Nothing But Time (10 page)

Idly she wondered what catalyst might spark the ignition of the more fascinating persona the earl had exhibited in the dark of night.
“I’m
from the United States.  I told you that.”

Harrowby
said nothing but gave a little roll of his eyes that brought
a reluctant lift to Kate’s lip
s.  “I’m originally fr
om Minnesota.  I grew up in Edina which is a suburb of Minneapolis.”

Harrowby
tried to picture a map of the
Americas but gave up and rose
,
mov
ing to a
large
globe in the corner and spinning it around trying to find the right spot.  He must have taken a bit too long, because
Kate
joined him there stabbing a finger at a spot right in the middle of the
vast
east/west expanse of the nation.

“There,” she said pinpointing the location for him.

Harrowby
considered the
position
far from the high population areas of the east and west coasts or even Chicago
,
which he had heard was becoming quite a metropolis.  “Seems rather remote,” he commented
, his voice losing some of its starchiness
.  “Surely there can’t be much for ci
vilization
in such an area.”

“You’d be surprised,” she returned dryly in that way that made
the earl
feel as if he were missing something.  “It’s
more urban
than you’d think.”

“What brought you to
England
then?”

Since
Kate
could hardly tell him that a time machine had done the trick, she merely shrugged and led the way back to the chairs where she dropped more comfortabl
y
this time giving the impression that her fears were diminishing. 

Harrowby
saw her cross her legs under the long skirts with surprise.  He’d never known a woman to do that!  Woman sat upright on the edges of furniture and
perhaps
crossed their ankles.  Never one leg completely over the other! 
Moreover,
Kate
even let her leg kick out again and again tossing the bottom of the skirts up over and over giving him repeated glimpses of her ankles, calves and petticoats.  If it had been another
woman doing so
,
he
would have considered
the action one of sexual provocation, but somehow
Harrowby
simply knew that this woman had no idea what thoughts her action incited.

Resolving to keep his eyes on her face, h
e sat back across from
her
and waiting for a response.  There was something she wasn’t saying, he was sure of it.  Something she didn’t want to say
about her reasons for being in England
.  “Well?”

“I got a job near Oxford working with a scientist there,”
Kate
offered
,
seeming reluctant to expand upon that brief description, but her words only served to inflame his curiosity.

“A scientist?”
H
is brows rose again in
astonishment
.  “Doing what?”

Harrowby felt certain that the intriguing Miss Kallastad had been nothing more than a domestic, a housekeeper perhaps.  His thoughts must have shown clearly on his face because her brow furrowed into a frown and, as if to make it clear that there was much more to it than that, she added,
“Research.”

“Research?” he repeated.

“You needn’t look so surprised,” she chided.  “Women do ha
ve brains, you know, though the
employment agencies here don’t seem to think so. 
I would wager I have more education than you do.”

Harrowby
snorted.  He’d seen many fine examples of
‘
educated
’
females in his life.  His mother and sister were very well educated by nobility’s standards
,
being versed in a variety of languages and the arts with some knowledge of history and mat
hematics but it wasn’t
at all
comparable
to the standards of a man’s education.  Most girls attended public schools until their early teens, learned how to write, read and do some basic arithmetic but for the largest percentage o
f women in
Britain, that was it. 
A select few
women might attend classes at the universities but there were no degrees available for them. 

Oh, there had been some talk
recently about opening a university
for women in Cambridge but that was surely far away and even then it was unlikely that they would have many
truly academic
courses available.

Kate
might think she was well-educated and perhaps she was, but she was still a woman and there were simply limits to what she could learn.
  Given that knowledge, he was even more shocked when she continued.  “
We were exploring
new means to cure diseases.”

If anything his brows rose even higher.  “Really?  Where?  I must confess I went to Oxford myself.  I wasn’t aware that there were any facilities of that type on campus.”

His new maid inhaled sharply and, as if she were aware that he had caught her in an obvious lie, told him, “The lab was a private one and privately funded, not an extension of the university.”  Harrowby was still skeptical and it must have shown on his face because she continued,
“
The lab was a ways south of town
but t
here was an a
ccident and
it
is now gone.
”
He couldn’t deny that those words held the ring of truth.
 
“
I had nowhere to go, so I came here to get a job.”

“Why not go back to America?” he asked curiously.  “Back to your family?”

“I have no family anymore.”  The words were softly spoken and so full of grief that
Harrowby
at once regretted asking the question.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Is it anyone’s fault really?” he asked
prosaically
.

