Chapter 7

Paul had been acting strange all morning long. He was behaving smugly, as if he had some leverage over William, but of course he would not say anything of substance. William had no idea how to get through to Paul, so he figured that he might have better luck with Violet.

He felt like she had been avoiding him over the last couple of days, ever since the almost kiss moment because she did not seem to have the same idea as him. She did not seem as keen to kiss him to see if they could get it out of their systems.

But now he was going to have to find her, to confront her to see if there was something that Paul was hiding. He found himself surprisingly excited to track her down, and to have a conversation with her…

He spotted her, sitting in the drawing room, studying a piece of paper in her hands intently. Immediately his heart raced as he drank in her beauty. She was always so lovely, no matter what she was wearing and how she had her hair. William could not take his eyes off of her, especially now because she was not looking back at him.

He wanted to kiss those plump lips of hers, to taste the perspiration lacing her skin. He wanted to hear her moan and to know what she looked like at her most vulnerable and exposed moment…

He wanted her terribly, and that ache to touch her seemed to grow every single day.

It was only when Violet seemed to sense his eyes upon her, and she glanced up to meet his gaze, that he realized how heavy the cloud of sadness was that was hanging over her head.

What had happened? Were her emotions linked to Paul? What on earth had her brother done? William stepped in closer towards her, needing to figure it out.

"Miss Lambourne, what has happened? Are you alright?"

Violet brushed her feelings to one side as quickly as she could, before forcing a thin-lipped smile on her face. She was trying to cover up, which made William sad. He wished that she would open up to him and talk to him about things.

But of course she would not, because at the moment he was the enemy. She was going to see him as the man who was throwing her out of her home.

"I am fine, just enjoying my free time. How about you?"

Just as William took a seat, one of the maids from his own estate came rushing into the room to see if he needed tea. William shook his head and sent her away. He wanted to talk with Violet without being disturbed.

"Yes, I am fine."

"Are you enjoying making all the changes to Eagleton Manor? I am sure it is a lot of fun, Your Grace. The world is your oyster."

William did not respond to the obvious sarcasm in Violet"s voice. "I have not been making any changes. Just keeping on top of the place. It is not an easy place to upkeep because it is such a large house."

"Yes, I know. I have spent my whole life living here."

William became even more certain that there was something on the paper that Violet had been reading which upset her. She might not be telling him everything that was going on in her life, but she was certainly taking her frustration and sadness out on him.

"Well, I am sure the next house you live in will be just as lovely." William smiled, trying to get the conversation back on track before he brought it around to Paul. "When you have a wealthy husband to look after you, the home you live in will be wonderful and I am sure you will have the staff to help keep the house clean."

Violet scowled at him. "I will be out of here soon. You do not need to worry."

He was not worried. In fact, William felt more worried about losing Violet to some man who did not deserve her. More so if he did not get the chance to kiss her before that moment.

"And what about Lord Eagleton?" It was time to see what Violet knew about Paul"s planning. "What is he planning to do? Has he said anything to you?"

Violet"s eyes darkened. "Paul is hardly here anymore. I do not know what he is doing. I am sure he will find a way to land on his feet though, he always does."

Interesting. So he had not confided in Violet either. William could tell from the transparency on Violet"s face that she knew nothing. He might have been smug and acting like he had something to hold over William, but it seemed like there was nothing.

Or at least nothing solid.

William could not help but wonder if Paul was in a gambling house again. Perhaps that was why Violet was so sad. It was bound to be worrying her if her brother was risking more. She certainly looked frazzled, like she had an intense strain pressing down on her.

"I am sure you are right," he declared, hoping that he could lift Violet"s eyes off the floor once more. "I am sure Lord Eagleton will be just fine. You as well. You may look back on all of this with a lightness in your heart."

"You think I will one day be pleased that my brother gambled the house away?" Violet scoffed. "Yes, I am sure the day will come when I see this as all very positive. I shall be excited to look back at my past and to recall Paul losing it all, forcing me into a marriage long before I am ready for it. I thought that I would at least have until the Season…"

Her words trailed off because the Season was months away. This truly was a bad time for her to be looking for a husband, especially with Paul"s reputation growing worse by the minute.

