Saving Percival (The Cousins Book 3)

Chapter Twenty-One

Standing on the doorstep, Percival nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. The wait for someone to answer the door was starting to feel endless, but he didn't want to ring the bell again. Should he have waited longer before coming? He'd promised to come that afternoon.

After witnessing Mr. Cooper leave the inn, he waited for thirty minutes before departing himself. Maybe he would be rescuing Christianna from an uncomfortable conversation with her father. Either way, he was determined to find out what was going on.

And, if he was completely honest, he wanted to get Christianna's promise to marry him before her father could once again attempt to separate them. He had no desire to go through the trouble of searching for her again.

As the door swung open, the woman who Christianna had described as the cook and housekeeper gave him a disapproving look. "Good afternoon," he greeted, removing his hat. "May I speak with Miss Cooper?"

"She's currently in the library with her father and the mistress," the cook answered, glancing over her shoulder. "I don't know that now is a good time to interrupt them. I can tell her you came once they are finished."

In London, Percival might have agreed to leave and come back at a later time. Now, with Mr. Gillham's advice to be bold ringing in his ears, he refused. "I will wait for Miss Cooper," he said firmly.

"It might be a long time," the cook warned him. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you in. It is not permitted."

"I know," Percival said with a huff of frustration. He was all too familiar with the rule. "I'll wait outside like I always do."

A peculiar expression crossed the woman's face and then she shut the door. Percival anxiously paced back and forth in front of the door, trying to convince himself that his unease was merely concern for Miss Cooper. But deep down, he knew it was something else entirely.

The thought of Mr. Cooper's arrival had completely slipped his mind. "Stupid," he muttered. Why had he done that? He was aware of the man's determination to keep his daughter away from Percival.

Which was still something he didn't understand. Well, he thought it had something to do with the behavior that had been called into question, but he wasn't sure.

And he didn't like not being sure.

The door opened once again, pulling him from his spiraling thoughts. Miss Cooper stepped out, her face set in an expression of gravity. "Good afternoon, Sir Percival," she said. She made sure to close the door firmly behind her.

Sweeping his hat off his head once again, Percival studied her. "Are you...Are you well?" he asked uncertainly. This was not her usual welcome and that made him even more uneasy.

"I am." There was no smile accompanying her words.

"I-I heard that your father was at the inn last night," Percival told her. He hesitated. "Perhaps I should have come to warn you sooner?"

"What would you have warned me about?"

"I-I-" Percival stammered, searching for the right words. He sensed that something was amiss, but couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly. He considered the possibility that she was upset with him, but he couldn't understand why. "I know you and your father have argued before. I might have warned you that he was coming so that you were not caught off guard."

Her expression softened for a moment. "I must confess, I was taken aback," she confessed. But then she straightened her posture and lifted her chin. "My father has just been telling me some rumors from London. Is it true that you are facing financial ruin?"