Page 30 of The Lord's Compass
The worst part of it was that staying at this estate meant that he was no longer in a chamber with Faith, as two chambers had been prepared for them. How fortuitous. At least the rooms were attached.
And then, of course, there had been the kiss. The kiss that he told her had meant nothing but, in actuality, was everything to him. He had seen his chance and he had taken it. But she had not seemed pleased.
“Faith?” he called out now, and she appeared in the doorway between their bedrooms momentarily.
“I thought we were to speak Spanish,” she said in a loud whisper.
“We are alone here,” he said, holding his hands up. “Or do you think the plethora of servants are going to overhear and come racing in?”
“It is rather odd, isn’t it, that there are hardly any here? No wonder the house is falling down. Why, I would wager this room has not changed since Cassandra’s great-grandmother lived here.”
“Likely not,” he said, staring at the worn bedding and the dark paintings on the crimson walls that were covered with a layer of dust.
“Be sure to leave the door between our rooms open,” he said, walking toward her, and she looked up at him, her hair falling back over her neck as she was still preparing for dinner, even though it sounded like it would just be the two of them attending.
“Why?”
“For safety.”
“There is no one here to attack me. I shall be perfectly fine,” she insisted, and he raised a brow.
“Are you so sure of that?”
“Why must you be so ornery?”
“Ornery?” he straightened, affronted. “No one has ever called me ornery before.”
“Well,” she said, “I must simply bring out the best in you.”
She returned to her room to finish her preparations, not reappearing until she needed help fastening her gown.
“Thank you,” she murmured, even as he purposefully closed the fastenings ever so slowly, despite his ability to complete it much quicker. He had always been in pursuit of her, yes, but the more time they spent together, the more he enjoyed having her with him. He hadn’t yet decided just what he was going to do about it, but one thing was for certain – if he was going to suffer from unfulfilled lust, then so was she.
He offered his arm to her as they left the room, following the labyrinth of stairs and corridors, taking a few wrong turns along the way until they emerged in what appeared to be the dining room. Two solitary candles standing in the middle of the table provided the only light. Places were set at opposite ends of the long table, which Eric took one look at before he shook his head and moved one place setting beside the other, positioning the candles right in front of them.
“Can we do that?” Faith asked, and Eric shrugged.
“Why not? Our host said he was not joining us tonight.”
“Do you not find that odd?” she asked, taking a seat when Eric pulled her chair out for her, as there were no footmen about unless they were hiding in the corners that were so dark they couldn’t quite make them out. “Where else would he go? I cannot imagine there would be much to do in San Sebastian after dark.”
“This entire situation is odd,” he said. “But we are deep in it now, so we best follow through.”
“Dinner is served.”
They both visibly jumped at the sudden appearance of the butler behind them.
“Abello!” Eric said, recovering first. “Good to see a familiar face.”
Abello placed a bowl of soup – well, clear liquid with a few vegetables floating within it – in front of each of them.
“Abello, if I might ask,” Faith said cautiously, “is there no one else to serve dinner?”
“The house is usually uninhabited,” he said without expression. “There is only me, the maid who is also the cook, and a groundskeeper.”
“For an estate this size?” Eric exclaimed, and Abello turned an eye on him that did not mask his indignation at the question.
“We are efficient.”