“Yes it is,” she replied bitterly
,
seeming lost in thought for a moment before she shook of
f
the moment of anger and despair like shedding a cloak.
Her spine straightened as she again met his eye.  “Anyway, I’m here now and this is where I’ll stay.  Working for you, it seems.”

“And yet you seem genuinely displeased by this.  Why?” he asked.  “I believe that you mentioned last evening that you were unused to servitude.”

“It just isn’t what I pl
ann
e
d to do with my life,”
Kate
told him but seemed to catch the unintentional insult since she rushed to add, “But I’ll do a good job, I promise.  You won’t have any reason to regret not firing me.”

Harrowby
waved off her assurance more curious about what her plans
had
been
, yet all the while wondering at the reason for that curiosity.  He’d never dreamed of conversing so casually with a person in his employ before
.  He’d never even asked these questions of his long-time valet, Timson
. 
It was a shocking deviation from form but Harrowby couldn’t stop himself from asking,
“You plann
e
d to do research then as your life’s work?
  How does one prepare for such an occupation?  Have you studied?”  This last in a tone that bespoke a measure of doubt
expecting now that she would explain that she was merely an assistant or even maid to those who performed the work
.

“I did and I have.  I graduated from MIT as a matter of fact.” 
Kate
frowned as if becoming aware that the letters might not mean anything to Harrowby, and they didn’t
.  “Umm, have you heard of it?”

“I can’t say that I have,” he told her.  “What is it?”

“The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  It’s a private res
earch university outside Boston.
”
She bit her lip in a thoughtful way that charmed Harrowby instantly.  Clearly, she was only searching her memory but the action captured his entire attention so fully that he almost didn’t hear her next words.
“I think they call it Boston Tech
or something like that
right now, but
it’s very prestigious.  I remember something about Harvard trying to integrate it into their technical college at some point.”

“I have heard of Harvard,”
Harrowby
offered at length
,
understanding that she was trying to tell him that she was a women of
true
education,
the type normally reserved for men of means, and that she
trained to work as a professional in the sciences although he wasn’t entirely certain he believed her. 
How could he?  It went against everything he knew. 
He had heard of schools in America where women might obtain a medical degree and such but they were institutions serving women only.  He’d simply never heard of a coed
ucational
university before. 
“And you graduated from this MIT, you say?”

“I did.  I have a Master’s Degree in biochemistry.”
 
Setting his surprise
at
her claim of
a university degree
aside for perhaps the United States had different educational standard
s
,
Harrowby
focused more on the science he
had never heard of thoug
h
Kate
seemed very proud of it
.  He knew chemistry, of course, had even taken a course or two on the subject himself. 

“W
hat
is bio-chemistry?
”

“Biological chemistry,” she elaborated.  “It’s basically the study of the chemical processes of living things.  Like metabolism,
carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and
that kind of thing.”

“I have no idea what any of those things are,” he admitted
after a long moment
.

“Well, it covers
a lot of different fields.  Biochemists do everything from study hormone deficiencies and genetic diseases to those who determine the nutritional value of food.  Others like me study disease and immunity disorders and work to develop cures for them,”
Kate
explained
.  The unfamiliar words coming so easily from her lips astounded him. 
“
So basically that’s what I do. 
I research cures for diseases.”

“Such as?” he recovered enough to ask.

“
Well
,
our main project is in looking for a cure for
Cryptococcal Meningitis
,” she told him.  “Have you heard of it?
”  Harrowby managed a slight shake of his head.
 
“
No?  Well, let’s just
say
it’s a really bad fungal disease that k
ills a lot of people every year.
”

“Oh.” 
Harrowby
didn’t even know what to make of her explanation
, her tone had changed to that of an adult simplifying
the
matter for a child
. 
Perhaps, in that moment, he was
a simpleton
. 
While she had clearly sounded confident and well-informed on her topic, she had spoken of things he had never heard of before.  But if she were fabricating it all, she was proving
herself to be an excellent actress.  There was nothing for it, he supposed, but to take her word
for
it. 

Clearly
,
it was a field that one would be hard put to find active employment in.  There was truth in that if in nothing else.

“Sorry,” she offered at length.  “I didn’t mean to blow your mind or anything.  I
t’s just that I
felt really good about what I was doing
, you know?  I was actively helping people a
nd I miss it already.  Haven’t you ever done something you were really passionate about?”

