She laughed lightly. “Rest assured, there isn’t. But I’ve known Lord Curdiff since we were children. My parent’s estate borders this one, you see.” Her smile drooped slightly. “Now Breyton Hall belongs to my cousin. I’ve been staying withthe baron and his wife, but the viscount offered me the use of his conservatory for my Blue Ladies, a cross breed of roses that I created. I have a particular weakness when it comes to horticulture, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, I see.”
She thought it would be best if she turned the attention from herself. Travell said that he believed her companion to be honorable, but she didn’t want to push her luck and find out the opposite was true. It would be hard enough for Travell to face the gossipmongers about his father. She didn’t want to add to his troubles.
As a maid brought in a tray of sandwiches and set them on a nearby table, he picked up a cucumber sandwich and popped it into his mouth.
She waited for him to finish chewing before she said, “Tell me about yourself, Mr. Lyridon. What first interested you in mesmerism?”
He set his teacup aside. “It was really the imbalance in the brain that first caught my attention,” he returned, and Alyssa could tell that this was a subject he felt very strongly about. “I don’t know if Lord Curdiff told you, but I’m a barrister. I always wondered if there was a particular reason that criminals thought or acted in a certain manner.I don’t completely agree with the animal magnetism theory brought about by Mesmer that the body is manipulated by fluid, but rather memory has been trapped within the psyche.” He shrugged. “At least, that’s what I hope to discover.”
“I can sense your determination, Mr. Lyridon,” Alyssa returned. “I certainly hope you are able to unlock some doors with Lord Trenton.”
“I will do my best.” And Alyssa knew that he spoke the truth.
“Ah, Mr. Lyridon.” Travell walked into the room and instantly, Alyssa’s heart picked up speed. “I regret that I wasn’t here to greet you properly when you arrived.”
With hiswindblowndark hair and the scent of man and outdoors clinging to him, it was a heady combination. His buff breeches hugged his muscular legs and his shoulders looked impossibly wide in his tailor-fit attire. The younger man across from her might be pleasing to the eye, but it was this man who caused her pulse to accelerate.
As the barrister stood and bowed, he said, “It’s no problem at all, Lord Curdiff.” He glanced at her. “I have been amply entertained by Lady Alyssa.”
Travell’s blue eyes captured hers. “Indeed. She is a consummate hostess.”
***
Travell found it difficult to pull his gaze away from Alyssa, especially with such a becoming blush on her cheeks. She tempted him without even realizing she was doing it, which was the damnable misery of it all.
He sat down in a chair next to Alyssa. While he would feel her presence anywhere in the room, at least this way he might be able to keep his attention on his guest. “I trust you had a good journey?”
The other man nodded. “Zeus is a strong gelding.”
“I hope that you will consider staying for supper before you return to London.”
“I appreciate your hospitality, Lord CurdiffandIwould be honored toaccept.”He cleared his throat. “If I may be so bold, could you tell me more about your father’s condition? What should I expect?”
Travellstood. “I think it’s best if I show you.How wouldyou like to meet our patient, Mr. Lyridon?”
The barrister stood. “That would be ideal.”
Travell saw Alyssa rise as well, and together, the trio ascended to the second floorand approachedthe earl’s bedchamber.
A footman was sitting in a chair outside the door, but Travell waved him away when they arrived.“You may relax your duties, Matthews.” The servant bowed and walked away, leaving Travell to explain, “Since my father has various, violent outbursts, I thought it prudent to assign someone to watch over him at all times.”
As he opened the door, he heard Alyssa gasp. Her face fell when she saw the state Lord Trenton was in. Travell knew how terrible it appeared, to have his limbs fully tied down to the bedposts. He looked like a sacrificial offering in his white nightshirt, the covers raised to his midsection.
But Travell knew he’d made the right choice when his father’s eyes abruptly opened and pinned him with a wrath filled glare. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “Come to poison me some more?”
“It’s not poison, Father,” Travell tried to explain, and not for the first time. “I told you, it’s medicine—”
“Liar!” Instantly, the earl began fighting against his bonds.
As he continued to hurl more obscenities, Mr. Lyridon turned to Travell. “How long as he been irrational and prone to these insensible outbursts?”
“As long as he’s been here, nearly a week now, but before that, I can’t say.” Travell shrugged helplessly. “I was in London when my estate manager wrote to me to say he’d reappeared.”
“How longhas he been missing?” the younger manasked.
“Over seven years now.” Travell shoved a hand through his hair, but when he dropped his arm, he felt the gentle touch of an angel, and he knew that Alyssa had laid her fingers on hisupper arm.
