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S he wondered if he’d said goodbye before he left. She assumed he tried but she was so engrossed in her story she didn’t notice or respond. How embarrassing. But then, it was probably for the best that he understood what was involved with spending time with her.

She waved the pages around, finding she was looking forward to hearing what he would have to say about her next chapter. She was quite pleased with it. And she’d intentionally made it look as if the housekeeper knew something about the missing feather. Would he suspect?

She stood and stretched, and the sound of the chair on the floor must have alerted Frannie that she’d stood. For the girl came in with a smile.

“You missed supper. Did you want me to bring you something?”

“No. I don’t want to put you to any trouble. It’s time for you to get some sleep. I’ll be fine until morning.”

She knew there would be food available. Not like those few days when she wasn’t sure how she would survive after Stephen had lost everything. She didn’t need to worry about that again.

“I set aside some biscuits for you from the tea tray. They should hold you over until morning,” Frannie came forward and sat a small plate on Thea’s desk.

“You are too kind to me, Frannie. Thank you.” The lemony biscuit filled the empty place in her stomach. “Do you know what time the marquess left?”

Frannie smiled. “Just before supper. I had come in and asked if you were ready to eat and you said not yet. You said that three more times and I believe the lord gave up and went home.”

“I don’t blame him. I truly don’t remember answering. My mind was—”

“Caught up in what you were writing,” she said smugly. “I’m aware. I don’t know what you are writing but it must be verra important.” She paused. “I know my letters and can read, but it takes me some time.”

“I’m writing a book,” Thea confided in the maid. It wasn’t as if no one else knew. Afterall, Lord Flemming had figured it out. She trusted Frannie. “As you can imagine, it’s not something proper women do so it must remain a secret. No one can know.”

“I’ll not say a word of it,” Frannie promised with wide eyes. Then she tilted her head. “Do you have villains in your stories, my lady?”

“Oh yes. It’s hardly a good story without having someone who challenges the hero. He must win against the forces of evil after all.”

“What is the villain’s name in this story?” she asked. Thea didn’t understand why the girl cared so much, but she explained that like her hero she didn’t name the characters until the end when she felt she knew them well enough to know what they should be called.

“So you haven’t a name yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Is he quite dreadful? Without honor?”

“Of course, all the best villains are disreputable, are they not?”

“Then I think the villain’s name for this book should be Stephen. And I would love if he got his just rewards. Mayhap if he were hanged, or no, that would be over quickly. Do you suppose he could come into contact with a crocodile? I remember hearing they were quite ferocious creatures that could rip a man limb from limb before swallowing his pieces whole.” Her face took on a sinister smile as she considered the possibility.

“I imagine a crocodile would add a bit of drama to the blackguard’s demise.” Thea considered how she might work in a very large reptile and how she might learn enough about them to make it credible.

Frannie nodded and left Thea to devour the biscuits before going to bed.

The next morning, Thea hurried through her morning ablutions and breakfast so she might get to the drawing room all the faster. It wasn’t that she had a scene racing to get out of her mind and onto the page, but her haste was due to the man who arrived a few minutes after she took her seat at her desk.

“Good morning, Miss Thea,” he greeted her.

“Good morning, my lord.”

He looked at her with wide eyes. “Are you with us this morning?” He looked over his shoulder. “You are speaking to me, are you not, or are you just answering blindly?”

She laughed and shook her head. “I must apologize for whatever I may have said or not said last night. I am to understand I answered Frannie, but may not have noticed when you left.” Just saying it out loud made her cringe in embarrassment.

He held up his hand. “Not to worry. I am the outsider here, and have no right to judge whatever process that ends with a book on a shelf. You do what you must and I shall adapt. I’m perfectly able to go find my supper when I’m hungry. Though I do worry that you’re getting enough sustenance.”

“Well, I regret to admit it, but I did devour six lemon biscuits before bed last evening. However, this morning I had a hearty breakfast that I’m sure will get me through the day.” She wiggled her fingers and took her seat.

Lord Flemming picked up the stack of pages on the settee and settled in. A little over an hour later the lord set down the pages and announced, “I know who did it.”

“Do you?” she asked.

“It’s the housekeeper,” he said surely.

Thea laughed, so pleased with herself that he had fallen into her trap.

They settled into an easy routine over the next few days. Each morning he would come over to read, and each evening he would leave. Sometimes without her noticing, but occasionally he was able to catch her attention so that she could walk him to the door and see him off.

And throughout the day, he would charm her with his speculations on who had stolen the golden feather. They would sometimes share the noon meal together if she was able to pull herself from the story to do so.

That morning they’d only been seated for a few minutes when he asked his first question.

“How did you come up with the trickery with the boxing match in The Case of the Bareknuckle Groom ? It seems like someone would need to know how to box themselves to have known such a thing.”

