“I am the estate south of yours.”
“Are you?”
“I am and so if I must take up the duties we have discussed, it will be quite easy to do.”
“Yes. Convenient.”
Lady St. Matthews took up the conversation from there and soon His Grace took his leave.
“Let me go and summon your carriage,” said Gran.
“Gran, I can ring?—”
“No, I need to walk a bit.”
“It had been a pleasure, Lady Lilliana.”
“It has not but at least you have been a gentleman. I do not need you should Gran… well… you know. I simply will carry on as I am now.”
“Yes, but the law doesn’t see it that way and I believe you are a bit of a spark. Put you near dry brush or brash merchants, you will not last long. I can keep those pathways open for you. Men respect men. Regardless of the rationality of that sentiment, it is a true one. I only wish to help you, my dear. There is no ill intent. I am quite wealthy, and I can assure you that the profits of your property will be yours alone.”
“I never thought you would take from us, Your Grace.”
“Oliver, and I am glad of that. But you will need me, and I will do what is right.” He leaned down to speak close to her ear. “And, my little one, I assure you, if you ever speak to me in the manner that you have just done in front of your grandmother or any other person, I will take you over my knee and give you the sound thrashing you are so desperate for.”
“That was uncall?—”
“The truth. I saw your Little darling playing hide and seek with me, and I assure you I am adept in handling her and you.”
Lilli’s eyes openedwide,and her mouth tried to respond but she could not. She unsuccessfully fought a strong shiver that raced through her body and ignited those tingles all over. Especially in her lower regions. How did he know? He couldn’t know. He was bluffing. But what if he wasn’t?
“You’re bluffing and that is unkind, sir.”
He remained close to her. “Do it again and see if I am. I am willing to be as benevolent as you allow me to be. Test me again, and you will find a different response.” He took her hand and kissed it as though they were amiable sliding his free hand along her cheek with a warm smile.
“Goodbye for now, Lilliana.”
Lilli’s thoughts were in confusion. She met this young duke as her grandmother insisted, and he was not to her liking… much. How could she betray herself by having agreeable thoughts about him? He was proposing to take over her life, or rather, be her guardian, which amounted to the same thing, if grandmother left this earth before Lilli’s twenty-fifth birthday. What would that look like?
Even though it was the year eighteen twenty-five, things had not progressed much past her mother’s and grandmother’s day in some areas, like the supremacy of a man. If she had Oliver the Duke of Weston as her guardian, even though she was now twenty-one, she could imagine how things would turn out. And yet, he held a quality she could not identify but her inner self gravitated to it.
Finding a husband would better suit her. If she waited until he was her guardian, if it came to that, then he would have the choice of her life mate. If she found her own spouse, she could choose an amiable gentleman that would meet her needs quite nicely. One who would allow her free rein of the manor, and he could go about his life on the estate without any bother from her.
It would be even better if he stuck to his own property, if he had any, for the most part. Then, they would each rule their bit of life and except for holidays, and mutual events to produce the requisite children, the thought of which put a blush on Lilli’s cheeks, they need not interfere with each other. It sounded perfect. Then Oliver’s face came to mind.
The Duke of Weston would not be that kind of man. No. Without any doubt, he would want to be in every aspect ofher life and would demand a certain involvement of her in his. That was just not acceptable. However, it did sound like the partnership she had overheard her mother describe to Lilli’s grandmother. It worked like a well-made clock. Evidently.
Lilli knew just by her interactions with him that the duke had dominion over all he possessed. She would be one of those things. He would never allow her to live as she saw fit, and he would decide what was proper and what was not. He was a caretaker of the masterful kind. That, despite her efforts to not be impressed, did just that. The idea that he might not be so bad to have in her life tickled her thoughts, but only a little at first.
By the end of the month that followed that fateful meeting, her traitorous thoughts were filled with him. They frequented the same parties andgatherings,and he was forever presenting as her protector, checking in on her throughout the evening. He chastised her gently when she was caught out with her friends or more serious incidents. Such as when she had tired of being taunted by a young man she had known for years. He taunted and teased her cruelly. After asking him to stop and trying to ignore him to no avail, she reached in her reticule and pulled out a small derringer. Oliver was at once behind her. His hand wrapped around the weapon, removing it from her hand with ease while speaking harshly in her ear.
“Do not say a word, little one,if you intend to keep your dignity.”
“Oliver…”
He raised his eyebrows harshly.
“Yes, Oliver,” she whispered. “But it isn’t fair.”
