They had breakfast together with her father, and after that, Quinn and her father discussed business.
Nesta sat silent with a novel. Her eyes were to the letters, but her attention was to their discussion.
Listening to Quinn talk about business, and some of the ideas he had generated, it made Nesta conclude then and there that he was a good businessman.
If she were a man and was a merchant, she would fall prey to his power of persuasion.
When Nesta glanced at Quinn, she thought he looked more handsome than she had seen him this morning.
She lowered her gaze to her book and tried to see if she could read out a few lines, but she couldn't. Now, he held her senses, and it vexed her.
She wanted to control herself again. So far, she thought she was losing clarity for she was seeing only all she had ever dreamed to see.
He was everything she had ever wanted with the exception of nothing.
Father went to his study to sign some papers, and finally, she had the Earl all to herself.
They played a game of chess, talked about certain topics of interest, and she didn't know if he was feigning it, but she had a good time.
***********
Lord Quinn Bramford had secrets. He wasn't a perfect man, but he wanted to be for this lady.
She was graceful, beautiful, and although he acted like he had come here by mere happenstance, and not with the intent to see her, it was a lie he had to endure. After all, he was good with lies and covering up secrets.
He would give her the image of the gentleman everybody wanted to see. He would play his part. But his task, and what he wished to fulfill, still stood.
Quinn had sensed the energy around her. Certainly, she wasn't aware of it, and it would take time to unfold it. He already had a set out plan, and it was his intent to see it to the very end.
The enemy would question his absence. They would wonder what had taken his interest. But they were never to worry.
It was his intent to return, and with someone with more lethal abilities than anything they had ever seen.
"What have you noticed about her, my lord?" Preston Lynchfield, his servant, asked him when he was in the room the Earl of Devonshire had given to him as his temporal quarters.
"She is everything," Quinn said. "My dreams, everything the prophecy and the books talked about, she is. She is all I need to get rid of my rivals."
"And your family, does she amplify your position against them?"
"Absolutely."
Preston was human, and Quinn's most trusted and loyal servant. He hadn't given Quinn a reason to question his loyalty or reverence, and for this, Quinn made sure he oversaw his business, doing everything Quinn commanded down to the letter without going off course.
"She is beautiful," Preston said.
Quinn smiled. "Yes, she is."
"So, how does this work?
"I don't know, yet."
"Have you considered one thing, sir?"
Quinn knew what Preston wanted to ask. He sensed it. "If she would find out? Don't worry, Preston.
I have assessed all possible options. I think I have been careful so far. But there's every tendency that she may discover later. I can't be that secretive from her forever. She is bound to notice eventually."
"She may be frightened at first."
"I'll put her mind to ease that it would never be my wish to harm her."
"As you say, my lord."
**********
Nesta worried that the only time she got to see lord Bramford now was at dusk, when the sun was passed down, or when the sky was really dark and it was about to rain.
Those times were shrinking, and what she really wanted was a sunny afternoon with the Earl on a plain field.
However, from what Lillian had told her, he usually retired to bed very late.
"Maybe, he works all night," she had defended lord Bramford before Lillian, "and he sleeps late into the morning.
At least, he has breakfast with us, then we talk a little before he retires. But I do get to spend a lot of time with him in the evening at least."
Nesta tried to be understanding, and like her father, he was an Earl with royal duties. Men like this were usually very busy writing letters, signing various documents, and cross-checking certain things to be sure they missed nothing.
If he was normally always this busy, then, she would try to be understanding. But she would miss him during the day. Or, in the bounds of marriage, she could visit his room and they could go wild.
She thought about walks in the park with him, afternoon picnics, and maybe a swim from a hot day. It all sounded pleasing, and it made her smile.
She was preparing to leave her room to go down and meet him without the assistance of her maid.
She looked at the letter he had sent her in hand, his handwriting was beautiful. It had been an invitation to come to see him in the living room, and she hoped her reply hadn't expressed how elated she was.
Nesta walked to a candle stand, and she set the letter into the flame, watching it burn. When it got to the tip of her fingers, she tossed it on the floor and what was left of it were ashes.
The servants would find it tomorrow when they came in for cleaning. For now, she had somewhere she needed to be.
Nesta walked out of her room and made it down. As expected, lord Bramford was waiting for her, and the sight of him always seemed so new to her. It was like she had a new revelation of his handsome features.
She joined him in the living room, and they spoke at length.