Ashton Laytham was a happy little boy until, at the age of seven, he lost his parents. Sent to Fayerweather to be brought up by his uncle and his uncle’s wife, he was perceived to be an unhappy, unlovable child. Shunned by family and servants and permitted no friends to visit, he grows to adulthood alone and aloof, with only an occasional illicit rendezvous to lighten his days. When his uncle dies, leaving the estate virtually bankrupt, it’s left to Ashton to make good on his uncle’s gaming debts and save Fayerweather. But how? The family talisman, worth thousands of pounds, has been stolen and the suspects vanished in the night, leaving Ashton to face the loss of the home he’s come to love. Geo Stephenson, who works in His Majesty’s civil service, has ghosts of his own. The product of a marriage of convenience, Geo has known all his life his father never loved his mother, and he vows that will never happen to him. Marked by a physical scar earned in battle, none of his previous lovers could bear looking at it without shuddering; his mental scars are due to the many friends lost in useless battles. Geo arrives with a fistful of Sir Eustace Laytham’s IOUs and a solution: Ashton accommodating him in bed, thereby paying off the debt. Attracted to Geo in spite of himself and desperate for any human kindness, Ashton agrees ... never expecting to lose his heart to a man who has sworn he’ll never give his. Can these two men find a measure of happiness together?

Bless Us With Content

“There’s no need.” I was unused to receiving apologies and felt awkward.


“Thank you.” He fidgeted with his watch fob. Did he feel as awkward as I? “What does my son think of you, Laytham?”


“That is how I am used to think of your son. He told me that’s what his friends call him and invited me to do so as well.”


I thought to play a trump card. “Aunt Cecily was desirous of us becoming friends, sir. Have you any objections?” After all, if he was as fond of her as he claimed…


“No. My son is a grown man, and I assure you I have no say in who he chooses to befriend.” He looked as if he regretted that fact.


I decided to retire from the playing field in good order. “I think we’ve kept Aunt Cecily waiting long enough, don’t you?” I gestured toward the door. “After you, sir?”


Chapter 68