Chapter Three

“M ay I please have my valise?” Flora whispered.

Lennox sighed at Flora’s demure request. He missed the hellcat who constantly defied him. He did not care for the demure governess in the slightest. She was a version of polite society he refused to bend to. Why she succumbed to it was beyond him. But he aimed to find out. While he was aware of every intricate facet of Flora’s personality, it would appear he still had much to discover about her. The question remained if she would allow him to.

“In the morning, I promise to hand it over. For now, we need our rest. I informed Somerville of my arrival early on the morrow.” Lennox ripped at the cravat choking his neck.

Flora’s eyes widened as Lennox undressed. She glanced over her shoulder to see if they were still alone. “Lennox,” she hissed.

Lennox halted before pulling the shirt over his head. “Aye?”

Flora’s hand fluttered around her neck. “What are ye doing?”

“Getting ready for bed.”

When he pulled off his shirt, Flora shut the door. “’Tis not proper. We are having a discussion.”

Lennox settled on a chair and tugged his boots off. “Lass, we have finished our discussion. I need a few hours of sleep. I spent the day traveling and then had to search Edinburgh for my better ...”

Flora growled. “Nay.”

“Aye. However, I agree ‘tis not the moment for that discussion. But we will hold it before you part again. I have made a compromise about your departure tomorrow. For now, we both shall sleep under this roof,” Lennox demanded.

Flora fumed while trying to maintain a calm composure. She refused to allow Lennox to see how he flustered her nerves. However, with each piece of clothing he discarded, she found herself swooning. The Scottish barbarian held the ability to get his way in every disagreement.

If she dared to raise her voice and argue her point, it would draw the other servants’ notice. It surprised her that they hadn’t interrupted them. While she kept as quiet as possible, Lennox’s boisterous voice echoed around them. She only prayed no one realized it was her. If so, she feared the rumors following her from England would start anew. She may have been on friendly terms with the other servants, but it wouldn’t stop them from gossiping. No matter who she was or what her relationship with Lennox was.

He may portray himself as Lord Hepburn, but he was no lord. Another matter they had yet to discuss. However, she wouldn’t concern herself over the topic since she didn’t care in the slightest about his false appearance. If he fooled others, then shame on them for not recognizing a scoundrel.

She took a step forward to grab her valise, but Lennox shook his head and laid his arm across the bag, making it impossible for her to claim it. Flora stomped her foot before spinning around to leave before she lost what remained of her sanity. He only had to unbutton the placket of his trousers and she would find herself unable to resist the pull between them. The sight of his bare chest in the flickering light stirred memories she fought to forget.

Flora hurried to her bedchamber and closed the door with a splintering click, causing her to wince. She leaned against the panel and closed her eyes, attempting to clear the image of Lennox discarding his clothes with a familiarity he had no reason to claim.

Yet he held every right to do so.

She shook her head and pushed herself from the door to settle on the chaise near the window. Flora drew the shades away from the windowpane and glanced along the lane in front of the townhome. Nothing stirred outdoors to give any indication of a threat that lay in wake for her. She would wait for Lennox to fall asleep and then make her escape. When she attempted to leave earlier, she hadn’t allowed enough time for him to fall asleep. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Also, it would be safer for her to depart at dawn. Then the household would be afoot, and the street vendors would peddle their fares. No one would take notice of her departure. She would convince Murray, the butler, to hire her a hackney with the excuse of Lady Courtland requiring her immediate attendance. Vivian would convince her husband, Lord Courtland, to request Flora’s personal items be delivered to their residence. With their help, they would keep her protected from Lennox’s agenda.

