Page 10 of The Pureblood Daughter
Adelina laughs, and they continue their stroll, arm in arm. The sun is warm overhead, and she’s grateful for the shade beneath the parasol. As she casts her gaze about the park, it lands on a family of four walking in her direction. In a moment, her heart leaps into her throat, and her grip on the parasol tightens.
“Is that who I think it is?” Eliza whispers. She gasps, stepping closer to Adelina and squeezing her arm. “It’s the viscount. And he’s looking atyou.”
Indeed, Lord Rosetti is looking right at her. His lips curl into a smile as he approaches, and his dark hair shines lustrously beneath the summer sun. Two young children walk before him, and a beautiful older woman has her arm looped through his. She, too, carries a parasol, and the ribbons streaming from it flutter in the light breeze.
“Miss Gray,” he says as they approach, his voice holding just enough surprise as to be convincing.
“Lord Rosetti.” Adelina dips her head before looking to Eliza. “This is my dear friend, Lady Eliza Williamson.”
“My lord.” Eliza wears a playful smile, one Adelina has come to know well over the years.
The woman beside Lord Rosetti smiles as Lady Gray and Lady Fletcher join the small group.
“This is my mother,” Lord Rosetti says. “Mother, meet Miss Gray.”
Lady Rosetti tips her head quizzically. “Miss Gray, hmm?” Her eyes glimmer, and a smirk pulls at her lips. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The countess seems to study Adelina, and she almost squirms beneath the elder woman’s gaze. Is she assessing her countenance, coming to conclusions regarding whether Adelina is worthy of the viscount’s attentions? Thinking it, Adelina stands slightly taller, though none of it will matter if her father has his way.
Introductions are made all around. The two small children, Luca and Francesca, are Lord Rosetti’s youngest siblings. Had their shiny dark hair not given it away, their gleaming green eyes certainly would’ve. Unnatural beauty must run in their family.
“I’d be honored if you would join me for a stroll,” Lord Rosetti says, his gaze shifting from Adelina to Lady Gray.
Adelina gives her mother a begging look, and if she had the power to bring tears to her eyes on a whim, she would surely use that power now. Her mother glances at Lord Rosetti, then back to Adelina, her expression unreadable. A beat passes, and then two. Lady Gray’s lips twitch ever slightly, and relief washes over Adelina.
“She’d be delighted,” Lady Gray says at long last.
Eliza gives Adelina’s arm an encouraging squeeze before Adelina pulls away and steps toward the viscount.
The women fall into step behind Adelina and Lord Rosetti as they continue their promenade around the park. Luca and Francesca skip at Lord Rosetti’s side, stealing peeks at Adelina and smiling bashfully until their mother calls them away.
“I thought your mother might turn me down,” Lord Rosetti whispers once they’re barely out of earshot of the others.
“Whatever would you have done?” Adelina’s tone is playful, and she glances up as the viscount shifts his gaze to her. Her heart strains in her chest like a horse pulling at the reins, fighting to run away with her.
Lord Rosetti gives her a roguish smirk. “She’d have left me no choice but to steal you away.”
Goose bumps dance over Adelina’s skin. Oh, how she’d love to be whisked away by him. “And where would you take me?”
Lord Rosetti glances about, the smile on his lips turning momentarily into a frown. “Away from all of this. Away from eyes and society and rules governing what I can and can’t do with you.” A muscle in his jaw flexes, and his hand curls into a fist at his side.
His candor brings heat to Adelina’s cheeks despite the shade her parasol provides. What, precisely, does he so wish to do with her? She wants to ask, but decorum and timidity stay her tongue.
“My apologies.” The viscount clears his throat, the palpable tension in his body vanishing as quickly as Adelina noted it. “I should not say such things.”
Indeed, he should not, but Adelina wishes he would say more. She wishes he would take her hand, run his thumb across her knuckles, and press a kiss to her bare skin. The very thought makes her even more desperate for a plunge into the lake.
As they walk, eyes follow them. To promenade is to invite the gazes and opinions of others, but Adelina has never been much of a spectacle—apart from her untimely performance at the Rosetti ball, of course. With the viscount at her side, however, it seems she’s become more riveting in the eyes of society. Mothers and daughters stare and whisper as they walk past, and gentlemen who would never have looked twice at Adelina tip their hats in polite greeting. She feels like the queen.
“Is it always like this?” she whispers to the viscount, and he chuckles.
“To a degree. But with you by my side, it seems I’ve become ever more interesting.” As he looks down, his eyes settle on Adelina’s throat. “What is that?” He lifts a hand as if to reach for the silver vial clasped about Adelina’s neck, then clenches his fingers into a fist and drops it back down. “You were wearing it the other day as well.”
“A gift from my father,” she says, touching the metal gingerly. It’s warm from her skin, and the smell of patchouli wafting from the vial is strong and inviting. Adelina disliked the smell when she was young but over the years has come to find it pleasing. Each morning when she puts it on, she’s reminded of the day her father gave it to her.
He clasped it about her tiny neck and told her to wear it always, that it would keep her safe from harm. It seems silly now, that a vial containing fragrance would keep her safe from anything, but it still holds a fond place in her heart.
“I hope you don’t find it disagreeable, my lord,” Adelina says.
