My Lord Deceived by Rebecca King Page B

Was it because
he had been the only man ever to kiss her? Or was it because he was
tall, roguishly handsome, intriguing, dangerous, and more than a
little bit charming?
    She hugged her
pillow tightly as she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.
Whatever the future held, she knew that it was going to be best for
everyone if she didn’t allow him close enough to kiss her
again.
    If only she
would remember that in the morning.

CHAPTER
SIX
     
    The following
day was as hectic as yesterday. It was mid-afternoon by the time
Kat walked through the kitchen door at Dentham Hall.
    “Kat, dear,
there you are,” Mabel Smithers, the cook, called. “I wondered if
you would come today. The master has asked about you, hasn’t he,
Vera?”
    “Sorry.” Kat
closed the door behind her and turned to the buxom woman who stood
beside the table. “I had heard that he wasn’t very well
yesterday.”
    “Oh, he is well
enough now. Back on the road to recovery, I am sure. Do you want to
go up now, or do you want to savour some of this lovely apple pie
first?”
    Kat considered
the door that led through to the main body of the house for a
moment and nodded. “I think I will just go straight up, if I may? I
will pop back in here I am done.”
    Kat almost
groaned when her stomach rumbled at the delicious scent of the pie
that teased her nostrils. “I will be back,” she promised
fervently.
    Nobody baked
apple pies like Mabel. Her skills in the kitchen were legendary.
She made a mental note to ask Mabel to give her some cooking
lessons as some point, if the woman ever had the time and made her
way across the kitchen.
    She knocked
gently on the door to the upper sitting room and stood back to
wait.
    “Come in.”
    She stared in
horror at the door. The voice sounded startlingly familiar. Her
stomach dipped to her toes and she glanced around her in
desperation. She contemplated whether she should just head back
downstairs to wait until he had left the house, but the decision
was taken out of her hands when, moments later, Jonathan opened the
door.
    “I thought I
heard your voice downstairs,” he drawled and stood back to allow
her into the luxurious sitting room. “I told Bruce that you were
coming today. He is so pleased.”
    Kat smiled
awkwardly at him as she entered. Strangely, she had never felt
uncomfortable at Dentham Hall before. Even though the house was
rather grand, she had never felt in awe, or out of place. She
didn’t know whether that was because she knew nearly all of the
staff who worked there, or whether Jonathan’s uncle, Bruce, was
such a nice, down to earth man. Right now though, she felt rather
gauche and ill at ease.
    “Good
afternoon, Bruce,” Kat murmured gently. She smiled fondly at the
old man as he captured her hand in his gnarled grip.
    “Good to see
you, my girl. I have been waiting for you,” he waved toward a
chair. “Now, come and sit. Sit, both of you. I have already called
for the tea things. Jonathan saw you walking down the drive. I
expected you to call by yesterday.” His tone was just a little bit
chiding but there was no anger in the rather rheumy eyes that met
hers. “But never mind. You are here now. I have so looked forward
to today. Maybe we can get two chapters out of you while you are
here?”
    Kat smiled at
the familiar humorous twinkle in the old man’s gaze and studied the
face so familiar to Jonathan’s. She secretly wondered if this was
what Jonathan would look like when he was old and grey, and
couldn’t put her mind to it. Someone like Jonathan would never sit
gnarled and aged like this. The man seemed immutable.
    Jonathan handed
her the book she had been reading, its pages neatly separated by a
rather ornate book mark. She was about to start when there was a
knock on the door and one of the maids, Doreen, appeared with a
tray of tea things. It was difficult to keep the surprise off her
face as she watched Jonathan practically dote on his uncle. A
blanket was placed across