Page 49 of The Scholar's Key
With a swish of her skirts and the shawl she wore around her shoulders, she sailed from the room, and Percy and Noah had no choice but to follow her down the hall and up the stairs. Noah moved to the side to allow Percy to go ahead of him, closing his eyes and revelling in her scent as she floated by him.
When Mrs. Compton turned into what appeared to be a bedchamber, Noah stopped.
“I am not sure that I—”
“Come,” she said, waving him forward. “I have no secrets to hide.”
He stepped into the room with hesitation, moving no farther forward than the threshold, while Percy followed the woman in, amusement on her face. Mrs. Compton opened a drawer in her wardrobe, pulling out a soft velvet bag.
“I want you to know how much I appreciate you returning my necklace to me,” she said, laying the bag on the bed before lifting it to deposit its contents on the quilt. “I’d like you to have these.”
She held out a pair of gold rings, passing the wider, thicker one to Noah and the matching, thinner one to Percy.
Percy held hers in her palm, staring at Mrs. Compton with surprise. “Thank you, Mrs. Compton. We are truly honored, but we cannot take these,” she said shaking her head and trying to pass them back, but Mrs. Compton lifted her hands.
“Bring them downstairs,” she said, waving to the door. “I shall tell you a story, but the young man is not comfortable in an old lady’s bedchamber.”
She laughed as she passed him, Percy grinning along with her, and soon enough they had returned to the drawing room. Noah kept the ring fisted tightly in his hand, uncertain of just what he was supposed to do with it. He supposed it was best to simply follow Percy’s lead, as she seemed to have a much better grasp of conventions in such situations.
“Now,” Mrs. Compton said, settling her vibrant skirts around her legs while a maid set a tea tray on the table. “Let me tell you about these rings. My husband, as you likely know, was a merchant. He was well-to-do, but not of noble blood. My father had chosen another man for me to wed. He was a fine enough sort, but he didn’t cause me any great feeling. Not like my Robert did.” She smiled wistfully. “I used to sneak out of the house at night to meet Robert in the garden behind our London townhouse. He was in Parliament, you see, so he spent a great deal of time in London. My father never knew.”
Percy was leaning forward, holding onto every word of the romantic tale. “Where did you first meet?” she asked.
“We met at Vauxhall,” Mrs. Compton said with a smile. “I had become lost in the gardens, and he was my saviour. Anyway,” she continued, waving a hand, “we ran away to be married when my father didn’t immediately agree to the wedding. Can you believe we went all the way to Gretna Green?” She chuckled. “Robert bought the rings before he even knew I would marry him. He had them engraved with the sign of infinity and said that they would always remind us of how our souls would be intertwined, no matter what happened to us or who I married.” She looked up at them. “I’d like you to have them, truly I would.”
Percy’s eyes were bright as she blinked back the tears that appeared to be nearly spilling over. “We could never,” she said. “They mean so much to you.”
“They do,” Mrs. Compton replied. “And that is why I think they should go to someone else, as a reminder of what you have together.”
“Oh, but we—” Percy cut a look over to Noah.
His jaw tightened. He knew what she was going to say. That they were not together, not a couple, and never would be. He understood, and he agreed with her. They shouldn’t take these rings. But then he noticed Mrs. Compton’s expression, so full of hope.
Percy must have realized the same, for she dropped her head. “Thank you,” she said simply.
When they had left the house, promising to call again before they departed Bath, Noah looked over at her.
“What will you do with the ring?” he asked.
“Wear it, I suppose,” she said, holding it up. “I cannot seem to fit it on my finger, however.”
“Here,” he said when he watched her struggle once more to slide it on. “Let me.”
He took the ring from her, holding her hand in his while he fit the ring onto her fourth finger, turning it just enough that it slid down to where it was supposed to be.
“There,” he said, reluctantly dropping her hand, and she tugged her glove back on overtop of it. “Perfect fit.”
He fit the ring on his own finger.
“You are keeping yours, then?” she asked, looking up at him from beneath her long eyelashes.
“I figured my finger was the best place to keep from losing it,” he said gruffly. He didn’t want to say it, but he knew without a doubt that he would never part with the ring, not when it was such a tie to the one Percy wore. “Tell me what you choose to do with yours, however, for they should be together.”
“I agree,” she said softly as they began the return walk to the townhouse. Noah wished he could lean in closer to her, at least take her hand – even if it meant nothing to her – but her maid was trailing behind them, and he didn’t want to risk anything that might get Percy into any sort of trouble or would force her to agree to a promise that she wouldn’t want to keep.
He walked her up the front steps of the house, but she turned to him before they came to the landing.
“Thank you, Noah,” she said, her eyes darting back and forth behind him, and he frowned. Was she trying to get rid of him so quickly? Did she not want to be seen with him? “I appreciate… everything.”
