Page 62 of A Courtesan Countess Worth the Scandal
Nora shrugged, her spirits much too happy to pay such men any attention. “He was likely going to rail about how much he abhors the French. If there’s one thing I have learned about the English gentry, it’s that they love to hurl insults at our neighbors across the Channel. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to make it a national sport.”
“I used to visit France in the summer, when I was younger,” he said, his voice strangely far away. “Some of my happiest memories are of the beaches there, and the quaint villages where I would stroll. I was fortunate, I suppose, that I did not encounter any battles or retaliations while I was there.”
“Perhaps, when there is peace, you could go back?” Nora suggested, secretly imagining what it would be like to go there with him. Several of her clients had invited her to travel abroad with them, but she had always refused, for fear that she would not come back alive. At least at home, on familiar ground, she had a place to retreat to when she felt as though she were in danger.
Liam swept a hand through his hair. “It is terribly hot; do you not think? Would you care to walk with me in the gardens for a while, until I feel cooler? I have never liked large gatherings much. I always feel as though I cannot breathe properly.”
Nora glanced back up the passageway, longing to be among the beautiful ladies and handsome gentlemen who were dancing to their heart’s content. Just once, she would have liked to take to the floor with Liam and follow the stately steps that she had watched others dance so many times. But there was something in his voice that made her realize he was in some distress. Perhaps more than he was letting on.
“Of course, I’ll walk with you,” she said, still slightly lamenting her missed opportunity to dance. “Although, I’ve got one condition.”
He frowned at her. “What might that be?”
“Will you dance with me when we return?” She smiled hopefully up at him. “Your guests might think it a little odd if the newly married couple don’t take to the floor at least once.”
The furrows that lined his brow softened. “I promise you; we will dance as many dances as you would like once I have gathered myself outside. You see, having been away for so long, I had forgotten just how crowded these affairs could be. I am unused to such a bevy of company, so I must prepare my mind before I take on the challenge once more.”
She might have believed that was the only reason he did not want to remain indoors, had it not been for the slightly guilty expression that flickered across his face for a fleeting moment. It was the look of someone who had something to hide. Indeed, it was the same look he had been wearing when he had dragged her away from Lord Fleetwood.
Is the woman who broke his heart here? Is that why he’s so nervous?
Considering he had avoided her for the better part of the last fortnight, she had not been able to find an opportunity to delve deeper into the hurt she sensed he had suffered. Perhaps, tonight was that opportunity, but she knew she would have to tread carefully in case she accidentally spooked him. After relishing their second kiss, she did not want to risk pushing him away again, regardless of her mother’s warning.
Moving further away from the hubbub of the ball, they came to a narrow door that opened out onto the walled gardens to the back of the Manor. The icy night air washed over Nora’s flushed cheeks, making her wish she had brought a shawl or a cloak to fend off the worst of the chill.
As though sensing her coldness, Liam removed his tailcoat and draped it over Nora’s shoulders, before guiding her toward a strange, cylindrical structure in the center of the walled garden. Forged from gray stone, it looked rather like an abandoned tower that had been reclaimed by nature. Vines snaked around the sides, while ivy covered one entire curve, and Nora imagined it looked rather pretty in the summertime.
“This is where I used to hide when my Mother and Father argued, and where I sought solace after my Aunt had scolded me for nothing at all,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.
Walking up to the curtain of ivy, he pulled it aside to reveal a thin, splintering wooden door that did not look wide enough to permit entry. From inside a little box that had been nailed to the wall, and reminded Nora of a birdbox, Liam took out a key and slotted it into the lock. It turned with a screech of metal, and it took Liam several hearty shoves to get the door to open inward.
“Are there… beasties in there?” Nora hung back, clinging to his arm.
Liam chuckled. “Only a pair of turtledoves. At least, they were here when I was last at home. They might have gone elsewhere by now.” With gentle insistence, he urged her through the narrow gap and into the wide space of the hollow cylinder beyond.
Once inside, a gasp escaped Nora’s throat. Just ahead of her, a set of curving stone steps led up to a platform that jutted across half of the disused tower. Above their heads, a shimmering, twinkling blanket of constellations that shone proudly in the clear night’s sky. And though she could still hear the sound of the music coming from the ballroom, it almost felt as though they were in a different world, set apart from the one they had just come from.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, awestruck.
Liam took hold of her hand once more and guided her up the curving stairwell to the platform. “I used to have chairs here, but I removed them before I left for the Continent. Use my tailcoat to sit on, so your dress does not get dirtied.”
She hesitated, prompting Liam to take the tailcoat from around her shoulders and lay it down on the stone platform, close to the edge so they could dangle their legs off the side. He sat down and pulled on her hand so she would follow suit, which she duly did, despite her discomfort at ruining his expensive garment.
“Do you like it here?” Liam asked, after a moment. “I realize I have been an awful guide, but I would be more than happy to show you everything there is to see, now that I know you do not hate me.”
She leaned into him for warmth and smiled as she felt his arm slip around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “It’s wonderful. I’ve never seen Lily happier, though she’s had her fair share of scrapes and bruises from tripping over unexpected steps and branches. Even my Ma seems comfortable, though she’d never admit it.”
“I asked ifyouliked it here.” Liam laughed. “I have noticed you do that often. You speak of others before you speak of yourself, and you seek to ensure that everyone else is taken care of before you even think of your own welfare. It is an uncommon trait, and one that I deeply admire in you.”
Nora rested her head on his shoulder. “You make me sound like a saint, and we both know I’m nothing of the sort.”
“I have encountered self-proclaimed men and women of piety who would not deign to set foot inside an orphanage,” he continued. “You give so selflessly, and yet you exist in a world where all anyone has ever done is take from you. It pains me, Nora, to think of what you have endured.”
Nora gulped. “You shouldn’t think of it at all. That’s how I muddle through.” Her chest constricted, as though someone were clamping it in a vise. “If I were to ever stop and really dwell on all of the awful things that have happened to me, I’d turn into a madwoman. It’s easier to just… forget.”
“Is there a story you cannot tell?” Liam brought his other arm across her and rubbed his hand along the bare skin of her arm to warm it up. “You do not have to tell it to me, either, but I am curious if there is one story that you would not ever put into print.”
She buried her face in his chest, inhaling the soapy scent of him. “There is. It’s the first of my stories, in fact.” She did not know why, but before she could stop herself, the tale began to tumble from her tongue.
