Cecilia whirled around,startled. “I—”
“Wait, let me guess,” Lord Darlington drawled. “A cat lured you up here.”
She whirled back around again, but Seraphina, who’d been there only moments before had vanished, leaving Cecilia alone to explain herself. Again. “Since you ask, I did in fact follow—” That was as far as she got before she inhaled a cloud of dust kicked up by the swish of her skirts, and fell intoa sneezing fit.
“Oh, for God’s sakes. Don’t expire now, Cecilia, before you’ve had a chance to peek behind every corner.” Lord Darlington strode forward, the thud of his riding boots over the old wooden floorboards sending another cloud of dust into the air, and offered hera handkerchief.
Cecilia took it and pressed it delicately to her nose. “I beg your—”
“Pardon. Yes, you’re good at that. Not quite so good at following my orders, however.”
Cecilia, who was blinking down at the handkerchief in her hand, said nothing. Dear God, how could one tiny scrap of linen smell so intoxicating? She’d never smelled anything more mouthwatering in her life.
“Well? Let’s have it then.” Lord Darlington crossed his arms over his chest. “If it wasn’t a cat, what was it? Is there some other animal running wildin my attics?”
Cecilia gaped at him with wide eyes, her throat going dry. His white linen shirt hugged his muscular arms and pulled tightly across his chest. He wore no coat, no waistcoat, and no cravat. Just white linen, slightly damp, and beneath it, disturbingly visible, inch after inch of smooth, golden skin. His dark hair, also a bit damp, curled against his neck, and he wore sinfully tight breeches and tall black boots.
He’d been out riding. The handkerchief still clutched in her hand must have been pressed close against his body, absorbing the delicious scent of leather, and clean, masculine sweat. It was still tickling her nose, stealing her breath.
Hisscent.
Cecilia swallowed. Oh, this was worse than the coal scuttle incident, when she’d been struck speechless by his open shirt. Much, much worse.
Lord Darlington didn’t seem to notice she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his chest. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Cecilia.” He beckoned to her with a lazy twitch of his fingers. “What are you doing up here, scurrying around like a curiouslittle mouse?”
“You never said a word about the attics being forbidden.” It was a feeble excuse, but it was the best Cecilia could manage with the dark shadow of his nipples peeking out at her as they were. Why, he might as well not be wearinga shirt at all!
“Mrs. Briggs told you the third floor of the castle is closed, didn’t she?” He raised one dark, imperious eyebrow at her.
That arrogant eyebrow broke the spell his chest had cast over her, and not a moment too soon. It was a lucky thing he was such a demanding, overbearing tyrant, or she might never have come to her senses. “Yes, Mrs. Briggs told me. You know verywell she did.”
“Perhaps you didn’t understand it’s being closed meant you shouldn’t come up here?” he asked, with exaggerated patience.
“I understood.” Cecilia’s eyes were still watering from the dust. His scent was addling her wits, and she tried not to inhale as she dabbed at them with a corner of hishandkerchief.
“Yes, I thought you had. Imagine my surprise, then, when Amy said I could find you up here. Four days ago, you were nearly dismissed for sneaking about the castle, yet here you are, where you’re not meant to be.”
Cecilia’s shoulders slumped. “Am I dismissed again?”
“No. Dismissing you wasn’t a wise choice the first two times I tried it, and now you’ve made yourself indispensable to Isabella, it’s less of one now. I’ll tolerate a good deal of nuisance for myniece’s sake.”
“Nuisance?” Cecilia’s lips pressed together. “Are you calling me a n—”
“You’re a housemaid who drops the coal scuttle, a nursemaid who doesn’t know a single proper lullaby, and a servant who hasn’t the vaguest idea how to follow a simple command.” Lord Darlington’s lips quirked, as if he’d begun to enjoy himself. “Yes, Cecilia, you’re a nuisance.”
“When you put it that way, you make me sound awful, indeed, but I hardly think that’s an accurate description of—”
“It’s entirely accurate.” He chuckled at her expression. “You’ve been a nuisance since the day you arrived, and I found you throwing rocks into Darlington Lake for no better reason than youwerecurious.”
Oh, he was enjoying himself, all right. Insufferable man. Cecilia shot him a resentful look. “Forgive me, my lord. I didn’t know curiosity was such anunforgivable—”
“Come with me.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and gave a little tug. “We’rewasting time.”
“Wasting time? Whereare we going?”
“To your bedchamber.”
“Mybedchamber?”
