As outlining and rewriting would likely take the better part of a month, she was confident that by the time she emerged to begin her search, Garretson would no long be suspicious of her reason for residing at Greenhaven Cottage, and thus not concerned enough to watch for her to trespass onto Wyndhill Park.
“The Earl of Garretson has come to call, Miss Weston. Are you at home?”
“Garretson?” Eliza looked up from her desk with a frown because she could not think of a reason why he should be visiting her. Unless he wished to warn her away from Wyndhill Park once again. “Please send him in, and if it is convenient, bring tea.”
“Why Greenhaven Cottage? There are several cottages that you could have rented yet you chose this place,” he demanded as soon as he crossed the threshold.
Goodness! Did her being next door bother Garretson so very much?
Had he truly grown to hate her over the years?
It was a painful thought that she did not wish to dwell upon.
“I am banned from visiting Wyndhill Park, yet you find no difficulty visiting Greenhaven Cottage without invitation?”
Garretson pulled back in surprise. “I had not considered. If you wish for me to leave…”
Eliza chuckled. “I have no such rules and you are welcome to visit anytime you wish.” And she hoped that it was often. “Please, take a seat. Stella will return in a moment with tea.” Eliza rose from behind the desk and came around to sit in one of the chairs arranged for conversation before a table and settee.
“Why are you here?” he demanded after taking a seat across from her.
“The location suited me. I was already going to be in the area to attend my friend's wedding, and as I did not want to travel here and then to another location, wasting precious time, I settled on the only property available in the area.”
She would never tell him about the true purpose for choosing this particular property.
“That is all?” he demanded.
“I needed to be away from London and the silence of the country and the fresh air suited me.” She evaded his direct question and hoped that he did not notice.
Stella entered and placed the tea service on the table between them.
Eliza bent forward to pour, not bothering to ask if he took anything in his tea because she recalled from her earlier visit that he preferred nothing. “It is a delightful location and I am able to work without the noise and distractions that I must endure in London.”
He frowned. “Work?”
“Yes, work. It is what those of us do when we are not the heir to a fortune or estate.”
“You are the daughter of a viscount,” Garretson reminded her.
“I am a spinster who does not want to spend her life dependent on parents or brothers.”
“So, you work,” he said almost with disbelief. “What kind of work do you do, Miss Weston?”
If he found the idea of her working objectionable, which it appeared Garretson did, he would not approve of her profession either. “I would rather not say,” she answered.
“Why? Is it illegal or perhaps…”
She lifted an eyebrow waiting for him to voice what else he was thinking and assumed he had quickly jumped to a conclusion. “It is neither illegal nor immoral. I simply wish to keep my identity a secret.”
“Identity? You are Eliza Weston and there are few in Society who have not heard your name.”
“I keep secret the identity which I work under,” she answered.
This was met with another frown. “You are making no sense.”
“I would tell you but you would first have to be sworn to secrecy.” Micah had promised to hold her confidence when she’d whispered it to him, but would Lucian?
Chapter4
