Page 136 of Lords, Ladies and Love

At least, the house was safe. A little smoke damage to the hallway and the room next to hers, but that was it. The house was safe.

But Theo had nearly died protecting it, and he’d done it for her. This morning, she had heard him coughing up the smoke he’d inhaled trying to battle the fire.

She emerged from the water and swam to the edge of the pond then back to the other end. Several vigorous lengths could not erase her anger at herself. How childish she had been. There was more to life than a house, and Theo should never have put himself in danger for her.

She paused at the end of the pond when she spied Theo heading her way. She’d avoided him all morning, mostly out of shame. What could she say after their argument? After he’d risked his life?

Still, there was only so long she could avoid him. Blowing out a breath, she swam the length of the pond, reaching the end just as he got there. He sat on the stone edge, and she rested her elbows on it beside him.

“How…how are you feeling?” she asked tentatively.

He gave a half-smile. “A little tired, but I am fine.”

“I’m so sorry, Theo. It was all my fault. A silly mistake. You would think after all these years of looking after the house, I would not be so silly—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh. These things happen. No doubt you would not have been so forgetful were you not angry with me.”

“I am sorry about that too. You have things you must do, I understand that, and I understand why you do not love this house. I really do.”

His smile softened, and he glanced up at the house. “You know…I may have been wrong about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought I hated the house still, but as I was riding back to you, I remembered all the moments we shared. When we sat on that hill…” He pointed toward the brow of the hill overlooking the building. “Or when we had breakfast together or danced in the ballroom.” He reached out and curved a hand around her cheek. “This house is a part of you. And I love you. So, I must love this house too.”

Her breath stilled in her lungs. “You love me?”

He nodded. “Very much so.”

She leaned into the warm touch of his hand. “I love you too.”

Theo’s smile grew. “I should tell you why I was being so evasive though.”

“No, it does not matter now.”

“It does. I vow to always be honest with you in the future.” He hefted out a breath. “It is a slightly strange story.”

“Go on,” she urged.

“My grandfather on my mother’s side died recently. You might have heard about it.”

Lucy nodded.

“We were due a sizable inheritance from him, and as you know, the estate could do with it. It was assumed most of it would go to my mother or to me.” He pressed a thumb to her bottom lip, tracing the shape of it. A little shiver wracked her and not from the cold of the pond.

“But my grandfather, in his wisdom, wanted it divided between myself and my siblings. Which is fine. Except we needed to fulfill a task each. The past two months, we have each been following the orders of our grandfather so that we could gain the inheritance.”

“What was your task?”

“I had to stay here for two months.”

“That is it. But…” She frowned. “Your two months is over. That is why you were leaving.”

“That is why Mr. Barton was here. To make certain I had completed my task. But I had no intention of vanishing and leaving you here. In fact, I had thought to take you with me to London as soon as my business was completed, but he’d informed me that Minerva had gone to Scotland, and I needed to find out what had happened to her.”

“Minerva went to Scotland? But she would never…”

“She did. She went twice, apparently.”

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