Page 12 of The Lady is Trouble

“Aye, this place is like a woman in a plain dress hiding a lacy, red chemise underneath.”

Piper lifted her hand to her mouth to suppress the gust of laughter. An inappropriate but correct statement. With the restrained exterior, the interior of Harbingdon was a breathtaking surprise. She fell entirely in love as she turned in a measured circle. “Charming, truly, but stark.” Her echo confirmed the statement.

Humphrey lifted himself from the door. “Ah, it needs a touch, for certain. Other things, like leaky roofs and functioning cook stoves, took the first.”

“So, aside from all your otherduties, you are also housekeeper and butler?” Keeping pace as he moved along, she managed to catch sight of an exquisite Adam fireplace holding reign in a brightly lit sitting room. “My, you are busy then.”

He grunted and started up that incredible staircase. She followed without a word, her fingers trailing the flutes of a column as she passed it.

“We have staff. They were instructed, as happens with delicate”—he halted, darting a look over his shoulder—“situations to make themselves scarce.”

She just kept herself from running into him and had to grasp the railing for support. “I’m adelicatesituation?”

He sighed and continued, climbing another level. Goodness, they were hiding her in the upper reaches. “Scamp, you’ve never been anythingbut.”

“I think I’m insulted,” she murmured, which gained a muted grouse in response.

He gestured to a bedchamber at the end of the hall, then turned to leave. The least ceremony imaginable, but what could she expect fromHumphrey? As he passed, he ticked off information like a soldier. “Your maid, Minnie, will be up shortly. Bath. Fresh clothing. All the frippery. She’s scrambling now to gather it. She’ll also bring a tray. With the jumble, a proper dinner isn’t on the docket.” He scrubbed his hand over his face at the top of the stair, evidently unimpressed with her latestjumble.

“I appreciate I’m not being housed in the attic.” She pressed her palm against the door. “Nor as far as Gloucestershire.”

Shoulders stiffening, he glanced back, ire showing in eyes so dark they appeared black. His aura flared, golden sparks lighting the muddy edges. “Julian’s had this one ready for a while. Thought you would enjoy the view. It’s the best to be had.”

He left her with that, feeling foolish, petty, and wholly put in her place.

Piper sighed and entered the chamber. Fading sunlight rolled in the window, one note of welcome. The room, no matter the state of any belowstairs, hadn’t been neglected. Subtle shades of yellow and mauve: walls, bedding, and the canopy topping the mahogany tester bed. She toed the carpet. Usually, the ones making it to a bedchamber had been through the paces on the main floor first, but this looked new. Aubusson, unless she missed her guess. Did Julian have funds? She assumed his estates had left him desperate for cash, as was the case with most saddled with centuries of titled obligation.

The view was indeed breathtaking, overlooking a vast lawn centered by a fetching stone fountain, clusters of trees and shrubs dotting the expanse willy-nilly as far as one could see. Formal gardens spanned the western border, looking overgrown and untended. She pressed her fingertips to glass with a sudden burst of longing.

She had never been invited to tend a garden.

Dropping her gloves to the ledge, she rested her brow on the cool pane.

Unshakable loneliness, a boon companion since her first night in Gloucestershire, pulsed through her with as steady a rhythm as her heart. Tears again threatened. With a very American oath, she ran a knuckle beneath each eye when shewantedto weep, throw herself on the bed and let the English half of her succumb like a vapid fool.

But Minnie, the maid, could not arrive to find her mistress beset by misery the likes of which would send her running for her master. Piper’s gift, her wretched familial situation, her exile from society, werehermisfortunes to manage. Humphrey was right. She needed to grow up, take responsibility, accept what was and what was not.

Because her hopes too often focused on thenot.

Julian, an absurd desire, the biggestnot.

It was no wonder he found her exasperating to the point of banishment. Her grandfather’s murder had sent them fleeing in a state of panic. That the earl’s dying words claimed the intended target was the healer,ah, well. Julian had no choice but try to find a place far from London where she’d be safe. Although their separation hadn’t mattered one whit to him. He was occupied with his title, a seat in the House of Lords, managing the League.

Lady Coswell, she thought blackly.

Fine. Piper now had a purpose, too. Her research.

A cardinal dropped to a branch near the window, and she tapped the glass to get his attention. Julian had agreed to be her partner. Promised with a handshake, a binding contract for a man with honor.

And Julian was a man with tremendous honor.

This time, she must separate her feelings from the endeavor.

The wordpartnerhad many meanings, and the potential to flare like alcohol tossed on an open flame. Attaching herself to the wrong one would drive Julian back in his rabbit hole. But this time, he neededher. The dark crescents beneath his eyes and slumped set of his shoulders said more than he ever would.

She’d always needed him. It was part of the troublesome groove she’d dug for herself. One she could not escape.

Piper exhaled, clouding the glass but not her resolve.