Page 14 of An Earl's Scandalous Return
With no footman close at hand, Edward gritted his teeth and helped her into the carriage. It took everything in him not to jump back into memories as soon as her tiny hand slipped into his. It was warm, impossibly warm, and then it was gone. He shut the door.
“Tomorrow, then. I will be at your house first thing.”
Edward didn’t wait for her to answer but turned away and walked back up the steps.
Chapter 14
The next morning, Arabella had to keep pinching herself in the carriage as she sat across from Edward, her former beloved. He was there, in England, in the same carriage with her. Alvin might have thought to send a maid for propriety’s sake, but they were to pretend to be husband and wife where they were going.
It felt like an odd, dangerous game, but it was how Alvin wanted it. Edward had hardly spoken two words to her since they’d begun the journey to Hamfield an hour before. Even though they were silent, she could not stop stealing glances at him.
It was incredible how much more handsome he had become in the past four years. And it also made a little coil of jealousy form in her stomach when she thought of all the women who had longed after him, kissed him, touched him, and perhaps even more.
Stop it. You have no right to wonder about that or feel jealous. You chose to let him go.
And so, she had, but she hadn’t wanted to. Even the memory of it made her eyes sting. Seeing the duke’s kind reception to her made it hurt even more. It was like the animosity between him and her father had all but disappeared, and she wondered if he felt any guilt about it. If that’s why his kindness had been so overflowing.
What had Edward thought of it?
“Have you ever been to Hamfield?” she asked stupidly, desperate to fill the tense, empty air with something.
“Yes, but only once,” he replied, his gaze still fitted to the outside country roads.
It was going to be a long journey, a couple of days, and she closed her eyes, knowing that she would not be able to bear this heavy weight between them for long. If only he would let go of the past as she had. As she’d tried to do.
“And you?”
“No,” she replied, opening her eyes again, finding his on her at long last. “Never.”
“Then this must be quite the adventure.” The way he said adventure made something tingle over her skin, the memory of their night in the garden still haunting her.
Swallowing, she tried to think of something logical to say. “Yes. You must have had many adventures on the Continent.”
Thankfully, he did not flinch, but he did look away again as he answered. “Certainly. Riding, boating, fishing, diving. Museums, music, all kinds of interesting foods. It was the perfect time but perhaps a little bit long.”
She flinched a little at the hint of their past and looked down at her hands. “I wonder if Alvin would ever allow me to go on such an adventure. I think I should like it.”
He hmphed and sighed. “I suppose this is your first one, and he has allowed you this. Perhaps you will get a taste for it.”
She let a little smile play on her lips. “I suppose I will.”
They were silent then, and she pulled out a book, hoping to pass the time more easily. At least the tension had been broken somewhat, and there seemed to be a shared agreement that they would not bring up the past. But she could feel his eyes on her when she wasn’t looking. However, whenever she looked up, he was always reading or looking out the window again.
The daylight began to dim, and her eyes grew heavy. Eventually, she leaned back against the carriage wall and succumbed to fatigue. At least in sleep, she would not have to think of anything to say to him. And yet, as she fell into slumber, she saw his eyes again.
Chapter 15
Edward watched as Arabella closed her eyes and went to sleep, her book still open on her lap. He closed his own book softly and put it to his side, unable to take his eyes away from her. Even though her hair was a darker blonde, her lashes were nearly black, long enough that when she closed her eyes, they fanned her lovely pale cheeks.
Her mouth was a little open, relaxed in sleep, and Edward watched it, swallowing hard. Why could he not forget her? How could he not put her out of his mind?
Because you loved her. You love her still.
It was a small voice inside him that he tried to ignore, and so he tore his eyes away to the window. But then, a bump on the country road jolted them both up, and he heard with a wince Arabella’s head bounce against the back of her seat. She made a little groan but did not awake, and so he slid to her side, wrapping his arm around her and bringing her head to rest on his shoulder.
The movement had been so quick and natural that he didn’t even think about it. But now, with her so close, he could smell her: lilies. The scent threw him back to the past as his eyes skirted over her mouth again. It had been over four years ago, when he’d asked her to meet him under their tree at night.
She’d been able to get away somehow, and he met her outside her home under an oak tree that provided enough shelter from the sight of the house.
