Page 13 of Her Runaway Duke
“Quite well, thank you,” Siena said. “I am not sure if I properly introduced myself, but I am Lady Siena.”
“It is wonderful to have you with us, Lady Siena,” Mrs. Porter said, turning to leave, but Siena called out to stop her.
“Will the lord of the manor be joining me this morning?”
“Likely not, my lady,” Mrs. Porter said with a not-unkind smile. “He does not enjoy visitors.”
“I see,” Siena said quietly, even though she didn’t understand whatsoever, for he was the one who had brought her to his estate. “Hopefully I will have the chance to see him later today. He did me a great service and now has allowed me to stay in his home. I hope I am not too much of an inconvenience, for I doubt I will be able to leave today as planned.”
“No, the roads will be impassable for a few days, I am afraid,” Mrs. Porter said. “But we will do whatever is necessary to keep you comfortable here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Porter.”
Siena took a small sip of her tea, her mind already working on a plan to show her gratitude towards this mysterious man.
She was undoubtedly curious about him, but more importantly, she owed him her life. Before she left his company, she would find a way to repay him for his kindness.
It was the least she could do.
CHAPTER 5
“What do you mean, she is still here?” Levi asked Thornbury through gritted teeth. “I told you that I wanted her gone by morning.”
“Your Grace,” Thornbury said as he stood in the door of his bedchamber, holding his hands out in supplication as he pointed to the curtains covering the windows. “Have you looked outside yet today?”
“No.”
Thornbury crossed the room and drew back the curtains a few inches. “A significant storm has arrived. There is no way for the carriages to traverse the mud outside.”
Levi let out a growl that he knew was quite unduke-like, but it was only Thornbury to hear.
“Keep her to the main areas of the house – the front parlor, if you can. I will be in my study this morning and will take my tea there. Arrange for her to leave as soon as the paths are clear.”
“I will, Your Grace, but it could be a few days until the roads dry after the storm lets up. Perhaps you should greet her properly. It might be nice to have some company.”
Levi fixed him with a look that he hoped would portray his thoughts on the subject and dash any of Thornbury’s hopes.
Thornbury threw his hands up in the air as though giving up before walking out the door, only to be replaced by Levi’s valet. Thornbury was more outspoken than most butlers, but of course, he also knew that it was quite unlikely Levi would relieve him of his duties since Levi had no wish to hire someone he knew might run the moment they arrived.
Thornbury had known him since he was a child, so he had ensured that the staff looked after him and his house no matter how much Levi scared them.
When Levi was finally ready for the day, he used the servants’ staircase to descend the stairs and find his way to his study, annoyed that he had to sneak around his own property. This was why he never arranged for anyone to be in the house.
He wished he could escape for a ride, but of course, this morning the ground was far too wet and the rain falling far too hard for it to be a safe one, for him or his horse.
Levi couldn’t help but wonder how the girl fared today. Thornbury had been right – shewasbeautiful, not that it mattered any. He wouldn’t be looking upon her again.
When he reached his study, he didn’t take a seat behind the desk but instead walked over to the group of chairs around a small table in the corner, turning a chair around so that he could see out the window, watching the dance of light across the sky as the rumbles still sounded, some so strong that he could feel the vibrations through his chair.
He didn’t have long to wait before the footman arrived with his breakfast, and Levi sat back, kicking his feet up against the windowsill as he ate a piece of toast with his tea.
He was so mesmerized by the lightning that split the sky that he didn’t hear the door open.
It was her scent that gave her away first. That light smell of peaches that had followed him home last night.
He stiffened. Had no one told her not to enter?
“Leave me be,” he said, keeping his feet planted where they were.
