Page 11 of Her Runaway Duke
“Goodnight, Thornbury.”
“Goodnight, Your Grace.”
Any regret Levi felt at how he had spoken to his butler fled as he considered the thought of the woman seeing him in the daylight. The less comfortable she felt here, the better. Then she would be on her way and never have any reason to see him again. If there had been any other option, she would not be here at all, but all he could do now was make sure she departed as quickly as she had arrived.
He placed his book down as he allowed his mind to wander over the events of the evening. He had no regret in shooting those men. He assumed the first was dead and the second would be in time unless he was seen to by a proficient physician, which was doubtful. They were not the first men he had killed, and they were certainly not innocent in their actions. Had he come uponthem simply stealing goods he would have left them be, but he could never have ignored the woman with them to be debased.
The woman. She had provided him a good deal of information about her predicament, but she had never mentioned her name nor who she was. Likely from a family as noble as his own.
Not that it mattered.
Nothing did.
Not anymore.
As tired as she was,Siena hadn’t been able to prevent herself from staring as the housekeeper led her to her bedchamber. She wasn’t sure how she couldn’t. This manor was unlike any she had ever seen before – and she had seen quite a few.
Paintings covered nearly every surface, of family members and landscapes and inanimate objects. If she had the opportunity, she would spend more time tomorrow enjoying them, for it was like being in a museum, albeit an empty one, devoid of any visitors.
“There does not appear to be much staff,” she remarked to Mrs. Porter, who took small but quick footsteps.
“We have only the master to look after,” she said, tucking a few grey curls back into their pins. “Most of us have been here for years and it was always just a few of us until he arrived. It has been nice to have someone to look after.”
“The family didn’t live here before?” Siena asked, interested in learning more as the housekeeper showed her into a bedroom. It had an air of disuse, but that was to be expected with no preparations.
“The maid will be here in a moment to ready the room for you,” Mrs. Porter said with a smile, although she quite clearly had avoided Siena’s question on purpose.
“I never realized there was such a large manor so close to London,” Siena said. “I am surprised I have not heard of it.”
The housekeeper began humming a tune as she pulled down the bedcovers.
“Have you any belongings with you?” she asked.
“Oh, yes, a few in my saddlebag. I completely forgot about them,” Siena said.
“No matter. The footman has likely seen to it.”
There was a knock at the door and the housekeeper bustled toward it, opening it to a maid who held a bundle in her arms.
“Here we are,” she said, placing it on the bed and opening it up, finding a nightgown within. Her new belongings were as much of a surprise to Siena as to the housekeeper, for Eliza had packed it.
“Let us get you settled. Then in the morning, we will make sure you go to where you need to be. Everything is better in the light of day.”
Siena nodded, wondering if she would see the master of the house again.
“Might I ask… whose estate is this?”
The housekeeper paused, turning to look at her with a serious expression on her face, which appeared to prefer jovial matters. “You do not know?”
“No. Your employer is not exactly… forthcoming.”
“I shouldn’t be the one to tell you, then.”
The housekeeper placed Siena’s clothing down on the bed, looking over her shoulder at the maid, who was lighting a fire, before returning to Siena and taking her hands in hers.
“If there is anything you must know about the master, it is that he is all bluster. Deep within, he has a kind heart, even if he doesn’t realize it himself. He has had a rough go of it recently.”
“I see,” Siena said quietly, allowing the maid to help her undress. She wanted to ask more but sensed that it wouldn’t get her anywhere.
