Page 65 of Lord of Mischief
If he hadn’t been so damn foolish, right now he would be able to pull her into his arms and she would let him kiss her.Eve would be his; they would have a future.
Instead, she was little more than a stranger.A stranger who still held his heart.
“Tea?”he finally managed, offering her the cup.
She took it, and to his surprise took a seat on an upturned box next to the steps.He watched for a moment, unsure of himself, then decided he had better follow suit.He sat on the edge of the nearby step and took a tentative sip of his tea.
“Beautiful morning to be out.This must be the first real day of sunshine we have had in weeks,” she said.Eve closed her eyes and leant back against the grey, stone wall of the church.She lifted her cup to her lips and slowly sipped her hot tea.
Freddie watched with endless fascination as the sunlight shone on her face.She was so unlike the other young women of London high society.She was comfortable sitting in the sun in the tiny, shabby garden of one of the capital’s poorest churches.
He tore his gaze away and stared at the nearby garden beds, reminding himself to do something about digging up the soil, and making a bigger herb garden for the kitchen.
“Nice tea.The honey seems to have a particular spice to it.Who made it?”
He stirred from his musings and chanced another look at Eve.“I did.I like to put a sprinkle or two of ground cinnamon into the honey.It adds an interesting tone.”
She chuckled softly.“Does it now?You sound like a true connoisseur of the art of tea-making.I would never have thought you to be a man capable of brewing a good pot of tea.”
He saw the glint of humor in her eyes.The Eve he once knew, the girl full of life and laughter, was still there.He hadn’t crushed her completely.
“I’ve had to learn to make do.I expect you know, as does the rest of London, that my father has cut me off,” he replied.
“Yes.I am aware he has done so.He was very angry with you the last time I saw him at Rosemount Abbey.He didn’t take kindly to you throwing me over.Nor, for that matter, did I.”
Freddie sucked in a deep breath.He had been such a selfish, self-centered blackguard in tossing her aside to win his seat on the Bachelor Board.Now when he thought about the Bachelor Board, the mere memory of that den of sickening corruption made his stomach turn.
“I must confess to being a little more than surprised to discover you are working at the soup kitchen.It doesn’t strike me as somewhere you would find yourself very comfortable,” Eve continued.
Eve was right in one regard.A simple church on the edge of London’s biggest slum was not the place you would normally expect to find the son of a viscount.Yet, she was wrong in thinking Freddie didn’t belong here.
Among the people of the parish he had found meaning in his life.In the words and kind actions of Hattie and Will he had also found some forgiveness for his misdeeds.
The gulf between him and Eve however, was still as wide as the sea.
The final note from Osmont Firebrace sat in his pocket.Every morning when he rose, he pulled it out and reread it.It reminded him of why he was living this new life, and that he had much to atone for in the world.It was also a bitter reminder of the love he had lost.
“Why have you come?”he asked.
When she looked at him, he caught a wariness in her eyes.Of course, she didn’t trust him, and after what he had done it was little wonder.
“I came here today because I wanted to see you.I need to understand what you did to me and why you did it.Only then can I begin to move on with my life.But the first thing I should be asking however, is why are you here and not home in Peterborough trying to curry favor with your parents?”
He drained his cup of tea and set it down on the step next to him.There were many different versions of the truth he could give her.How much of the truth she was willing to hear was something he would have to take a risk on.
“I am here because I have done many things over the past few months, especially during the Bachelor Board challenges, of which I am deeply ashamed.I am not here simply because I was cut off by my father.I have caused the people closest to me great pain and brought shame upon my family.I also treated you far worse than the lowest rakehell would ever do.If you are asking what I should tell you of that last day at Rosemount Abbey, what would you have me say?”
She rose from the upturned box and stood before him, her cup of tea cradled in her hands.He saw the stiffness of her posture, the tightness of her shoulders.His heart went out to her.It was obvious it had taken a great deal for her to see him this morning to seek out the truth.
“I want to know it all.Leave nothing out.No matter how horrid it is, you have to tell me.You have smashed my heart to a thousand pieces already—there is nothing left for you to break,” said Eve.
Freddie reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the note from Osmont.It was only fair she got to read it, having lived through the execution of its cold and clear instructions.Without a word, he handed the note to Eve.
She opened the paper, and he held his breath as she slowly read the words.When she was finished, she folded the note back up and stuffed it into her reticule.“Thank you for the tea.It was delicious.Please tell Hattie I had to leave.My carriage is outside waiting.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the garden.
Freddie finished his work at the church.He didn’t bother with the new recipe for the apple pasty, deciding it would have to wait until the next day when hopefully his mind had settled.He barely spoke to any of the parishioners as he served them their food.
