigantic house together, finding assembly rooms, a ballroom, two dining rooms, bedrooms, sitting and drawing rooms, cloakrooms, a smoking room, a study that was obviously Carlisle’s domain, and several other rooms whose purpose Noelle could not even guess. And that was with one whole wing of the house closed off because it was unused.

But the crown jewel of Stonecliffe was the magnificent library, which she and Gil located on their second day. Though library seemed far too negligible a word for a room that had taken Noelle’s breath away.

The ceiling soared high above her head, for the library rose two floors, with a winding staircase up to a second level of bookshelves running around three sides of the room. The other long wall held a bank of windows that let in a flood of natural light, and a grand chandelier hung from the high ceiling.

There were comfortable chairs for reading, as well as a table, and a rolling ladder to climb up to the highest books.

Noelle’s heart lifted in her chest. Gil let out a delighted cry and ran about the place, climbing the ladder, twirling the globe, racing up to the railed second-floor gallery. Noelle simply stood and gazed about her in delighted wonder. This, she knew, would be her favorite room.

She saw little of Carlisle except at teatime and dinner, and he remained as aloof and formal as ever. Though there were only the three of them, they ate in the large formal dining room, huddled together at one end of the long, polished table. Carlisle exchanged a few stilted comments with Noelle about the food, and the remainder of the meal consisted of a disjointed blend of two separate conversations. One was between Noelle and Adeline about Gil and the other was between Carlisle and the countess about various people in their common acquaintance, with the countess offering occasional asides to Noelle in explanation.

It was not that Carlisle was rude or pointedly excluded Noelle. It was simply clear that he regarded her as an outsider—and one with whom he had little interest in developing a friendship. Noelle would have been hurt...if she had had any interest in talking to him.

She didn’t, of course. There was no need to be friends with the man. It was just that, well, living in the same household would be easier if they were at least friendlier acquaintances. Over the passage of time, Noelle’s attitude toward Thorne had been shifting. It was difficult to continue to be suspicious of his motive—what did she imagine he was going to do? He had obtained what he wanted: Gil’s presence in the house.

He was good with Gil, patiently answering Gil’s hundreds of questions and explaining how things worked. He gave Gil a pony, and more importantly, he spent part of every afternoon helping the head groom to teach Gil to ride. It warmed Noelle’s heart to see the two of them returning from the stables, Gil riding on Thorne’s shoulders or skipping along at his side, chattering. Gil, at least, felt no uncertainty about Carlisle.

Gil and Noelle often went walking in the garden, with Gil collecting various “treasures” along the way. He loved the little pond where the golden fish swam, and the quiet, peaceful spot was Noelle’s favorite on the grounds, as well. One afternoon, when they turned the corner to go to the pond, Noelle saw that Carlisle was sitting on the wrought iron bench beside it.

Noelle came to a stop and was about to turn back, but Gil tore off down the path, shouting Carlisle’s name. Noelle called after him, “No, wait, Gil, you mustn’t bother Mr. Thorne.”

However, by the time she had gathered her skirts and started after him, Gil was already talking to the man, pulling out his day’s treasures. She was certain a man like Carlisle would have no interest in the things. They weren’t worth any money and that seemed to be the thing he held most sacred. But to her surprise, Carlisle shifted to more closely inspect the marble, bluebell, and oddly shaped rock Gil had found earlier. Gil leaned trustingly against Carlisle’s leg as he chattered.

“I’m sorry for intruding on you,” Noelle apologized.