Page 50 of Dangerous Games of a Broken Lady
“What do you have to be so cheery about? You seem like a giddy Spring lamb, jumping about with such excitement.”
“I have a gift for you,” she said, without missing a beat.
He glanced at her, arching a suspicious eyebrow. “You do?”
She nodded. “Oh yes. May we go inside so I can give it to you? I fear it may rain and I should hate to have it ruined.”
“I suppose we may.” He began to walk up the steps but stopped halfway. “Tell me, did you speak with Miss Green this morning? I must know before we set foot inside the house.”
She rolled her eyes in that fashion that irked him. “I cannot see the difference that a matter of yards will make.”
“Adelaide, for goodness’ sake, will you put me out of my misery?” He immediately regretted snapping at her in such a brusque way. This was not in his nature. It seemed everyone was behaving in a somewhat untoward manner of late.Perhaps, Miss Green’s coldness has rubbed off on you.
“I have not spoken with her, and I will explain why once we are inside,” she replied coolly. “However, I do have something from her. I do not know what it contains, but I fervently hope it shall cheer your spirits. You are starting to bore me with your mournful brooding. It really is most unsettling. Do not make me send you to a sanatorium—I will do it if I must.”
“Cease your teasing, I beg of you. I did not mean to bark at you like that,” he said, sighing wearily. “Now, may we be civil and step inside?”
She smiled. “We may.”
Try as he might, he could not stop his heart from lightening at the sight of her ready grin. Adelaide had a way of brightening any room with her relentless positivity and dry sense of humor. It annoyed him as much as he admired it, but he was very glad to have her around that afternoon. After losing Miss Green, he needed all the optimism he could muster.
They walked through to the drawing room and sat down, whilst tea was called for. Rain began to patter against the window, just as Adelaide had predicted. Jasper watched it for a while, pondering how keenly it reflected his mood.
“So, what is this gift you have brought me?”
Adelaide reached into her small bag and pulled out a letter. She handed it to him, her fingertips trembling. He wondered what reason she had to be so nervous, though he did not mention it. The letter drew most of his attention.
“What is it?”
“A letter, obviously,” she replied, chuckling to herself.
“From Miss Green?”
Adelaide nodded. “She asked me to deliver it to you myself. I am to be your go-between at last, or so it would seem. When she requested I play messenger, I could not refuse.”
“She gave this to you? I thought you said you had not seen her.”
“I have not,” she said. “Her maid instructed me that I was to hand this letter to you directly, and that I should bring any response back to the Green residence. I cannot tell you where Miss Green isactuallyhiding, but she seems eager to keep up a repartee between the two of you. At least, that is what the offer of a response would suggest.”
Jasper fixed his gaze on her, scrutinizing her closely. There was something amiss about Adelaide today. She seemed skittish, almost. Then again, she had been through a great deal in the past few days, with the engagement and the events with Miss Green and the ‘sickness’ of her father.Perhaps, I am merely imagining things. My own mind is hardly sound.
“Are you planning to stay whilst I read this?” he asked pointedly.
She shrugged. “Whatever you please. I have little to occupy myself with, but I can leave if you wish.”
“No, no, you may remain. There have never been many secrets between you and I, have there?”
“No, there have not.” She smiled softly, “You do not have to tell me what she has written, however. I am relatively disinterested in your affairs. I seek only to offer you comfort, as a recently-distressed friend.”
“How generous of you.” A sarcastic note lingered in his voice, though it was humorously intended.
Tentatively, he turned the letter over and unfolded it. Sure enough, Miss Green’s handwriting stared back at him. A few letters were different, but he reasoned she had written it in a hurry, or a state of emotional upset.Maybe, all is not lost after all.
Slowly, he began to read:
My dearest Lord Gillett,
I am writing to you with a heavy heart, as family matters have drawn me away from London for the foreseeable future. I would tell you where I have gone, but I must go there alone. Not for me, but for the privacy of those I have gone to care for. They are very sick, and I should hate for them to be unduly stressed by the presence of a stranger.
