Page 9 of A Rogue's Rules for Seduction
“Sir,” Mrs. Murray said, “I can assure you that this chamber is one of the finest in the house. It stays quite warm even after the fire has gone out, and there’s a delightful view of the garden—”
“Another. Room,” he said.
The housekeeper spread her hands. “Thereareno other rooms available. Every bedchamber is occupied by Mr. Longbridge’s guests.”
“This house is huge,” Dom said through histeeth. “Surely there’s got to be some corner of the place that’s got a cot, a pallet, a pile of hay,anything.”
Willa sucked in a breath, but he kept his attention on the housekeeper.
“Well...” Mrs. Murray said uneasily. “Thereisone room in the attic that used to be for the tutor. But, sir,” she added, hasty, “it’s in an awful state. No one has slept there in over a decade, and I’m afraid it’s fallen into a bit of disrepair. Quite a chilly spot, and out of the way. You’ll have to climb two flights of very steep and narrow stairs, and—”
“I’ll take it,” he said at once.
“I don’t think Mr. Longbridge would like that,” the housekeeper fretted. “He prides himself on his hospitality, and to have one of his guests stay in such an uncomfortable room, it would strike at his dignity.”
“I won’t tell anyone about the state of my room,” Dom said firmly. “Say to him I insisted, and it reflects better on him as a host that I was lodged to my liking.”
When Mrs. Murray still looked uncertain, Dom went on, “It’s what I want, and as a guest of this house, I should be supplied with what I desire.”
There was a long pause as the housekeeper seemed to agonize over this decision. He didn’t enjoy upsetting the staff, but in this, he wouldn’t budge. The idea of being so close to Willa was atorment. Bad enough that they had to share a roof, yet sharing awallwas a surefire recipe for even more anguish.
“Very well,” the housekeeper said, her shoulders sagging. “I’ll tell the footmen to bring your luggage up to the... the room.”
“My thanks, Mrs. Murray. And if Longbridge gives you any trouble, I’ll personally vow that you did everything in your power to deter me, but I was a beast, and insisted on the attic room.”
The housekeeper curtsied. “I suppose I should take you up there now, sir. And,” she added, looking at Willa, “given the, ah, state of the attic chamber, I will come back for your gown, miss. No need to give it a washing as well as a pressing.”
Dom searched Willa’s face for some sign that she was pleased he’d changed rooms, yet she continued to frown, her thick brows drawn down like an oncoming storm. He knew that look—because that storm had struck many times. Yet he was a cyclone, too.
“My room, Mrs. Murray?” he pressed.
“Yes, sir.”
The housekeeper moved back down the corridor. Dom sent Willa one last nod before heading to follow Mrs. Murray. He could keep the peace a little longer—but a tempest was brewing. And with each moment he and Willa shared a roof, it grew stormier.
Chapter 4
“How fetching you are in this gown, my lady,” the maid said, surveying Willa after she had finished dressing for dinner.
Isla had been assigned to Willa, since Willa had left her own maid behind in London. A few of the footmen had similarly been recruited to tend to the gentlemen guests.
Standing in front of the mirror, Willa smoothed her hand over the emerald-green velvet of her gown. It was adorned with darker green embroidery along the neckline, sleeves, and hem, and caught the light beautifully. Since the climate of this Scottish island was quite cool, even in the spring, velvet wasn’t too heavy a choice, and it carried with it a gravitas that she savored—as though she was no one to be trifled with.
“It was always one of his favorites,” she murmured. The plush fabric was soft and dense asshadows and bore not a single crease, thanks to Mrs. Murray’s attentions.
“One ofwhosefavorites, my lady?” Isla asked.
“No one important,” Willa answered. She hadn’t packed the green dress with Dom in mind. Every time she’d worn it, he’d stared at her like he wanted to feast on her, but that didn’t influence her decision to put it on this evening. It had nothing to do with punishing him.
She patted her hair, which Isla had dressed in appealing curls.
“You’ll draw all the gentlemen’s attention tonight,” the housemaid said.
“Precisely my aim.” In the few days Willa had been at the house, she’d met a number of handsome and charming gentlemen, and it had been a long time since she’d flirted with anyone.
Anyone who wasn’t Dom.
She’d once loved to flirt with him. To make teasing, slightly intimate remarks and touch her ungloved fingers to his and watch his blue-gray eyes darken, observe his jaw tighten. They’d touched often, as if pulled together by an unseen force, and even though their touches seldom went beyond the strictly proper, she’d liked seeing how much he’d wanted her because she’d wanted him, too, just as much. There was something thrilling about having a man so physically and mentally strong be in thrall to her. It hadbeen powerful, heady, knowing thatshewas what he desired.
