Tinnean

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

David entered, carrying a taper. One of his tasks was to see to the lighting of the lamps. Only then did I realise how late it had grown.


“I…erm…I imagine there must have been something to keep Mr George in London. And Mr Kincaid also.” David flushed and stared past my shoulder, apparently fascinated by the suit of armour standing on the landing. His gaze slid toward mine and noted my raised eyebrow, and his flush deepened. “Mr Kincaid has been teaching me to play chess.”


“I see. Well, you’re no doubt correct. After all, Mr George will wish to spend time with his father.”


“Yes, sir. I’m sure that must be it. Have you heard if we’re to expect them at all this week’s end, Sir Ash?”


I was so startled by his calling me by that name I didn’t take him to task for his impertinent question.


His cheeks even more aflame, he stammered. “I b-beg your p-pardon, sir. I m-meant…” He swallowed so heavily that his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Shall I tell Cook to put dinner back?”


Chapter 70