Under An English Moon (5 page)

“I see,” Reggie said, though he really did not. He could not fathom a woman of Phoebe’s obvious breeding and education working in any capacity other than as governess. His own education had been undertaken by a tutor, the most excellent Mr. Hartwood.

“And your cousin? You say she is away in Switzerland? With an instructor?” He had not understood all her words. A reference to a “ski”?

Phoebe wiped her mouth with a napkin of paper and discarded it on her plate. Reggie followed her lead.

“A ski instructor. Yup! Unlike me, Annie
is
wealthy thanks to her father’s real estate investments, and she travels a lot. She recently met a ski instructor in Switzerland and decided to buy a place there and have him live with her. It’s not the first time she’s done something like that and may not be the last, but I wish her well. She’s letting me live in the apartment while she’s gone, otherwise I couldn’t afford it. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Phoebe surveyed the kitchen and living room beyond.

“Yes, very lovely.”

“Well, let me throw these dishes into the dishwasher and then decide on sleeping arrangements. This is only a one bedroom, so you’ll have to sleep on the couch. Do you want to take a shower before you go to bed?”

Reggie jumped to his feet as Phoebe picked up his plate and stowed it in some sort of large silver-appearing cabinet. Her references to sleeping arrangements dumbfounded him, and he clasped his hands behind his back and watched her silently. She certainly could do with a maid or a housekeeper who could clean the kitchen as well as see to her guests’ sleeping arrangements. The informality of life in America was eccentric at best, but he found it quite intriguing.

Phoebe looked over her shoulder toward him and favored him with her charming smile. He drew in a silent breath.

“It’s called a dishwasher, and like it sounds, it’s a machine that washes dishes. No need for a maid,” she said almost as if she could read his mind. She shut the door of the machine and turned. “You know, I’ve often wondered who I would be if I hadn’t been born in this time, Reggie. Have you done that? I suspect though that if I’d been born in your time, I would have been born poor, and probably married by now to a tenant farmer with four hungry children at my knees.”

“I cannot imagine,” Reggie said. “With your intellect, you could not have lived thus.”

Phoebe’s cheeks colored becomingly. “I doubt I would have had a choice, right? You’re either born with money or not—in
your
time. You’re either an aristocrat or not, right? Fortunately, in our time, that sort of thing doesn’t matter—at least not in the United States or England. We can make as much money as we want if the circumstances are right. There are many fields of employment that pay tons of money if one is lucky enough to find work in them.”

Reggie listened and tried to imagine the world she described, but it seemed fantastical.

“You are suggesting that the tenant farmer and the wife with four hungry children could have risen to become the masters? I do not think that is possible.” He narrowed his eyes. Who then would work the farms?

“Absolutely,” Phoebe said with a suspicious twist of her lips. Did she laugh at him? “If he took night classes, got a degree in business and a job on Wall Street, or if he moved the family to Hollywood and found a starring role in a television series. Or if
she
found a starring role in a movie. If he began an Internet startup company that made millions. Or maybe if they won the lottery. There are all sorts of ways the poor farmer could have found enough money to buy the farm.”

“Then you would no longer be poor with four hungry children at your knees,” Reggie grinned.

“Touché, Mr. Hamilton!” Phoebe laughed.

“I suspect this would be a most inopportune moment to advise you that my title would be more correctly addressed as Lord Hamilton?” He quirked an amused eyebrow in her direction.

Phoebe’s mouth opened and shut in a most droll fashion. “Oh, sure, let’s have the whole package! A handsome Georgian man drops into my lap complete with tight-fitting pantaloons and a cravat, an English accent
and
a title. Why not?” She curtsied.

Chapter Three

At the sight of Reggie’s bronzed cheekbones, Mattie clapped a hand over her mouth. Had she really said “tight fitting?” She didn’t want him to think she had been looking or anything.

Reggie dropped his eyes to his trousers, and Phoebe moved past him quickly.

“Well, let’s see! Here’s the couch. I’ll get some sheets and a blanket. And if you’ll follow me through the bedroom, here’s the bathroom. There are fresh towels on the shelf there. I’m not sure you know how to work anything, so here...I’ll show you.” She spoke quickly, hoping he would forget what she had said earlier. After all, she was hardly the kind of girl who said, “Hey, Dude. Nice butt!” So telling a Georgian-era gentleman that she thoughts his pants were attractively snug was probably too much.

