Tananguard 02 - To Love a Lord by Diedre Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

“housekeeper. I left for maybe an hour, and this is what I come back to.” She shook her head.
    “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Lovegood. Please, come in,” he said, motioning inside , not that he needed to if she lived here.
    She eyed him nervously then sighed. “Distrusting old woman,” she grumbled to herself as she stepped inside the house. She kept him in her sights, though, as she made her way over to the sofa. “Josephine. Josephine, sweetheart, wake-up dear,” Mrs. Lovegood tried.
    Sophia groaned, but nothing more.
    “How long has she been like this?”
    “Well, when I arrived, she’d had a bit to drink, and now I believe she’s sleeping it off,” Connor admitted.
    Mrs. Lovegood shook her head. “Something must have happened to cause her to do that. She rarely drinks anything stronger than tea. Take her upstairs to her room. The best thing for her is sleep.”
    Connor nodded. “Care to show me where to go?”
    The woman smiled. “Of course. Pick her up and follow me.”
    Connor scooped Sophia gently into his arms. She woke up just enough to look at him and smile. It damned near took his breath away. The woman was a disaster, but she was still beautiful.
    “Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?” she asked quietly. She sighed in pleasure and fell right back to sleep.
    Connor smiled. This day was getting better by the moment. He followed Mrs. Lovegood to the hall off of the living room. The hall led to the stairs which led up and to Sophia’s bedchambers. There were three rooms upstairs along a long, narrow hallway. The rooms weren’t large, but they were comfortable. The first, he was informed, was Mrs. Lovegood’s. Sophia’s was at the end.
    Sophia ’s room was the largest. It had a nice sized bed in it that he placed her in before gently covering her with the blankets. He stared at her a moment. She still had smudges of dirt on her face, but she looked peaceful in sleep.
    “Come, young man. She is settled. I think it’s time you were on your way,” Mrs. Lovegood said.
    “I’m not leaving until she wakes up,” he stated. He frowned at himself. Why not? he wondered. She was obviously in good hands, but he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to make certain she truly was well before he left, and that wouldn’t happen until he had a good conversation with her.
    “Well, you can’t stay up here. We’ll discuss it downstairs.”
    He followed her downstairs.
    “So you insist o n staying?” Mrs. Lovegood asked. “You realize I cannot allow that.”
    Connor sighed. He did realize that in fact. “Yes, I see that you are correct. It would be improper.”
    She seemed to sigh in relief. “Then you will go and allow me to keep watch over Josephine.”
    Josephine, he thought. The name sounded strange after calling her Sophia all day, but it did feel right. “Yes,” he answered. “But I will be back come sunrise.”
    “Fare enough. Shall we leave her in peace then?”
    “You’re not staying?” he asked in surprise.
    Mrs. Lovegood jumped at the question. “Oh…of course I am. I live here.”
    Connor nodded.
    She began walking toward the door, motioning for Connor to do the same. “Don’t worry, young man. All will be well,” she reassured.
    Connor sighed in defeat and allowed Mrs. Lovegood to escort him from the house.
     
    It was dark out as Connor made his way home. There were cutpurses and thieves out, but he knew how to handle himself. He was not an easy target and most could sense that. He usually carried himself with a confident air, a dangerous air, and most stayed away. Tonight, however, was not one of those nights. He walked slouched over, frowning and not paying attention to his surroundings. He was thinking of Sophia and his last thoughts before his meal had been interrupted. It felt right thinking of her next to him in that house. It felt right even thinking of her as his wife, and he realized he wanted to see if he could make that happen. It was shocking how