Page 2 of The Viscount's Daring Cinderella
Beryl gave him a withering stare. “If that is what you believe, let me disabuse you of the notion, sir. You are sorely mistaken. The way that I see it …” Beryl paused. Her hands were trembling but thank goodness he could not see it. “If you had a shred of decency, you would turn your horse around and go about your business. I did not seek you out.”
The corners of his lips raised in a sardonic smile. “You wish for me to leave?”
Beryl’s heart fluttered at his smile. She looked away swiftly. What the devil was wrong with her? “I do,” she answered firmly. The fluttering did not dissipate.
His expression stilled and grew serious. Beryl was stunned for the second time when the rogue replied, “Your wish is my command, my lady.”
He wheeled his horse around and, without a backward glance, rode onto a path among the trees. Beryl did not leave the water immediately, although she desperately wanted to. She thought it best to wait to be sure he had, in fact, departed. Sitting there for so long was probably foolish, but she could not be sure he was not lurking in the woods. Watching and waiting.
She also had to get back to the house and make herself presentable. Beryl did not wish to invite any mockery or snide remarks from her cousins. She had suffered enough from that. A few more minutes passed, and all seemed quiet. She quickly waded from the lake, took her clothes, and hid behind a stout tree while she dressed. The rogue did not reappear, and shebreathed a sigh of relief. She mounted her horse post-haste and rode toward Chalfont House. Beryl reflected on his words. She should be concerned about any possible blemish to her character, yet she found she was intrigued.
Who was this man?
How could such a rake have a sensual appeal? She had not forgotten how hot she had flushed under his intense gaze and the sensation as it flowed through her body. Taking a steady breath, she pushed away all thoughts of that stranger. Beryl felt a pang of loneliness at the thought of returning to the house. An oppressive feeling always surrounded her once she entered, especially when faced with her cousins’ spitefulness and indifference to her circumstances. In truth, they took some pleasure in reminding her she depended on their generosity to live.
She had always dreamed of having a season, courting, getting married and having children. To say that Beryl had fallen on hard times would be an understatement. She doubted that there would be any prospects of her dream becoming a reality. It had been eight months since her father passed away and she was officially out of mourning, but what dressing in black had to do with the pain that stabbed at her heart? She was in mourning still and missed her father terribly.
Beryl sighed heavily. She vividly remembered when her father became ill. She had been full of hope, believing he would soon recover. She did not know it then, but it had been the beginning of the end of her dreams. Her father was the only close relative Beryl had, which made his passing even more painful. She had never felt more isolated and alone. When he was alive, he loved and cherished her. He did not need to say the words. She had always felt his love.
When he first became ill, Beryl could not bear to be parted from him and had entertained no such conversation. He hadwanted her to have a season, but she would hardly enjoy it when he was lying in bed. He had insisted that she leave him, but she steadfastly refused. Beryl recalled how determined she was to wait until he recovered before going to town. She had seen the defeat in his eyes, and finally he gave up on asking her to go.
In hindsight she wondered if he had known he was no longer for this world. She was happy she remained with him until the end. At first, her father’s joints were swollen, and he was in terrible pain. The physician said it was gout and that he would soon recover. Unfortunately, he did not. He had passed away in his sleep one night. Beryl’s eyes shimmered with tears as she remembered finding him pale and lifeless that morning. She recalled thinking it was not possible.How could it be? How could he be gone?When she confronted the physician, he simply said her father’s heart gave out.
Her world had imploded.
The estate was bequeathed to Mr. Jasper Haskell, a distant cousin, who insisted she leave the estate immediately for reasons she did not understand. Mr. Haskell did not have the courtesy to face her and deliver the news in person. Rather, he sent her a letter. When she opened it, Beryl quickly realized how her circumstances had changed.
She was without power and any connections of her own.
Yet, she did not immediately accept that her father had not provided for her. They had never discussed it, and she just assumed that he would have. He was, after all, a responsible man. If the letter was to be believed, her father had not made any provisions for her before he died, and he had not taken any actions to protect her.Incredulous. Beryl had sent a letter by return to her cousin demanding he provide an explanation. At the very least she should have an inheritance from her mother’s dowry.
The response had been swift and crushing. There was nothing for her bar a few pieces of jewelry that belonged to her mother. Beryl’s fall from grace was complete. She reasoned that it must have been because her father thought he would have more time to put his affairs in order. It was the only thing that made any sense. She did not want to be angry with her father. She was one and twenty, veritably on the shelf by society’s standards, and those less charitable would refer to her as an old maid. Beryl had been filled with anxiety when she considered her future. She did not know what the devil she was going to do for Mr. Haskell made it clear that he was not the least bit concerned with her circumstances.
While her trunks were being packed for her departure to some unknown destination, she had received a letter from another cousin, Lady Edith Ellsworth. Beryl had almost collapsed in relief, but little did she know Lady Ellsworth was not her savior.
She is my tormentor.
Taking a steady breath, Beryl drew on the reins of her mount, dismounted, and handed him over to the stable lad. She stood in the forecourt for a few beats, staring at the large oak door.
The memory of her first time in this house was as vivid as if it happened yesterday. When Beryl had arrived at Chalfont House, she was ushered into the drawing room where Lady Ellsworth had received her. The room was as dark as the scowl on her cousin’s face.
Lady Ellsworth had snorted, then said, “I never took your father for a wastrel but there you have it. Here you are before me, the daughter of a marquess with no dowry, and no prospect of finding a husband.”
Lady Ellsworth’s chuckle had contained no mirth. Goosebumps pricked Beryl’s arms, and she had felt cold despite the fire roaring in the fireplace.
“Your mother thought she was better than us. She never came here when I invited her. If only she could see you now. How the mighty have fallen.”
Lady Ellsworth’s voice had not masked her pleasure. It was as though she had waited a long time to utter those words in triumph. By this twisted logic, her mother was humbled even in death.
“If I had not sent for you, where would you be?” Lady Ellsworth asked, with furrowed brows and stern lips.
“I am grateful that you sent for me, Lady Ellsworth, for I do not know the answer to your question,” Beryl had replied as she dropped her eyes.
An unpleasant, self-conscious emotion had gripped her, and she felt terribly exposed and powerless.Shame. That was what she’d felt.
“Fortunately, for you, I decided to take on this burden. I am a charitable woman with a good heart. You will not give me cause to regret it.”
People who are kind and charitable did not need to say so. It was demonstrated by their deeds. Beryl had begun to get a sense of things to come at Chalfont House, and she had felt dread for she had no other choice.
