Page 41 of A Lady's Wicked Revenge
But there was no need for any of it. Before he could give voice to the first of these objections, Sir James had already given his answer, a curt “Yes,” then turned back to his accounts books without another thought.
There’s that icy hand on my heart once again.Colin cleared his throat, knowing it was futile to continue but unable to stop himself from trying. “Sir, if I may, I don’t know if—”
“You may not.” James did not even deign to turn and face Colin now, instead speaking over his shoulder as he continued with whatever he was writing. “I’ve been good enough to give you my answer to this preposterous question, Colin. Now it is for you to be good enough to do as you’re told and leave me alone. Now.”
Colin did as he was bid without further question. At once, he was filled with remorse, wishing he had pushed himself to fight harder for Diana … but faced with the terrifying visage of Sir James, he had been stunned into mute obedience.As always,he thought bitterly. As Colin stepped out the door into the corridor, he could not help wondering if Diana would ever forgive him or if he would ever see his stepfather the same way again.
* * *
The Leeson grounds were a very different place than they had been even a week before. The summer had at last finally, definitively begun to grind to a stop: the thousands of leaves that coloured the sky over the hills that stretched out to the horizon now bore the golden tinge of sunset at all hours of the day, and the flights of humming insects had flown off to wherever such creatures go at the end of the season.
The flowers that had dappled the grasses were turning brown and collapsing into brown piles of withered petals. Even the birds had a mournful note in their songs, heralding the end of the glorious season and announcing the incipient arrival of autumn.
On the little stone bench on which Colin and Diana had first launched their exploration of these strange, colourful waters, however, it might still as well have been the glorious height of summer. Seated on their position, hidden from the other garden paths and the Leeson house by tall green hedges now bare of flowers, the two continued their expeditions into one another’s bodies.
Diana took tiny, stifled sips of air, nearly overwhelmed by pleasure as Colin’s fingers roved across hills and valleys never trod by another living soul. He shushed her gently, enjoying seeing the look of consternation on her face as she transmuted the moans that shook her body into near-silent convulsions. Frustrated, she brought her mouth against his, tugging gently at his dark hair as her tongue sought his as a moth quests for the light.
And Colin countered this manoeuvre with the slightest movement of his fingers against her upper thigh, her waist, her most secret parts concealed beneath her lilac-coloured skirt. He smiled, relishing how he rendered her insensible with such a tiny gesture. It was a duel so like and so unlike their frequent verbal battles—endless, flawless, desperate, full of hushed desire and every ounce of intelligence and effort their souls could bear.
Like all wonderful things, though, this too had to come to an end sooner or later. Even as the golden sun touched the treetops and drank their orange hue into its perfect, complete circle, the lovers lay back to breathe and gaze off into the distance. They panted, satisfied and blissful in one another’s company, Diana’s head resting against Colin’s shoulder, their fingers intertwined and resting idly on her lap. For a moment, there was nothing but companionable contentment, and the lingering shared fantasy of how many sunsets like this there might be in all their possible futures.
But only for a moment. Then what had transpired earlier that day reared its ugly head, and Colin’s old, familiar mask slipped back into place.
“I should wager Mister Dull did not win such a reaction from you during your tea this morning,” Colin said with a chuckle.
Diana shared in his laugh, though he could sense that her participation was intended to humour him. “I suppose not,” she said, looking up into his eyes as if to tell him she did not wish to pursue this topic of conversation.
“In fact, I find I can scarcely even imagine him engaged in such an activity with a woman,” Colin went on, finding he could not stop himself from continuing this joke even as he realised it was in poor taste. “Can you even conceive of such a thing? Even assuming he bored poor Missus Fessler to sleep first—or whoever was compelled to chaperone your tea—he would doubtless do the same to you before he came within a foot of those lovely lips of yours.”
Diana leaned away from him in her seat and withdrew her hand, crossing her legs to face away from him as she laughed light-heartedly. “You seem to be giving a great deal of thought to Mister Dull. Certainly more than I ever have.”
“Hmm? What’s that, now?”
She tapped her finger playfully against his mouth and shook her head, her golden locks shaking in an aura of shimmering sunlight. “Don’t patronise me, good sir. You’re no good at playing the fool. Why in the world are you thinking of Mister Dull when you have a beauty like me sitting nearly in your lap?”
“I …” Colin blew out a long, irritated sigh and raked his fingers through his curly dark hair.Damn it all, whatever happened to my much-vaunted eloquence?“I spoke with my stepfather earlier today. I tried to impart to him how poor an idea it would be for you to be married to Gerard Dunn, whatever his reasoning might be.”
Diana sat straighter, a look of concern creasing her lovely features. “To what effect?”
He could only shake his head helplessly in reply. Any words he wished to speak would be untrue, and the truth was far too upsetting to give voice to.
She loosed a long, bitter sigh, and Colin could see her deflate by half her size out of the corner of his eye. He felt her fingers once again find his and she patted the back of his hand amiably if limply. “Thank you for trying, Colin. I appreciate you making the effort.”
“Hah.” He chuckled morosely. “For all the good it did.”
The two gazed off at the sunset again, their eyes lingering on the dark silhouettes of birds making their final flights of the evening. Colin found himself idly considering staring directly at the dying sun for as long as he could bear.A senseless act of self-destruction, to be sure, but at least Diana’s fate would not be alone in undergoing such an act,he thought. As long as he was allowing himself to wallow in such maudlin fantasies, he considered that blinding himself might be a blessing; he was not sure he could bear to see the sadness on Diana’s face once she was miserably married to Mister Dull.
“There’s no escaping it, is there?” Diana asked into the sun.
Colin shook his head helplessly. Then he heard a sniffle come from the lovely young woman at his side and was seized by a sudden overwhelming urge to comfort her however he could. Hardly knowing what ideas were coming to his mind, he reached out to rub her back with one hand and said softly, “Marriage, I understand, is not always an easy thing. In fact, even discounting half of what I overhear at some of London’s gentleman’s clubs, it seems that for nearly everyone it is a most difficult matter. It takes a constant effort to build a partnership that both parties can live with, let alone be happy in.”
Colin felt himself nearly cry out in despair at what he was saying, but he forced his mask into an approximation of an encouraging smile. Delicately he put one finger under Diana’s chin and brought her face up to look him in the eyes, resisting the urge to wipe away a solitary tear that was tumbling down her cheek.
“But you have something few—no, that no one else has.” He smiled as wide as he could, and into her wondering eyes he spoke, “You have all the intelligence, strength, and terrifying power of Diana Hann. And whatever fate may send your way, I pity whatever and whoever stands in your way.”
Diana laughed beautifully, tears spilling down over her cheeks as she did so. Then she reached out and embraced Colin as tightly as she ever had before, and he held onto her like every happy dream he had ever let slip away.
“I’m sure you and he will be very happy together,” Colin murmured into the crown of Diana’s head. He hoped by some miracle he sounded more convincing aloud than he did in his own mind.
