Page 17 of Scars of a Passionate Revenge
Miss Dunberry was an innocent young lady, and he was about to use her most cruelly to get his revenge. He regretted it deeply, but there was no other way. He had to use her to secure his revenge. It was a guaranteed strategy to destroy the baron and his family, even if it meant ruining Alice’s reputation.
But he was not going to tell Cecil all of this. He purposefully allowed the silence to settle between them, waiting for his friend to say something.
“Well, I must confess that I feel much the same about Lady Clara,” Cecil said, smiling. “I am very much looking forward to spending more time with her.”
Benedict returned his friend’s smile, feeling a surge of relief that the conversation had moved away from himself and Miss Dunberry. “And do you think you shall begin to court her?” he asked.
Cecil raised an eyebrow. “One does not want to look too keen… I have not quite decided yet what to do.” He paused and bit his lip. “Do you think I should send flowers?”
Benedict gave a wry smile. “Well, I am one step ahead of you there,” he murmured.
“You have sent flowers to Miss Dunberry?” Cecil said in surprise and Benedict winced at the volume of his voice as it seemed to boom across the coffee shop.
“Hush, man!” Benedict hissed. “I do not wish for the wholetonto know about it by dinner time!”
“Sorry,” Cecil said, lowering his voice. “But that means that you intend to court her?”
Benedict nodded. “She is charming, and I enjoy her company and her smiles. It is my intention to pay court to her, slowly but surely.”
As he said the words out loud, he reflected that indeed he was resolved. He would seize the moment, and try to woo the lady. It would be no hardship to spend time with her, and to enjoy her smiles. No, indeed, it would be a pleasure. And as things progressed between them, he would bring himself closer to the baron and his family, and hone his plan for revenge.
“And you will call on her in due course?” Cecil asked.
Benedict frowned. That, of course, would be the next stage, but he felt inclined to wait a little. He knew that he could have gone to call on her at any time, and perhaps a sooner visit would have been expected. But the anticipation would make the meeting all the sweeter, and he decided that keeping her guessing would heighten things between them.
A few days should do the trick, he thought, even though all his instincts were pulling him towards seeing her as soon as possible. He told himself, though, that he could not give way to those instincts. He must keep his head. There was too much at stake to start giving way to his feelings.
***
It was three days later when he finally decided that he would call on Miss Dunberry. He had waited long enough; any longer and perhaps the lady and her family would not believe that he was in earnest in his attentions towards her.
He resolved to visit her in the afternoon, but he had a few errands to do in town first. He dressed in his best clothes and headed out to the bank, for a meeting about some of his investments. The meeting went well, and he left the bank feeling satisfied with the progress he was making, and with the position in society that he had reached.
As he emerged into the street, he reflected that he had come a long way since he was working in coal mines with his father, stuck underground all day and only coming out of the mine when the daylight was almost over. He would never go back to that life, he promised himself. He was a new man now, and he would achieve his final goal, then move on with the next phase of his life.
As he walked down the street, he looked straight ahead of him, and his eye saw a familiar sight. Emerging from a shop, with a package tucked under her arm, was none other than Miss Dunberry, with her maid following behind. It looked, from a distance, as though the maid was trying to persuade Miss Dunberry to allow her to carry the package for her, and as if she was insisting on carrying it herself.
Benedict allowed himself a wry smile at that; she seemed the type of young lady who would go against the expectations of society to save her maid the trouble of carrying a package.
He decided at that moment that he would approach her. It was a perfect opportunity, far too good to miss.
“Miss Dunberry!” he called out, quickening his pace to catch up with her.
She turned to see who was calling her name, and when she saw him, her face lit up, a picture of delight. Benedict could not help but feel a little surge of pleasure at how thrilled she was to see him. It all boded rather well for the success of his plan.
“Mr. Fletcher!” she said, once he was close enough for her to address him without having to shout out in an unladylike manner. “How pleasant it is to see you. Have you had some errands in town to complete this afternoon?”
He nodded. “A rather dry meeting with my bank manager,” he replied.
“Oh, goodness, that does sound rather tedious,” Miss Dunberry said with a smile. “I am sure I would not understand a word of it.”
“I am not so sure about that,” Benedict said, thinking as he spoke that not only was she incredibly pretty, but there was an intelligence in her eyes. He was certain that it would not take her long to pick up the basics of the banking system.
“Did it go well?” she asked.
He smiled again. There were not many young ladies who would ask such a question, he thought. “Indeed it did, thank you. My investments seem to be doing rather well. I am…” He paused.
He had been about to tell her that he had been thinking of diversifying his portfolio and investing in a wider range of companies, but he did not want her to think he was showing off or boasting about his wealth, so he held back. “And have you had a pleasant shopping expedition?” he asked instead. He glanced up at the shop that she and her maid had just left and saw that it was a bookshop.