She showed him how to turn on the shower and adjust the temperature, how to work the taps in the sink, and how to flush the toilet. A quick glance at Reggie’s face showed a kaleidoscope of emotions. Embarrassment, surprise, confusion, interest, and more embarrassment when she flushed the toilet. When Mattie pointed out the toilet paper, he coughed behind his ruffled sleeve.

“I have a few spare toothbrushes here from the dentist’s office.” She rummaged in the cabinet drawer. “You can use one while you’re here. Here’s a comb, and some disposable razors. Pink, but I’m sure they work just the same.” She eyed his handsome face. “Don’t cut yourself. They’re very sharp.”

Reggie picked up the small purple toothbrush enclosed in plastic, and he studied it.

“You don’t use a toothbrush?” Phoebe wondered how that was possible. His teeth appeared remarkably white and clean on his occasional smiles.

He shook his head silently, pressing his lips together.

“Well, here, I’ll show you.” She picked up her own toothbrush from a pink holder on her sink and loaded toothpaste onto it before brushing her teeth, albeit quickly. Reluctant to spit into the sink in front of him, she faced him and covered her mouth.

“So, you would rinse your mouth out with water. If you would just turn around...”

Reggie complied, and Phoebe rinsed out her mouth and turned to face him.

“So! I think that’s about it. Do you have any questions?”

Reggie turned around. “A multitude, Madam, but I cannot even imagine what those questions might be at the moment. I am most anxious to use your paste though. Your smile is delightful, and if the paste is responsible, then I shall use it gladly.”

“Well, that and a bazillion dollars in orthodontics, as my mom used to say.”

“Orthodontics?”

“Teeth straightening. Big thing in our time. I’m not sure why.”

He shook his head in apparent confusion and turned to survey the bathroom.

“I wonder, Phoebe, could you have a tailor attend me in the morning? I could pay him on account when I discover the whereabouts of my family’s money. I could wear this clothing again tomorrow at the outside, but beyond that would be too egregious. I must have a change of clothes.”

“We can go out in the morning and find some clothes for you. I don’t think ‘have a tailor attend’ you means the same thing today as it might have in your day. Tailors don’t usually make house calls, and I’m not sure if they make complete suits of clothing here in the United States. Usually just alterations.”

“Oh, I see. I do not wish to trouble you. Could you then perhaps direct me to a men’s establishment? I do not imagine you would be comfortable in such a place.”

Phoebe grinned, and Reggie sighed.

He drew himself up. “Miss Warner. I see that some of the things I say amuse you, but is it possible for you to suspend your laughter for the moment?”

Phoebe pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry, Reggie. I really am. I’m not laughing
at
you, really.”

“But I am not laughing, therefore, you are not laughing
with
me either, Miss Warner.”

“Okay, please drop the Miss Warner thing. Not that I don’t think it’s kind of charming, but I know you did it because you’re upset. I’ll try to be more sensitive.”

“I do not need you to be more sensitive. I am not a child to cry at miffed feelings, but if you could refrain from smirking when I do say things that seem unusual to you, I would be most grateful.”

“Honestly, Reggie, I’m
not
smirking. I’m smiling. I think the things you say are cute.” She sighed and moved past him to leave the bathroom but turned back. “Look, I’ll take you shopping in the morning. Trust me. Women shop with men all the time, and men shop with women. It will be all right.” She turned for the bedroom door but hesitated. “Umm...the only thing I have for you to wear to bed are T-shirts and sweatpants, all too small for you, I think.”

“Do not concern yourself on my account. I shall do well enough in this clothing.”

Phoebe nodded. “Well, I’ll leave you to wash up if you want. I’ll be out in the living room when you’re done.” She closed the door behind her and crossed the bedroom to enter the living room. With weak knees, she dropped herself onto the couch. Out of Reggie’s presence, the enormity of the situation hit her, and she didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or call the police.

Her cell phone rang, and she scrambled up to find her bag by the front door.

“Hello? Mouse?” A familiar female voice spoke on the other end.

“Annie! You must be up late...or early.” Annie didn’t call often, and Phoebe wondered if she’d had a sixth sense about the arrival of Lord Reginald Hamilton.

“Not too early. I just arrived at the airport, at JFK. I thought I’d call ahead and tell you I’ll be there within an hour. I didn’t want to scare you when I open the door.”

