Page 19 of In Compromise with the Earl
“And you have regrets for more than the part you played in this debacle,” Aphrodite said. “Don’t you?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I wish I could get her to tell me why she betrayed me in some of the worst ways. Why she had to callously lie, manipulate and trick me into seeing what she wanted me to see instead of who she truly was.”
“Sadly,” Aphrodite shook her head, “and now with her gone, you will never know.”
“Unless you happen to know a witch,” he said dryly.
Laughing quietly, she replied, “No.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Those were the barebones of my marriage. The tale gets deeper and darker as you go along.”
A lull hung in the air before she reached over and rested a hand on his forearm. “Don’t worry, I have candles.”
* * *
What am I doing?
The thought barely crossed his mind before he reached out, framed her cheek with palm and coasted a thumb over her cheekbone. “Damn, but you’re a breath of fresh air. You’re a surprise.”
She leaned into his palm. “I’d prefer that to hearing how much I should stay away from you.”
“You should,” he responded, before he laid his lips on her pillowy soft ones.
His slow kiss simmered with intensity, as a fire he had not expected to feel lit itself inside his chest. If it were up to him, he would have kept the connection going, but when she parted her lips to deepen their connection, he drew back.
“You should go inside.” He swept his thumb under her bottom lip. “And no objections now. Go.”
He hoped she would understand that he needed some time to himself. She met his gaze, held and searched it before standing. “I understand. Oswald, don’t rip yourself to pieces for her hateful actions.”
His laugh was hollow. “Keep that in mind when I tell you how I defended her when everyone knew she was in the wrong.”
Aphrodite left and Oswald kept his eyes on her until she stepped onto one of the many back porches and slipped inside the Manor. Now that she was inside, he slumped into the seat and pressed a hand to his chest.
It may have been a simple conversation with her, but she had no inkling how hard it had been for him to dredge up those memories and put them into words while brushing away the emotions that came with them.
He wished, dearly wished that he had not been so blind to see her treacherous ways. How pleasant it must be for one to wear a halo that blinded the other from life’s ugliness.
Staring into the darkness, his gut knotted as he thought of Claire, the woman he had once loved, but who had never loved him—his late wife. She had used him to put her humble-background family into the realm of riches while manipulating him to standing with her while she was out there spreading her legs to anyone who smiled at her.
He regretted the very day had had gone to see the woman whose betrayal had destroyed his good name among his peers and made him a laughingstock and a cautionary tale to other young men. He could not number the days he walked in a haze of denial and hollowness heavy on his heart.
Nor could he count the nights when heartbreak had been so sharp that he had asked God to have mercy on him and steal his life away while he slept. Heavily, he stood and made his way to the Manor and his chamber, hoping that he would sleep like the dead that night.
* * *
It was an insistent knocking that woke Oswald and he blindly reached for his robe. It would not do to blind whoever was on the other side of the door with his naked body.
He opened to see a black-and-white, uniform-clad maid, who promptly curtsied. “Good morning, My Lord. A visitor is here for you, a Mister Leo Bristol.”
Oswald’s brow lifted. “My cousin is here?”
“Yes, My Lord,” she said. “Lady Pandora allows visitors in the blue drawing room or outside in the pagoda.”
“I’ll take him outside. Please give me a moment and I will be right down, thank you.” He closed the door and went to do a quick but thorough wash before he dressed and headed down to see Leo.
He spotted him in the drawing room, his dark priestly clothing somber and sticking out like a sore thumb with the gaiety around him.
Smiling widely, he clapped a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Welcome to the circus, my friend.”