Whatever that may be.

~~~~~

L ENNOX CHUCKLED AS Flora scampered away. He would take immense pleasure in drawing her out of the pretense she had forced herself into. He longed for the vexing miss who challenged him at every turn. The lass who tempted him with her snark and passion for life. The lady who fled his room was a pale version of her former self.

He laid the blame at his feet for his insensitive handling of their relationship before she escaped Scotland for the prim and proper society of London, a civilization that had stolen the fierceness from her soul with their hypercritical viewpoints of proper behavior. They condemned Flora and her friends for seeking justice for the innocent while they continued with their impropriety of sin. Lennox promised himself to rescue her from her predicament and bring her home, a task that would be no easy feat but one he would enjoy with immense pleasure.

For now, he must keep her safe under his roof until morning. Once the servants returned, she wouldn’t dare cause a scene. Then he would convince the gentlemen that it would be in Flora’s best interest to remain under his protection, leaving Flora at his mercy while he began his seduction. Flora Grant was his and his alone, and no one could state otherwise.

Lennox grabbed a pillow and tugged the quilt off the mattress. He treaded along the hallway, stepping over the boards that creaked to Flora’s bedchamber. He pressed his ear to the door and heard her soft mutterings through the panel. With a smile, he settled on the floor and arranged the pillow and quilt into a makeshift bed.

While not the comfort of a mattress he longed for, it would do for the next few hours. At least it held the comfort of warmth, a luxury the blustering outdoors didn’t hold. He drew the quilt around himself and settled his head on the pillow. His last thoughts were of a lass with flowing red hair, laughing in his arms while he dipped his head for a kiss.

A memory of a stolen moment he had never forgotten.

~~~~~

F LORA CRACKED THE DOOR open enough to see if anyone lingered in the hallway. She heard the other servants rise and leave their bedchambers, but she didn’t know if anyone was nearby. Once she noticed she was alone, she drew on her coat and made her way belowstairs. As she reached the landing, the butler stepped from the shadows.

Flora brought her hand to her chest. “You startled me, Murray.”

“My apologies, Miss Grant.”

Flora nodded, biting her bottom lip. She glanced along the hallway, expecting Lennox to appear. “Has Lord Hepburn risen yet?”

Murray nodded. “Yes.”

The butler offered Flora no more information. She wanted to question him further but held her curiosity back. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself more than necessary. Nor could she request Murray to gather her valise from the lord’s bedchamber. That would only draw forth unwanted gossip. Her best recourse would be to hire a hackney to deliver her to Vivian’s, and then the Courtlands could help retrieve her belongings.

“I will take a walk this morning.” Flora started for the door.

“Very well, miss. Then you do not require the carriage?”

Flora paused. “The carriage?”

“Yes. Lord Hepburn has arranged the carriage at your disposal and is awaiting your instructions for your destination,” Murray explained.

Flora didn’t expect that turn of events. She had thought Lennox would refuse to fulfill his promise and she would have to sneak away. However, he proved her wrong. Still, she wondered if it was a ruse and he laid a trap for her to fall into. Again, she wanted to question Murray but couldn’t without revealing too much.

A conundrum Lennox must have anticipated in luring her to his advantage. Unfortunately, the barbarian knew her too well. He laid an offer before her that she would find impossible to resist. If she didn’t grasp the opportunity, who knew when she would find a chance to leave before Lennox pulled her under his spell again?

“Is the carriage prepared to leave now?” Flora inquired.

Murray moved toward the door. “Yes.”

Flora stood to the side while Murray opened the door and snapped his fingers for a footman to escort her to the carriage. “You only need to inform the driver of your destination.”

Flora nodded, too stunned by the servants’ swift actions to voice a reply. They treated her as if she were the lady of the house instead of a mere servant. A position that rang false from Lennox’s deceit. While she longed to gain knowledge of his scam, she couldn’t risk the opportunity to escape his clutches, not when he so willingly granted her the means to flee.

The footman helped her to embark into the carriage. She noticed her valise resting on the carriage floor before she sat down. The sight caused a twinge in her chest. She should feel relief at not having to bargain for the return of her belongings, yet Lennox’s easy reluctance to accommodate her wishes left her saddened that he wouldn’t fight for her.

Flora shook her head. She didn’t care if Lennox raised no objections to her departure. She only felt relief that he made it possible for her to leave with such ease. What did she expect? That he would express his undying love for her? Preposterous.

“Is something troubling you, lass?”

