More Than a Stranger: A Sealed With a Kiss Novel by Erin Knightley Page A

the tea when the lightest touch of his fingers on her bare wrist stopped her cold. “Lady Evelyn?”
    Though he immediately withdrew his hand, she felt as though hot wax had been dripped on her skin, fierce but strangely pleasurable all at once. “Yes?” Her voice sounded breathy to her own ears, and she drew a steadying breath. Thank heavens her family was preoccupied with the story.
    “How do you take your tea?” He looked to her with genuine interest, and she belatedly realized she was probably giving him the same odd look he had given her moments ago.
    “Um, one lump of sugar, no milk.”
    He nodded as if it were the most normal conversation in the world and moved forward to take a seat. What on earth? Evie gave her head a little shake and went back to her hostess duties. As she poured and distributed the tea, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from sneaking glances in Mr. Benedict’s direction, watching his expressions as he conversed with the others. Never once did he give them one of those odd looks or ask them strange questions.
    As Evie passed the last cup of tea to Carolyn and sat back on the stuffy antique sofa, Mama turned to Mr. Benedict and smiled. “I certainly hope you don’t mind the informal nature of our little gathering. We tend to be very relaxed when we are here at the Hall.”
    He glanced around the bright and spacious drawing room. “Not at all, my lady. And I must say, your home is lovely. I can see why you don’t often find yourselves in the city with such a place as this available to you.”
    “Why, thank you, Mr. Benedict.” Mama flushed with pleasure. She had extensively refurbished much of the house over the years, and Evie knew he could not have given her mother a better compliment. “Do tell us more about yourself. I know where you are headed, but from where do you hail?”
    “Bath,” Richard interjected around a mouthful of cucumber sandwich. “He hails from Bath.”
    Mr. Benedict froze, his teacup halfway to the table, for a fraction of a second. Setting the cup down, he nodded. “Yes—Bath, my lady.” He pressed a napkin to his lips, his eyes flitting to Richard before continuing. “Since leaving for university, however, I very rarely find myself outside the school’s grounds. Indeed, it seems I am to go directly from being educated to being the educator, as it were, and will again find myself sequestered within a new school’s walls.”
    “Bath, you say?” Every eye turned in Evie’s direction. Drat, had she just said that aloud?
    She had been thinking Richard didn’t have any good friends in Bath, which was why he hadn’t sampled that particular city’s offerings. She had to say something now, lest she look like a dimwit. She licked her lips and forced a smile. “How interesting. I myself have never been. As my mother has already pointed out, our family spends most of our time here at the Hall, but I hear the Roman Baths are quite the phenomenon. It is said the waters there are miraculously restorative. Tell me, do you take the waters when you do find yourself in the area, Mr. Benedict?”
    Inwardly, she winced. Well, that didn’t sound inane at all.
    “Yes, they are quite the thing. However, as I have returned so infrequently, I have not indulged in that particular offering of the city.”
    Evie frowned. He just did it again—giving her a strange, unreadable look. He had been perfectly pleasant with her parents. When normally she might have let the topic drop, she tilted her head as if very interested in what he had to say. “Really? I would have expected a resident to have experienced so fine a local offering.”
    He reached out for the tea again, breaking eye contact. “Ancient history is not really my forte, I suppose.”
    “But the beauty of the baths lies in their being the past come to life, so to speak.”
    His eyes flickered up to meet hers. “Sometimes the past is better left behind, I think.” The intensity was back, if only for a moment.