Page 26 of Adoringly, Edward
He shook his head, staring at her in wonder. “Why would you do that for me?”
She shrugged, drawing patterns in the snow on the bench with her bare finger. “You must be awfully lonely up there. I would be, and I know you’d do the same for me.” Before he could reply, she said, “My mother is feeling better today.” Her changeof subject threw him off guard as if she’d blindfolded him and spun him around until he didn’t know what direction was where. “But I fear the storm may keep us here longer than expected.” She batted her snow-frosted eyelashes at him. “Of course, if the lord of the house permits our continued occupancy.”
But he only gestured to the snow billowing from the heavens and clinging to every available surface. “There is not much choice, is there?”
“Don’t want our carriage to get stuck.”
“You would most certainly strand yourself long before you reached home.”
She tipped her head to the side. “Are you afraid of a bit of cold?”
He only lifted an eyebrow as his gaze swept across their snowy surroundings. “I’m sitting in a pile of snow. Do I look like it scares me?”
A laugh escaped her, and her hand trailed from his shoulder, down his arm, until it rested lightly over his forearm. The chill burned away entirely when her touch left heat in its wake.
“I’ll come again tonight. And wear something warm just in case the storm settles.”
“Why?”
“It’s a surprise.” Now it was her turn to lift an eyebrow. “Are you capable of climbing down a wall? Or shall I search the grounds for a ladder?”
Fatigue sat heavy on his chest, and the thought of even the smallest physical exertion exhausted him. But he didn’t want her to know. If anything, he wanted the remaining few months of his life to be filled with excitement and adventure. He didn’t want Vivienne to look at him with pity in her eyes.
“I’m sure I can manage a rope.”
Actually, he wasn’t sure at all. But he was determined to spend every moment possible with her until she had to leave…
…and he never saw her again in this life.
“Vivi…” he murmured, taking her hand in his. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the words, as he tried to express what her friendship meant to him. But in the end, he only dropped her hand and released a long sigh. “Tonight then.”
“Tonight. Don’t be late.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
Sure enough, true to her word, Vivienne showed up that night piled to the brim in layers of warm clothes and furs to protect her from the raging snow storm. But no matter how relentless the chill, her smile never ceased as she stood at the bottom of the tower and he at the top. They talked for hours upon hours about books and stars, about adventures and traveling, about everything and nothing.
For three nights, she came to him, lighting up his world with happiness from her conversation and her presence. Yes, he’d been touch-starved. But he’d also been starved of a good, deep friendship unlike any he’d had before. Only with Vivienne did he feel like he could be his true self, and to his delight, she seemed to like him as he was, even the parts of him Clara often claimed were boring and unnoteworthy.
His heart fell for Vivienne a little more each time she showed up after everyone had gone to bed. They were so similar with interests and dreams of the future. Someday, she wanted to travel across the kingdoms. And playfully, he promised to take her when the snow thawed.
They flirted and bantered. Laughed and smiled. All with a tower between them.
On the fourth day, the storm finally ceased, though it left a deep, untraversable build-up of snow, continuing to strand Vivienne and her mother at the estate. However, it would likely melt by tomorrow. And a part of him dreaded Vivienne leaving him and taking the colors of her world with her.
As he worked in his office, Cedric entered with a rap on the door, handing him a vial of medicine.
“What good will it do now?” He pushed it away and continued writing on the piece of parchment in front of him, a correspondence from one of his tenants asking for another month to pay their rent.
“Give you more time, perhaps?”
Edward paused his writing as he stared at the yellow contents of the vial. Whether he died in two months or six didn’t make much difference in the outcome of his life. Besides, the medicine often made him sleepy. He would rather stick his hand in the fire than miss out on a single night with Vivienne.
He reached for the vial, gripping it tightly in his hand. “Will you add another log to the hearth, Cedric?”
As his servant complied, Edward uncorked the vial and quickly dumped it into the nearby potted plant before making a show of wiping his mouth with the back of his hand right as Cedric turned around.
This wasn’t something he needed to hide from his friend. He knew Cedric would support him with whatever he decided. But he couldn’t risk his unwillingness to consume the medicine reaching his sister’s ears.
