Lord Edward's Law (Women of Wintercrest) by Maggie Ryan Page B

suddenly found himself wondering how he would feel seeing Miss Furniss dressed identically to her sister.  His face heated and a part of his anatomy twitched.  He looked up the stairs as if he wished he could follow the Lord and Lady of the house and discover what was truly happening inside Wintercrest Manor.   He was a man of the world and his earlier suspicions about Lord Wintercrest were growing.  His musings were interrupted when Lucy spoke. 
    “I’m done , Sir,” he heard Lucy say and he shook his head as his attention returned to the reason why he was at Wintercrest.  He was happy to see that she hadn’t missed a problem and praised her.
    “Very well done , Lucy…I mean, Miss Furniss.  I believe you have nothing to fear.”  He watched her relax and quickly made sure he had everything ready for her next quiz.  He felt momentarily guilty when he found himself half hoping she’d miss at least a few problems.  He berated himself for his thoughts, knowing that if she did, her bottom was likely to pay a harsh price.  Thinking of her bottom caused his face to flush and it was still red when Edward rejoined them.  Seeing how flustered the tutor was, Edward grinned wondering exactly what the poor man must be thinking.  However, his concern was for his ward and he turned his attention to her.  He asked Charles to give her the test exactly as he would at the school the next day.  Charles agreed and soon had Lucy seated; her pencil flat on her desk, her hands folded in her lap.
    “You will have exactly one hour to take the exam.  You will not be allowed to leave the room until the exam is over.  I will remind you of the time remaining to you during the test.  Remember to do the easy ones first and then tackle the harder ones.  Remember to check your answer and , Lu…umm, Miss Furniss, remember to relax.  You can do this.  You know this material.    Don’t panic, simply work out each problem bit by bit.”  Lucy nodded, his encouragement giving her strength.  She watched him place several sheets of paper face down on her desk. 
    He moved to a chair across the room and pulled his watch from his pocket.  He waited until the second hand moved to the twelve o’clock position and then said, “You may begin and good luck.”  Lucy turned her test over and began to scan down the list of problems.  She began to fill in her answers as she went through the pages.  She found several easy to answer and relaxed a little.  She continued to relax until she began to run into harder questions.  She heard Professor Lloyds tell her that she had half an hour left but still didn’t panic. Most of the problems had been answered, but several remained.  She began to panic a bit when she heard she only had ten minutes left. 
    She scrawled her answer to the last question just seconds before she heard, “Time is up.  Put down your pencil and turn your test face-down on your desk.”  Lucy obeyed and then sat back, her fingers suddenly aching from clenching her pencil.  She watched as her test was removed.  “You may stand and stretch your legs, Lucy.   I’m sure you must be exhausted.”  Edward heard him address his student without the proper title and saw his charge smile and rise from her chair.  She thanked him quietly and then walked around the room.  When she became aware Edward was watching her, she halted.  He smiled at her and she relaxed a bit.
    “I’m sure you did well , Lucy.  You studied hard and I’m sure I will be pleased.  Go now and refresh yourself while your professor grades your test.  I shall send for you when I am ready.” 
    “Yes , Sir.”  She gave him a small smile and then walked up the stairs and into her room.  She sagged against the door and, after doing her necessary, allowed herself to lie on her bed.  She found herself praying that she had done well and, in praying, remembered the service earlier in the day.  She wondered why she had never truly thought