Page 47 of Reforming Lord Neil

“That is good news. But I have no wish to hinder your recovery, so I will not keep you long.” He reached into his coat. “I have something for you. When I went to Dunwich today, I did not want to return empty handed. I brought something back for everyone. I could not think what you would like. I hope this will do.” He withdrew a length of ribbon that appeared like silver in the moonlight.

Teresa leaned out a little more, though her feet remained safely on the floor of her room, and accepted the ribbon from his hand. Their fingers brushed, and she smiled at the bit of satin. “It is lovely. Thank you. I will wear it in my hair on Sunday.” The gift, though simple, reminded her of the lover’s tokens she and her husband had once exchanged. Surely, Lord Neil did not mean for her to see the gift in such a light.

Though he had said he would not stay long, he did not immediately appear ready to leave her, either. “You had a letter today. I hope it was good news.”

That made her sigh. She laced the ribbon through her fingers, looking at her hand rather than at him. Perhaps she would not reveal that she knew his secret. It might change things between them. That ridiculous thought brought a laugh, small and without much humor, from her. Nothing would change. She knew better now than ever that there could be nothing more than friendship between them, for more reasons than she had supposed.

“It was news. I am not sure if it is good or bad. But it is interesting.”

“Are you attempting to keep me in suspense?” he asked, and when she looked up, she saw a light in his eyes. He did not flirt. He teased. Perhaps he always had been playful rather than amorous.

“It is news you already know,” she said lightly. “My brother-in-law wrote to me. I suspect he meant to shock me, but I must confess that I am only relieved.”

His expression changed, darkening and becoming cautious. “Relieved? I cannot think what he might tell you that I already know.”

Teresa shifted, resting her elbows on the window, her wrists crossed. If he leaned closer, she would easily be able to touch him. “He has told me who you are. Who you really are, my lord.” The man outside her window stilled, though she felt his stare upon her. “I think he hoped the revelation would cause me to send you away. But the man he describes in his letter, I have seen no evidence of during your time here with us.”

Lord Neil sounded almost hoarse. “What do you mean? You do not think I am a lord?”

“I know you must be. It explains so much about you, and your education. And Frederick’s letter confirms that you have been cut off from your rather powerful family.” Teresa lifted her gaze to meet his at last, that familiar warmth stirring in her chest. “But he describes a selfish man. A lord so wrapped up in himself that his own family had grown to despise him. Yet every moment that you have been here, with us, you have conducted yourself with honor and generosity. Lord Neil.”

He winced at the title and averted his eyes. “I wish you would not call me that.”

“It is truer to who you are than Mr. Duncan, though I have grown rather fond of that name.”

The man looked sideways at her, cautiously. “You have?”

Teresa nodded. “You have been kind to us, my lord—”

“Please,” he interrupted, his eyebrows drawn together. He swallowed. “Do not call me that. Not here. I am not a lord here. And if Mr. Duncan will no longer do, would you consider calling me only Neil? We are friends enough for that, are we not?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You have called me Teresa once before. I took you to task for it.”

His shoulders dropped. “So you did.”

“Perhaps you ought to try it again.” Was it her recovery from illness that made her bold? The fever had likely addled her brain for her to suggest such a thing. Yet she had been told of the gifts he brought back from the village. She had seen him work in her fields, orchards, and in her barn. Caroline adored him. Mother had made it clear that she thought highly of him, too. And Teresa had found him handsome from the first moment they met.

Knowing his true identity did not scare her. It soothed her. Not because it changed anything between them. They were as unlikely friends as ever. Yet it confirmed the good opinion of him that had already formed.

“Teresa,” he said, his silky tone making her name a caress.

She closed her eyes and released a sigh. “That was not terrible.”

He chuckled. The ladder creaked as he adjusted his hold upon it. “Not at all. It is a lovely name, so it suits you.”

“No one else can hear you use it,” she said quickly, rushing to cover her delight. “They will form the wrong impression.”

“And what is the right impression?” His grin turned sly as he watched her. “We are naught but friends.”

“I am well aware of that.” And disappointed by it, though she knew it was all that could be between them. The son of a marquess could never be more to a poor widow such as she. The nobility of England did as they wished, but rarely turned upon one of their own. His father would reinstate him, she had no doubt, and Neil would leave her behind for good.

The knowledge that he would take a piece of her heart with him when he did made her ache. But she would keep that secret from him. He need not know that every moment of her waking hours she must remind herself not to care for him. Not to see the tenderness with which he spoke to the animals, or the gentleness with her daughter. She had tried to ignore him. To pretend there was nothing for her to admire, that he was the same as any other man.

But he was not. He had lowered himself to the position of a farm worker. He had done every task she presented him, and others she had not, to the best of his ability, with humility.

“Teresa,” he said when the silence stretched long between them. “You are not upset with who I am?”

She shook her head, feeling tears burn at her eyes. She swallowed them away, her sore throat aching. “I am not. Truly. It did not even surprise me as much as you might think. It matters little to me who you are, Neil. All that I have cared about is how you have behaved while here.”