Page 90 of The Rise of a Forsaken Lady
Mr. Gastrell came from around a corner and his relief and delight were seen from halfway across the room. “My Lord, welcome home.”
Allerton nodded, “Is my sister here?”
The butler nodded, “She is, but she has company, My Lord, Lady Cheltenham is here.”
Heath cocked an eyebrow at the red line running across the Earl’s face. He cleared his throat, “Would you ask Lady Penelope to meet me in the library, Mr. Gastrell?”
He needed not ask, as Penelope came out with Lady Cheltenham. The fairer lady was in lovely demure rose pink that gave her the appearance of spring in the dead winter, but she did not hold Heath’s eyes. Penelope was in modest dark blue, with her hair in a braid over her shoulder and those stubborn curls popping out.
She stopped mid-step then rushed into his arms. He buried his nose in her hair briefly, knowing this show of affection was not seemly, but at this moment, he did not care. Her golden eyes were glimmering with relief.
“You’re back…” her eyes ran over with a longing that he knew he mirrored, “I am so glad you’re back.”
Heath looked over her shoulder to see Allerton and Lady Cheltenham talking to each other in stilted sentences. “Would you care to walk with me?”
She turned and smiled to see the two had reconnected. “I’d love to and I think they need to talk.” Tugging him from the room, Penelope clung to him as they entered the bare garden. They had left so quickly that she had not stopped to grab her coat.
Heath stopped and unwrapped his scarf to twine it around her neck before he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Her breath made white mist between them as she clutched the coat. The freckles on her face were speckles of burnt gold across her nose, and he hoped she’d never lose them by those popular vinegar absolutions.
“I owe you an explanation,” Heath said, lowering his eyes to stop her from interrupting. “I owe you an explanation, and you are going to allow me to do it.”
She nodded and he tugged her under his arm. Bundled up and snuggled in, Heath said. “I did not lie to you, I never lied to you. When my mother died, I had run out to get Colt and got lost in the forest in Staffordshire. We had miles and miles of forest, and I had access to all of it. My Lord Erasmus Murray was a Recorder of London and the last High Steward of Staffordshire. I had wealth, Penelope, I have wealth.”
“Lord Erasmus—” Penelope mused with a tiny furrow before her expression cleared and she hopped up on her toes and smacked his chest. “Lord Masseur! Erasmus is Lord Masseur. You just rearranged his name! How deviously imaginative of you.”
“Thank you,” Heath grinned. “I love how quick your mind is. And he was an Army Man with the same quirks that I told you about. He left me an Estate, Penelope but my job with the Crown took me away from it. My steward takes care of all it. I am a Viscount.”
She glared at him. “And you had me wishing for a man like you with a title when it was you all along? How dare you?”
He picked her up and spun her around, and her feet kicked up a flurry of snow as she giggled and blushed, “I dare. I do dare. So much that I dare to ask you—.”
“Yes,” she interrupted him.
Heath’s head canted to the side, “Yes to what?”
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“I could be asking you to jump over a cliff with me, and you’d say yes to committing suicide?” Heath asked.
“Stop acting thickheaded, Heath,” Penelope rolled her eyes. “It does not become you. But yes, you can court me…and yes, to answer that question I can see in your eyes…I will marry you.”
“Thank you,” Heath whispered while wrapping her up in his arms. Snow fluff was beginning to drift down like soft down, and some landed in her hair. Her golden eyes were now honey with delight. and he smiled, “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”
“No,” she smiled coyly. “But you can start right now if you’d like.”
“Do you only want me around for the compliments?” Heath mocked an aghast expression. “For shame, Penelope.”
Her smile slipped a little, “I was…scared you’d go back and never return. Your job was done, after all.”
“But my heart was here,” Heath said. “How many men do you know can walk around with without a heart?”
Penelope’s face clouded and this time her eyes went grim, “I know of one.”
“And he’s facing execution,” Heath said. “For crimes against the country. His estate and assets are being taken by the Crown, his international connections broken, and his name stricken from the peerage. I am just sorry that you had to suffer too.”
The vague implication of Bessie had her lips flatten but then she sighed and came closer. “I will always remember her,” she sniffed. “Was it foolish of me that I once considered that she and Duke would have foaled. That they would be happy even when you and I weren’t.”
“They could have been,” Heath said. “I am sure that Bessie would have never loved anything more than for you to be happy and I pledge my life to make you happy.”