William wished that there was something he could say to make Violet feel a little better about all of this, but he had a funny feeling that any words he might utter would only make everything so much worse.

"Anyway, I am not sure why you are so concerned," Violet bit out, filling the void of silence that William had inadvertently created. "You already know that I will be out by of here by the end of the month. I have given you my word."

"Why I care?" William was incredulous. "What on earth gives you the opinion that I care?"

Violet rose to her feet and started to pace up and down in the drawing room. William could not help but notice that she kept crossing his path. It was almost as if she wanted to get closer to him, but did not know how to do so. If that was what she required, then he had no issue with it. It thrilled him to the bone to imagine grabbing hold of her arm again and to press her up against the nearest wall so they could finally explore this sizzling sensation between them.

William had ever experienced it before, and he was desperate to know what it was, and where it could lead. Surely, if no one found out about their little moment together, then no reputations had to be ruined. There was nothing to worry about.

He could not stop the smile from spreading across his face as the inner turmoil circled through Violet. She had no reason to worry, not with him.

"You are always asking things," she finally spat out, her words filled with venom. "Asking me about what Paul"s plans are, when it is obvious that my brother does not talk to me. You have been here for a while now, have you not seen how little he speaks to me? He is never going to tell me anything, even if he does have a plan."

All William could do was nod. He knew that if he said anything at that moment, he would upset Violet even more than she already was.

"And you are far too interested in me as well." She paused in front of him and jabbed her finger hard in to his chest. "Always wanting to know what is going on with me and my plans. My match making. I might not want to tell you what is happening."

She stepped back from him, creating a bit of distance between them but that did not mean he missed the tears shining in her eyes. A thick lump formed in his throat as he started to realize what might be on the paper Violet was studying so hard before.

Perhaps this was a rejection of some kind. One of her many potential suitors might have changed his mind about wanting to marry her. Perhaps he was never really interested in the first place, or maybe he had met Paul or heard of his reputation and had decided to back off. Either way, any rejection was going to hurt. Especially when there was a deadline looming over her. This was not what he wanted to happen when he came here…

"I am just interested in my investment," he declared in a teasing tone, hoping that he might be able to lure her out of her sadness a little. "I have invested in you and your family as well as Eagleton Manor. At least for the month while I am here."

"Huh, investment." Violet shot him a scathing look. "I see. So it is within your best interests to know how I am doing, so you can see how soon I will be out of here. This is all about getting your claws in to Eagleton Manor and using it to your advantage." She stared at him with sheer horror in her eyes. "This house, which I have lived in for my whole life, is just a playground to you now. Me and Paul are in your way, and all you want to do is throw us out. Then you can have your gardeners transform the outside, and redecorate the place where my mother and father used to live before they passed away. You just want to change it all, so it is like we were never here. So that no one will remember me and Paul when we are gone. Out on the streets or wherever we will wind up…"

As Violet paused to catch her breath, William regretted everything. Now all he wanted to do was tell her the truth, but he was not sure how well she would take it. It might just push her further away now and create more of a rift than anything else.

"Miss Lambourne, please…"

"Oh stop." She snorted with derision. "I think we might be beyond polite titles now. What do you think? You should just call me Violet. We might as well be on first name terms, since you are up ending every part of my life."

"Violet." William could not help himself. He liked the way that her name felt on his lips. "I would also like it if you called me William."

She nodded, but with the same glazed over look in her eyes that he had noticed started to come every time she found something hard to deal with.

"Fine, William…"She sucked in a sharp deep breath. "You are interested in my marriage proposals because of your investment. If that is the case, then I think you should know that I currently do not have any. This is not proving to be very easy. But I promised that I would be out of here within a month and I will not let you down. I will find someone to marry."

William was so struck by the emotions flowing through Violet that he found himself saying something he never thought he would. Especially with all the conflicting feelings rushing through him, but she looked so sad that he simply could not help himself. He wanted to do whatever he needed to, to make things right.

"Violet, is this something that you would perhaps like me to help you with?"