Flora jerked her head up and gawked at the impossible brute sprawled across the seat from her. What she had failed to notice were the boots next to her valise. The emotional gesture had scrambled her thoughts not to see her escape wasn’t without stipulations. Now with the carriage in motion, she must endure the torture of Lennox’s company.

Flora sighed with resignation. “Aye.”

Lennox quirked an eyebrow. “Please tell.”

“Nay. I shall suffer in silence.”

Lennox chuckled. “Ah, lass, never a moment is a bore in your company.”

Flora harrumphed her reply. It was too early in the morn to trade barbs with Lennox. He always confused her to where she couldn’t control her thoughts without showing too much of her emotions. And since his arrival the night before, he had flustered her emotions beyond understanding the depth of what his appearance truly meant to her. It was best to resign herself to his direction that morning until she could devise a plan to rid herself of him entirely.

Lennox’s smile only grew wider at Flora’s silence. She never failed to amuse him, whether with her silence or with her cutting barbs. However, her silence since his arrival troubled him more than he cared to admit. While charming, it also held a bittersweet quality of finality that disarmed him. He much preferred her bite. It at least gave him a sense of familiarity that they would conquer the difficulties of their relationship.

Relationship was a complex word that was unable to define the complexity of what they meant to each other. It was a mundane word with its simplicity, and he refused to allow it to define the essence of what connected him to Flora. They were both at fault for their assumptions in the past. However, the future before them would hold an unbreakable trust.

Flora peeked out from under her lashes to catch Lennox’s bold gaze resting upon her. His smile was one of amusement but not his usual smirk of arrogance. His silence unsettled her to the degree that she was on the verge of confessing every secret she had ever held, one that would bind her to him for an eternity if she didn’t keep her silence.

She inwardly sighed at how magnificent he appeared that morning. She fought to keep her hands in her lap and not smooth down her hair. In her rush, she had left without putting on a bonnet. Flora had had a restless night tossing and turning in her bed, anxiously waiting for morning to arrive. However, Lennox appeared as if he had had a well-rested night. His eyes shined brightly, and not a single hair stood out of place. Its usual wildness, tamed in a style befitting a gentleman, made it impossible for her to find fault with him. Even though she preferred the golden red strands in waves of disarray.

His impeccable attire suited his frame to perfection, as if he had spent a lifetime adorned in such clothing, instead of being bare-chested in the summer with only a kilt to cover his privates. Even in the cooler months, Lennox could be found scantily attired while he labored along with his clansmen, a sight she enjoyed more times in secret than she felt comfortable admitting. Even now, presented with a different version of Lennox than she was used to, she could only admire his fine appearance. All the more reason to separate herself from him.

She could take the silence no more. “Where is our destination?”

Lennox flicked the curtain to peer out the window. “I am to call upon Somerville this morning. You, however, I am to deliver to the park you frequent with your friends for a visit.”

“And your promise, I suppose, I am to forget like your ones from before?”

Lennox pierced Flora with a gaze that had her regretting her comment. “One I plan to fulfill after my meeting is agreeable with my concern for your safety. I thought it beneficial to abide by the duke’s request for this morning’s agenda. If you find any fault with the arrangement, then you are welcome to join me to voice your objections. If not, you can visit with your friends. The duke has assured me he has you ladies well protected.”

Before Flora could offer an apology for her assumption, the carriage rolled to a stop. Lennox descended and held out his hand to assist Flora down. While it was an honorable gesture, it ignited a pulsing need throughout Flora. However, when Lennox dropped her hand after she steadied herself, losing his touch affected her greatly. She had offended him, therefore his distance shouldn’t surprise her. Except it did.

“Somerville has arranged for you ladies to join us for tea after our discussion. I will see you then to make arrangements for your departure. Enjoy your visit.”

Lennox tipped his hat before climbing back into the carriage. He didn’t offer any affectionate endearments but treated her as a servant. Not as his ... She must refrain from referring to herself as his ... If she spoke their connection aloud, then she forced herself to remain under his care.

Care her heart longed for but one she denied.