Page 52
With more privacy, he was inclined to share about his interactions with Mr. May, then he thought better of it. He’d not wish to embroil Nicholas and Emma more into this mess than they already had been.
“Do ye?” Nicholas pressed. “’Ave an attachment to the girl, I mean?”
How August longed to answer in the affirmative. “No, I don’t,” he answered truthfully. He couldn’t have an attachment to her, thanks to her father. Now had Nicholas used a different word—an attraction to Miss May—August would have, indeed, said yes.
He couldn’t deny the way his heart had taken flight when he’d first seen her blue eyes watching him. Nor the way he felt his soul lighten each time she spoke of another list she’d made.
“I don’t believe ye,” Nicholas said, drawing August back to the present. “There be no way a man can look at a woman the way ye just looked at ’er and not ’ave an attachment. At any rate, if ye do, Emma and I decided we can’t keep ye ’elpin’ us for much longer. ’Tain’t fair.”
“Ain’t nothin’ to do with fairness.” Actually, it had everything to do with fairness. But he wouldn’t have his friends suffer due to Mr. May’s behavior, too. “But don’t feel rushed ’cause o’ what ye believe. I be ’appy to ’elp as long as ye need me.”
“Then why can’t ye tell me that ye ’ave an attachment to Miss May?”
August stared down at his fishing line, invisible past a certain point, though the water gave away its location by rippling away from the string. How was he to get out of this conversation without lying to his friend? “It be complicated,” he finally settled with.
“Complicated ’ow?”
Why on earth was Nicholas pressing the topic so greatly? August had never known him to be so assertive.
But then, he knew why. Nicholas could sense something was wrong with August, so he would discover what was wrong because he wanted his friend to be happy. It was the same reasoning as to why August was allowing Mr. May to extort him, because he wanted his friends to be happy.
With a sigh, he glanced from side to side, ensuring the space around them had widened so others might not overhear their conversation. He knew Mr. May had forbidden him to speak with anyone about what August was to do, but frankly, August couldn’t bear it any longer.
He may have been stripped of his freedom, but Mr. May would not strip him of his friends.
“I wish I could tell ye ’ow complicated matters really be,” he said softly.
Nicholas sobered. He must have sensed August’s tone. “Ye can tell me anythin’, August.”
Not this. “I know, but as I said, it be complicated. One day, I’ll be able to share more, but not now.”
He could see the intrigue in Nicholas’s eyes—and the worry—but fortunately, his friend nodded, his signal that he was letting the matter go.
But August wasn’t quite finished yet. “I will say one thing, though. Ye and Emma need to be more careful when ye be sneakin’ ’round.”
Nicholas frowned. “We be careful every time.”
But August shook his head. “I ’ave it on good authority that ye’ve been spotted.”
“By whom?” Nicholas asked, his voice dropping to a worried tone.
August grimaced. “I cannot say, me friend. Only that ye must be e’en warier than ’fore. If the wrong person gets hold o’ this…”
“Ye be worryin’ me, August,” Nicholas said, his lips pulled down. “Who saw us?”
But August could say no more. “No one of importance, I assure ye,” he lied. “And I be takin’ care of it, so ye don’t ’ave to fret. Just…promise me ye’ll be take more care.”
Nicholas shifted back to the water, clearly upset that he didn’t know. August felt for him, but he could say no more. His friend wouldn’t keep his job or the love of his life if he discovered the truth.
“Very well,” Nicholas grumbled. “I don’t like not knowin’, but I’ll agree to trust ye on the matter.”
August nodded, grateful for his friend once again not pressing the issue.
The mood around them hung low, nearly blocking out the sun entirely, so August drew a deep breath, shrugged off the unhappiness around them, and focused on the water.
“Now, when are ye goin’ to catch up with me and snag yourself a fish?” he asked.
To his relief, Nicholas cracked a smile. That was good. It was exactly what August needed. Because if Emma and Nicholas weren’t happy, and if Miss May wasn’t happy, then what was this all for?