“What?” Phoebe almost shrieked.

“I know, I know! Sorry, I know this is a surprise. Johan and I broke up, and I didn’t want to stay in that place for another minute. I thought I’d come home and lick my wounds for a while—you know—with my favorite cousin.”

“Your
only
cousin,” Phoebe said mechanically as she often did. She thought fast. What to do about Reggie? There was nothing she could do but tell Annie that he was her live-in boyfriend. She didn’t think Annie would be able to keep her mouth shut about the truth, and the truth was not something New York City—or the world—was ready for. If indeed, Reggie was from the early nineteenth century. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it herself.

“Yeah, thanks for telling me. Hey, I guess I should have mentioned that I have a guy...a boyfriend. And he’s living with me. Maybe I should have asked. It
is
your place.”

“No way!” Annie crowed. “Seriously? Just a minute.” Some sort of commotion could be heard, and Annie came back on the phone. “Okay, I got my bag off the carousel. I’ll be there in an hour. I guess I’ll take the couch then. I could do a hotel, but that seems kind of weird. Besides, I wanted to see you. We’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Phoebe disconnected the call and stared at the phone in horror. What was she going to do? How would Reggie react when she told him he had now become her boyfriend? Or suitor? And clearly, he wouldn’t be sleeping on the couch.

She ran into the bedroom and hesitated at the sound of the shower. The situation seemed too difficult to explain through a closed bathroom door, so she would have to wait until he was finished. She almost hopped from one foot to the other impatiently while Reggie took what seemed like the longest shower in the world. Fifteen minutes later, the shower was turned off, and Phoebe knocked on the bathroom door.

“Yes?” Reggie called out.

“Reggie! I need to talk to you. Are you decent?”

“Decent? But of course. However, I am without clothing.”

“Wrap the towel around you. I have to talk to you.”

“A moment, please.”

Phoebe gave it only a moment. “Okay, I’m opening the door, ready or not. We have an emergency.”

She reached for the handle, but the door opened from within. Reggie stood in the doorway of the bathroom, one towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand as he rubbed the moisture from his wet, wavy hair. Phoebe’s heart thumped uncomfortably. Her Georgian boyfriend had all his body parts as far as she could see. Lean muscular arms and legs, a well-defined chest and toned stomach, and broad, broad shoulders as she had noted before.

She lowered herself to the bed on weak knees and faced him, trying not to gawk.

“Reggie, my cousin, Annie, just called. She’s at the airport, and she’s coming home. I think she’s going to stay here for a bit. She’ll be here in about forty minutes. I had to explain your presence here, so I told her you were my boyfriend and that you were living with me. I know this all probably sounds crazy to you, but...” Phoebe shrugged helplessly.

His eyes narrowed. “Phoebe, I cannot allow you to besmirch yourself on my behalf. I must insist on removing myself to other lodgings, perhaps to an inn.”

Phoebe shook her head hastily. “No time, no money, no way,” she said flatly. “I can’t get you to a hotel in time and, even if I could, I really can’t afford one. You actually don’t have any money, pal, and Annie will be here before we can get out the front door. Besides, nothing has changed. I still don’t want you wandering around New York City by yourself.”

“But to suggest that we cohabitate? It is beyond the pale. I am not concerned for my own reputation, Phoebe, but for your good name.” She caught her breath at the genuine concern in his voice.

“We do it all the time now, Reggie. It really isn’t a scandal anymore. We’ll be fine. I think Annie is a bit surprised because I’ve never actually lived with a man before, but it’s not like I won’t someday.”

“You would consider such a thing?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“Sure. Someday. Maybe.” Phoebe ignored the feeling of being judged. Reggie couldn’t help it.

She rose. “Well, hurry up and dry off so you can get dressed. We can’t get you into any modern clothing before she gets here, so I’ll figure out something to tell her.” She moved quickly toward the bedroom door to listen for sounds of Annie’s arrival. “Oh, I forgot! Annie won’t know about you—about the time travel—and I don’t think this is the right time to tell her. I’m not sure she could keep the secret. We don’t want anyone to know about you yet. The implications of finding a time traveler are just...” Phoebe paused and shook her head. “I don’t even want to think about it. So, let’s just keep this between us.” She smiled shakily and left the room.