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Mrs Guthrie nodded and stared at Greystone as if he were the Messiah and not the beast who’d crawled up froround “I shall leave for the ht away, my lord”

They left Mrs Guthrie’s cottage and turned right onto the narrow country lane Despite the chill in the air, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky Lydia stopped for aleaves—criht to behold

“There’s beauty in the changing seasons,” Lord Greystone said as they watched birds darting in and out of the hedgerows searching for berries “I lish countryside while away”

Lydia couldn’t help but shfares?”

“Most definitely the rain The heat abroad is stifling I cannot tell you how many times I wished the heavens would open and soak me to the skin”

A tantalising picture for to his back, of hilistened on his lips and trickled down to the cleft in his chin “And … and yet you stayed away for so long”

“There wasn’t a day that I didn’t yearn to be hoh “Nohere to next?”

Not all the tenants were as forgiving as Mrs Guthrie, though they knew not to cross words with thefor shelter as well as food and firewood

“I don’t suppose Mr Roberts will take kindly to a visit” Ada’s whisper was loud enough for his lordship to hear

“I don’t suppose he will” Lydia had wanted nothing e of coht made her anxious

“And why is that, Miss Lovell?”

Lydia wasn’t sure where to start “Mrs Roberts died last spring She caught a chill and the damp conditions at home only made matters worse” Lydia closed her eyes briefly It pained her whenever she thought about the three boys weeping at their iven you”

Lord Greystone sucked in a breath He fell silent, his eyes cast down in a aze

“Apportioning blarief,” he said in a melancholic tone that spoke to her heart and piqued her curiosity “And yet we cling on to vengeance as it is the only thing that feels real, the only thing we know”

He spoke from experience, that much was clear, and she found she wanted to peel away the layers of his character to discern what secrets lay beneath