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room. Walking down the long hall towards the staircase, all she could think about was how much she did not want to be servant to Lord Brattondale. She wondered if it was too late to slip out of the house unannounced and disappear. As she reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs, she found Clarence standing next to the door, as if he was anticipating another visitor. Both of his hands were clasped behind his back and at the sight of Elenore his facial expression didn’t change one iota.
    Speaking in his sluggish drawl he asked, “Is everything well with the master?”
    So much for leaving undetected. “Yes,” Elenore said, “but he is ready to eat and has sent me to retrieve his meal. Would you kindly direct me to the kitchen?”
    “Very well. Follow me.”
    Elenore followed Clarence to the kitchen where a middle-aged lady had a tray all set out and prepared. She quickly thanked the cook before balancing the tray in both hands and returning once more to the earl’s bedchamber, though the going was slow with her sore feet.
    Just as she entered the room, she heard the earl say, “I’m glad you’re back. Sister Genevieve, I’d like you to meet my son.”

Chapter 4
    Elenore was startled by the unexpected presence of another man. She scurried over to the bed and set the tray down on the table adjacent to it, before turning to the earl’s son. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him—he was younger than she had expected him to be and much more handsome, considering he was the earl’s offspring. He was tall and lean with rich brown eyes, golden hair, and a ready smile that almost seemed to taunt her.
    “Pleased to meet you, my lord.” Elenore said as she dropped into a deep curtsey.
    “The pleasure is all mine.” Extending one hand towards her he said, “I’m the Viscount Bridgerton but most people just call me Lord Bridgerton or my lord, or if they’re really comfortable, they might even dare call me just plain Devon.”
    “I’m just plain Sister Genevieve,” Elenore said in response, as he bowed over her hand. She felt a slight tingle, as his skin came in contact with hers causing her to quickly withdraw her hand, as if she had been shocked.
    Devon watched the nun with amusement. He wasn’t sure by her reaction if she realized that he was the very man who had brought her there or not. After dropping her off in front of Westbrooke Hall, he had quickly ridden to one of the abandoned cottages on the estate where he tethered Calvin to a tree and quickly changed from his Black Lightening attire into a set of fresh clothes he kept there for that very purpose. Once he had freshened, using a small basin of water he kept at the cottage, he returned to the house to pay a visit to his father.
    He decided to question her further to see if she had any inkling who he was. “I heard you arrived here shortly. I trust that you had a pleasant journey. Is your driver still here? Perhaps he could use some refreshment before his return trip.”
    “Oh no, my— “she paused searching for the right word, “—escort has already gone, but thank you.”
    Devon let out a silent sigh of relief. It appeared she had no idea that he and her escort were one and the same.
    Lord Brattondale was growing impatient and hungry, while he waited for Sister Genevieve and his son to make polite conversation. He cleared his throat loudly and whined, “I’m famished. If somebody doesn’t feed me immediately, I think I will be sick.”
    Lord Bridgerton's face held amusement at his father’s childish behavior, while Elenore scurried over to the tray of food and placed it on the bed next to him within reaching distance.
    “What are you doing? You don’t expect me to feed myself do you?” he barked, clearly perturbed.
    Elenore looked at Lord Bridgerton in alarm. Lord Brattondale couldn’t seriously expect her to feed him, could he? The earl's son just smiled and nodded his encouragement, as Lord Brattondale huffed