Page 32 of The Lord Meets His Lady
“Do you have other family members?”
She shook her head. “Maude Turner is my last known relative. What I’ve told you… It’s all I know.”
She was alone in the world, save a grandmother she’d never met.
“Then, we’ll begin with her name.” His arm light on her shoulders, Lord Bowles steered her toward the cottage.
Drained to the bone, she was ready to curl up beneath her brown wool covers and end the day the same as she had last night. As they walked to the cottage, noises of wheels grinding dirt came closer. Peter Dutton drove his cart off the road onto Pallinsburn grounds.
“Greetings, Lord Bowles, Miss Abbott.” Peter set the brake and sprang from his seat. He maneuvered a chest from the back. “This came today, Lord Bowles.”
“My things from home. Put it inside, if you will.” They’d reached the middle of the yard when he stopped and faced Genevieve. “Is there anything else?”
Her nose was level with his cravat, the cloth loose from the day’s labor. She studied the wrinkles and bits of dust caught in the creases. All that remained from their conversation was a tumult of emotions…not so safely hidden from his perceptive eyes.
“Miss Turner?”
She touched his cravat. “Must I bareevery singlepainful part? You can guess there was bad blood between my mother and grandmother.” Her voice thinned to a whisper. “I’m not sure my grandmother will want to see me.”
Voices carried across the yard. Lily and Ruby were preparing to leave with their brother, and Genevieve couldn’t make herself move. Did he understand this was hardest of all? Her gnawing fear of rejection.
“I understand bad blood with family.” His gloved hand tipped her chin up. “But I also know quality when I see it, and you, Miss Genevieve Turner Abbott, are a person of true quality. Anyone should be overjoyed to claim a connection with you.”
Underneath her cloak, she rested both hands on her belly. She was suspended for a moment, certain a cushion of air nestled between her feet and the ground. “Lord Bowles, you’re in danger of becoming a sainted man.”
His crooked smile spread. “Should never have told you about being a choirboy. Could do permanent damage to my reputation.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
