“I have seen the way he looks at you. No, I forbid it.”
She yanked the bread and cheese away from him. “You forbid it? Like I am a child in need of discipline?” Honestly, she wasn’t sure which of the two men he was going on about, maybe both. Didn’t matter, she wasn’t giving up her livelihood.
His dark gaze shot sparks as he glared across the small space at her. “I. Forbid. It. No more discussion on the matter. I will speak with him and inform him you have other obligations.”
“You will do no such thing. I was with him yesterday and we just went over the dates and times for me to come do the work. Do not make this any more unpleasant, Elonne. I am living on my own and will survive, but I cannot do that if I turn down work.”
“So move back home.”
“That is your home, not mine. Besides, I do not like your wife. Cara and I do not get along and we both know you see it.”
He grimaced and skimmed his hands over his head. “She is the mother of my children.”
Opinions differed on that between them for sure, but she kept hers private. Unable to comment politely on his statement, she shrugged.
He frowned.
“It is not safe for you here.”
“Elonne, I love you, but I do not need your permission to live here. I have work and I have a home to call my own. You are always welcome to swing by and check on me but you should focus on your family.”
He stepped closer and gripped both her wrists. “You, you, are my family.”
Her anger vanished. After all, who was she to be mad that her only living relative was showing concern for her?
Giving him a smile, she nodded. “I love you too, Elonne. I want to do this. I can do this and I will be safe. As I said previously, Marta and Georges will keep an eye on me also.”
His frown told her everything. He didn’t trust them. But then, Elonne didn’t trust anyone outside of a very small circle. Some of the men he worked the fields with. But the few people he did books for, they were strictly business.
“I worry.” He stepped back and crossed his arms.
“Nothing has changed other than where I lay my head at night. I have the same work, will be around the same people.”
“It was fine until that earl started showing interest in you.” A deeper scowl. “And you agreed to work for Mr. Caulfield.”
Fyre struggled not to expose her brother to how just thinking about the earl affected her—a most difficult feat to be sure. Her body responded like she was close to Phillip.
I should not think of him in such a familiar manner. It is not proper.
Didn’t stop her thoughts or dreams. Perhaps fantasies would be a better description.
“You wish for me to tell an earl no, that I will not continue doing for him what I have been doing for months? And because my brother sees it as an issue? When it was not one before?”
Elonne flatted his lips in displeasure. “You are getting impertinent.”
“Reprimands aside, brother, it would be foolish for me to turn down money. If that is your concern, I am happy to tell him that my brother needs to take over. But I will not allow you to put me in a difficult financial place purely because you want to control me.”
“You are a lone female.”
“I am aware of that.” She shook her head and held up her hands in silent surrender. “My life, Elonne. Mine.”
He narrowed his eyes at her then stomped out of her place, slamming the door behind himself.
Waiting to make sure he wouldn’t just fly back in, she finally cleaned up the food from the table then got back to what she’d been doing—making this place her own.
As she unfolded the quilt for her bed, she smiled and thought about Phillip. Would he like it?
Better yet, would he be gentle as a lover or would he push her to the edge until she cried out for release? Her body trembled and she bit her lower lip as she realized she desperately wanted to find out.
Chapter Five
Phillip rode through the town on his way to one of the numerous places to get a drink. No carriage today, just him and a horse.
Did he have an ulterior motive for coming in today? Absolutely. He wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman he’d been unable to get out of his mind.
I have not even been away from her for more than a full day and I am craving the knowledge of her well-being.
It was more than that. This woman, Fyre, had become his obsession. Since the moment he’d found out she was the one who had kept his books with such precision. Sure, others could do the job, but not with her joy.