“I do sufficient research.” She shrugged.

“You’ve boxed?”

“I have. With Mr. MacLain and his son, Robert. Mind you they made certain not to hurt me, and complained the whole time, but I got enough information out of our bout. I also attended a number of matches to fill in the gaps needed to make it seem believable.”

“It was. I think that is my favorite of your books.”

She went back to her page and got no more than a few words in before he interrupted again.

“Nay. I think it’s The Case of Duke’s Racehorse . That was my favorite. I thought for certain it was the groom then too. If someday you write a book where the villain actually is the groom, I’ll not be expecting it.”

She chuckled at that.

“Very good. I did enjoy writing that one and spending time with the horses at the racetrack. Mr. MacLain managed to have me meet one of the riders so I could ask a few questions. And one evening Robert and I even sneaked onto the racecourse so I could ride the whole thing and envision what it would feel like flying over the hills and seeing the finish flag in the distance.”

He was staring at her with a big smile on his face.

“I think that’s what makes your novels so interesting. All the details make me feel as if I am doing those things as well.”

“Surely you could join a race if you wished.”

He gestured toward his large body. “My horses complain having to carry me about at a normal rate of speed. I can’t imagine one of those light-winded, knobby-legged, Arabians having to take on such a task.”

“They are far sturdier than they look.”

His only answer was noise similar to a “hmm” but somehow grumpier. He went back to reading and she began scrawling again.

It was she who interrupted them next.

“I wonder, my lord, do you know anything about crocodiles?”

He smiled and nodded. “I have a book about them in my library. I will bring it for you tomorrow. But you must tell me what you plan to do.”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” she teased.

“Canny lass,” he said before he began reading again.

*

Shay frowned at the rain pelting the glass of the morning room as he ate his breakfast. It rather reflected his mood this morning, after he’d spent most of the night battling nightmares instead of sleeping.

The shower would not make for an enjoyable walk to the dower cottage. He didn’t mind getting wet, but being wet the rest of the day as he lounged around in Thea’s drawing room was another thing.

He shook his head, wondering why he thought of it as Thea’s drawing room when it was his house. Mayhap because she seemed to belong there and he had no plans to cast her out. He was enjoying her visit too much.

He’d never known how much went into the books he enjoyed. He didn’t know about the research or the almost trance-like way an author slipped into their story without any notice of the outside world. At least, he assumed other authors did the same thing. But then he only knew one author and she’d surely not turned out to be who he would have expected when he read a Theodore Stonecliff novel.

“It looks like a good morning to see to the correspondence piling up in your study,” Mrs. Murray said as she entered the morning room and poured him another cup of coffee.

He frowned at the thought of not being able to go to the dower cottage, but she was right. He had become derelict in his duties as marquess over the past week. It was something he’d promised the auld marquess he would never do. That he would see to his responsibilities and his tenants.

“You see to their needs and they will see to yours. It’s a relationship not unlike a marriage. Not that I would know anything about marriage,” Lord Flemming had said with a wink at Harrington.

Shay had never wanted to let anyone down. Even if he’d once let down the person who’d needed him most.

He went to his study and waded through the letters that had arrived. Martin had sent the accounts for Noire over the past month and Shay frowned. Reese was right, he should sell the business. If anyone found out he was engaging in work, he would be found even more unfit than he already was.

He didn’t need to give the ton any more reasons to find him lacking.

It was different here in Scotland, where he was not looked down upon for his blood. In fact, a large number of the missives that had arrived were invitations to a multitude of events being held locally.

Word spread quickly when the marquess was in residence. Unfortunately, he would have to send his excuses for he’d much rather spend his evenings talking with Thea than attending a dinner or worse yet, a ball.

But his responses would need to wait for now. Because as if the heavens knew he wasn’t to be kept inside, the rain subsided and the sun came out.

He nearly ran into Mrs. Murray on his rush to leave the house.

“I’ve gone through all the correspondence and there’s nothing that needs my immediate attention. I’ll take care of it later,” he explained, though he surely didn’t need to explain anything to his housekeeper. Still he didn’t want her to worry over him.

“Why don’t you have the lady come up to the castle so you would be more comfortable,” Mrs. Murray suggested.

Shay paused in the hall and considered the suggestion, but he couldn’t imagine Thea would agree. Not that he didn’t enjoy the thought of her sitting in his drawing room here, where he would actually fit on the settee.

Then he began to think of other scenarios that were just as unlikely to happen. Like picking her up when she fell asleep at her desk and carrying her off to his bed.

How she would wake up and smile at him, and…

He curbed that fantasy immediately.

“We are fine where we are,” he said as he walked away, pressing a palm against his hardening cock. They were fine where they were, but more importantly they were safer where they were as well.