He scowled. “I am not a fan of that look. What is going on in that head of yours?”
She forced a smile. “I am fine, just lost in thought. Begging your pardon, my lord.” A breath. “Was there something else you needed today?”
Phillip opened his mouth but at that moment the door opened once more. She watched him cut his gaze to the door.
“Gwen! I have returned.” He pushed the door back. “Gwen?” Watery blue eyes swung over to him. “My lord? Have you been waiting long?” Mr. Holmes’ pale skin flushed.
“No, Ms. Gwen is here helping me now.”
That mollified the man a tiny bit. Still, he hurried around to peer down the aisle.
It wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t tall enough to see over the shelves and hadn’t heard the door’s bell, she’d been too wrapped up in Lord Edais.
“Mr. Holmes.” She hoped there was enough space between herself and the earl to be proper.
The man flicked his gaze between the both of them. Then he nodded and moved to the back. Phillip glanced back down at her even as he reached for the item nearest to him.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Of course, my lord. Is there anything else I can assist you with?”
There went that sparkle in his eyes. The one that made her stomach clench with a raw need. Something that scared her.
More precise would be to say, it made her think of things that scared her.
“So many. However, I will head out now. I will see you tonight.” He walked away before she could say anything.
He is not on my calendar for tonight.
At the door, he called out, “Thank you again, Ms. Gwen. I appreciate the assistance in choosing gifts for my family.” Then he was gone.
Chapter Six
“My lord?”
“Come in, Keating. What is it?”
Phillip barely looked up from the ledger he was going over. He had some thoughts on what to add to the plantation but was trying to figure out with more clarity how much that would cost and what his return would be if he opted to go that route. Did he need to stare at this ledger? No, but for some reason it made sense in his mind.
“You have a visitor.”
Nothing else. He looked up once more and lifted a brow. “Did they provide a card? Or a name?”
Keating’s lips were thin and yet, somehow, they flattened more, making them nearly vanish.
“No card, my lord. It is a colored man.”
Irritation grew. “It is a man, Keating. Learn that. Does he have a name?”
“Of course, my lord. Elonne.”
Fyre’s brother. “Send him in.” He looked back at his work, not pausing until Keating returned with Elonne.
This time Phillip closed the ledger and watched Elonne step in.
“Thank you, Keating. Pour us each a drink then leave us to talk.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Elonne didn’t move much from his position until the drinks had been poured and Keating left. Only after a gesture from Phillip did he take a seat.
“Something I can assist you with, Mr. Elonne? I am sorry, I was not provided a last name.”
“Parker, my lord.”
Gwen Parker. Personally, he preferred Fyre.
“Mr. Parker, how can I help you?”
“I am here about my sister.”
Without realizing it until it had happened, he sat up more at the mention of Fyre.
“What about her?”
“I know you can understand a man’s need to protect his family. I want you to tell her you are letting her go. I can do your books or point you in the direction of someone else.”
Phillip leaned forward, resting his arms along the top of his desk. He laced his fingers.
“Let me make sure I am understanding you properly. You, who told me when I first asked you about the books that you could not give me the breakdown because you had not done them, want me to fire the person who could?” He shook his head. “A man taking care of his family does not pull money from their mouth to line his own pockets, Mr. Parker. Surely you can see how that style of behavior is not supporting your sister.”
“My lord.”
Nope, he was cutting this off right now.
“And also, who are you to demand what I do? You cannot walk in my home and tell me how to handle one of my employees.”
“I have to protect my sister from herself.”
“Seems to me you want to control her. She is amazing at what she does and from the looks of her calendar, she has a lot of other work besides mine. Are you telling all of them to get rid of her as well? Or is that pleasure only for the Earl of Edais?”
Elonne at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Not that it lasted long.
“I can take care of my sister and family.”
“If that were the truth, Mr. Parker, you would not have had her working on my books in the first place. Or working at the other places she is.” He didn’t even begin to disguise the derision in his tone.