Page 35 of Meet A Rogue At Midnight
But how could he know what she’d done? Sex didn’t brand a woman.
Her mother took a sip of port. “Mr. Kendall asked for a copy of the settlement deed allowing a female to inherit Halsey lands.”
Livvy’s heart sunk to knees. “It’s happening, isn’t it?”
She stared out the glass doors which opened to the garden. Snow peppered the garden’s low hedges set in geometric rectangles. The keen observer could spy two sets of footprints had trailed through the simple maze, having come from Halsey Tower. The medieval structure tipped like an old friend waiting for her. Inside the stone pile, she’d given her body to Jonas. She’d given her heart, too, even if he didn’t grasp what she’d done.
She’d been giving pieces of her heart to Jonas Braithwaite since she was a little girl. Her strong, silent neighbor with his sturdy shoulders and brilliant blue eyes was the one she loved.
Jonas was her hero.
“Despite his enthusiasm for the financial benefit of marriage, I do believe he has a tendre for you,” her mother said quietly.
Livvy winced and locked her fingers together on her lap. If she listed the fine qualities of Mr. Alistair Haggerty, the man was a dream. Handsome, educated, a well-to-do merchant of antiquities. He treated her well and even supported her wish to write stories about Roman heroes. A perfect man in every sense, except for one—he wasn’t Jonas Braithwaite.
“Mr. Haggerty insisted on going to the Sheep’s Head.” Her mother studied her over the crystal glass. “One can only wonder if he would’ve found you there.”
Livvy bit her bottom lip. Her mother suspected some mischief. There were many things she could tell her mother, but what she’d done tonight was not a confessional she cared to give. The drawing room’s far glass door reflected the two Halsey women, but there was also her sister to consider. Dear Elspeth. Gentle-natured, rare to venture outside Society’s rules, and a widow with three children. The weight of her sister’s needs bore down on her.
Marriage to an accomplished merchant benefitted everyone. Marriage to a furniture-maker’s grandson only benefitted Livvy’s heart—ifhe even wanted it.
A hush of footsteps sounded on the carpet and her mother was kneeling before her, folding warm hands over hers. “I see the longing in your eyes. Does your pirate feel the same for you?”
“I don’t know.”
Her mother hummed thoughtfully. “If a man truly loves you, if he truly wantsyou, he will declare it from the mountaintops.”
Brows pinching, Livvy’s bottom shifted on the cushion. “I don’t know if Jonas has such mettle. He’s not one for emotions, grand or otherwise.”
“Then I wonder if he truly loves you,” her mother whispered.
She jerked in her seat. “Mother—”
“Oh, I know he cares for you. He was always quick to look after you, but lifelong, abiding love between a man and a woman?” Her mother cossetted her hands, her voice full of passion. “He must be unafraid to declare it.”
“I, I don’t know…”
Motherly arms reached up and hugged her.
“Fate has not been kind to us of late. Your father’s infirmity. Elspeth losing her husband. And you, toiling to save us when you should have your own life.” A long sigh punctuated the silence and the hug tightened. “Promise me, Olivia, you will not be rash tomorrow.Please. Much rests on what you do.”
Exhausted, she mumbled agreement and lost herself in the motherly embrace. Jasmine, light and spicy, scented the air. Her mother’s perfume. In it was a history of understanding and tender love. Livvy was grateful her mother never prodded her into the Marriage Mart. The daughter of an antiquarian, her mother experienced firsthand the joy of historical finds. She understood it and she understood her daughters. Both of them and how different they were.
Despite recent hardships, life had been rich. But, Livvy wished for traditional things like a husband and children to warm her on cold nights.
The question was…who would be that man?
Chapter Nine
“Isimply can’tcountenance it. A settlement deed allowing a female to inherit.” Paper rattled in Mr. Kendall’s hand. “I can count on one hand the number of fee tail arrangements I’ve seen that allow such a thing.”
“As you can see, everything is in order.” Her mother’s voice was more firm than usual this morning.
Correction. This afternoon.
Livvy glanced at the drawing room clock chiming half past twelve. She’d kept vigil at the glass door overlooking the garden, waiting for a certain blue-eyed pirate coming to call on her tower. The snow was pristine save last night’s footprints…and those were melting under the bright winter sun. Azure skies rolled on forever, beautiful enough to shock a body into believing summer had come.
It all added up to a day of contradictions. Like her.
