Louisa met his mother’s gaze and smiled. “Thank you, Your Grace. I do feel better today, although my body still aches.”
“I’m certain you will feel that way for a few more days.”
“Indeed.”
Trevor found it hard to keep from watching Louisa. Even weak and thin, she was quite a lovely woman. It surprised him that he’d once mistaken her for being a mere girl. Her eyes twinkled—a remarkable green color—whenever she looked at him, and he worried about her actions. She didn’t have a memory, so would she look to him as a hero even if he was the one responsible for her accident in the first place? He couldn’tallow her to peer at him with such admiration. Having her thinking of him in that way wasn’t a good thing, but for some reason he didn’t want to discourage her just yet. It’d been a long time since a woman gazed at him as if she were utterly infatuated. He shouldn’t, but he quite enjoyed it.
His mother squared her shoulders and turned his way. “My dear son, your servants should be commended. Miss Louisa looks quite well for someone who nearly lost her life.”
He smiled and gave his housekeeper a nod. “Mrs. Smythe has been a godsend.”
The older servant giggled as her face lit up like a beacon. “Your praise is most heartwarming.”
Trevor stepped closer to Louisa. He couldn’t stop his attention from roaming over her wide green eyes, pert nose, and delicate lips. Once more a twinkle sparked in her orbs before she lowered them to her folded hands on her lap. Long, thick eyelashes swept her cheeks before she lifted her gaze and met his.
“Tell me, Miss Louisa, have you remembered anything about your life?”
She frowned. “No, Your Grace. I fear my mind is still closed to the past.”
Unease filled him when a thought nagged at his subconscious. Could this woman be lying to him? What if she did this as a means of staying in his house and being cared for? After all, most of the women he’d known in his life—save for his mother—had deceived him. Surely, he would have to keep a close watch over this one.
He swept his attention over the slender column of her neck. “I’m certain your memory will return with time.”
When he met her sparkling eyes, he couldn’t turn away. They entrapped him, lured him, and if he looked deeper, he’d see into her soul. What kind of past did she have? Did she hold secrets?He suspected she had a few since his housekeeper informed him about the girl’s scars. If she lied to him about her memory, could he blame her? She would definitely not want to return to her former life. Being whipped was certainly not a life at all, and he couldn’t allow her to go back to such circumstances. In just the few times he’d spoken with her, he’d been besieged with an overwhelming need to protect her.
Confused by the compassion trying to surface inside him, he pulled away and smiled at his mother. “Well, I believe we should allow Miss Louisa to rest now. Don’t you agree?”
“Certainly, my dear.”
Louisa nodded. “Thank you for coming to see to my welfare, Your Grace, and it is a pleasure to meet your mother as well.”
Both he and his mother left the room and he closed the door behind him. When they were far enough down the hallway, his mother turned and grasped his arm, stopping him.
“Trevor, I think I may know her, or her family.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Indeed? Why would you think you know her? She’s clearly not from our class.”
“Clearly, but she resembles the Earl of Danvers’s wife quite a bit. I took tea with Lady Danvers and the future Lady Wellesley the other day with a few other ladies, and Louisa’s big green eyes are just like Lady Danvers’s. Eyes like that are hard to ignore.”
Trevor folded his arms as he tapped a finger on his forearm. “Danvers, you say. I don’t believe they have a daughter.”
“No, I don’t recall them ever mentioning one, but there’s an uncanny resemblance between Louisa and Lady Danvers. Are you not friends with Lord Danvers’s nephew, Wellesley?”
“We were briefly introduced a few years ago, but I wouldn’t say we were close.” He squeezed his mother’s hand. “Do not fret. I’m quite certain if Louisa is of any relation, we shall hear about her disappearance soon.”
“As always, you are correct.” She sighed heavily. “It’s just devastating to think that her family could be out there somewhere praying for her safe return. I know I prayed day after day for word about your brother, Tristan, when we thought he had died. Because his body was never found, I hoped that perhaps he lived and was lost somewhere.”
Trevor’s heart clenched, remembering the tragedy of his brother’s death, only to discover two years later he was alive and had lost his memory. “Yes, that was a joyful day when Trey brought him home alive. I wish the same fate for Louisa, but Mother, please don’t think she will be as fortunate. Those scars on her back tell me her life has not been good. She may not have a loving family to return home to as Tristan did.”
Tears gathered in his mother’s eyes. “I have been kept in a sheltered world, I suppose, and it’s hard for me to image anything so disturbing.”
“It is hard. All I’m saying is don’t mention anything to Lady Danvers or her nephew. Don’t even speak a word of this to your friends. Miss Louisa may become a servant in my home eventually and I would hate to have gossip going around about her.”
His mother lifted her hand to her throat, toying with her pearls again. “You really intend to make Louisa a servant here?”
He nodded. “Don’t you agree it will be a better life than what she may have come from?”
“Of course it would be a better life. I just worry about you and the twins and I would hate to see anything bad come out of all this.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You are such a thoughtful man.” She pulled away but hooked her hand around his arm. “Now, take me to see my beautiful grandchildren.”
