Page 50 of Broken

Oh, he was just as bad as the housekeeper—another matchmaker full of fanciful notions. And another to be disappointed when the inevitable conclusion to her visit arrived. Did he blame her for his master’s bad mood?

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded. The butler relaxed, a broad smile crossing his features before he stifled the expression.

Without another word, he bowed and hurried off towards the servants’ stairs. Lilly waited until the house grew quiet again to be sure she wouldn’t be seen, then she eased close to the opening, ignoring the ache of her neck, to peek around the frame.

Giles stood at the window, his back to the door. She gazed upon his broad-shouldered profile to her heart’s content. His hair was as messy as always, but his clothes were neat. For a change, he did not look as if he had just risen from some woman’s bed.

He hadn’t been in hers and she had missed him last night, missed his company perhaps more than his hands. This morning, when she’d woken sandy-eyed and melancholy, she had known she didn’t want to keep a safe distance from him.

Despite the differences in their experience, he never laughed at her. In fact, he appeared determined to educate her about the world. Yet she still had a great many doubts.

Giles enjoyed sex. She had always supposed he did. The intense expression he wore reassured her that it was in pleasure when he moaned. That look on his face at the end, wild and unrestrained, told her just how much he wanted it. But the sheer number of women he had taken to his bed and the variety he was used to were still daunting.

Giles raked his fingers through his hair, agitation clear in every movement.

Knowing he could turn and find her spying on him at any moment, she drew herself up straight and stepped over the threshold. “Good morning.”

Giles spun at the sound of her voice. As it usually did, Lilly’s heart beat double time as their gazes locked. He watched her for a long moment and, instead of feeling anxious, Lilly gained strength.

He appeared nervous. More nervous than she, in fact.

He fidgeted with his cuffs and waistcoat, smoothing out unwrinkled garments when there was no need. When Giles dragged in a deep breath and let it out slowly, Lilly took a step forward. His eyes flicked from her head to her toes, but came back to hold her gaze.

Emboldened by his silence, by the slight lift of his lips towards a smile, Lilly moved to stand before him. As much as she tried, she couldn’t hold his gaze. Such intense inspections unnerved her. She looked outside without seeing. Heat suffused her cheeks and she guessed she would look as pink as a blushing bride on her wedding day.

But there would be no wedding, no happily ever after to this tale. Lilly would have what little of Giles Wexham was hers to take and be glad for a small slice of happiness.

* * *

Giles could not credit that he had missed Lilly so much. However, he was uncertain how to proceed. That Lilly was here now, standing two feet away and looking lovelier in blue muslin than he’d dreamed, surprised him.

If he were honest, her presence relieved him, too.

Giles had spent last night and today in a bundle of confused thoughts and feelings. Uppermost in his mind was if it might be possible for Lilly to overlook his past scandalous behavior and remain his friend.

If she could dare to come into his company alone again, after what they had spoken of yesterday, Giles at least had a chance to regain some lost ground. How far she was prepared to go worried him, because he desperately wanted her friendship back.

“Good morning.” He wanted to call her Lilly again, but he was unsure of himself.

She raised her eyes to his. “The grounds look very pretty today.” The whites of her eyes were dull and she appeared exhausted. Had she endured as troubling a night as he?

“Yes, the workers did an excellent job to repair my neglect. I hired on two additional gardeners to come in each week. Dithers is pleased with me, not that he will show it. I think he expects I may be back in residence more often because of it.”

“Will you be?” she queried with a small quirk of her head, and then raised a hand to her neck, grimacing as she did so.

“I was considering it, but it is a very quiet neighborhood. I would need to have greater company to be content here for long periods of time.”

Her expression changed, another delicate blush built to cover her skin in warm color. She looked toward the garden. “There would be many families hereabouts that you could befriend, Giles.”

Giles inched closer, elated that she had used his given name. “Do you know any of them?”

Her eyes dropped to the floor. “I am not completely certain which part of England I am currently in. How would I know?”

Giles looked at the top of Lilly’s head a long time before speaking again. She did not know her current location? How stupid of him to assume she knew everything about his estate. “We are in Northamptonshire.”

“Ah.”

Giles slipped his knuckle beneath her chin to raise her face. “Do you remember where that is?”