He did, but
the earl
didn’t answer
with such an admission
.  His passions were his own.  To the world, he was noble.  That was his duty now.  His responsibility. 
The business of running the earldom was new to him and he was still taki
ng instruction from the steward
s of his many properties
.  He studied
the
account
books and ledgers to catch up on all that it entailed, but before that
, to the world at large,
he’d been a gentleman of leisure
.  W
hile ten minutes ago he would have admitted as much without embarrassment – for truly, it was what
most
young men of his station did – he realized that he didn’t want to
confess as
much to this woman who, it seemed, worked passionately for an admirable cause.  “I studied land
and business
management at Oxford once it was determined that I would inherit the earldom.  It is a huge responsibility.”

“I’m sure it is,” she
readily
agreed without condescension.  “I would imagine just lo
oking at everyone you employ in
this one house that a great many people rely on you for their livelihood and I’ve heard that this is only one of many houses that you own.”

Feeling bolstered by her sincere appreciation for his responsibility,
Harrowby
nodded.  “The earldom owns a
lmost a dozen estates across Great Britain
, many with farms or herds or production facilities attached to them.  There is the coal mine in Liverpool, a shi
pyard near Portsmouth and an
arms manufacturing plant as well as investments in the railroads
and banking.”

Kate
nodded with sincere appreciation.  “
Wow. 
I
mpressive.  It must keep you very busy.”

“It does,” he agreed
, then from nowhere
felt compelled for the
first time in his life to add,
“Sometimes I hate it.”  It was an admission that he’d barely acknowledged to himself and he was s
hock
ed to hear the words aloud
,
especially given the company he was in, b
ut it was th
e
truth.  This new responsibility had taken from him the time to indulge in the one thing he did truly care about.  At times, he resented it.

Harrowby
stole a glance at
Kate
expecting her disdain for his confession but to his further s
urprise
found her nodding along sympathetically.

“I bet you do.  Who wouldn’t?” she said matter-of-factly.  “It’s a pretty major inheritance
you got there
.
It would b
e like Warren Buffet finding a long-lost son a
nd
handing it all over to him saying
,
‘
H
ere you go, deal with it’.  You take it serio
usly though and that’s good. 
Good for you and g
ood for everyone who’s out there
working for you and praying you don’t fuck it up.  Oops, sorry for the potty mouth,” she added when his jaw dropped in astonishment.
“Didn’t mean that…how about mess it up?”

Clearing his throat,
Harrowby
stifled a delayed chuckle.  “Not at all, I rather think you were more
accurate regarding my dependant
s
’
expectations with your initial assessment.” 

He laughed
aloud then and
Kate
’s breath caught.  Damn, she had known that he would be gorgeous if he smiled and he was.  His lips parted revealing straight white teeth that flashed in contrast
again
st his t
ann
e
d skin.  The dimples appeared and the crow’s feet
deepened
around eyes that danced with humor. 
Oh, Lordy,
she thought. 
He is a hotty.

Catching herself before she began
to sigh dramatically and ogle
the earl,
Kate
pushed
herself from the chair.  “Well, I will leave you laughing then. 
I better go find the others and let them know I’m not in trouble. 
It was nice talking to you,
Mr.… my… err, Harrowby.  May I just call you Brand?
”

With brows raised, Harrowby meant to sound a denial but instead felt himself nod.

“Thanks, Brand.  You have a nice day, okay?”
 

Her name escaped her lips easily as if formality
and titles meant nothing to her
.  P
erhaps they didn’t, he realized.  The Americans had a very diverse perspective on England’s nobility.  E
ither they fawned over the nob
i
lity
in a most piteous way
or they treated them as if they were just another person.  While h
is experience with American wome
n had always been those of the former inclination, perhaps
Kate
was simply one of those rare few who dismissed a noble’s title as unimportant.  She simply didn’t care.

Liking
that idea more than he should, Harrowby
watched
Kate
stroll to the door, her bustle and skirts swishing behind her.  She had a very nice figure.  He had noticed as much the night before.  Nicely round
ed
in all the right places without seeming plump.  Tall enough not to
make his height awkward in comparison, she had fit just right in his arms allowing him to kiss her without bending his neck too far. 

Her dark brown hair was like mahogany though there were dozens of lighter streaks running through it creating a cacophony of color he had never seen on a woman.  He could make out each and every one of them, too, for unlike all the other women he knew, she wore her hair simply bound at the back of her head.  No complex knots or braids, just a tail of hair about a foot long that swung behind as she walked like a pendulum.