Secret Heiress Read Online Free Page B

he licked her hand and felt her cheeks burn. ‘Excuse me, I must not keep you from your business.’
    He inclined his head and moved aside, but she felt his eyes on her as she went out through the open door. After a few steps she looked back and saw he was still watching her. She had never seen eyes quite as arresting as his before. Not knowing why, she gave him a wide smile and a little wave before turning back and walking away. Her heart was beating too fast and she wondered why this second meeting within a short space of time should affect her so much?
    Eliza smiled to herself. If Daniel Seaton were going to visit his uncle more often, it might be best that she would soon be leaving Norfolk. It would not do for her to meet him too often, because she could easily begin to like him more than was wise for a young woman of her station.

Chapter Two
    â€˜O h, that is a nuisance,’ Betty said as she looked at the milk jug she had taken from the cold pantry the following morning. ‘The milk has curdled and I was going to make a rice pudding for Ted’s supper.’
    â€˜May I go to the farm for you?’ Eliza asked. ‘I can be there and back in an hour; there will still be plenty of time for you to make that pudding.’
    â€˜What a thoughtful girl you are,’ Betty said approvingly. ‘If you would not mind, it would be a big help to me.’
    â€˜It is no trouble at all,’ Eliza said, taking sixpence from the shelf and the big jug from the pantry.
    She set out for the farm, which was just across the fields from her friend’s cottage. Somewhere above her head a lark was singing and the grass in the wild meadow was almost waist high. She was singing to herself, enjoying the warmth of the sun when she suddenly saw the man walking towards her through thelong grass. Her heart caught a beat as he smiled and came up to her.
    â€˜Good morning, Miss Bancroft. You seem happy this morning?’
    â€˜It is such a lovely day,’ she replied. She could not help remarking how blue his eyes were, thinking them a match for the cloudless sky. His smile brought an answering one from her. ‘How do you go on at your uncle’s? Do you mean to stay long?’
    â€˜Only a few days, unfortunately,’ Daniel Seaton replied and then frowned. ‘I think my uncle mends, but he is not as well as I should like.’
    â€˜I am sorry to hear that, sir.’
    Eliza found that he was walking beside her, clearly intending to accompany her to the farm.
    â€˜He took my cousin’s death hard,’ he continued. ‘However, he is better than he was the last time I was down.’
    â€˜Did you come at Christmas? I know the earl felt unable to host his usual celebrations.’
    â€˜Yes, I was down at Christmas, but I have not seen him since. I have been in London and at my estate…’ His eyes darkened, making Eliza think he dwelled on something that pained him.
    They had reached the farm gate. He opened it for her and stood back. She felt that he had withdrawn into himself.
    â€˜I shall leave you here, Miss Bancroft. I have an errand to run…’
    â€˜Goodbye, sir. I hope your uncle will soon be well again.’ Eliza watched him walk away, feeling puzzled. For a few moments he had seemed as if he meant to flirt with her, but then something had changed him. It was just as well, for she found him far too attractive.
    Â 
    Daniel was thoughtful as he left the young woman. He had just come from visiting the home of Jed Bailey. Unfortunately, the groom had disappeared two days previously. His mother said he had been restless and she thought he had taken it into his head to visit his cousin in Bristol.
    â€˜There’s been something on his mind for weeks, sir,’ Mrs Bailey said. ‘I asked him what had upset him—and why he left the earl’s employ—but he wouldn’t tell me. He seemed excited and then…well, to tell you the truth I