“Because it is not safe.”
“I am safe if you are with me. Bring footmen along if you wish. No one would dare approach.”
She was correct, yet Lucian didn’t even like the idea of being out where they could be spied upon.
“Where is your sense of adventure?” she asked with a smile.
“Adventure has its place.” That was all he was willing to offer.
“I recall that when I previously visited and you were showing Oliver and me your collection of gems, rocks, and fossils, that you had wanted to travel and explore and to uncover your own treasures, not just collect what someone else had found.”
“I had been young. A foolish young man.”
“What is so foolish about wanting to explore?”
“Unlike you, Miss Weston, an earl is not granted the same opportunity for such frivolity. While you chase mummies, and God knows what else, traveling hither and yon, I have responsibilities not only to this estate, but to my family and future generations.”
Even Lucian heard the bitterness in his tone and wished he would not have revealed so much.
“I do not travel hither and yon. The furthest I’ve been from London is Edinburgh, though I would like to travel to France and Italy one day. As well as Greece to visit with my dear friend Rosemary and her husband.”
Lucian had been under the impression that there was not a border Eliza hadn’t crossed, just as she ignored orders not to trespass on Wyndhill Park. “I have read your books. I had assumed by the descriptions that you had visited those places.”
She grinned. “Thank you for the compliment, Lord Garretson. Unfortunately, my descriptions come from people who have visited those places and from reading histories. The rest is my imagination.”
“I hope one day you can enjoy such travels,” he offered.
“Have you been anywhere besides here, London, and your brother-in-law’s estate in Cornwall?” she asked.
“I attended Eton and Cambridge; after that, there was no time to see or visit any other place beyond what you have listed.”
“How very sad for you, Lucian.”
He blinked at his name on her lips. He had not given her leave to address him as such, though he had addressed her as Eliza. Neither of them should proceed with such familiarity as it indicated a more intimate relationship than they shared.
Could not share.
“We have our stations, Miss Weston. Do not feel bad for me. I am perfectly content. I am also master of this estate and you will not go beyond the terrace without my permission and only then when you have footmen to guard you.”
He finished his tea, stood, and left the sitting room and went to the library where he closed the door behind him.
Blast! He had let her get to him. She’d slipped under his skin by challenging him to an adventure, being sad for him, and then calling him Lucian.
Eliza Weston was everything that he wanted for himself. Everything that had been denied.
Except, he no longer needed to worry about his siblings. His sister was married and his brothers were grown and no longer in need of his guidance or supervision, which left only Wyndhill Park and the duties that came with his station.
He could enjoy an adventure if he wanted to. Except, Lucian had no idea how to shake off the chains of responsibility and simply enjoy.
Eliza threw caution to the wind. He had witnessed it when she had first visited and heard the stories that would have seen any other student at a boarding school sent home. She rarely guarded her tongue and had a zest for life. He was sober and cautious.
It was her influence that caused him to reflect on the past and face the present. He was a respectable lord, staid and honorable, and without the influence of anyone. He could be trusted to make the right, or at least best, decision in all matters and never voted in Parliament without thorough research, nor could his vote be purchased. Honor is what he demanded of himself and in all things.
Eliza threatened not only how he viewed himself but pulled at a dream or hope that had once lived deep within, to be more, which he could not allow or any control that he did possess would soon disappear.
Lucian Sinclair,the Earl of Garretson, was a most aggravating man!
He had walked out on her last evening and left her to sip tea alone. When he hadn’t returned, Eliza had made her way to her bedchamber to retire for the night. Unfortunately, sleep did not come quickly.
