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Without a word she turned to leave, intrigued by his strange behaviour

Hugh had to endure the dinner party with stoic forbearance The futile talking that went around him did not entertain him Had it always been like that, or his mood drowned today?

His mind elsewhere Reretteddenied what he wanted listed a unusual for him He must be out of hisher configured a mistake, hell Surely, it would be ultimate paradise if he could have her However, he would not No No No! It stood below hient!

There had been , repairs in his country manor Also, he needed an heir, for pity’s sake! Nevertheless, since he had set his eyes on Sarah, he could not bring himself to visit his wife’s cha her It never happened before! He felt degradingly unable to figure out rong with him

When the last guest departed at last, Hugh wanted to take refuge in his chaood He bid Adelaide good night and climbed up As he reached the top step, he looked up to the servants’ bedrooms floor She slept there, on the third room from the left His housekeeper kept a record of the bedroom distribution and he had peeked at it Would she let him in if he crept up there? His dark eyes stared up so intently that he had tothem

Adelaide did not stand far behind, watching him stuck on the top of the stairs She wondered ent on

Sarah lay in her hard e leave the Victorian mansion Sometimes, servants were required to work extra hours in case there were balls or dinner But this ti this relatively small dinner reception

Sarah could not sleep anyway, i about, exposed to the other wolances, and hungry ones at that He could surely have any ossip about other lords love life Lord Hawkht made Sarah feel small Who was she to want a man like that? Of course, he

would never regard her asOne that would cause the loss of her job, possibly She could not afford that She felt unable to stop wanting him anyway Maybe she should enquire around for another position, one that would not tempt her to lose her body, her soul Her mind With that, she turned and fell asleep

CHAPTER 4

Sarah had just finished cleaning the turret’s top floor, which they never used Mrs Talcott asked her to cohten it up The upstairs servants, busy with the guests’ rooms Little there: an old table and chair, probably taken there when new ones arrived

Now she stood in front of the , enjoying the view of the park Lost in thoughts, she heard a noise Startled, she looked back at the door Alht of him made her heart vault He dressed black trousers and white shirt open at the neck, as he usually did when at home Why did he have to be so impossibly attractive?

She turned in an abrupt movement “My lord” She curtsied and kept her eyes on the floor, lest they gave her away

Hugh came up there in search of a place where he would not be disturbed Soet away froh he had just wanted to look at the park and let his thoughts run free, even if they’d be on the woave him a bittersweet taste of heaven He never knew any other servant who appeared so te in uniform

“The view is nice, isn’t it?” His voice came hoarse