Page 25 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
If this were the case, she would never be able to escape from this house, especially now that freedom was almost upon her. She could not take such a huge risk and let everything go from her hands.
I need to be smarter than that.
“Eliza?” his voice forced her to return to the present, and she looked into his russet-coloured eyes, their familiarity almost shocking her.
“I am Beth,” she said firmly, gulping the tears forming in her throat, “I am Beth, and I am a servant in the house. I do not know who you are or what you are saying or trying to prove, but I do not know Eliza or the Duke and Duchess of Grafton. Please leave me alone now. You have all of your answers.”
She turned away from him, ready to run away and disappear into the comfort of her room, but the stranger held her by the wrist, not letting her escape so easily.
He pulled her towards him, extremely close to her once again, and Eliza felt the butterflies in her belly return. Why did he have such an effect on her? She failed to understand.
He came extremely close, almost whispering in her ear.
“You are Lady Eliza Gordon, the beloved daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Grafton. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise. It is about time you start assuming your identity once again.”
Eliza looked at him, tears in her eyes, but stayed silent. He lifted his other hand, softly patting her head, and she leaned into the touch, shocked by its familiarity. A strange flashback came to her mind of sitting by the stream she used to go fishing in with her childhood friend Alexander, their legs dipped in the water.
Her parents had just died, and Alexander was comforting him, his hand petting her blonde hair affectionately, and she had leaned into the comfort of his touch.
She opened her eyes, entirely shocked, but did not know what to say. She knew if she opened her mouth, only tears would come out, and she was still not ready to cry.
“Excuse me, My Lord.”
Without waiting for him to reply, Eliza freed her hand and ran upstairs as fast as she could until she reached the attic. She opened the door, bolting it shut behind her, and finally broke down into the tears she had been holding for too long. She did not know what she was crying for.
Was it for her lost identity or because someone knew about her lost identity? She simply couldn’t place it, but all she knew was that she needed to escape as quickly as possible. The stranger had awakened the need to be known as herself inside her, and that was not something Eliza had any control over.
She believed in acceptance, and he was asking her to act otherwise.
But who was he?
Who are you?
It was clear that he was a member of the ton, but he had still felt familiar to Eliza as if she knew him, but it could not be Alexander. Alexander had left many years ago, and he would not return simply to look for her. Even the thought of it was absurd. But if not Alexander, who else could it be?
And what had he been doing at the staircase as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be there. Had he really come there to look for her?
Did he really know the entire truth about her?
And why was it that it seemed as if he really wanted to help her? Eliza felt protected in his embrace, but she needed to keep her distance. She could not let her thoughts consume her because all she needed to focus on was making enough money to escape this prison.
Although, she could still not stop thinking about the stranger.
How was she even going to find out his identity?
But she knew she needed to.
Chapter 7
Once Eliza had stalked off, Alexander immediately returned to the ballroom, not wanting his absence to get noticed. He was certain no one had seen him with Eliza on the staircase, but being careful was absolutely important to make sure Eliza’s reputation remained untainted. No one was supposed to see them together no matter what happened, or it would only result in disaster.
“My Lord …” A young lady’s voice forced him to turn around, and he smiled at her customarily. She had been following him around for a while now.
“My Lady.” He nodded slightly.
“We missed you in the ballroom. Wherever did you disappear?” So his absence had been noticed.
“I was right here.” He smiled candidly, staring straight into her eyes. “You must have not been looking closely.”
