“Have you taken rooms in town?”
Her grin widened. “No. I have taken Greenhaven Cottage for the summer.”
“You what?” Lucian nearly yelled.
“I said that I have taken Greenhaven Cottage for the summer. We are to be neighbors.”
Bloody hell! This was far worse than two days of her being in his home. Who knew what trouble she would get up to, or what headaches she would cause over the next few months?
Worse, the object of his desire would be living right next door.
“I have neededto be away from London and as I was traveling to Hampshire, it seemed the ideal place to holiday for the summer,” Eliza explained. She had anticipated Garretson’s shock and irritation, which is why she wanted to be the one to tell him.
“I am certain that there are several properties that would serve you well and are available for let,” Garretson ground out.
“Not as delightful as Greenhaven Cottage, I assure you.”
“Who is with you?” He then brightened. “Has Oliver returned from New Orleans? I would not mindhimliving next door.”
“Oliver is still in America and I doubt he will return for a very long time, if ever,” she answered. “My servants are with me, and they are all I need.”
He gaped at her. “A miss should not travel the country or reside in a home without a chaperone or someone to protect her.”
“Chastisement does not suit you, Lord Garretson, and you know it has no effect on me.” If anything, it made her want to shock him even more.
Eliza had also heard much of the same from her father and older brothers until they finally gave in. After all, she was all of seven and twenty, and no longer a naive miss. Innocent, yes, but wise and no longer foolish.
One day she would make Garretson lose control and abandon all that he believed was respectable. She nearly had once, long ago.
In his opinion, he was all that was proper and she was nearly all that was not. He had rules, she shunned many of them. Sadly, it was the very reason why they would never suit.
“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Lord Garretson. What I cannot do, a servant can see to, and if necessary, Saul, my manservant who used to frequent Gentleman Jackson’s, is quite large and well able to protect me if the need should arise.”
“Misses without chaperones tend to land in trouble,” he ground out.
“One can only hope.” Eliza grinned.
His blue eyes widened as he sucked in a breath through his nose. Eliza had forgotten how enjoyable it was simply vexing Garretson.
It had not always been that way. At one time, she had been quite infatuated with him and he had ruined her for any other man.
Perhaps that was an exaggeration but in the nearly ten years since she had kissed him, and Garretson kissed her back, she’d not found any gentleman that caused even the slightest hitch in her pulse, though there were many who were far more pleasant to be around.
“Just make certain the mischief you get up to does not occur on my estate,” he ground out.
“No more swimming in your lake,” she teased quietly. Not that she had meant to go swimming that day. She had simply lost her footing and when she surfaced found Garretson in the process of removing his boots, his suitcoat already discarded, as he prepared to go in after her. It had not been necessary for him to do so and she managed to remove herself from the water without his assistance.
“I do believe there is a small pond on the property you have leased if you wish to swim.”
“I will keep that in mind,” she murmured with a smile. “I also promise that after the wedding festivities are over, you will not even know that I am anywhere near Wyndhill Park.” So long as she was not caught trespassing, that is.
“If you will excuse me. I have other guests.” He turned on his heel and marched away.
Why did such a handsome gentleman have to be so disagreeable? It was quite disappointing.
It had been at her brother’s urging that Eliza took a house in the country. He wouldn’t have if Saul hadn’t gone to Isaac when yet another cryptic missive was received. He considered them threats and while Eliza found them disturbing, she did not believe actual harm would come to her person. Saul and her brother thought differently. Therefore, she and Isaac had looked for properties where she could holiday during the summer months. When she suggested Greenhaven Cottage, Isaac immediately approved because Garretson was the neighbor and could offer protection if needed. He then leased it in his own name so that there was no record as to where Eliza had disappeared. As Isaac would soon be gone from London for the summer, anyone who knew of the leasing would assume he was at Greenhaven Cottage. As she and her siblings were estranged from their parents, no one would think it odd that he hadn’t returned to the family estate.
Eliza certainly did not anticipate the need for protection from Garretson, nor would she dare ask for it, but the location gave Isaac peace, and it was exactly where Eliza needed to be for her own purpose. Not that she had any interest in the Earl of Garretson any longer, but the location was convenient so that she could thoroughly search his estate. Garretson had kept her from doing so the only other time she had visited and she had been hoping for the perfect opportunity to return.
