If the door wasn’t so thick, he’d position himself outside of it to try and listen, but he knew that it would be futile to do so. He had often tried to listen at his mother’s door, especially when her days were bad, or she had been hidden away for days at a time, wondering what was wrong. As a boy, he hadn’t understood her illness, and he still didn’t. Xavier had some idea that their mother had suffered from a depressive state, a melancholy, but when she emerged, she would be happy, exuberant and spending all her time with her children. Those were the better times, but they did not last because she would return to being sad again and hide away.
He didn’t want to think of the dark days of his youth and rose to take the breakfast tray from the table before the settee and brought it back to the table beside a window. There were two chairs and he smiled when he recalled that his parents had sometimes sat here and enjoyed tea, or breakfast, the two of them happy and private until their children invaded.
He placed the plate of food and utensils in the place his mother had always occupied, then returned to bring the fresh pot of tea and Eliza’s cup to the table and finally retrieved his own and settled into that which had once been his father’s seat and waited for Eliza to join him.
When she did, she had brushed her hair and it was pulled back and away from her face. She’d also donned a pale blue gown that caused her grey eyes to appear blue, just as sometimes there was a green tint to the grey when she wore green.
Ever changing eyes and he wondered what color they would be in the heights of passion.
Bloody hell! He would not think of Eliza and passion or what bloody color her eyes would be.
They would never share passion because she was a miss and he was an earl and if he crossed that line, she would become his wife.
He rose and held the chair for Eliza then returned to his own.
He could wait until she had eaten to ask his questions, but Lucian could think of nothing else to discuss.
“Why did you sneak into my room last night and sleep on the chaise?”
Eliza blew out a heavy sigh. “The letter. The one that he had been watching me sleep was unsettling, if you must know.”
“I have no doubt. I would be disturbed if I had received the same.”
“I thought that if I could put it from my mind all would be well, but when I returned to my writing, I felt as if I was being watched. I know that the footman was outside on the terrace and that he wasn’t watching me, but I still closed the drapery. It did not help, so I went up to my chamber and tried to sleep, except I am not yet familiar with the sounds of your home, what is natural and what is not, and with each creak of a floorboard, or when a tree limb brushed at the window, I had an irrational fear that the man could come here and watch me sleep.”
“Eliza it is…”
She held up a hand. “I already told you the fear was irrational and I lectured myself that it was impossible and that there were too many footmen between me and any entrance into the house, but it didn’t help so by the time I rose from my bed, my nerves were on edge and I was as frightened as a child who had awakened from a nightmare.”
He nodded.
“I thought the settee in the sitting room would do well enough, but I could not relax and decided to sleep on your floor, that way if the man did break in, you would be close enough to hear my scream.”
Lucian raised his eyebrows. “You were going to sleep on my floor?”
“I did not know you had a comfortable chaise.”
“I will have the footmen check the house again today for any weaknesses so you can be assured that nobody can get in.”
“That is not necessary;” she set her fork aside. “I know that you have taken all precautions, and I do appreciate your allowing me to find shelter here. I was simply a ninny last night and I also promise not to invade your private chamber again.”
That would truly be a shame.
Except it was for the best, Lucian reminded himself.
“I will not cower or let fear gain control. And if I am to be honest, I’m embarrassed that I succumbed to it last night.”
“I do not think you are overreacting. I know I would not be able to fully relax while not knowing where he is and if he is watching,” Lucian admitted. “I am not comfortable knowing that it is you that he wants.”
“Wants?” Eliza asked.
“He is admiring from afar, but it is an obsession.”
“Perhaps, but I have decided that I shall no longer fear him or let him control my actions.”
“That could be dangerous,” Lucian warned. He had hoped that after finally realizing the danger and experiencing the fear, she would be more careful.
“I disagree. Perhaps I am an obsession for this stranger, but he is no threat.”
