Forever My Princess: The Royal House of Atharia, Book 3

by Gill, Tamara

  What a mess of things she had made, and it was only her first day. She needed to do better, and tomorrow when he left, she would. That she could promise him above all else.

  Chapter 6

  Later that evening, Theo sat at his desk, running through the figures once again, trying to squeeze out any available funds for his upcoming trip to London. Not to mention the carriage wheel that he needed to pay the repairs for.

  He slammed the financial tome closed. There was no use, he could not grow money on trees, and there would be no loose change about the house. He would have to travel to London and wear the same attire he had commissioned for himself two years prior.

  His footman would act as his valet. A position young Sam had been taking up since his previous valet had passed away not long ago.

  The tinkling sound of pianoforte keys met his ears, and he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It had been so many years since he'd heard the ivory notes sing through the house. His mother had not played long before his father had died. He had often wondered if his parents were as happy as he had always thought them. He did not believe they were.

  But what he did know was, right at this moment, the sound of lively music was just what he needed. A little light in his dark world, a small reminder that there were still pretty things to enjoy. That there were still days ahead of him to look forward to.

  Miss Smith was an excellent player, and he had little doubt it was she who made the pianoforte sing.

  Theo stood and went to the door in the library that joined the music room and opened it a fraction. He watched as Miss Smith played with a proficiency of a master, her long, delicate fingers moving over the keys with grace and ability.

  He was fortunate in his choice of companion for his mama, and he was certain he was leaving his parent in capable hands.

  "You play very well, Miss Smith," he said, unable to remain hidden for long. Such playing required compliments, and it would be good practice for when he went to town to find a wife. He noted she did not start, nor did her fingers falter when she recognized his presence. A master indeed.

  "I was taught from a young age, my lord. Your mama wanted to hear some music in the house as she has retired for the night. She assured me she would be able to hear the music from her room. I hope I did not interrupt you, however."

  He waved her concerns away, savoring the sight of her before him. How lovely it was to have company, an intelligent, capable woman under the roof that was not family. Miss Smith had changed into a light-blue gown, reminding him of a clear summer day’s sky. She was a beautiful woman, and he needed to remind himself that she was not for him. Not even when she watched him as she played, a small smile about her sweet lips.

  Lips that begged to be kissed, to savor and taste at every opportunity known to man.

  "Music played by capable hands is never an impediment. My mother is correct. It is very enjoyable to hear the music in the home." Miss Smith continued to play, changing flawlessly into another song, another composer.

  She bit her lip through a difficult passage, and his heart stuttered. What was wrong with him? He should not be admiring her so. Hell, he needed to return to London to gain a rich wife and disregard his wayward thoughts on the lady before him.

  "I'm happy that you enjoy my playing. I will make sure to do it often while I'm here if it will please your mama."

  For a time, Theo could not remove himself, although he ought. She was an unmarried maid, his mother's companion, and he was a lord of marriageable age. Should he be caught here with her, she would be compromised. That he could not marry her to save her reputation, he would forever be judged as a scoundrel who seduced an innocent woman.

  Even so, his feet refused to budge. He lost himself in the notes, admiring how she moved and flowed with the music. The pianoforte had not been tuned for years, but it still played well and sounded divine.

  He had missed nights such as these. To spend a few moments not worrying about how he would pay his staff, keep roofs over his tenants’ heads, and his mama healthy.

  He could not fail any of them. He had to marry well, as unpalatable as that future seemed. Marrying a woman for her fortune had never been what he had wanted, but it was unfortunately something that he had to do.

  The song came to an end, and Miss Smith dropped her hands into her lap from the keys, a pleased smile tilting her lips.

  He clapped, his appreciation heartfelt. "Marvelous, Miss Smith. If my mother does not, I command you to play each evening, even if I am not here. Your playing is insurmountable."

  A light blush kissed her cheeks. He could not stop admiring her charm and warm personality, unlike anyone he had ever met before. He hoped whoever the woman was whom he married would be similar.

  She slipped from the chair and stood before him, dipping into a curtsy. "I will, of course, my lord. Now, I had better go upstairs and check on your mama before I retire."

  Theo stepped out of her way and allowed her to pass. He looked over his shoulder, watching her leave. There was an elegance to her, a grace he could not understand. What had been her upbringing? Why was it she was a lady’s companion and not some gentleman's wife?

  He turned back to the pianoforte, frowning down at it in thought. Perhaps like him, Miss Smith had secrets too and was trying to make the best of her life just as he was.

  He could only hope they would both succeed with their endeavors.

  * * *

  Elena took a calming breath as she reached the base of the stairs. With Lord Lyon watching her play piano, she had been fraught with nerves. How she had managed the difficult pass of Bach she would never know. It had been a long time since she had allowed anyone to hear her play.

  Before their uncle had attempted his coup, she had played often in Atharia, for her family and the royal court. But it had been two years at least since she had done so. Her uncle had deemed her playing inept and had made her play before him and the court, for hours, all the while snarling and throwing out insults at her ability.

