Page 60 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Suddenly, it occurred to him that it didn’t have to be that way, and he grabbed his cloak before he could think twice, hurrying down the stairs and into the garden. It was another fine white day, the sunlight veiled in fog. He made his way down the winding back path, hovering in the area she was certain to walk through.
Sure enough, after a short while, Adeline appeared, stopping to pick the flowers as she went. He stepped out in front of her.
“Nice bouquet.”
Adeline gasped, but recovered quickly. “Well, some nice young lord gave me free reign to pluck whatever I liked from his garden. It would be rude not to make use of that generous offer.”
“What a lovely young lord you serve.”
“He has his moments.”
They both grinned irrepressibly.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He searched for an answer that conveyed something of his affections without displaying the full, desperate depth of them.
I don’t want to go a day without seeing you. I never want to go a day without seeing you.
“Just walking you to the gate,” he settled on. “’Tis a fine morning for a walk, after all.”
“’Tis indeed.” Adeline smiled and fell into step beside him. “It’s good to see you out on your own. I thought you weren’t supposed to—”
“Well, I figured I was the master here, so…”
Adeline chewed her lip. “Don’t go too far from the house, just in case—”
“I’ll be fine.”
“If I come back to find you’ve taken a turn, I’ll be most put out.”
“Duly noted.”
“Dimitri—” She paused, stopping just before the gate, hand hovering above it. “If something does happen, please summon me back.”
Painful sparks of hope fizzled across his chest. He wasn’t a job for her today. Today, she could hand him over to anyone.
Of course, she’d probably feel the same if one of her family fell ill, but still.
He curled his fingers into fists.Damn, desperate hope.
“All right,” he said quickly.
Adeline twisted the stems of the bouquet in her hand, eyes not quite meeting his. Then, quite suddenly, she leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek.
It was so quick and so brief she was halfway down the path before he had time to process it, the gate banging in her wake.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she chirped. “Don’t mope all day.”
I make no promises.“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he called after, the weight of her smile and the trace of her lips on his skin still warming every inch of him.
He returned to the house, slinking back up to his room before Minty could discover him missing and fuss about him being out unescorted. Strange that he didn’t much care for her concern and both longed for and despised Adeline’s.
He liked her caring for him. He didn’t much care for worrying her.
He sighed, trying to shake it away, and turned to the book the two of them had started the night before. It was a favourite of hers and he was determined to find outwhy.The story seemed a little predictable to him, and they were constantly told what the characters were like rather than shown it.
A little while later, there was a knock at the door. Posey appeared, her grey eyes steely. “You have a visitor,” she said.
