Page 20 of The Gentleman Was Right
It was an undeniable fact that she owed the Earl of Greydon and, by proxy, his brother an apology, but he brushed her attempt away. “You felt safe until I showed up, and I think…you should stay. If I leave for London tomorrow, your life here will soon return to normal.”
Did that mean he’d come to his senses and was withdrawing his proposal?
Or was this simply the only other solution he could think of?
A wave of something that felt an awful lot like disappointment hit her, so she scoffed when she should have thanked him for his kindness. “You just got here, and we can’t stay anyway. I can’t imagine your brother will accept strangers living on his property.”
In truth, she couldn’t understand why Edward was unbothered by her lies and willing to let her stay. At the very least, he should have viewed her with suspicion, and it seemed likely that the earl would not be nearly as forgiving.
“You don’t need to worry about Sebastian. I’ll figure out what to tell him. Or I’ll tell him I handled it and pay for your expenses directly. He isn’t planning to visit in the near future, and if he decides to, I’ll figure something out.”
It was above and beyond what she deserved. “Why?”
“No one should be forced to marry. Marriage is supposed to bring happiness and joy, and if yours will not, you shouldn’t be forced to go through with it.”
“You’re a romantic?” she asked, even though everything about her interaction with him screamed that he was. It was difficult to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She’d been a romantic once,andshe remembered what it was like to imagine a marriage filled with happiness and joy. It wasn’t something she liked to think about, and a part of her hated him for reminding her of what she’d lost.
“Maybe.” He smoothly stepped over a dip in the ground and reached out to assist her. “But even if I wasn’t a romantic, I wouldn’t want you to suffer.”
Suffer.
Guilt hit her square in the chest. She should explain. Give him the full truth.
Becausesufferwasn’t the right word to describe what marriage to Basil would be like, and it was unfair to let Edward assume that Basil was violent or cruel.
But would Edward understand if she told him exactly what had happened?
Probably not.
A fat raindrop landed on her nose, and her feet stopped moving. She tipped her head back. Another hit her on the chin. Edward had been right. The rain was closer than she’d thought, and the size of the droplets made her think it was going to be a great deal more intense than she’d assumed. Maybe they’d even experience a true storm. If they did, they’d be positively drenched by the time they made it back to the cottage.
It seemed rather fitting.
And deserving.
Especially for her.
Edward must have concluded they were going to get soaked, too, because he shuffled closer and raised his arm up over her head, using his greatcoat to shield her.
“We should head back,” he said, close to her ear.
“You don’t have to protect me.” Violet gestured at his arm. “I can survive the rain. It’s my fault if I get soaked.”
“You’ll catch a chill,” he replied, his expression fierce.
“It’s a long walk,” she argued.
“Then we probably shouldn’t linger.”
He wasn’t wrong. It would be smart to return to the cottage. She sighed in agreement and, to make walking easier, stepped closer to him, moved under his arm, and allowed him to guide her in the opposite direction.
The rain had started out as big fat drops, but it soon became a steady wall of water. Despite its intensity, Edward somehow managed to keep her head and chest completely dry, and his body was warm enough that she hardly felt the icy wetness that soaked the bottom of her skirts. He steered her around puddles and divots in the ground with a sureness that made it easy to let him lead.
When the cottage finally came into view, she realized how intimate their position was and attempted to put some distance between them, but he either didn’t realize or didn’t care because he moved with her, trapping her arm against his side, and keeping her in the cocooning warmth of his body until they were through the front door.
When they were safe in the entry, she peeled herself away. The loss of his body heat sent a chill through her, and the urge to step back into his warmth caused her to put even more distance between them. Relying on him, even for heat, was unwise.
She moved so far away that she retreated straight down the hall.
