Milly watched as Joseph handed over his hat and gloves.
“We will have a tray in my study, please. Tea for Lady Millicent, and brandy for me.”
Like any well-trained butler, the man did not blink at the mention of her name. Yet he would remember her, and that she was once to have wed his master. Milly knew the entire household would know that she was here in a short time.
The interior was as grand as the exterior, but she knew that, having visited here before. Everywhere she looked there were examples of wealth. The ceilings rose high above where she stood. Rich shades of emerald and ivory were on the walls, and framed with gold. Floors were waxed to a shine, and furniture polished to a sheen. It was as it had been before, magnificent on every scale.
“Give your cloak to Gilbert, my lady.”
“I will keep it on, thank you, my lord.”
He shot her a dark look at her refusal to obey his command, and then shrugged out of his coat. Milly dragged her eyes from his muscles as they bunched and released with movement. What had happened this morning had unsettled her hugely, but she could not let that show, and must keep her wits about her.
“Please follow me.”
She did as he asked silently, climbing the stairs behind his long angry strides, and went into the room he indicated.
“Please take a seat.” He motioned to the chair opposite his desk, and then Milly watched him take a key from his pocket, and unlock a drawer. He handed her a sheaf of papers.
“This is the note I took the liberty of reading.”
Milly removed her gloves and took the piece of paper.
I would beg that you forgive me, daughter, for what I did.
Twelve words. That was all her father had written to her after ruining her life. Twelve pathetic words. Her anger was too deep to forgive when all he could bother to write her was twelve words.
Placing the paper back on the desk with more care than was required, she then took the papers. Breaking her father’s seal, Milly began to read.
Joseph had watched as Milly read the note, and then placed it carefully back on his desk. It had held only one short sentence and was written in a frail hand. He saw by the tightening of Milly’s sweet lips that she was not impressed by her father’s words. And why should she be? The bastard had ruined her life.
“Will you leave me alone, please?”
“If that is your wish.”
She nodded. “It is.”
He could allow her that. Joseph rose and left the room to sit in a parlor two doors to the left, leaving the door wide open.
His butler entered and left a tray, and Joseph poured tea and ate a piece of cheese, then a wedge of cake, as he waited. He then repeated the process and waited some more.
That morning, he had woken to her cries. Heart pounding, he had hurried to her side, only to find Milly caught in a nightmare, body curled, fists clenched as she attempted to escape whatever hell her dreams had plunged her into. His intent only to wake her from the pain, he’d touched her. Rested his hip on the bed beside her as he held her hand. Then she had kissed him, and he’d lost all reason.
God, she’d been responsive, her body arching into his, her hands touching him, Joseph shuddered at the memory of her fingers tracing the contours of his chest. He’d been hard in seconds, aroused to the point of pain as he cupped a soft breast in his hand. When she’d cried out as he touched her intimately, he’d nearly lost all reason himself.
“What a mess.” Joseph exhaled loudly. So much unsaid between them and so many years of bitterness and lies, and now this. The lust, and passion. The need that was now harder to ignore. He could still taste her on his lips and hear her cries as she responded to him. His mate. The thought was dispelled as quickly as it came.
Too much has passed between us, Joseph reminded himself. Too much to be undone, surely.
When the clock on the wall beside the door ticked over forty minutes, he rose to his feet and went to join her. His study was empty; all that remained was a sheet of paper. Picking it up, he read her words.
It seems my father has left me a considerable sum of money, my lord. Thank you for bringing me to London. I shall now find my own way.
“What the hell does that mean?” Screwing the paper into his fist, he stormed out of the room and down the stairs. How dare she dismiss him!
“When did Lady Millicent leave, Gilbert?”
“As to that, my lord, I was unaware she had left.”
