Page 37 of Captivating the Earl (Lords and Ladies in Love 5)

Lizzie pulled her hand away and ran her palms up and down her arms, suddenly taken with a chill. “That is a frightening thought.”

“I swear to you that I will protect you, Lizzie. We will be at my estate in two days. That is not enough time for the man responsible for hiring your attacker to send someone else.”

“But since you are supposed to bring me to the Home Office, won’t he assume we went to your estate? And come after me there?”

He shook his head. “No, I am hoping he believes I will obey my orders and return to London. At Hawkins Manor I can protect you. I have staff that will be charged with guarding you.”

“For how long? I mean, how will this end?”

Hawk brushed back a strand of hai

r that had fallen from her chignon. “We must discover what our man wants from you.”

“You mean besides my dead body?”

Chapter Sixteen

They spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening in the private dining room with Hawk questioning Lizzie, asking her to recount every conversation she had with her father the year before he disappeared. They took time to eat dinner, and then were back at it.

Hawk took notes, but so far nothing she detailed gave him a clue as to what their nemesis was looking for. No one had entered their life during the time in question whom Lizzie hadn’t known for years. Forcing her to think about it, however, compelled her to admit there had been a decided change in her father’s behavior for several months before he disappeared.

Finally, he shoved his notes away and leaned back in the chair. Lizzie was rubbing her temples, and the dark circles under her eyes told him he’d probably overworked her. “I think it’s time you retired.”

“I was about to suggest the same thing.” She stood, and immediately sat back down. “Oh, my. I fear I am more tired than I realized.”

Scooping up his notes, Hawk stood and helped her up. Instead of taking her arm, he wrapped his arm around her waist and walked them both upstairs to their room. He was concerned about how heavily she leaned against him, as if every step was torture. Lizzie was an independent type of woman, probably due to her circumstances the past two years. To have her depend on him to even walk was troubling.

Once they reached the room, he led her to the bed. “I will wait downstairs while you prepare for bed.”

Lizzie looked around the room. “Where will you sleep?”

Smaller than the room they’d had the night before, a quick sweep told him there weren’t a whole lot of choices. “That chair.” He pointed to a very uncomfortable-looking chair in the corner of the room, next to the dresser.

She merely nodded, and he turned and left the room. “Will a half hour be enough time?”

“Yes.” She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a yawn. “That will be plenty of time.”

Hawk sipped on a brandy while he tried very hard not to imagine Lizzie taking off her clothes and sliding a silky nightgown over her lush body. He pictured running his hands over her curves, placing his hand on her well-rounded bottom, and pulling her against him.

Once he broke into a sweat, it was time to call a halt to his meanderings. He pulled his notes back out and studied them. Unfortunately, the visions in his mind of Lizzie climbing into bed made the exercise futile.

He downed the rest of his drink and headed upstairs. It had been forty minutes since he’d left her, and hopefully, the room would be dark, she would be covered up, asleep, and he could get some sleep himself.

In an awkward, too-small-for-him chair.

The room was indeed dark, and the outline of Lizzie’s body told him she was settled in bed. He walked over to her, and the sound of her steady breathing assured him she was fast asleep. One less temptation.

He removed his jacket, untied his cravat, removed his waistcoat, and decided that was as far as he could go. The chair was even more uncomfortable than it looked. With a deep sigh, he rearranged his body as adequately as possible and settled in for a very unpleasant night.

After awakening three times with painful cramps in his muscles, Hawk stood, stretched, and moved to the bed, swinging his arms to loosen up his joints. He stared at Lizzie comfortably settled on the mattress.

Her hair was free of its usual bindings, and she hadn’t worn a nightcap, so all that glorious hair spilled over the pillow. He took in a deep breath to calm himself. He started to walk away, then took one look at the chair and thought perhaps he could sneak in alongside her and get up before she awoke.

Convincing himself there was nothing wrong with that plan, he walked over to the other side of the bed and gently lowered his body to the mattress. He lay on his back, his arms crossed over his chest, as far away from her as he could get without tumbling to the floor. With a heavy sigh, he instantly fell asleep.

Hawk was holding onto the softest, sweetest-smelling pillow he’d ever had. It was warm, too. He took a deep breath, squeezed its softness, and settled back into slumber.

The second time he woke, light filtered into the room as the drapes had not been closed.