"There is a little voice in my head telling me it would not be wise to continue," Eloise responded, regretting being so careless.

"I am not a jealous man, and I am the one who married you, so what need would there be to be jealous now?"

"It truly isn’t a serious matter. I frequented his home quite often, so everyone around us thought we would get married once we came of age. We never had such thoughts and remained friends. He got married before I left the countryside," Eloise shared.

"Did he? We should send him a bottle of wine and news of your marriage to me," Damien suggested.

"A letter will be enough. I must write to him to inform him and his family of my father’s passing, so I will speak of the marriage then. He doesn’t drink, so a bottle of wine would be out of the ordinary. We should continue with the tour," Eloise said, in an effort to distract Damien.

"Sending a bottle is merely a kind gesture. Eventually, I want to hear more about your time in the countryside. It has been some time since we frequented our countryside home. Perhaps I should arrange a trip to the countryside for the two of us," Damien considered.

"I will not take you to where I lived if you will bother an old friend. To be safe, I will not tell you his name. He is married to a lovely woman," Eloise said, hoping to end Damien’s curiosity. "We are not more than friends."

"Do you care for me more?" Damien asked, enjoying seeing Eloise restless.

"I- You are teasing me, aren’t you? I am quite close to giving myself the tour and leaving you be," Eloise said, pulling her hand out of Damien’s hold to punish him. "Perhaps you are the one in need of a punishment."

This piqued Damien’s interest. "Then, punish me. Why are you easing away from me, Eloise?"

"I am not easing away from you. I am giving you room to be comfortable," Eloise said, continuing to put distance between her and Damien. "I think I have seen enough and need to rest. I will also retire to my bed and return in time for dinner. Thank you for the tour."

"I will join you shortly," Damien said, watching with great interest as Eloise tried to slip away from him.

Little did Eloise know, Damien loved a chase when it came to her.

Eloise couldn’t run forever, and eventually her feelings would catch up to her.

Damien watched as Eloise retreated to the second floor, most likely planning to worry her little head about what had happened between them.

Damien smiled, looking forward to their second night sharing a bed.

Now that Eloise was in a better mood, he went in search of Gage and Aiden.

Damien visited the rooms selected for his guards to use when they were in the estate, and knocked on the door.

"It must be Silas with the drinks. You’re late- Lord Hawthorne," Aiden panicked, looking back at Gage, who smiled like a fool.

"You two know you are not to drink while you are meant to be working. If you get drunk and fail to protect my wife, I’ll skin you alive and send your remains to your mothers," Damien warned the pair. "I have questions for the two of you."

"Gage was the one in charge of guarding Lady Hawthorne," Aiden said, pointing at Gage. "I was following his orders."

"Bastard," Gage muttered below his breath.

"You are both fools. I have not come to ask about how you protected her. I want to know the names of the people who got in her way during the outing. Those who looked down on her or turned her away," Damien said, having a score to settle.

"Oh. There were a lot of ladies whispering, but the only ones who addressed her were the dressmaker, Ingrid Wells, and Mr Robinson’s wife. I believe her name is Lucinda. Lady Hawthorne didn’t get the same treatment as Jane, and Mrs Robinson offered her opinion," Aiden recounted the interaction.

"Mrs Robinson? Well, that makes it all the better for me. Her husband has been trying to arrange a meeting with me for business. Send for the two of them to visit the estate," said Damien.

"And what of the dressmaker?" Gage asked as he stood up.

"She doesn’t need any more of the Hawthornes doing business with her. I will stop my aunt from going there. Make sure you explain the importance of being on time to see me to the Robinsons," Damien said, eager to see the pair.

Aiden nodded and moved beside Gage to carry out the task.

"I knew it was coming," Aiden whispered as he exited the room.

It was a mistake from the start for both parties to speak poorly to Eloise while knowing how much they benefited from business with the Hawthornes.

Over an hour later, a guest arrived at the estate, but it was not someone either Damien or Eloise was expecting.

Inside the bedchamber, Eloise was approached by a maid who informed her of a guest who desperately wanted to speak to her.

"What is their name?" Eloise asked, closing the book she occupied herself with. She hoped it was a visitor from the court.

"They gave the name Iris Wilkins. She said she doesn’t have much time."

Eloise stared at the maid for a moment before standing up as the shock wore off.

The book, which was once on her lap, fell to the floor and was forgotten as Eloise started to run. She wanted to see Iris.

Eloise ran out of the bedchamber. Her right shoe slipped from her foot, but Eloise didn’t allow it to slow her down.

All around, the servants were confused by the new Lady Hawthorne running through the estate as though it were on fire. One maid went in search of Damien to alert him of Eloise’s current behaviour.

Eloise made it down to the first floor and out the front door, running out to the gates to see Iris. She didn’t have the slightest clue if Iris was coming to yell at her or to calmly speak, but she was excited to see Iris.

Eloise spotted a figure on the other side of the gates, speaking to the guards.

"Eloise!" The familiar voice warmed her heart.

On the other side of the gate, Iris was relieved to see Eloise. She feared she had come at a bad time and wouldn’t be allowed to speak to Eloise. This was her one chance to speak to Eloise without her parents interrupting.

Iris looked back, fearing her parents might soon catch up to her.

"She is a welcome guest. She is to be allowed inside," Eloise ordered the guards.

The guards moved to open the gates for Iris, and without waiting for the gates to completely open, Iris ran inside to embrace Eloise, almost causing Eloise and herself to stumble backwards.

"I am sorry I doubted you," Iris apologised, her arms clinging to Eloise.