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The butler snored at him.
“This is no time for a nap,” Hugh argued. “There is a young lady waiting to be let in. You are to
show her to my study, where I’ll be waiting to receive her. It’s only proper.”
The butler snored again.
“Francis!”
“What?” Francis startled awake, then squinted up at Hugh. “Who?”
“A young lady—Ms. Astrid Forsberg.”
Francis groped his way across the end table next to the chair until he located a pair of round,
frameless glasses, which he promptly slotted onto his face. When they were in place, he
narrowed his eyes and scowled in confusion at Hugh. The man was always a little grumpy after
being awoken prematurely from a nap. Most times Hugh found his grouchiness charming, but
today he was too high-strung to appreciate much of anything.
“A young lady?” Francis grumbled. “Where?”
“At the front door, Francis. Please, do keep up. She’s waiting.”
“Why?”
“I…” Hugh pressed his hand to his forehead. “Francis, there’s no time for questions. The young
lady is waiting. I need to hurry to my study so I can receive her. Please greet her and bring her
upstairs. She’s come a very long way to see me, and I’m afraid I’ve already gone and mucked
it up.”
Francis grumbled something under his breath and worked himself stiffly out of the armchair,
his joints popping and creaking as he did. When he was on his feet, he shambled in the
direction of the front hall, muttering to himself as he did.
“Thank you, Francis,” Hugh called after him. “Please make sure to bring Ms. Forsberg upstairs
to my study. I’ll be waiting.”
That said, Hugh fled the room and flew up the stairs to his study, where he sat at his desk and
did his best to soothe his nerves. Up here, he was in his element. Surrounded by familiar sights
and smells, he was at peace. Old leather-bound books, yellowed paper, dried herbal tea
leaves, and vetiver—Finch must have been through recently.
Hugh slumped into his chair and thought about the manservant and how strange it’d been to
see him retreat into a room on the ground floor when he’d claimed he was going to tidy the
