“Because they didn’t take me with them.” She heard the bitterness in his voice. “I was only ten. Our uncle wished to possess the dukedom, but three heirs stood in his way. So off we went until we were old enough to reclaim what was ours.”
She wanted to wrap her arms around the boy he’d been. As innocent and trusting as she had been until yesterday evening, he must have been more so. A duke’s legitimate son. He would have been pampered by all. “That’s the reason you know what it is to be me.”
“I don’t know what it is to beyou,Eve. I know what it is to be where you are. To be without anyone or anything. To be hungry, to be cold, to be unsheltered. I know what it is to do things that you’d have rather not done, but you do it because you must. You come to accept it. To live with it. In time, perhaps to even admire yourself a bit. That you survived when no one thought you would.” He cleared his throat as though punishing it for speaking such revealing words, and turned his attention back to the window. “I’m glad you didn’t stay there.”
She thought at some point she might look back and be as glad—
“It would have been a colossal mistake,” he added.
She almost laughed. Had she ever known a man as pompous and self-assured? Surely not Geoffrey. Not even her father.
“I still shan’t wear the red.”
He flashed a grin, brief and white in the shadows. She didn’t know why it thrilled her to know that she was responsible, even if the smile didn’t last longer than the blink of an eye.
“Oh, I think you will.”
Arrogant man. She held the words back because she didn’t want to ruin this moment of ... she wasn’t quite certain what it was. Understanding, acceptance. Perhaps after a time they might even become friends.
The tension within the carriage had abated, until it seemed almost pleasant. She tried to imagine what it might be like to have a gentleman court her, take her about in his conveyance. Of course there would be a chaperone. She supposed she really needed to give up on those childish thoughts. On the other hand if he truly gave her his residence and all it contained, she could become a powerful woman, one with enough independence that a gentleman might be willing to overlook her unfortunate beginnings. It was a heady thought.
The carriage turned down the drive. She didn’t want to acknowledge the sense of relief that washed over her. Although nerves quickly followed. She’d made her commitment to him clear. Perhaps tonight would be the one when he came to her, when he claimed her as his mistress.
They jostled to a stop. A footman opened the door. Rafe stepped out, then handed her down, releasing her as soon as her feet touched the pebbles.
“Are you hungry?” he asked as they walked side by side, not touching, toward the steps.
She realized with a suddenness that she was famished. “Very.”
“I thought we might enjoy a late repast on the terrace.”
“I’d like that, yes.”
“Good.”
They went up the steps. The door opened.
Laurence bowed. “Welcome home, sir. Miss.”
“We’ll be dining on the terrace,” Rafe informed the butler.
“Very good, sir.”
Rafe turned to her. “I shall see you on the terrace in half an hour. No need to dress formally.”
Without waiting for a reply, he jaunted up the stairs, taking them two steps at a time. Not that there was anything for her to say, but she was going in the same direction. They could have gone together.
“He always requires a bit of solitude after returning home,” Laurence said kindly.
She snapped her attention to him. “Have you been with him long?”
Laurence looked up at the ceiling. “Six years now, I believe. Ever since he took the residence from Lord Laudon.”
“Purchased it from him, you mean?”
He pursed his lips. “I don’t think so. Lord Laudon was notorious for his gambling habit. I believe the residence settled his debt.”
“So you were employed by Lord Laudon.”
