He straightened and held out his hand to her. “Come.” She hesitated only a moment before moving to him and taking his hand. Linking their fingers together, he brought her back out to the main room and led her to the window sitting area as Liam brought in Sara’s trunk and deposited it in her dressing room. Sawyer followed with Nathan’s, doing the same.
He continued to hold her hand, standing before her. “Is this location satisfactory?” he asked quietly. “The Taggerts are discreet and we are far enough away from Taft that none should come upon us.”
Sara nodded and looked at the window wall again, her eyes wide. “I just . . . I never expected . . .”
“What?”
She looked at him, her gray eyes glowing with a wonder that hit him in the solar plexus. “I never knew ordinary people lived in places like this. Kings and queens, of course, but someone like me? Never.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Surely as a governess you would have lived in grand houses.”
She shook her head. “The Perkinses were merchants; they had money but were also frugal. Even if they weren’t, governesses are relegated to the schoolroom and servant quarters. Even Claire only saw the main rooms of Aldgate Hall when she or the children were summoned, which was rare.”
“And is Ridgestone not like this?”
Her gaze traveled the length and width of the windows again as she spoke. “The master suite may have some luxuries that I do not know of, but there are no windows such as these. It is our own little Versailles, is it not?”
Nathan released her hand. “Watch this.” He moved and pulled on a cord next to one of the windows. Heavy red curtains rose from behind the low, thick windowsill until they covered the bottom half of the windows. He moved to the other set and repeated the process, a thrill jumping in his stomach at her mouth open with amazement.
When he finished, he resisted the urge to present the curtains with a flourish of his hands by putting his free hand behind his back, the one other gripping the head of his cane tightly. “This way we can still benefit from the light in the mornings but retain our privacy.” He couldn’t stop one side of his mouth lifting in a smile. “Also at night.”
Nathan enjoyed seeing the red overcome her face; it nearly matched that of her hair. He wondered how much deeper he could make that red.
The knock on the door prevented him from finding out. It opened, admitting Mrs. Taggert, who was carrying a tray. Nathan indicated the sitting area by the hearth and she placed the tray on the table before disappearing into the mistress’ dressing room.
Nathan offered Sara his hand and she took it, allowing him to lead her to the other sitting area, leaving his cane by the windows. It struck him, just as it had at their arrival, how soft her hand was in his. As he helped her to one of the chairs, he realized how reluctant he was to let that hand go.
She settled her skirts, her gaze landing on the dressing room door. “Mrs. Taggert does not have to unpack my trunk. I am used to doing it for myself.”
Nathan sat in the chair opposite and took one of the plates from the tray. He began to fill it with cheeses, meats, bread and fruit. When it was full, he handed it to her and she took it. “You are not a servant here, Sara. You are Mrs. Grant.”
“Yet we both know I am not.”
He poured two glasses of wine and then filled his own plate. “It doesn’t matter what you and I know; what matters is what everyone else thinks. And they all think you’re Mrs. Grant.”
She swallowed a grape. “Whose place is this?”
“Do you really want to know?”
She looked down. “I suppose it is best I do not.”
He popped some bread and cheese into his mouth and washed it down with some wine. He sat back in his chair and regarded her. “Rule number four: Don’t let me do that.”
Sara looked at him, confusion in her eyes. “Do what?”
“Allow me to subjugate you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“How?”
He drank some more wine. “As soon as I offered you some sort of challenge, you backed down. This is your adventure. You came to my house and stood up to me then; if you had not, we would not be here. If this is going to work, you must be able to stand up to me. If you do not, it is no longer your adventure.”