A princess on the run, Briar Aldrich has no choice but to take on the role of scullery maid when Lord Sterling Huntington stumbles upon her in the woods and doesn't recognize her. But how safe is she actually in his home? And how safe is her heart?
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Once Brenna had stormed away from him, Sterling turned on his brother. Theodore was still writhing on the ground, holding his groin in pain. Sterling stomped up to him, grabbed him by his collar, and yanked him to his feet.
"What did you do?" He shouted. He was gripping his brother's collar in his hand. His face was only a few inches from his brother's. "What did you do?"
"Nothing! I swear!"
His brother's eyes were wide in terror. He held his hands up in surrender. Sterling knew why. He had never felt so angry in his life, had never experienced such rage. He had never yelled at his brother before but, when Briar had told him what had happened, he had lost control.
"She said you touched her!" He shouted.
"Nowhere that counts, Sterling, I swear it. I may have come on a little strong but I didn't... I didn't force myself on her or anything."
"Because she took you down before you could!" He shoved his brother away from him, so livid he couldn't see straight. He placed away from him, running a hand through his hair, trying in vain to calm himself down. It wasn't working. He needed to get away from his brother before he did something he truly regretted. He turned to leave but then stopped and turned around, getting back into his brother's face one last time to say. "If I ever see you near her again, you'll have worse than a kneed groin."
Then he turned and headed back for the estate.
"She's a bloody servant, Sterling!" His brother called after him after a moment. Sterling just clutched a fist and kept walking, needing to get away, afraid of what he would do if he turned back.
Sterling burst through the front doors and into the foyer a bit harder than he intended in his agitated state. His sister and the Duchess, who had been sitting in the foyer, jumped up at his entrance.
"I'm going to my study," he barked. "No one will disturb me."
Then he crossed the foyer and took the stairs two at a time, leaving the stunned women in his wake. He was still breathing hard when he reached his study and locked the door behind him. He crossed to the window and looked out at the grounds on the opposite side of the estate in an effort to calm himself. No such luck. He punched the cement sill that he was leaning on.
He couldn't remember a time that he had felt so angry. He had genuinely worried that he would physically harm his brother if he had been forced to endure his presence for even a second longer. Even now, away from him, he felt the urge to punch something, to shout his frustration. Instead, he settled for pacing, trying to burn off his anger as the burning of energy.
It worked, relatively, and his anger subsided somewhat. At least, it subsided enough for him to settle into his desk and try his best to get some work done. So he sat in his study, reading through long ignored correspondence as he did and drafting responses that he would send with Arthur in the morning. He had only been working perhaps an hour when there came a knock at his door.