  She had come to loathe the instrument, and yet she should not have. She should have directed all her loathing and hate to her uncle. That his lordship appreciated her playing was a soothing balm to an injured soul in need of repair.

  She had watched him take pleasure in the music. For a moment, he had closed his eyes, reveling in her playing, and she thought she might swoon from the temptation he made. A small, mischievous smile had tweaked his lips, and she could not stop thinking of what he would be like to kiss.

  An absurd, silly thought she did not need to have, not when he was about to go to town and find a wife. And certainly not while she was here, living in his house as a lady’s companion and lying to him about it all.

  What if he sees you in London after his wedding? What will you do then?

  Elena raced to the dowager's rooms, peeking into the door and glad to see she was abed but still awake. She knocked on the door, and the marchioness waved her in.

  "What is it, my dear? You do seem pale. Is everything well?" her ladyship asked her, patting the blankets at her side.

  Elena closed the door and went to the bed, seating herself beside the dowager. "It has just occurred to me that in the future, when I return to London, that Lord Lyon may see me there. That he will think I'm a companion attending balls and parties that I should not be attending. What shall I do then? What should I do now about this problem that I did not think about?"

  Elena nibbled her bottom lip. Mayhap she had not thought about her plan to hide in the country all that well after all.

  Her ladyship chuckled. "Never fear, my dear. We shall tell my son the truth of your situation when you're to leave. That is all we can do. I shall make up some excuse for your disguise, but once he knows I was friends with your dear mama, he will not question you being here. He will merely think the disguise was to enable you to be incognito in the country. Safe from gossips, and that you sought his house as a refuge to enable that."

  Elena hoped that
would be the case, but what if it was not? "But will he not be angry? He hired me, and although all of that was by design and above board, I do not want him to be angry. I do not want him to think badly of me," she admitted truthfully. And she did not. Somehow in the last two days that she had known Lord Lyon, she had come to respect him and his choices. She wanted him to feel the same about her.

  "He will not be angry. He rarely loses his temper. My son is incapable of being insulted. He will be honored to have helped you. Now, if you were part of the English royal family, I may have concerns for your standing when it came to my son, but you're from foreign shores. He will not judge you. I'm certain of that."

  Elena hoped that was true, for she did not want to create a scandal or cause any embarrassment for his lordship. Not here in Somerset or back in London.

  "If you're certain," she hedged, hating the idea of his lordship being so upset with her for lying to him that he would no longer treat her with kindness. The year with her uncle had hurt, and she did not think she could stand a bad word from anyone ever again. Not during her entire life.

  "I am very certain, my dear. Now, run along and get some rest. I'm hoping to walk in the gardens again tomorrow and maybe visit the river that I have not sat beside in some months."

  Elena was unsure why she did what she did next, but she leaned over and kissed her ladyship's forehead. "Goodnight, my lady. I look forward to our adventures on the morrow."

  "Good night, my dear," her ladyship stated as Elena stood and started for the door, a pleased smile on the dowager's lips.

  Elena strode to her room, her steps slow as she thought over her ladyship's words and her son, who occupied too much space in her head. As if materializing him from her constant thoughts, she heard the handle of a door at the opposite end of the passage and turned, catching his lordship retiring for the night.

  She ought to go to her room, and yet, she stood there, observing him, stupefied by his very presence. Her heart beat fast, rattling against her ribs, and a fluttering lifted in her belly.

  This was bad. She should not lust over her employer, for that was what he was to her right now. Her silly plan had enabled that ruse, but now she did not want to play the role of companion, not when it came to his lordship. She sighed, her ruse unable to be changed, not now at least. She wasn't here to win the heart of the man down the hall from her. She was here to look after her ladyship and return to her life in four weeks. If he was still unattached then, maybe he could make his interest known.

  Lord Lyon glanced down the hall, and their eyes met, held. He watched her a moment, heat searing her skin as his attention slid over her like a physical touch. His eyes taking in her every feature, her dress right down to her silk slippers before traveling back to her face. Her breathing increased, and she shivered, wishing it were more than his eyes considering her flesh.

  His lordship stepped back and closed the door, the snip of the lock putting paid to her wayward thoughts.

  Her sisters would rip her limbs from her body if they knew she harbored such sinful, ruinous thoughts. She bit her lip. Well, Holly would, at least. Alessa may smirk and congratulate her on becoming a woman she could admire.

  With that thought, Elena ran the rest of the way to her room, shut the door with a determined slam, and locked it too. She wasn't sure if it were to keep his lordship out or herself locked in.

  Chapter 7

  The few staff at Lyon Estate had set up a lovely blanket and picnic basket for her ladyship and Elena to enjoy the following day. With the carriage wheel still being fixed in town, Elena knew the marquess was still about at the estate, and a luncheon down by the river was just what she needed to ensure she kept away from his lordship and his wicked looks that had kept her up half the night.

  Heat crept over her cheeks at the thought of how she had acted the evening before. Whatever would he think of her? Some light skirt, she was sure, a lady’s companion who was after a lord and forward enough to watch him seek his room for the night?

