Page 29 of Miss Ellis Unleashed

“I’ll hire more staff to help you soon, I promise,” Max offered, hoping to placate the man.

The valet huffed and muttered, “That’s what you said last month,” as he carried the book away, held gingerly between two fingers the way Max had done. He disappeared down the servants’ staircase, grumbling about being ill-paid for all the work he was expected to do.

Max winced. He had been neglecting his responsibilities here, few though they were. He just never seemed to get around to writing an advertisement for new servants. Perhaps he should accept the help of Miss Ellis’s butler, who seemed keen to find competent staff for him. But he’d have to talk to Daisy about that. Get her permission first.

She’d probably like that.

When Max looked around, he noticed how empty the place was now. His footsteps echoed as he moved from room to room. It must be as lonely for the valet as it was for Max.

Daisy’s servants had been underfoot so often in the smaller town house that Max now had trouble imagining an entirely new staff doing things for him. He’d become accustomed to living in the Ellis household, and the lively staff there now made his home feel foreign.

After his father died, Max had lived alone for years and never bothered to replace servants as they left his employ. He’d simply closed up the rooms he had no use for and never thought about them again. But he would have to do something about the state of the house soon. The unused rooms would be stale and dusty.

He turned for his study, the only room he’d spent any real time in since his return, and threw himself into a well-worn leather armchair by the fire. His town house was far too large for a solitary bachelor, but he’d refused all offers to lease the place from friends with growing families when he’d gone to live at the Ellis abode.

He’d missed his home, missed having his own space, and yet he also yearned for the smaller, chatter-filled Ellis household and the happy staff. The tiny rooms, the squeaking floorboards above his head as Daisy moved about, and the daily fight with her over possession of the newspaper.

He was lonely here.

Max shook his head and moved to his desk, sorting through the correspondence he’d neglected to answer in the last month. He found two invitations for events he’d missed last week, another pair for future dates, and yet another letter from his cousin’s widow that he tossed straight into the fireplace to burn without reading.

The other letters were all for business matters, and he set them aside for tomorrow. But he picked up the new invitations again, pondering which Daisy might have been invited to. He wanted to spend time with her, and not just in private.

He would have to find out where she’d be going during dinner tonight, if he could catch a moment alone with her. The fastest way would be to ask her outright, but what if she didn’t want to tell him in front of others? What if everyone at the dinner wondered why he asked? He groaned, frustrated with the way things were currently.

He had never been one to rush. Preferring to make considered choices in lasting matters, and he hadn’t been one for impatience when it came to the women in his past.

But Daisy was different.

Tonight he would have a chance to discover if she could have any interest in becoming his friend. A good friend. But he did not anticipate an easy path to friendship with Daisy.

As for his interest, this was no idle fancy of his. For years he’d turned his back on his family and the idea of having his own. But now, there was a great appeal in sharing his days with someone…and he thought he would like it to be with Daisy Ellis.

Max wished to explore what might be possible between them. See if something beyond what they’d shared so far was possible without breaking too many rules, or being caught misbehaving together. Daisy was not a woman he could toy with the affections of without regard for the inevitable consequences of doing so. A marriage between them was possible if Daisy had any interest in him. He did not need to wed a great fortune, nor did he have any desire to curry favor with a match to a daughter from the oldest family in England.

But courting Daisy would still be a delicate undertaking. He was half afraid she’d laugh or throw him out again if she knew too soon the direction of his thoughts.

Though if she liked him enough, if they married, she could argue with him for the rest of his life if that made her happy, because then he’d always know where she was and who she was tormenting.

Max glanced at the mantel clock and swore. Half seven o’clock already? Where had the time gone? He rushed from the room and upstairs to his bedchamber, calling for his valet and determined to dress to impress if he could.

Chapter Nine

Throsby appeared in Daisy’s front hall at precisely nine o’clock, looking exactly as Daisy had expected him to. Freshly shaved, dark evening coat and breeches. Gleaming white shirt and cravat. She peeked at him through the gap in the door from another room, and her heart clattered against her ribs.

Gibbs greeted him with obvious joy and took his coat and hat.

“Am I the first to arrive, Gibbs?” he asked.

Daisy winced. Oh, dear. Throsby had come expecting to be one of a handful of guests at a proper dinner tonight when it was anything but.

“Yes, my lord,” Gibbs replied, knowing full well that no one else was expected.

The dining table was set for an intimate dinner for two, but the doors were shut and hiding that fact. Daisy wanted nothing to get in the way of an honest conversation with Throsby tonight. Other guests would only be in her way.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows so Throsby would see her waiting for him. She was wearing a silk gown in dark blue that now possessed a lower neckline than he’d ever allowed her to wear.

Throsby paused a moment to take in the view, and then recovered his composure. He moved toward her and bowed. “Good evening, Miss Ellis.”