Page 38 of Discovering Her Earl

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Lord Melville—she’d gone back to thinking of him as such, rather than Julian—seemed intent on charming her despite Lainey’s decision to ignore him. Since the Leightons had joined them at Dalkeith, he’d been ready and waiting in the breakfast room every morning when she arrived.

After that day of arriving late herself, she made sure not to fall prey to thoughts of him before bed. She couldn’t spend each night tossing and turning restlessly, wondering what he could do to alleviate the ache in her body.

Surely, he would find it amusing to know she didn’t know all the ways her body worked. And she would die before admitting that apparently her body wanted his very much despite not understanding the details.

She blamed Mrs. Leighton for putting the thought of his bed in her mind at all. It was entirely too distracting. She’d taken to being simply pleasant rather than risk their usual banter.

In truth, he’d done nothing to earn her disapproval anyway.

He was beyond helpful when it came to working on the site. Always offering to drive the wagon and do whatever needed done without a hint of complaint.

She was left with no choice but to take back her initial accusation that he was a dandy looking to be entertained. He was more than that. Much, much more.

She wanted to blame her realization of how handsome and kind he was on Mrs. Leighton as well, but Lainey’s notice had started even before they’d arrived.

A week later, they returned from the dig in the afternoon to a few letters.

Lainey had received a letter from her aunt wishing her well.

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Leighton let out a gasp and clenched the correspondence she’d received tightly.

“What is it, love?” Mr. Leighton rushed to read over his shoulder.

Lainey watched as his eyes darted back and forth as he read. Each line seemed to make his eyes grow wider.

“I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

“But we could get a few hours closer tonight. I don’t think we should wait.”

“Of course, you’re right.” Mr. Leighton turned to Elaina. “My apologies, but we need to leave right away. Our daughter-in-law has taken ill.”

“Oh, no. The daughter-in-law who just gave birth recently?”

“Yes. Though our son didn’t say her illness was related to the birth. He only asked that we make our way to his home to assist. He sounded distressed in his letter.” Mrs. Leighton wrung her hands anxiously.

“But that could be the worries of a new father left to care for an infant on his own for the first time, rather than anything truly serious. We won’t know for sure until we get there,” Mr. Leighton attempted to offer another reason for the desperate plea they had received.

“Then you should go to them. I shall help you pack,” Lainey offered and put an arm around Mrs. Leighton’s shoulders as they maneuvered the stairs.

“What can I do?” She heard Julian ask with fierce sincerity.

Calling for Mrs. McGregor, the three women began loading trunks as fast as the footman and Julian could carry them down to be loaded onto the waiting carriage.

“Forgive me,” Mrs. Leighton said with tears in her eyes. “I’m sure I shouldn’t be leaving you alone in the house with a man and no proper chaperone.”

Lainey frowned but shook her head. There was no time for this again.

“Don’t worry about me. Just go see to your family. I’ll be fine. As I said before, I’m not concerned. Any damage to my reputation is already done anyway. Please give your daughter-in-law my wishes for a speedy recovery.”

“Of course.” She pressed her lips together as the final trunk was loaded. “Perhaps it won’t take long and we’ll be able to return.”

“Don’t think of it right now. You must think of the ones who truly need you. Nothing else matters.”

Julian turned from the carriage. “I asked Cook to gather some cheese and meat. I’ve packed it in the carriage so you’ll have something to eat on the way. I know you might not be hungry, but you need to keep up your strength. You can’t help someone if you are too weak to help yourself.”

“Thank you, my lord, we’ll put it to good use.”