  She was none of those things, but what had possessed her to stand in the passage last evening and ogle his lordship? The stupidity of her actions was beyond her.

  However would she face him when she had to today?

  Thankfully her ladyship broke her fast in her room this morning, and so Elena was not required to breakfast downstairs, but having not eaten anything due to her nerves over what she had done, now she was ravenous.

  Her stomach rumbled as if reminding her of her lack of sustenance. She poured a glass of Madeira for both her ladyship and herself, downing hers before she handed the glass to her ladyship.

  "Here you are, my lady. I shall serve lunch now if you're ready."

  "Serve away, my dear. I'm ready, although the idea of a princess serving a marchioness is preposterous."

  Elena chuckled, handing her ladyship a sweet biscuit that was topped with jam. "If pretending to be someone else enables me some peace, even for a month, I would not mind feeding a bug."

  Her ladyship chewed her food, studying her a moment. "I cannot help but think, my dear, that you would suit my son. Now I know you're not looking to marry just yet, and you wish to remain here for some respite, and I support that of course," her ladyship stated, reaching out to pat her hand. "But he is eligible, and I do believe he is curious about you. Mayhap you ought to tell him the truth now and see if a union between you two may be something that would blossom and grow."

  The memory of his lordship’s heated gaze the evening before materialized in her mind, and she would be a liar if she thought the idea had not occurred to her too. But she could not. A love match was not forced simply because she was here and eligible and wealthy enough to save the estate. "I want to be courted and fallen in love with, my lady. I do not want to marry because I'm eligible. I respect your son, and he is a very attractive man, but I would prefer for my union to happen naturally and without any assistance or pressure from anything else, if you understand. I hope I have not offended you."

  "Of course not," her ladyship stated. "But I am fond of you, and I know your mama would approve of our families joining at last. But I shall step back, allow you to have your time, and find love when love is ready to capture your heart. My son, as you say, is off to London, most probably tomorrow, and I shall look forward to whoever captures his attention to be the next Marchioness of Lyon. I will certainly be glad to release the occupation as soon as he announces his betrothal."

  Elena sipped her drink, taking in their surroundings, the river that flowed slowly before them, the few ducks she could see in the reeds across the other side. They sat under the shade of a large oak, but even in the shadows, the day was uncommonly warm.

  "Have you ever swam here, my lady? There looks to be a sandy verge leading out to the lake here. It's very tempting. I must say," Elena said, the corset and shift under her gown a little sticky from the heat.

  "I have not swum here since Theo was a little boy, but I believe Theo still swims here in the summer. You are more than welcome to, if it pleases you. No one ever comes down in this part of the garden."

  The idea was enticing to sneak away and swim later today when her ladyship took her afternoon rest. "His lordship would not mind if I swam here through the day? I'm supposed to be looking after you, not galloping about the estate as if I'm here enjoying a house party."

  "No, not at all." The dowager laughed, plopping a strawberry into her mouth. "He will have me to answer to if he does, for if I wish for my companion to enjoy a relaxing afternoon swim, that is up for me to decide."

  Elena looked back at the clear, blue water, the sight of it more tempting than even his lordship was right at this moment. "Then I think I shall. Thank you for being so lovely and kind to me."

  The dowager reached out and patted her cheek. "My pleasure, my dear. Now do be a doll and pass me another one of those biscuits. They are divine."

  Elena did so and changed the conversation to his lordship's trip and who she knew to be in town and possible mat
ches for the marquess. The conversation kept her ladyship occupied, but Elena's mind was elsewhere. All she could think about was cooling off in the waters behind her, sooner rather than later, if the oppressive heat became any worse.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Elena snuck out of the house through the terrace doors on the eastern side and ran toward the bank of the river, where she’d sat at lunch with the marchioness.

  With few servants, no one had noticed her departure, and with his lordship having traveled to the nearby village to check on the carriage wheel, it was safe enough to go for a swim.

  Elena stripped off her light muslin gown, stays, stockings, and boots, leaving only her shift. She would have to wash and dry it later today, but the shift would have to do as swimming attire with nothing else to use.

  She flexed her toes in the warm, soft grass before making her way down to the river's edge, dipping one foot into the water. It was cool, but not too cold that one could not swim comfortably.

  Elena looked over her shoulder, checking to see she was indeed alone before stepping onto the sandy bank beneath the water's edge. The cooling sensation instantly made her feel better, and she walked farther out, each step bringing her ever closer to bliss.

  She dived in when it was safe enough to do so, the water refreshing and chill against her heated skin. She laughed, unable to hold back the glee within her that she was here. That she was in Somerset, away from the ton, and the pressures her title brought her. That she was swimming in a river at a country estate, unseen due to being a companion and free to do what she liked, was utter joy.

  She could not help but feel this trip to Lyon Estate was one of her finest ideas to date, and she was a little proud of herself for doing what she did. She dived into the water again to celebrate.