Free Saved By A Siren: Spencers in Love Book One by Abigail Graves Page A

as if he was saying the sky was blue or stars shone at night.
                Mirabelle sat slowly, reaching behind her to
make sure the chair was still in close proximity. Maman gasped and covered her
mouth, her eyes as wide as saucers.
                "Why do you think so?" Mirabelle asked
carefully. Not because she doubted him, Alastair knew she didn't.
                "A number of reasons," Alastair began
as he held up the letter. "He desires to remain at Longwood and is
undeterred by the presence of an unattached lady. Longwood belongs to him, he
could send her away if he did not enjoy her companionship or if he did not want
to be linked to her romantically. Clearly, he does not want her to leave. She
must be a lady of breeding and expectation, or he would not have to worry about
a chaperone. He must care for her, he's greatly worried about her reputation.
Why else would he have underlined "desperately"? Why would any sane
man keep a woman under his roof that would require a chaperone if he was not
emotionally involved or matrimonially motivated? He must have matrimony in
mind, if he did not care for her but found himself unable to send her away he
could have hired any number of appropriate women to chaperone her. No. He wants
you, maman. Because he wants it known that her virtue and reputation matter to
him personally. And then there is the matter of you, and us. How many women has
he introduced to us? How many people in general? He's had friends and
mistresses, how many has he made known to us? He wants all of us to travel to
Surrey to live under the same roof as this woman. He would not request this if
she were inconsequential or inappropriate. He would not participate in a
scandalous affair at Longwood, the seat of the Earls of Cambroke. Again, there
is the matter of Us as a group. He has never invited anyone into our midst. Never
to dine with us for breakfast or dinner. He considers us sacred. He wants us to
take all of our meals with her, to accept her into our fold, if you will. If he
did not, he would not have requested Lucien and I attend as well. Nor Madeline.
He's all but declared her part of his family."
                "Oh. My. God." Mirabelle whispered as
she rose.
                Maman ran for the bell pull.
                Bennings appeared and was quickly inundated with
requests. Ten minutes later, he withdrew, a list of directives in hand.
Preparations were to begin for the trip to Longwood. Word was sent to Burton
Place as Alastair would be leaving with the ladies. They would leave first
thing in the morning.
                The party made their way to the dining room
though little attention was paid to the meal. Lucien assured the women that he
would leave for Longwood as soon as "this Whitrose business" was
concluded, probably by the end of the week.
                "Who could she be?" Maman wondered.
                "I would guess that she is a relation of,
or attached to the late Lord Cambroke's widow." Alastair offered.
                Maman nodded, her gaze suggested she was
plotting, planning.
                Mirabelle was more present. She seemed to track
Lucien's progress through the meal, handing him the salt shaker before he
requested or applying condiments to his plate. Alastair took note of her
actions. Did she still hold a tendre for him or was this a product of
familiarity? Lucien seemed to be less aware, nodding at her offerings but more
focused on the discussion at hand. Did he take it for granted or was it an acceptable
aspect of their friendship?
                Alastair monitored both closely throughout the
meal. In the end, he was unsure. He was out of his depth. He decided that he'd
leave it to Gilles. Mirabelle and maman would would be under his care again by
tomorrow evening. He'd share his observations and Gilles could do what he
wished.

Chapter 9
     
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