Page 43 of The Reckless Love of an Heir
Harry smiled at her. ‘You have very pretty eyes, Susan.’ It was as though he read her mind as she had studied his. ‘I will admit, I do not remember noticing before. Have you been hiding yourbeauty from us all and blossoming in secret, tucked away in your Yorkshire retreat?’
A blush warmed her skin. She had no idea what to say. She never thought herself pretty. But now Henry and Harry had told her she was.
When they returned to the house, Susan’s mother offered the men tea but they declined and said their goodbyes.
Susan waved them off with relief, then retired to her room, desperate to pull herself together and stop thinking of Henry.
Damn. Damn!
Emotions swayed through Henry. It was not just attraction, nor affection, the feelings were more intense.
Susan glanced at him numerous times today, then looked away. In those moments it was clear to him that whatever he felt, she felt it too.
It was absurd. Ridiculous. He had known her for years. He had carelessly disregarded her presence all his life. Yet now… Now he had discovered he cared for someone more than himself, he cared about her.
He flicked the reins, urging his horses into a trot. Harry sat on the curricle’s seat beside him, speaking of the evening he planned and things he wished to do before he returned to his regiment.
Henry’s mind could not focus on a word Harry said.
Susan. Why Susan?
They had never even been particularly friendly until this year.Why Susan?
He spent the afternoon with Alethea, the woman he was supposed to be courting, looking at her sister, only hoping that at any moment Susan might look at him – and when she did…
Damn. He wanted to kiss her.
He had always had a reckless nature. But he had never considered such folly as this.
For the next week, when Henry called on Alethea, to fulfil the promise he had made to her, it was with a darker intent. He visited to see Susan, with a longing to secure a moment to spend time alone with her and explore what the hell it was that possessed him.
Yet, she made it clear she did not desire to know. She took the route of rebellion and ran. Hiding from him whenever she could – hiding from whatever the feelings were between them.
Even when he brought others with him, in the hope of flushing her out of her hiding places, his plan did not work, she would find some excuse to remain hidden. Sending word through the servants or Alethea that she was unwell, too tired, or busy with some household task.
Yet maybe that was for the best, and this would pass…
12
When the day of Sarah’s debut ball arrived, Susan encouraged the maid to dress her hair in a complex style that would take time. Every moment she could delay, she wished to delay. She had considered feigning a headache all day, but Alethea knew her too well and would know it was feigned.
As the maid dressed her hair, Susan heard Henry telling her how pretty her hair had looked at her parents’ ball. She had not seen him for a week. He had called daily, to visit Alethea, but on every occasion Susan found a reason to escape the drawing room before he entered. Even when he arrived with Harry, William or another of Harry’s cousins, she presumed to entertain her while he spoke to Alethea, she excused herself with one reason or another. She certainly did not need Henry interfering with her life and deciding who she should converse with while he ignored her.
Yet when he and Alethea married, and her father passed away, Henry could order her life as he wished because she would rely on him for her food and the roof over her head. Thatthought had become unbearable. She could not live with them. Not now.
For years, she had accepted her future would be spinsterhood – a life dependent on her father then Henry. Nausea spun through her stomach. Her future had to change. She had to consider marriage. She had to find a husband.
There was a knock on the door. It opened and Alethea swept in, looking beautiful as she always did. She was wearing a pale, almost luminous, grey. It made her eyes shimmer and the colour a dozen times more striking.
Susan was wearing a lime green. It was a very unusual colour for her, that her mother had persuaded her to buy. It would make her stand out in the ballroom; she had not minded at the time, but today she did not wish to draw attention.
‘Oh.’ Alethea stopped and stared at her. ‘My goodness. You look… wonderful. I have never seen you look so well. Who would have thought such a vibrant colour would suit you, but with your brown hair and pale eyes… You look magnificent.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, though, she did not want to look magnificent today. She would rather be obscure. Yet, if she must find a husband perhaps it was a good thing.
‘But take your spectacles off. You cannot wear them with your hair dressed, they make the whole thing look silly.’
Alethea reached out, took Susan’s spectacles off and handed them to the maid, who bobbed a curtsy. Then, Alethea took Susan’s hand and led her from the room.
