“Yes?” He raised an eyebrow in question, fighting the urge to close the distance between them.
“I was wondering if …” her words trailed off again as she licked over her lips, her chest moving systematically beneath the confines of her dress.
Benedict shifted forward, locking his gaze on hers as she lowered the stack of papers onto her lap and returned his lustful gaze. He was about to stand and act upon his desires when the parlour door suddenly opened.
“My Lord, there is a visitor at the gate who demands to see you at once,” Thomas announced with his nose in the air.
‘Who is it? You know I haven’t admitted anyone in years. Why are you bothering me now with this?” Benedict snapped as he sat back in the chair, clutching the armrests until his knuckles turned white.
The man had the annoying habit of interfering in matters at the worst times. It was because of him that Benedict had lost his nerve and returned to his room. Why the man felt the need to prowl the halls at night as if he were a guard was a mystery to him.
Thomas seemed hurt by the reproachful response but held his head high, nonetheless. “I would naturally have shown the guest away, My Lord, but Lady Eleanor Spencer is most insistent that she sees you at once.”
A cold shiver ran down his spine as Benedict stared at his butler. Eleanor Spencer was a name that he hadn’t heard in years; he’d turned her away and refused to see her again after his parents’ deaths.
The room fell deathly quiet for a moment before Benedict glanced at Livinia; her face had taken on an ashy appearance as if she’d received a shock. He wanted to ask her what the matter was, but Thomas stood his ground as if he were guarding a post.
“I do not mean to push the matter, My Lord, but I do not think that the lady will take no for an answer, not on this occasion.” Thomas placed his hands behind his back and lifted his nose in the same smug manner that Benedict had come to resent. He would have given the man his marching orders if it hadn’t been for his fierce loyalty over the years.
“Very well, show her inside.” Benedict felt his gut wrenching with anger as Thomas bowed and left the room. There was no point in delaying the inevitable if Eleanor were adamant; she’d always been like a hungry dog with a bone when she’d set her mind to anything.
Livinia was about to stand when Benedict motioned for her to stay. “This won’t take very long; you can stay where you are,” he said a little more gruffly than he’d intended.
She seemed uncomfortable but did as he said, placing her hands in her lap with the letters on the sofa beside her.
“Benedict, darling, why on earth did you not let me know that you would be attending the ball last night? I never attend those boring things anymore, but of course, I would have made an exception for you if I’d known,” Eleanor said, entering the room and purring seductively as she locked her gaze on his.
The years they had been apart hadn’t proved to age her at all. Her sun-kissed skin from her foreign mother was just as smooth and wrinkle-free as he’d imagined. Her light blue eyes sparkled mischievously as she batted her long lashes in his direction.
Her jet-black hair that had been pinned to the back of her head stood out in stark contrast to the pale beauty of Livinia. She was the polar opposite of the governess who had entered his house and taken over his thoughts.
Turning to Livinia before Benedict could even answer, Eleanor looked her over with a smirk. “Benedict, since when have you allowed the help to lounge about in the parlour like this?”
She turned back to him with cold indifference, removing her coat and handing it to Thomas. “Never mind why. I would like to speak with you alone; there is a lot that we need to catch up on,” she purred again and waited for Benedict to do as she said.
Feeling his rage building in his chest at the sudden intrusion, he dismissed Thomas and Livinia with an apologetic glance in her direction that he hoped she’d seen.
Eleanor waited for the door to close behind them before taking Livinia’s place and sighing. “Now, where were we?”
Benedict clenched his jaw and glanced back at the door.
***
Livinia waited for Thomas to fetch the tea before hurrying back to the door and pressing her ear against the wood. She knew she should give them privacy and remember her place, but her curiosity had once again reared its head. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful in all the ways that she wasn’t.
She wondered if Benedict preferred dark-haired women with lithe figures to her curvier frame. She had always considered herself thin, but Eleanor Spencer looked as if a simple gust of wind would blow her over. Her mind raced with all kinds of questions as she struggled to listen to their conversation. Would this mean that the woman would be coming around more often? And how did Benedict feel about her sudden appearance?
She hadn’t been able to read his expression when his eyes had glided over her body with the tight white dress.
“I was hurt when I heard that you had re-entered Society without so much as a thought for me, Benedict. I want you to end this ridiculous silence between us,” Eleanor purred with a lilt in her voice that set Livinia’s teeth on end.
Just who does the woman think she is? Barging in as if she owned the place.
His past love.
Livinia felt her chest constrict with a strange sensation as if the rug had suddenly been pulled from beneath her feet. Her body suddenly felt cool with shock as the voices became muffled.
“I am not back in Society. I simply allowed Lady Theodora to attend her first ball; nothing else has changed.” Benedict’s voice seemed strained with emotion.
But what emotion?
Her heart slowly began to thud in her chest again. Was he sad, annoyed, or even angry with the sudden intrusion, or was he happy?
“Ah, yes, lovely Theodora, how is she? I would love to see her again. I’ve heard that she’d become quite the young woman.” Eleanor’s voice grew fainter as if she were moving about the room.
Livinia couldn’t help wondering if she was moving toward Benedict. Was she running her hands over his shoulders or whispering in his ear? She raised a hand to her chest and pressed her fist against the ache growing in her heart.
“And how did you hear of how my sister is doing? I find it hard to believe that all of the ton is preoccupied with my household after all these years.” The note of anger and suspicion in his voice eased the ache in Livinia’s chest a little.
“Don’t sound so accusing, Benedict. You know that your absence from Society has caused quite a stir over the years. Word travels fast when anything new arises with people like us; you should know that by now.” Her words held a certain insinuation that didn’t go unnoticed by Livinia.
People like Eleanor and Benedict held the ton’s attention in all matters, whether good or bad. She was once again reminded of her position in his life.
“Miss Campbell, what on earth are you doing?” Thomas hissed behind her, making her jump away from the door as if it had bitten her.
“I was just …” Her eyes darted towards the door, making her ashamed that she had been eavesdropping.
“You were just listening to matters that have nothing to do with you,” he continued to hiss under his breath before placing the tea tray on a nearby table.
