Miss Lloyd stepped away from the window as she asked, “Do you ever find yourself lonely, my lord?”
“Loneliness is an old friend, a comfort.”
“I don’t believe you truly mean that.”
William unclasped his hands. “We hardly know one another,” he said. “What gives you the right to stand there and tell me what I am or am not feeling?”
“Everyone has an innate desire to be loved.”
“Now you are a philosopher?” he mocked.
“No, but I can recognize someone who is hurting deeply,” Miss Lloyd said.
William clenched his jaw. “You are dangerously close to being dismissed. I would proceed with caution if I were you.”
“I thought you wanted the truth?” Miss Lloyd asked. “I suppose you prefer speaking the truth, rather than hearing it.”
William took a step closer. “I would prefer if we waited in silence for Lord and Lady Hawthorne to join us.”
“If that is your wish.”
“It is,” William replied.
Miss Lloyd simply turned and sat on an upholstered armchair, smoothing her gown. Her expression was unreadable as she turned her gaze towards the fire in the hearth. Why did such a beautiful woman have to be so infuriatingly opinionated? It was maddening, really.
She had no right to speak so brazenly to him. He was her employer, and she should respect him enough to hold her tongue. She’d spoken to him with no hesitation, no fear, in her voice. And the worst part was that she wasn’t wrong. He was hurting; but there was nothing that could be done for him.
William walked over to the camelback settee and sat down. If he had known Miss Lloyd was invited, he wouldn’t have come. She unsettled him, and he didn’t like feeling that way.
Miss Lloyd spoke up. “I do apologize if I offended you with my blunt words.”
He stifled the groan on his lips. What happened to the silence they had agreed upon?
She gave him a sheepish smile. “I tend to speak my mind.”
“That can be a curse and a blessing.”
“Which do you think it is?”
William thought about it for a moment. “A man would be praised for his bold speech, but a woman would be condemned for it.”
“Is that how you feel?”
With a shake of his head, he replied, “I do not. A woman should have the right to express her opinions, whether they be right or wrong.”
Relief flickered in Miss Lloyd’s eyes. “Not every man feels as you do.”
“I cannot speak for other men,” he replied. “I can only speak for myself, and I was raised by a mother who had strong views.”
“As was I.”
“That is not surprising,” he said lightly.
Miss Lloyd turned her attention back towards the fire, but now that the silence had been broken, he didn’t want to return to it yet. There was something about the woman before him that kept drawing him back in—and it was that something that caused him to pause.
“How are you adjusting to running the orphanage?” he asked. That was a simple question, a safe question.
“Very well. The girls are a delight, but I do not think Mrs. Hughes likes me very much.”
