“I will be glad when this nonsense is over,” Stella muttered before leaving the room.
Soon the butler appeared. “Miles and Carter will be accompanying you, Miss Weston.”
Behind him stood two of the larger footmen who worked within Wyndhill Park.
“Thank you. I promise that I will not keep them from their duties for long.”
“Our first duty, above all others, is to keep you safe, Miss Weston.”
There was definitely disapproval in his tone.
“Well, then, shall we?” Eliza grinned as she stood and then lifted the lantern from the desk.
The two obediently followed Eliza out the door to the terrace, then down to the lake and around it until they came to the last cave that she needed to explore. They said nothing during their walk, but kept pace and were alert, watching in all directions.
She stopped at the entrance and lit her lantern. “Will you join me inside?”
“We will guard the entrance,” Miles said, then stood at attention on one side.
“I will walk the area and keep a look out,” Carter said.
“Thank you.”
She then turned, lifted the lantern, and slowly entered. This cave was larger than the other three and further in, it split.
Eliza lifted the lantern even higher and turned right and followed the path to the very end but found nothing of interest, much to her disappointment, then returned to where she had begun so that she might take the left.
“Miss Weston, I thought that it was time that we met.”
Her head jerked up at the strange voice and she raised the lantern so that she could see him better. “Who are you?” He looked familiar, but Eliza could not place where she may have seen him before.
“For ten years I have longed for you and was trying to find the right opportunity until I could approach you. Unfortunately, I delayed too long as he claimed you already, but that does not mean that we still cannot be together forever.”
A chill ran up her spine as Eliza looked past him and toward the entrance of the cave, but she was too far in and at a curve, so it could not be seen. Where were the footmen who had come along for protection? Had they left and returned to the manor or had something happened to them?
Chapter36
Lucian could barely concentrateduring his meeting with his solicitor and didn’t even read the documents before he signed them. He was too anxious to return to Wyndhill Park. He hadn’t even gone to the tailor or the bootmaker as planned.
There was no reason for it other than he was on edge.
Of all the marriage proposals that had been made in history, his was the worst.
It was no wonder that Eliza had rejected him and insisted that she only wanted to be his lover and nothing else. Lover until it ended, which indicated that she anticipated that she would grow tired of him.
That had been his fear all along.
She wanted adventure and he was boring.
But how could he change so that she wanted to stay with him?
Was there anything he could do or was he only good enough as a lover until she was done and moved on to someone or something else that intrigued her?
Bloody hell!
His gut was twisted in knots and he had no idea how to undo them or what he could do so that Eliza would fall in love with him.
After he left his horse in the stable, Lucian marched into the manor and down the corridor and then stopped because he had no idea what he was going to say to her.
