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Neither one of them said anything the entire trip to Brandon Estate, where the lonesome manor of the Brandon Dukedom stood on the outskirts of London. The entire time, William made sure not to look at her. Not even when she sniffled softly and lifted a hand to wipe her tears. Despite the fact that her crying was slowly tearing into him, dragging out that boy he’d buried long ago, he didn’t look at her. The trip felt longer than usual having her so close to him.
At long last, they pulled into the driveway. William didn’t wait for Wesley to open the door for him, and he hopped out to the coachman’s shocked face. Behind him, he heard Elizabeth climb out.
He didn’t look back at her as he made his way towards the front doors, knowing she was following. Since it was the dead of night, his butler and the rest of the help was asleep. The manor was still. His footsteps echoed through the quiet as he crossed through the foyer and began to ascend the grand staircase stretched out before him. He couldn’t hear Elizabeth and had to keep from looking behind him to make sure she was still there.
Without pause, William made his way through the lonely hallways, heading towards the west wing where he finally came to a stop at a spare bedchamber. He swung the door open and strode in, finally looking behind him to see Elizabeth gingerly step over the threshold.
“Am I to sleep here?” she asked.
Unable to stop himself, William took in her face. She’d wiped her cheeks free of all tears, but her eyes were rimmed red. In the morning, they were sure to be swollen.
But it wouldn’t diminish the beauty before him. In a plain gown and a large cloak, with her hair wrapped into a tight chignon and her cheeks flushed red, William felt his body grow tense at the sight. Heat spread throughout his loins and it was all he could do not to give in to the urge to touch her. To feel her soft skin, to remind himself of what he’d lost.
“Sleep here for tonight,” he said curtly, already making his way back to the door. The quicker he was away from her, the better it would be for him.
“And what of tomorrow?” she asked before he could leave. “Will you tell me all that I wish to know?”
William already had his hand on the door handle. He gripped it tightly, hating the tender emotions that filled him—emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time. For a moment, he grappled with the thought of simply shutting her down. Of saying that she would not learn what she so badly wanted to and tomorrow, he would send her back to her home.
But, not trusting himself to speak, he decided to simply leave, closing the door on her unanswered question. As he made his way to his own bedchamber just a few hallways away, William knew that sleep would not come easy tonight. The girl who’d once haunted his dreams had returned in the body of a woman—and it would be even more difficult to get rid of her.
Chapter 5
The next day, Elizabeth was afraid to open her eyes. She was afraid she would find that everything had all been a dream. Gathering the courage to leave her home, being accosted in a lonely alleyway, finding William. If it truly was a dream, she did not want to wake up, not when she was so close to her happy ending.
But sleep slipped away no matter how much she tried to cling to it, and seeing no other choice, she opened her eyes. For a moment, she was afraid she recognized the ornate ceiling above her, but it was a different sight from what she would normally see in her own bedchambers. Excitement steadily building within her, she sat up, her hair falling down around her shoulders. Last night, because she’d found herself inexplicably exhausted, she’d fallen into bed wearing the same grey gown. Throughout her sleep, she must have gotten tangled within the covers and so she took a moment to free herself of the blankets before getting to her feet.
At that moment, the door opened and a woman with frizzy brown hair slipped in. She gently closed the door behind her, then gasped when she faced the bed and saw Elizabeth standing there.
“Forgive me!” she gushed quickly, bowing her head. “I thought you would still be asleep. I had come by a few minutes ago and saw that you had not awakened yet.”
“It’s quite all right,” Elizabeth told her gently. “Did His Grace send you?”
“Yes, My Lady. He’s asked me to assist you with preparing for the day. He wishes to break his fast with you.”
Elizabeth couldn’t keep the smile off her face. It felt too good to be true. After searching for so long, to think that she would be standing in his manor, knowing that William was waiting to have breakfast with her, was simply too much to bear. She sank onto the bed with a sigh, putting her hand over her racing heart.
