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.”He rang for tea and led the way into his drawing room.It was a large square room with two large windows, facing onto the street and allowing in as much light as possible.The fireplace was marble and Adams styled, with two pillars at each side of the fireplace.The mantelpiece was decorated with a central urn and with the characteristic vines stretching out across the marble, it was simple, but stylish.Blue and gold patterned wallpaper adorned the walls with matching material covering the sofas and chairs, and the curtains were of a shimmering gold, bringing out the gold in the furnishings.The room was grand, but so understated that it managed to have a light airy feel to it.“Oh what a lovely room!” Elizabeth exclaimed, as she sat in one of the chairs.She ran her hand appreciatively down one of the chair arms, the material felt thick and silky to the touch.“The colours are beautiful.Did your wife choose them?”“I am not married, and am quite capable of choosing decoration myself.” Michael responded a little harshly, indicating that Miss Fairfield should be seated, before he sat himself in a fireside chair.“It seems a shame to let me into this room dressed as I am.I must clash terribly!” Elizabeth said with a twinkle in her eyes, but she tried to look remorseful.“You do.” came the unkind reply.Michael was in no mood to offer empty flattery to the woman before him.If Michael had expected Elizabeth to be daunted by his manner he was mistaken, she just threw her head back and laughed.“I know! It’s terrible isn’t it? The problem is all my clothes are like this, my purpose was to scare my guardian into sending me away.”“You are doing an excellent job of achieving your aim Miss Rufford,” Michael said with a shudder.“I dread to think why you wanted to appear as you have.”Elizabeth started fiddling with her hair as she spoke.“I will be honest with you my Lord; I don’t want to be in London for the Season.I would much rather be allowed to live in the country running an estate, and enjoying myself, rather than being forced to be someone I am not while supposedly looking for a husband.” While talking she had released her hair and shook it out.Miss Fairfield protested at the action, “Elizabeth please, you should not be attending to your toilette in his Lordship’s drawing room.”Elizabeth waved Miss Fairfield’s words away and scooped her long dark wavy hair into a loose bun.“Don’t worry yourself Martha, his Lordship won’t mind me making myself slightly more presentable, I’m sure.” Wisps of hair fell out at the sides, which was far more flattering than the harsh bun that had originally been hidden under her hat.Michael was intrigued.“If you do not wish to have a Season in London, why on earth have you travelled all the way from Lancashire?”Elizabeth sighed, the first sign of anything but mischievous good humour since she had walked in.“When Papa died three years ago his title, like yours, went to a nephew, Mr Herbert Rufford.I didn’t object or feel aggrieved, as I knew my cousin a little and we had got on well when we were young.He did not want to settle in Lancashire so continued enjoying his life travelling between London and Brighton.He did spend some time on the estate, but I was unofficially in charge.I make a good estate manager!” She said defensively when Michael had looked at her with disbelief.“I never said a word.” Michael said, amused at the outburst his sceptical expression had caused.Elizabeth looked as if she did not believe that Michael was not mocking her.“I ran the estate before Papa’s death.He would have preferred to have had a boy and treated me more like one while he was alive.Poor Papa, he never remarried after mother died, so he was destined to be disappointed, by just having me.”She said her words in such a matter of fact way that Michael had to admire her stoicism.He had grown up being secure in his relative’s affections, even through his father’s illness, and had never felt the effects of someone being disappointed with him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]