Desires of a Baron by Rose Gordon

voice was right by her ear. “We’re at my house. I’ll carry you inside.”
    Lucy knew she should argue, but she couldn’t. She was too weary to move a muscle on her own.
    “Go on inside, Seth.” Lord Norcourt carried her up the front steps, the bottoms of his boots scraping against the stone with each step he took, but never once did it feel like she was slipping in his grip. “At the top of the staircase, go left. You can use the first room on the right.”
    “ And my mama?”
    “ She’ll be one room over.”
    What felt like seconds later, Lucy was being lowered against a feather mattress, then felt a heavy blanket come over her.
    ***
    The sun was already high in the sky and flooding in through the break in the curtains by the time Lucy awoke. She sat up and rubbed the stiff skin of her face with her hands. She hadn’t slept so soundly in years. If ever. Dropping her hands, she looked around. There wasn’t a lot of furniture in the room, but what was there was beautifully carved, pristine, and decidedly expensive. She idly ran her fingers over the delicate design etched into the bedpost nearest her. It was lovely and regal.
    Once I’m a viscount we’ll have a house full of the finest things money can afford , Sam promised . You deserve no less. She could still see the way the sun glinted off Sam’s light hair as he leaned against the big oak and smiled at her.
    She twisted her lips. Sam had made so many broken promises to her that she couldn’t recount them all. Nor did she wish to. She yanked her hand away as if the bedpost had burned her skin then stood. Spotting her chest across the room, she scurried over and changed out of the now crushed gown she’d traveled in and into her final gown. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the purple one, just a plain tan and black dress. It’d be the perfect thing to wear to search for a new post. Which is exactly what she needed to do as soon as Seth returned. Lord Norcourt had been most kind to her and she’d forever be grateful for his generosity, but she needed to leave before his kindness would forever be tainted by memories of the one who’d done her so wrong.
    Catching sight of herself in the mirror, she quickly repinned her hair and adjusted her bodice. Satisfied that she looked somewhat presentable, she made her way to the hall in search of her son.
    There were only two other rooms upstairs. She knocked, waited a moment, then slowly let herself inside. This room was twice the size of the room she’d been in, but had the same amount of furniture, making it look even emptier. “Seth?”
    “No, ma’am,” said a maid who was changing the sheets on the bed. “He and his lordship went out to the bakery to get something special for breakfast.”
    Lucy ground her teeth. What more could she say to Seth to make him realize that he couldn’t just go off with anyone? She wanted to groan. Apparently last night hadn’t deterred him from trying to find himself a new father. She’d have to speak to him again. “Could his cook not have made some tarts?” She hadn’t even realized she’d said that aloud until the maid responded.
    “No, ma’am. Danes is so blind he can hardly tell the sugar from the salt.” She grimaced. “’Tis better this way, ma’am.”
    “ How long have they been gone?”
    “ About three minutes.” The maid fluffed up the sheet then smoothed it down. “You can wait for them in the drawing room, if you’d like.”
    If the downstairs were anything like the upstairs had been, she’d need no help finding the drawing room. Just as she’d suspected, she was correct. At the bottom of the stairs was a little room with only a mahogany desk, three chairs, a settee and two floor-to-ceiling bookcases devoid of any books. The room across the hall had a long dining table with five chairs going down each side and one on either end. No decorations were mounted on the wall nor runners on the table. Evidently, he preferred simplicity. She couldn’t