Whatever is a young lady doing sleeping in my townhouse?
His breath twisted in his chest. What if this young lady had plans to force herself into his life? What if she had every intention of forcing matrimony upon him? That certainly would not do.
He looked down at her face, taking her in. She looked rather peaceful, he had to admit, noting the light flush of pink on her cheeks. Her unpinned hair held dark, gentle curls and Benjamin caught himself wondering just how long it was. How was it that he recognized this young lady? Was she someone of his acquaintance? And if that was the case, whatever was she doing asleep in his guest bedchamber?
“Rouse yourself at once.” Trying to make his voice fill the room, he spoke with as much strength as he could, but the young lady did not so much as flinch. Instead, she continued to sleep soundly. Stretching out one hand, Benjamin gingerly gave her shoulder a slight nudge. Again, the young lady did not move. Becoming a little more frustrated, Benjamin gave her shoulder a stronger shake. “Whatever are you doing here? Why are you asleep in my house?” Thankfully, this seemed to rouse the young lady, for her eyelashes flickered and, after a moment, she opened them slowly. Benjamin stepped back, finding himself a little caught by the vividness of her green eyes.Now is not the time to notice such beauty.Lifting his chin, he folded his arms across his chest. “Explain yourself at once, miss.” The young lady stared blankly at him, as though he were asking her something quite ridiculous. “Who are you?”
The young lady’s voice was a little quiet.
“You - you have not had improvements done.” Her eyes narrowed, as though it were Benjamin’s fault for behaving in such a way that had brought her to this present circumstance. “You have told everyone in town that you are having improvements made to your townhouse.” She rubbed one hand over her eyes. “But I can see that you are not.”
“My improvements have been completed,” he snapped, filled with the urge to reach out to shake her shoulder again, for she still appeared to be quite at home and not in the least perturbed that he had found her. “Explain yourself. Who are you and why are you in my townhouse?”
The young lady yawned.
“You stated that you would not be back at your house for some time, my Lord. Might I ask you also to explain yourself?”
Benjamin’s mouth fell open. The audacity of this young lady was quite shocking. He had no cause to give her any explanation for why he was now at home but evidently to her mind, he had every reason to do so.
“Remove yourself from this bed at once.” With every bit of strength he had, he forced authority into his voice. “And then you shall tell me exactly what you are doing here, else I shall have no other choice but to demand that my staff take a look at you in the hope that one of them will know exactly whose household you come from.”
“I am not a maid,” she snapped, pushing herself up, her eyes suddenly narrowing. “Do you really think I would have stayed in this particular bedchamber if I did not have reason? I am a young lady of quality.”
“Then if you are as you state, give me your name. This the last time I shall ask you: tell me what it is you are doing here.”
Chapter Six
Julia looked into the eyes of Lord Wiltsham and found her stomach twisting in all directions. She had not expected him to return so soon. What shehadthought was that she would be in a house filled with men hard at work and with a good deal of detritus here and there. She had expected to be able to hide away for a short while, to allow her plans to come to fruition. Instead, she had come to a perfectly well-ordered house where either improvements had been made and finished, or where there had never been any improvements made at all. Yes, she had been able to slip inside without being noticed, but the shock of what she had then discovered had rendered her confused and upset – and then, once she had found herself in a quiet guest chamber where she was not likely to be disturbed, weakness had overtaken her. Sleep, she had thought, would be the thing that might bring her a little peace and perhaps, thereafter, clarity.
Not that anything was going to be an excuse for her presence here. her reasons did not matter, in the face of the fact that she was now in Lord Wiltsham’s residence without his permission nor his awareness.
“Speak.”
His eyes were narrowed, there was a tight line about his mouth, and his arms were folded across his chest. He did not give the impression of a gentleman who was willing to listen. Pushing herself up a little more, Julia tried to find the words to explain.
“I required a place to hide.”
“To hide,” he repeated as Julia nodded. “To hide from what?”
“To hide from my brother, my Lord.”
Pushing her hair back out of her eyes, she quickly began to hope that her plaintive words would fall upon sympathetic ears, despite his obvious upset.
“I see.” It seemed that he was not even willing to ask her why such a thing was required. “So you came here? At what time?”
“Only earlier this afternoon. I was so very confused and a little afraid, that I thought I should rest before I decided what to do next. I took out my pins so that I would not ruin your pillowcases.”
“How very considerate.” Lord Wiltsham’s lips worked, but his frown remained. “So you will not have been missed as yet.”
“I cannot go back.” Pushing back the sheet, she rose from the bed, her dark hair swinging over one shoulder as her gown fell back into place – albeit heavily wrinkled. “You cannot send me back to my brother, my Lord.” She had hoped that putting the gentle plea in her voice would be enough to encourage him to at least listen to her, but the frown which lingered across his eyebrows now offered her very little hope. “You must understand, I–”
“I need to understand nothing. You are in my guest bedchamber. You are in myhouse!You have not been invited and if you remain, there will be considerable difficulty which will follow. I will not have you forced into matrimony with me, if that is what your intention was.”
“I have not come here in the hope of finding a husband.” A tightness began to curl around her heart as embarrassment shot waves of heat into her core. “I did not think you would be returning, as I explained.”
“You thought I would not return. To my own house.”
“I did not think you would return any time soon, my Lord.” Julia tried to explain, her fingers twisting together as she clasped her hands in front of her. “You were having improvements made. I spoke to an acquaintance, and she did not think that you would make your way back to your townhouse for some time. You must understand, I came to this house in the hope of finding a little solace and a little peace so that I might consider what I am to do next to escape my brother’s plans for me. I have no intention of returning to his house, and I certainly have no intention of attaching myself to you either. That is precisely what I am trying to escape from.”
