Page 61 of Broken

Lilly scrunched up her nose. “Yes. So I’ve heard. I cannot give credence to the rumors though after meeting him.” A wry smile tugged her lips. “You once said I bring out the worst in you. Apparently that applies to other men as well.”

Giles laughed. “As long as you don’t rush to accept other men with my particular skills as easily as you accept me, I can live with that.” He let his eyes stray, sliding over her skin the way he wished to touch her, and was rewarded with a blush.

Lilly peered past him, looking at the door. “The line of gentlemen begging for my company is gone, my lord. Your unexaggerated reputation must have shamed them all into giving up their desperate pursuit.”

He grinned. Breakfast and Lilly. He’d grown to love spending all his mornings with her.

Giles froze with his fork partway to his mouth, a little surprised that he wanted to spend every moment of every day with the woman he should have married.

The panicked feeling he’d experienced on first learning of her existence had fled some time ago. He did not miss other women, crave peace or wish to have her leave his estate anymore.

He forked his food into his mouth, thinking hard. He did not dislike the bachelor existence, but there were times, such as these weeks, when he enjoyed not being alone. Admittedly, there was a constant stream of servants entering and leaving Lilly’s bedchamber, giving their association a thin veneer of respectability. Very thin, actually.

His relationship with Lilly had grown far more complicated than any past affair ever had. Giles usually liked to keep things simple and this friendship they shared was anything but.

“What are your plans for the day?”

Lilly’s question hung heavy in the air between them. By the way her hands twisted, she expected him to entertain Carrington and leave her to her own devices. He’d rather be with her, but he also wanted Carrington to get to know and trust Lilly.

“Originally, I had thought to ride around the property and check on the tenant farmers, but with the rain—”

“Oh, I didn’t think of them. Do you have many to visit?”

“A few. They are so incredibly hard to get away from.”

Lilly sighed. “Despite your grumble, you sound fond of them.”

Giles grinned. “They have known me all my life and have no respect for the importance of my title. I shall be besieged by the wives and pressed to sample their cooking. The daughters will blush, stammer, and stare, and the sons will attempt to memorize everything about my person in a pitiful bid to emulate my poor self.”

“Oh, dear. Poor Giles.”

Giles threw his hands in the air. “At last, someone who understands the demands they make.”

Lilly laughed and pushed her plate aside.

Dithers rushed to take it away, but his eyes gestured to the door. Carrington loitered outside, leaning against the hall wall as he listened to their conversation.

When Carrington’s brow lifted accusingly, Giles shook his head and glanced at Lilly. But he found her staring off into the rain with a wistful expression on her face, unaware that they were being observed.

Giles touched her hand to draw her attention. “I shall go when the weather is better.”

Lilly’s lips lifted into a happy smile.

Sometimes Giles forgot how much time she spent indoors. Being confined, when she had only just managed to get back out of doors, must be maddening.

“I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to ride around, soaked to the skin, and be so far from the ground too.”

“You never learned to ride?”

“Oh, I learned. A future countess must ride,” Lilly mimicked, and then scrunched up her nose. “Thank heavens that nonsense is over. My mother had me tied to my horse once because I was too obvious in my attempts to avoid the lessons. You know my fear of heights. The only pleasant thing I can thank my accident for was an end to the torture of riding lessons.”

Despite what she revealed, Lilly gazed at him with a small smile playing across her mouth. Even though Carrington lingered at the doorway, Giles was tempted to drag Lilly into his lap and comfort her. Of course, there were bound to be kisses involved if they touched, and then Carrington would learn the truth about who was corrupting whom here.

Giles stood. “I had better go find Carrington. We will be in my study when you are ready to face another interrogation.”

Lilly pulled a face, lips twisting into a very kissable shape. “In a little while.”

Giles hurried out before he did something foolish. Carrington waited until they reached the staircase before he grabbed Giles arm and pushed him into the wall. “Breakfasting together? After everything we discussed yesterday. You’re asking for trouble.”