A Certain Wolfish Charm(78)

Oliver nodded his head vigorously. "There is some Latin text, Aunt Lily."



Now she didn't believe him at all. But old tomes belonging to the late Earl of Maberley were not her highest concern at the moment. "Oliver, may I ask you a question?"



"Of course," he answered, dropping back to his spot on the bed and kicking the book under the counterpane.



Lily took a spot beside him. "Why did you run off?"



***





Oliver hated to lie to his aunt, but the duke had made the rules very clear. Blackmoor had told Oliver what to say, and he hoped he'd be able to carry it off.



"I was jealous," he repeated his contrived response.



"Jealous?" Aunt Lily echoed, a crease marring her brow.



He nodded while guilt consumed him. "Well, when I arrived at Westfield Hall, Blackmoor seemed to demand all of your attention. And you seemed taken by him."



"Oliver York," she said quietly, "you have always been my life."



He shrugged. "Not anymore. I'll be going off to school, and you have the duke, and…"



Aunt Lily kissed his cheek, just like she always did when she was trying to soothe him. Oliver swallowed his guilt about deceiving her. He did want her to be happy. She deserved all the happiness in the world. Knowing what he was, what the duke was, wouldn't bring that to her. So he squeezed her hand and continued his ruse.#p#分页标题#e#



"I am sorry, Aunt Lily. I shouldn't have run off. I suppose I thought you'd be so consumed in your new life, you wouldn't miss me."



"Oh, Oliver!" she said, brushing tears from her cheek. "I was so worried about you. How could you think that? When you go off to Harrow, I will miss you more than you will ever know."



He hugged her then. Fiercely. "I love you, Aunt Lily."





Thirty-Five





Lily was a tad bit disgruntled the next morning when Simon shook her awake. "Time to get up, love," he said briskly. "I thought we could travel to Harrow today and give Oliver a tour of the school. I'd like to show the boy my old stomping grounds."



"When did you come to bed?" she asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.



"It was late." He simply shrugged. "I don't remember the time. I did like finding you in my bed, though," he said and winked at her.



After dinner, Simon had mentioned that he wanted to look through the steward's reports to be sure Maberley Hall was being cared for properly. Of course, he received quarterly statements, but he wanted to tour the grounds himself and see if any issues might need his assistance. When he'd taken Oliver with him, Lily certainly hadn't been able to complain, since he was finally spending time with the boy.



He'd kissed her quickly before he walked out the door with Oliver and said, "Back soon."



She'd watched as the sky grew darker and darker. Then she finally put on her nightrail and went to Simon's room to wait for him.



"What kept you out so late?"



"I wanted to show Oliver some of the places Daniel and I used to go. That's all." He turned away from her.



Lily was quickly learning that Simon tended to turn away from her when he wanted to avoid directly answering her questions. She slowly sat up and regarded his profile as he looked down at the lawns below.



She had two options. She could travel to Harrow with the two of them and try to figure out what was going on. Or she could let them go on without her, and she could return to Westfield Hall alone. Feeling slightly uncharitable, Lily was leaning toward the second option.



If Simon couldn't be honest with her, if he couldn't tell her what was in his heart, if he couldn't even be bothered to wake her when he returned in the middle of the night, she wasn't certain she wanted to spend a day with him.



"Well," she began carefully, "I think the two of you will enjoy your time together tremendously. I can't wait to hear all about it."



He spun on his heels to face her. "Why do you make it sound as if we're going without you?"



Lily swung her legs off the bed and slowly started toward the door that connected her chamber to his. "I don't really see why I'm needed for the excursion, Simon. The two of you will get along fine without me."



His grey eyes darkened, and a chill raced down her spine. However, she wouldn't let him know that, and she continued toward the connecting door.



"I want you with me," he growled.



Lily shrugged, hoping he couldn't tell how he affected her. "One certainly wouldn't know it."



"What is that supposed to mean?" Simon asked, stalking toward her.