She snuck a glance at him. He was leaning back in his chair, watching her with the tip of his tongue wedged into the corner of his mouth. “Is something wrong, Ms. Southerland?”

A soft huff of laughter escaped her. “If you’ll forgive me, Lord Lowry, these terms are beginning to make me feel as if you’re my guardian rather than my employer.”

Lowry looked appropriately mortified. “I understand your concern. Lawyers are exceedingly, maddeningly thorough. But please don’t let it alarm you. If you’ll allow me to walk you through the contract, perhaps you’ll feel more comfortable with the arrangement.”

Wren crossed her arms. “Very well.”

“I assure you everything is entirely for your safety. As I mentioned before, this house is ancient. Due to some, shall we say … structural integrity issues, I cordoned off access to the entire east wing.”

She remembered how cold it was on that side of the house. “What happened?”

“A few months ago, I asked for some renovations. Many of the walls are solid stone, which makes it difficult to install electrical conduits, and…” He trailed off, waving a hand. “Well, I won’t bore you with the technicalities. While the engineers were working, a staircase collapsed and buried a few of them. Needless to say, the east wing is too dangerous—and too dark, besides. Since that incident, I’ve put a moratorium on the project, so you may find some rooms still have gas lamps. Yours included, I’m afraid. Terribly sorry about that.”

“Oh,” Wren said quietly.

“As for remaining here … It’s partly for quarantine, as I’d hate to see this disease spread beyond the walls of Colwick Hall. However, you are the professional, and should you need to leave, I will happily grant my permission. I merely want to know when to expect you home in case I need to send a search out for you. This time of year, you’ll be dead of exposure before you can blink.”

“Does that … happen often?”

“Oh, yes. Why, just a few years ago, we had a casualty at one of my parties. Wandered out into a blizzard, no shoes or anything. Goddess rest his soul, the poor bastard.”

Lowry sounded so blasé about it all. How much tragedy had happened here? While it made sense to be cautious when he’d lost so much, Wren still couldn’t help feeling uneasy about all these rules. “And the curfew?”

“Ah, that.” Lowry offered a sheepish smile. “That one has no rational explanation, I’m afraid. I haven’t been sleeping much since the illness broke out. Everything wakes me. I hope you’ll allow me some unreasonableness. If it’s any consolation, everyone abides by it, including myself.”