The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

Three days later, the carriage rolled through the gates of the Hawthorne estate. They had parted ways with Viola at the edge of the capital, where her own home waited.

Eloise was awake alongside Damien, her eyes moving over the front of the estate, looking for anything out of place.

"It doesn’t appear that there was a fire or any trouble. Your brothers seem to have managed well," Eloise said, turning to face him.

"The inside is what matters. I will have the butler account for everything that happened whilst we were away. Go up to the chamber first and rest. I will see to it that your belongings are brought up," said Damien.

"I have done nothing but rest since we left the countryside. If anything, I am tired of resting. I want to speak with the maids and find out what we missed. There may be some news from the court about my uncle. And please do remember that I want to visit my father’s home," Eloise said.

There was work to be done there to bring it back to something resembling what it had once been.

"Yes. And you owe me a meal cooked by your own hands. I had guards stationed at the house whilst we were away, so no one would have troubled it. I will leave you to go through the letters. Do ignore anything from the palace," Damien advised.

"I intend to. I am not ready to take up the queen’s offer to sit with her at the palace."

Eloise glanced over at Jane, still fast asleep, her cheek pressed against the side of the carriage. "Jane will need to rest. I will walk with her to her chamber. I am only now realising I have never once been inside it."

"I rarely go there myself, so think nothing of it. I will get the door," Damien said as the carriage came to a stop.

"Jane," Eloise said, placing a hand on her arm. "We have arrived."

"What?" Jane murmured, her eyes fluttering open slowly. "Already? I want to go to my chamber," she said, pressing her fingers against her eyes.

"You may. I will have the servants put your belongings in another chamber so they don’t disturb you. Would you like me to walk with you, in case you are unsteady on your feet?" Eloise offered.

"No," Jane said, shaking her head against the seat. "I can manage."

"Of course. Damien is holding the door open for you," Eloise said, letting her go first.

Damien extended his hand to Jane and said quietly, "Couldn’t you have said yes?"

"To what?" Jane replied, too drowsy to understand him.

"Nothing," Damien said, helping her down. He then turned and offered his hand to Eloise. "Pay it no mind. There is nothing of particular interest in her chamber."

Eloise smiled and set her hand in his. "I wasn’t dwelling on it. Do you think it would be too soon if I went to place the lanterns in the garden this evening? I can hardly wait to see how they look at night."

"Wait a little while before you go out. Have something to eat first," Damien suggested.

"Brother! Oh, thank goodness you are back," Kyle called, bursting through the front door. "I no longer have to bear the burden of helping Quinn with everything."

Damien kept hold of Eloise’s hand as she stepped onto the ground "Must you be so loud, Kyle?"

"I’m afraid so. I am glad to see you returned in one piece, and with a new cart by the looks of it. You must have bought half the countryside," Kyle said as he glanced at the cart. "I was just on my way out to see a friend."

"You are running from something. What have you done?" Damien asked, looking directly at Kyle.

Kyle scratched the back of his head. "It is not exactly something I did. It is something someone outside this family did. Well, someone connected to Eloise’s family."

"My family?" Eloise said, her brows furrowed. "Is it my uncle?"

"No, your cousin. Her mother came here claiming the girl had run away and that you were hiding her. The town guards sent her away, but she came back a second time. Your cousin isn’t here, unless you have managed to hide her somewhere very cleverly," Kyle said, starting to believe it was true.

"Why would I hide her here and then leave for weeks? Iris is not here," Eloise said, panic settling over her body. "Why would she have run away?"

"You have met her mother, haven’t you?" Damien said, squeezing Eloise’s hand gently. "There was likely some trouble between them. You are going to ask to go and look for her, aren’t you?"

He already knew the answer before she opened her mouth.

"We must look for her. But I am certain she would have come here first if she needed help. Kyle, were there any other visitors whilst we were away? Anyone who asked for me specifically?" Eloise said, thinking she had left at the worst possible moment.

"We had a fair number of visitors, and since you weren’t here, we turned them away. It is what we have always done. I am sorry if one of them was your cousin," Kyle said, and the apology was genuine. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Eloise breathed in and let it go slowly. It wasn’t Kyle’s fault. The timing was simply awful. "It is not your fault, Kyle. Not at all. I need to go and find her. She wouldn’t have gone to her friends. Her mother would think to look there."

"Eloise," Damien said, stepping forward to stop her before she could reach for the carriage door. "I will take Silas and Gage to search for her. You are to stay here in case she comes back."

"But-"

"I know you are the one who knows where to look, but her mother is out searching as well, and this is not the time for you to come face to face with Agatha. She will accuse you of taking Iris the moment she sees you," Damien tried to reason with Eloise.

"If I find her, I will bring her straight here. I will also call on the town guards to see what they know. Stay," Damien said, holding her gaze until she stopped arguing with it.

"We have to find her," Eloise said, her voice low.

How could she have been gone only a few days and come back to this?

"I hate to think she needed me and I wasn’t here," Eloise whispered.

"I will find her. Do not leave the estate whilst I am searching. Aiden, take my wife inside and stay with her," Damien said, giving Eloise one last look before climbing back into the carriage. "I will be back soon."