Page 22 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

He had never been one for romantic gestures, preferring to keep his interactions with women casual and unburdened by deeper emotions. Yet, Susanna was different; she stirred feelings within him that he had not anticipated.

It had to be his mother. Her words were getting to him, nothing more.

Yet, as Susanna sensed his eyes upon her and she turned to give him a smile, Martin felt his stomach flutter. This was not a feeling that he could ever get used to, and he was not even sure what it meant.

All he knew for sure was that it would not be easy for them to continue on with this secret mission, just the two of him, but also he did not want it to end.

For everyone’s sake.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Knock, knock.

The light tapping on the door to her bedchambers right after breakfast the following morning had Susanna’s pulse racing. She did not know who it was going to be, and that had her worried.

Trying to seek out information about Edwin really did put her on edge. The more she had to think about him, the more nervous she became.

Martin had put a bee in her bonnet about the murder, and she had spent far too long trying to work out if Edwin was really capable of that.

Knock, knock.

Now, she was thoroughly concerned that he had heard about her questions, and had come to her door. She was too scared to openthe door. Her hand was actually shaking as she reached for the doorknob.

If there was any way that she could avoid opening this door, she would, but she knew he would just bash down the door if he wanted to.

Knock, knock.

Relief absolutely cascaded through her the moment she peeked out the door and found Mary standing on the other side.

“Oh, hello,” Susanna declared as she swung open the door fully. “Is everything alright?”

“Luke has just suggested that we go horse riding. Is that something you would like to do?”

Susanna pondered on this for only a moment. She was not sure she was in the mood to go horse riding, but she also did not want to be left alone in the house, with her sister gone. Truth be told, she knew that chances were Martin would also be riding, and she wanted to see him again. She wanted to see if he had made good on his promise and had discovered anything about Edwin through his own investigation.

She also wanted to see him because he was the only person she could talk to about any of this. He ensured that she felt so much less alone in this mess.

Their walk in town had solidified just how comfortable she felt discussing everything with him. When he was not teasing her and acting obnoxious as he tried to get under her skin, he was actually nice to talk to.

Although she had been on edge the whole time, expecting one of his sarcastic comments. A little part of her might have even been a little disappointed that she had not received anything like that from him. There were times when it was a little bit fun arguing with him.

The sizzling tension was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and a part of her missed that…

“Sure, a ride around the estate sounds nice. I will have to put on my riding habit though…”

She suddenly noticed that Mary was already dressed for the activity and clearly raring to go. The smile plastered on her face was just another reminder that there was a lot riding on this investigation, and if anything went wrong, everything could be destroyed.

Mary could be destroyed.

It was a lot of pressure on Susanna’s shoulders. She was grateful not to be in this alone.

“Give me a moment,” she told her sister with a thin-lipped smile. “And I will meet you downstairs. I will be quick.”

Once Mary was gone, Susanna closed the door to her bedchambers and rested her head wearily against the wood, trying to catch her breath once more. This was so hard, harder than she thought it was going to be. Her time at Standen Abbey had started to mess with her mind, the moment she saw Edwin appear.

Just because he had not caused any trouble yet, did not mean he would behave the whole time. Susanna was certain of that.

Susanna took a deep breath, steeling herself for the day ahead. She changed into her riding attire, a simple but elegant outfit that allowed for both comfort and mobility.

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