Page 25 of A Marriage of Convenience with a Rake
“Lord Glenfield is busy?” she asked the butler, who shook his head.
“He’s in his chamber, my lady,” he replied. “Just up the hallway.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“Of course, my lady. No bother.” The butler smiled at her, seeming surprised by her thanking him.
She exited the room and went into the hallway, heart thudding. She had thought it would be difficult to locate, but when she went in the direction the butler had nodded in, she found three doors, two of which were open. One led into an antechamber, one into what looked like a study. The next, she guessed, was Lord Glenfield’s chamber.
She drew a breath and knocked at the door.
“Come in,” a voice came through the wood. Eleanor drew another breath and opened the door.
“Oh!” She let out a gasp. Lord Glenfield was there, wearing nothing but his trousers. His chest was bare and gleaming, his back muscled and his shoulders broad. He turned around and his eyes widened as he saw her there.
“My lady,” he greeted her lightly. “You are an unexpected surprise.”
“I...um...well...” She stammered, cheeks flaming. She looked away, fighting the urge to stare.
“Am I so shocking?” he asked, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth. She looked away with her entire body flushed with heat.
He sighed and she frowned, wondering why he sounded a little peeved.
“My lord,” she began. “Sorry. Sebastian.” She reddened. Speaking like that in his private chamber was so strange, so embarrassing. Deliciously embarrassing but embarrassing all the same. “I must, well...I wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh.” His eyes were flinty, and she swallowed again. “Ask me.”
“I, well...” she breathed deeply, frowning at the sudden, abrupt change in his tone. She had no idea how to ask, but she saw his mouth move into a wry smile.
“You cannot be so prim as to be shocked by a man without a shirt on,” he teased.
“I, well...” Her skin burned with embarrassment. He was the only man she’d ever seen without a shirt, and somehow that felt silly, now that he’d teased her like that.
He is always teasing me. I wonder if he has any respect for me,she thought crossly.
“I wanted to ask you something,” she said firmly. “Your aunt mentioned something, some dark, bad thing. Something to do with you, with your family.” She held his stare.
“What thing?” he asked softly. His voice was low, but nonetheless the anger was plain in his tone.
“She said that you are cursed,” she challenged.
She tensed as his face changed, from disinterest to rage.
“What?” he exploded. He stared at her in shock. “What onEarth? How dare you come in here and bring such silly tales to me?”
“It’s not,” she began, but his words were so harsh, and he was looking at her with such anger that she turned around and fled.
“Wait,” he called, as she ran up the hallway.
She didn’t turn around. She ran up the hallway to her bedroom, panting as if a monster was after her, and she slammed the door and sat down on the bed, tears pouring down her cheeks as she wondered what had angered him so and how she could escape this confusing, dark place in which she was incarcerated.
Chapter 10
Sebastian opened his eyes and blinked, the sunlight pouring through the window onto his face. He rolled over and stifled a yawn. He had slept terribly, and he could have slept for another hour, but he’d promised Matthew they’d meet for a ride in the country.
He slipped out of bed and glanced at the clock on the mantel above the small fireplace. It was eight o’ clock. He rang the bell for his valet, grimacing at the thought that he’d mistaken Eleanor for Mr. Hensley, his valet, the previous evening.
Well, being without proper clothes is the least of my crimes, in her mind.He winced at the thought. He had shouted at her, scared her into her room. And he hadn’t really meant to.
