Chapter 183: Hostess
Suddenly rembering that he was there, she sat up and turned to him.
He was hidden in the shadows, leaning heavily against the chair and breathing gently.
Was he asleep? Well, he must have been travelling since the early hours, she mused.
Quietly, she stood up and went to stand in front of him.
His eyes were closed and his face looked utterly relaxed.
"Your Grace."
His eyes snapped open imdiately. He glanced around the room, raising a brow when he saw that it was empty.
"You should be going if you have any intentions of reaching Glenwood before midnight."
He blinked and stared at her.
His gaze was blank, almost as if he were seeing through her rather than at her.
"Yes, I should be going." He stood up and smoothed his coat.
Claire took a step back to give him room to pass.
Tears began to well behind her eyes but she refused to shed them.
He started out of the room without a word to her.
She followed behind him quietly, telling herself that she was just making sure that he was going.
When he reached the front entrance, he spun on his heel so abruptly that she nearly bumped into him.
"I feel like I should take you with ." He said, as if discussing the weather rather sothing intense.
Claire blinked in response. "Get that ridiculous feeling out of your head, Your Grace. I hope you find so other woman to control." The words slipped out before she could think better about them. And there was no denying the pain her words brought to them both - especially her.
How could she even encourage him to look for another woman?
As if she didn’t know she would march to that castle and stab the woman a thousand tis until she was satisfied if she existed...
"Perhaps, I will. Just like I expect you would."
Then he produced sothing wrapped in a cloth and put it in her hands.
"Do not open it until I have gone."
The look in his eyes warned her against defying him.
What did he give her?
She couldn’t help thinking that if she hadn’t lost her baby, she would have probably been preparing to be his bride, not parting with him so miserably.
But a gloomy voice warned her that it would never happen.
It was hopeless to dream.
She followed him down the steps and stopped at the last one.
A tear slipped from her left eye before she could stifle it.
"Thank you for going out of your way to safely deliver us." She muttered.
He half-turned to look at her.
If anything, she thought he looked angry. His eyes were dark, darker than they usually were and his face was a cold mask.
"I don’t accept such high-handed appreciation from won who have shared my bed more tis that I care to count."
She coloured and flashed him a fake smile.
"Why do you not co in and have so tea with ? Besides, I don’t think I told you the rest of the tale concerning the wine."
"Tea? I would rather have wine, Lady Stenly."
She folded her arms. "I’m the lady of the house now, take what I’m offering or leave it."
A dangerous smirk curved his lips and she felt her stomach flutter.
Was she making a mistake by inviting him back? She should have just said farewell to him and been on her way.
But the look on his face had managed to get to her...
She was beginning to lose her autonomy around him, she thought.
Just as she turned to return to the house, she saw her sister and Arlan lying in the freshly cut grass and staring up at the sky. They laid side by side, pointing to things that only the two of them could see.
Yeren followed her gaze and looked at them.
"Perhaps you should limit how much ti they spend together? Your sister has yet to even co inside to eat or take a bath." He said, his voice suggestive.
Claire stopped walking.
"Rory!" Her sister’s head snapped up.
"Yes, Claire."
She climbed to her feet and ran towards Claire.
Her face was flushed from the exhaustion and her eyes glittered in a way Claire hadn’t seen in a while.
"Co along and have so tea with us, you should be hungry."
But Rory quickly shook her head. "I’ll have tea in the kitchen with Arlan. I don’t want to interrupt you... two." Then she turned and bounded away like she had received permission for her wishes.
Claire and Yeren exchanged glances before entering the house.
She led him to the drawing room she knew by heart and then went down to the kitchens to inform them to send tea and cakes up to them.
Claire was startled by how young the cook looked, having never t him before. He had bright green eyes like hers and Aurora’s but dark brown hair and a slender face. He was tall as well, with his shoulders falling inwards from having to bend over so much.
"My lady!" He left what he was doing and rushed to stand before her, his hands clasped behind his back.
Stunned by the intensity with which his eyes were fixed on her, she busied herself by glancing around the strange room. It looked just like any standard kitchen would, though everything looked like they were much older than the very people that stood in the room.
"Ah, yes. Please bring a few cakes and two cups of mint tea to the drawing room. And," She smiled as she started away, "do make haste. Our guest is in a terrible hurry."
When she returned back to the drawing room, she found him seated just where she had left him. His eyes were closed, but it was obvious he wasn’t sleeping this ti.
"You have taken to your role very easily. I can just imagine how long you have been planning to leave the castle." He said, his eyes closed.
She opened her mouth to speak but found that she had nothing to say in her defense.
But he wasn’t finished. "I hope you weren’t eager to cut off ties with
so you could run into another man’s arms, Lady Stenly."
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