The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

Eloise followed Anna to buy flowers and let Jane choose what they needed. She stood back with Damien now that she had an opportunity to speak to him.

"See, it is not all so bad," Eloise said, fixing his shirt. "Now that they know who was in the carriage, they are all moving on with their business. I promise not to stay in the market too long."

"Take as long as you need. I don’t mind the wait," Damien replied.

"Still, I know you are not fond of crowds, so I will respect it. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. We shall get the flowers, buy a few pastries, and be on our way," Eloise promised.

Eloise wanted Damien to be comfortable, and surely, once the others realised she was married to a lord, they would shower her with questions. She wanted to save him from all the questions on the first day.

"I haven’t finished exploring your family manor, so I want to return soon," said Eloise.

"It is our family manor," Damien corrected Eloise. "You have been referring to it as my family manor from the moment you arrived. What would it take for you to always remember you are a Hawthorne?"

"Write it on my hand?" Eloise joked.

"I should write it on a bell and attach it to your hand. Not just for you, but for the men with broken hearts. A few seem disappointed that you are married," Damien commented, keeping an eye on the men in question.

"I don’t see why anyone would be disappointed. None of them showed any interest in me before I left. Believe me, while many were kind, no gentleman wanted to approach the young lady raised without a mother," Eloise said, certain that what Damien saw wasn’t genuine.

"Now that I have returned at the side of a lord, they are reconsidering my worth and whether they should have approached me. I won’t give any attention to anyone who thinks I am valuable now that I am at your side," said Eloise.

"Besides, I am a happily married woman. I do not notice them either way," Eloise assured Damien. Eloise cupped Damien’s face, keeping his attention on her. "You should only be watching me. It seems we both have a bit of trouble with jealousy."

"Jealousy? I am the one returning home with you. This is me being annoyed that they will not go on about their business," Damien replied.

"I will pretend to believe you for your sake. The day will go far better for you if you focus only on your family. I will pick out some pastries from the bakery, which might suit your taste," Eloise said, trying to get Damien to like the market.

"I want to see all of what you liked when you lived here," Damien said, most interested in Eloise’s old life. "Would you like to have the home you lived in with your father? The one here?"

"No," Eloise shook her head. "A lovely family bought it from my father, and there is the manor. You want me to see the manor as my home, and I do see it as my home. There isn’t a need for another home here."

"Finally," Damien said, leaning forward. He reached for Eloise’s waist to pull her closer.

"I am still here!" Jane exclaimed, not wanting to see the pair be affectionate. "You promised that I would not feel excluded."

Eloise placed her hands on Damien’s chest. "And you won’t. Still, that doesn’t mean I cannot be affectionate with my husband, Jane. It is only natural."

Jane muttered under her breath and no longer wanted to show Eloise the flowers she had selected. "I am ready to move on," she decided.

"How do you do it?" Anna questioned, watching as Jane walked ahead of the group.

"I do not know. I am barely getting by. We are going for pastries," Eloise said, holding Damien’s hand. "It might calm her."

Meanwhile, back at the Hawthorne estate, an unexpected visitor stood at the gates.

Kyle approached Quinn, who stood by the door watching the guards speak to a visitor. "Who has come? Is it the town guards?"

"The wife of Eloise’s uncle. She claims her daughter has run away and believes she is here. The town guards will arrive shortly," Quinn shared, keeping his gaze on the gates.

"Of all the days for this to happen, it is one when Eloise is away from the estate. Have you ever seen this cousin?"

"No, I haven’t. If she were here, Damien would have informed me, and if she had snuck onto the estate, she would have been caught by the guards. Her daughter is not here, but she is quite adamant that Eloise stole her," Quinn shared, still angered by what he had been told.

"Stole?" Kyle chuckled. "That is a bit dramatic. She has some nerve to show her face here when her husband stole from Eloise. Hopefully, the town guards will remove her."

Kyle stepped forward to see the gates better. "Have you considered telling her that Damien and Eloise are not here? She might only be doing this to see them."

"And have her go searching for them? We don’t know what kind of woman she is. She might be so upset that she goes searching for Eloise to harm her. We let the guards move her along, and please, do not speak a word of Eloise not being here," Quinn instructed Kyle.

"You have my word. I wouldn’t want to put the others in danger. Still, we can speak to her without revealing they are gone. Come with me," Kyle said, leading the way to the gates.

"Kyle, do not," Quinn said, reaching for Kyle’s arm. He gritted his teeth, annoyed that Kyle never listened.

Kyle dodged Quinn and said, "Too slow, brother. Wouldn’t you like to send her away before the town guards arrive? They will ask to see Damien or Eloise, and you will be forced to say they are out of town. We can take care of this."

Quinn knew speaking would only make matters worse, but he wanted to see Kyle fail. He followed behind Kyle all the way to the gates.

"I want to see Lord Hawthorne, not his brothers. Where is my daughter Iris?" Agatha yelled, clinging to the gates. "I know she is inside."

"There isn’t anyone by the name Iris here. If your daughter has run away from home, I suggest you go to the town guards. Perhaps your daughter is there waiting for you to take her home," Kyle said, motioning with his hands for Agatha to leave.

"My daughter is not there," Agatha said, annoyed by both brothers.

"Then, you must have been awful for a young lady to run away from home," Kyle concluded.