The house was set back, nestled among even more trees, with two large wings on either side of a huge main portion with great Gothic windows and pillars and a wide, curving drive.
The coach came to a stop in front of the massive home, and when Christian opened the door and took her hand for her to alight, she grinned at him. “Just a house and a bit of land, eh?”
He shrugged. “Come meet Mrs. Hamilton.”
Mrs. Hamilton, Sarah soon learned, was the housekeeper. A short, plump woman in her middle years, she had a huge smile on her face the moment her master escorted Sarah across the threshold.
“Oh, Master Christian! Master Christian, you’ve done it at last. You’ve brought home a wife, and I must say she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! Though I daresay we should be able to outfit a viscountess in better clothing than what she’s got on.”
Sarah blushed from her roots to her toes while Christian shushed the woman. “Mrs. Hamilton, please come into the drawing room, and I’ll explain.”
The butler, Mr. Oswald, a tall, imposing, middle-aged man with streaks of gray at his temples, followed them.
“This is Lady Sarah Highgate,” Christian explained quickly. “And I must ask both of you for your discretion. Lady Sarah became lost on her way through Scotland and I’m simply escorting her back to England. My friends are coming to see her back to London, but we are not married. Now, I know I can count on both of you to keep this to yourselves and to ensure the rest of the staff doesn’t gossip about our guest.”
Both servants nodded solemnly, though Mrs. Hamilton looked so disappointed that Sarah thought she might cry.
“Don’t worry,” Christian said. “Lady Sarah here has been giving me advice on how I might go about finding my future bride. She was the belle of the Season last year.”
Mrs. Hamilton tried to smile at that, but her heart clearly wasn’t in it.
“You can count on me, my lord,” Mr. Oswald said, giving a formal bow.
“Good. I’d like to keep Lady Sarah’s presence here as unobtrusive as possible. Please assign the most discreet housemaid to attend to her.”
“I’ll attend to her myself, my lord,” Mrs. Hamilton said, tucking her set of keys into the sash around her waist.
“Thank you. Perhaps that’s best,” Christian replied.
Sarah smiled at the housekeeper. “Thank you very much, Mrs. Hamilton.”
Christian gave the housekeeper a warning glance. “Absolutely no one else can know she’s here.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Would you care to see my house?” Christian said after Sarah had joined him in the upstairs drawing room that afternoon. She’d taken a nap and put on fresh clothing that Mrs. Hamilton had provided for her, a gown that had been borrowed from one of the maids at the hall. It was soft and clean and white, and Sarah felt refreshed after her long, bumpy ride in the coach.
“I’ve given most of the servants the afternoon off,” Christian explained. “So we should have some privacy while I give you a tour.”
Sarah smiled at him brightly. “I would love to see your house.” She stood and took his hand and he led her into the corridor.
“We might as well begin with this floor since we’re already here. There are twenty-seven bedrooms altogether, but most of the ones for guests are on this floor.”
Twenty-seven bedrooms? A house and a bit of land indeed.
“I hope you’re enjoying the room I chose for you.”
“You chose it? For me?” Her voice nearly broke. She was remembering the kiss they’d never shared. The thought made her throat tight.
“Yes,” he said softly.
“And the lilies that were sitting on my bedside table?”
“I thought you would like them because of your perfume.”
The man had noticed the scent of her perfume? The lump in her throat grew larger.
He led her down the grand staircase across the wide expanse of the marble-floored foyer and into another corridor lined with scores of Berkeley family portraits.
