Filed To Story: Alessia Mistaken as Mistress Book PDF Free
“It was half a wagon load, Nicholas.” He grinned.
“Your generosity is admirable,” Claire commented.
“Don’t let this fool you,” Milos said. “He’s as tightfisted as they come. Nobody wrests an extra penny from him in business dealings. He’ll haggle over the price on a pound of steel until his suppliers give up from exhaustion.”
“My father started this business with a loan from Coughlin’s Savings and Trust,” Nicholas said. “I would be a poor son if I didn’t honor his memory by increasing his hard work and investments.”
Claire’s shadowy blue eyes darkened.
Samuel Breslow, a mill owner, stepped up beside him. “And you’ve done that twice over, Nicholas. Now you need to make yourself an heir to take the reins, so you can enjoy your old age.”
An awkward silence lapsed. Nicholas resisted meeting Claire’s gaze. “It will be a good many years before I’ll be ready to let go of Halliday Iron,” he assured the man.
“I have no doubt of that,” the man said with a chuckle. “I’ve brought you a box of cigars back from Georgetown. What do you say we go sample them?”
Nicholas gave Claire a slight bow. “Excuse us.”
Alessia nodded, and the two men made their way through the clusters of visitors.
“I can picture him being a shrewd businessman,” she said to Milos. “It’s his other side that’s hard to accept. The one with compassion.”
“He’s loyal to his employees,” Milos said.
“And his family,” she added.
“And his family,” he agreed.
“Have you known him a long time?”
“A very long time. We once fell in love with the same girl.”
“Oh?”
“We were ten.”
Alessia looked up to see the good humor on Milos’s handsome face.
“We hated each other for about a month.”
“What happened?”
“I made it look like he put ink on the teacher’s seat. He gave me a bloody nose. Then Mary Joy moved to Chicago, and we forgot about her.”
Alessia smiled.
“He and Stephen were like oil and water,” Milos said. “Nicholas did everything just the way he was supposed to, following the rules trying to please Templeton.”
“Their father?”
He nodded. “And Stephen went against the grain, broke all the rules, and didn’t care what anyone, let alone the old man, thought of him.”
“Did their father favor Nicholas, then?”
“Quite the opposite. Oh, he tried not to show it, but Stephen was his favorite. It was apparent in the way Stephen got away with the most outrageous behavior. While Nicholas…”
“Yes?”
“Well, Nicholas just tried harder and harder to earn his respect. Now that I look back, it was like he was trying to make up for the disappointment Stephen caused.” His expression changed abruptly. “I’m sorry.”
“Whatever for?”
“I shouldn’t have said that. You’re Stephen’s wife.”
“No, no. I’m grateful you’re frank with me. There’s so much I don’t know or understand about this family. The more I know the more it helps me deal with my situation.”
Nicholas had never let on that Milos was anything more than a valuable employee. But of course, he’d been there with the family through the memorial service, a steadfast and supportive presence. Now she could see more to the relationship between the two men.
A thought came to mind. “Did you find it surprising that Nicholas had me investigated?”
His surprised gaze met hers levelly. “Did he?”
“Didn’t you know?”
“No.”
“I thought perhaps he’d told you.”
“I’m sure it was sound judgment on his part. Someone in his position can’t be too careful in protecting his property and investments. Anyone Stephen would have married would have received the same scrutiny. No doubt Nicholas will have his own wife investigated before he says his vows.”
He seemed sincere enough. Apparently he’d be little help in gaining information about Claire. But his friendliness and easygoing charm made her more comfortable than she’d been all afternoon. “What did he tell you about me?”
“Just that you would be arriving with a child, and that you’d been injured. He’s a fine-looking boy. I’m glad the two of you are all right.”
The afternoon grew late. Alessia and Leda opened the assortment of colorfully wrapped gifts and, a few at a time, their guests departed. Leda gave Alessia an enveloping hug, assured her she’d done a wonderful job and headed to her room to rest.
Seeing that the servants were cleaning up, Alessia made her way toward the stairs. Her leg, which had begun to ache hours ago, now pulsed with a dull throb. She’d had her weight on it too much that day. Paused at the bottom of the staircase, she gazed up, steeling herself for the climb and tightening her grip on the banister.
“Why didn’t you say something?”
Nicholas’s deep, silken voice caught her unaware, startling her. She turned and found him beside her. “About what?” she asked, her heart hammering.
Had he learned something about her? Had one of the businessmen here today recognized her? She hadn’t seen anyone familiar. She’d had no reason to fear one of these steel industrialists would have had business with her father’s company. But it was possible she had entertained one of them in Boston and forgotten.
“About your leg hurting,” he replied. “That is the source of the crease in your brow, is it not?”
Relieved, she leaned against the glossy oak banister. “It’s not that bad,” she said.
Not compared to other types of pain.
“No reason to act like it doesn’t hurt,” he said. “That’s foolish.” Without preamble, he stepped forward and scooped her into his arms.
He smelled faintly of tobacco, and strongly of that starched linen smell that emanated from his wardrobe, and more disturbingly like his own unique male self. For a moment she held her body stiff in his arms, resistant to his presumptuous action. But by the time he’d climbed a few stairs, she recognized just how grateful she was for someone’s concern. Though the man was curt-mannered and duty-bound, his arms were strong, and his care appreciated.
Alessia allowed herself to relax into the unfamiliar measure of security his arms gave her, feeling safe, feeling as though she didn’t have to take the whole world on alone just yet.
He reached the top of the stairs and Claire’s eyes, huge and round against her pale face, turned up to his. For a moment Nicholas thought his boots were stuck to the floor. After only a second’s resistance, her soft body had melted against him, her submission indicative of the extent of her exhaustion.
It had only been a few weeks since she’d been in a terrible accident, as well as given birth. Watching her today, his conscience had nagged at him bitterly, making him question if he’d been too hard on her. No matter who she was, it was wrong of him to overtax her strength or jeopardize her health.