Ewan stood and walked to the sideboard. “Would you care for some port?”
“No, thank you. I don’t think alcohol and laudanum mix very well,” Thea replied.
Ewan chuckled. He poured himself a glass of port and returned to sit next to Thea on the settee. They were merely a foot’s length apart.
Thea turned to stare at Ewan, blinking rapidly. “I … I have something important that I want to say. Well, ask, really.”
Ewan frowned. “Yes?” he prompted.
She cleared her throat and folded her hands, placing them primely in her lap. “I want to ... admit to something. Something I’m not terribly proud of.”
Dread began to spread through Ewan’s middle. “What is it?”
“I was going to sneak around and look myself, but I’ve decided that did me no favors last time so this time—well, that and I’ve got a maid who’d sooner drug me than allow me to be meddlesome. At any rate, I’ve decided to come right out with it.” She blinked at him some more.
Now that she was so close, he realized that she had the loveliest longest eyelashes. He continued to eye her warily, however. “Out with what?”
Thea straightened her shoulders and met his gaze directly. Quite disconcerting. Quite. “Who are you hiding in the other wing of the house?”
Ewan nearly spit the sip of port he’d just taken. “What?”
“You have another houseguest, do you not?”
“Who told you that?” He was forced to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.
Thea let her gaze drop. “I overheard some servants talking.”
“Which servants?” He eyed her warily again.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s clearly true or you wouldn’t be so upset,” she finished primly, meeting his gaze once again. “Now, will you tell me, or must I investigate on my own?”
Ewan set his port glass on the table in front of him. The girl couldn’t help herself. She’d only been able to act properly for two nights. Now she was back to being completely improper. Ewan wasn’t thrilled that one of the servants had been gossiping about Phillip to Thea, but the truth was, he’d already considered telling her about him. He expelled a deep breath. “Let me ask you something, Lady Thea.”
She had an impatient look on her face, but she nodded.
Ewan smoothed his hand down his shirtfront while he spoke. “If the other guest knew you were there, would you want that guest to come looking foryou?”
Thea wrinkled her nose. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate his logic. “I suppose I would not,” she finally said.
She’d been honest. That was big of her. He’d been half expecting her to deny it. “Well, then, don’t you think you should do my other guest the courtesy of staying in privacy?”
Thea blinked at him again. She was nodding. “I know I should do that, but I’m afraid I’m overwhelmed with curiosity and I cannot stand it.”
Ewan laughed and shook his head. “You’re honest, I’ll give you that.”
“Father says I’m honest to a fault.” She sighed. “But not as often as Father says I’m stubborn to a fault.”
“That I know firsthand to be true,” Ewan replied. “I suppose me asking you not to try to find out who my other guest is will do no good?”
Thea had the most adorable guilty look on her face as she raised her pretty gray eyes to meet his. “I could promise you I wouldn’t, my lord, but I’m afraid I would break my promise within hours.”
Ewan shook his head again. “Very well. Then it’s probably a good thing that I was already considering telling you about him.”
“Him?” Her eyes went wide.
“Yes,” Ewan chuckled again. “You didn’t truly think I had more than one young lady hiding in the wings, did you?”
Thea smiled. “Honestly, I had no idea. I have a vivid imagination, you see, so I had many different guesses.”
