Page 53 of To Bed the Bride
“Then they’re even more foolish than I am.”
A flush seemed to envelop her entire body.
“I would be in a great deal of trouble if anyone knew we were meeting,” she said. “No one would understand. They would ask what I could possibly find to discuss with a member of Parliament. A firebrand like you.”
“You’ve been reading the newspapers.”
She nodded. “I have. I read about you in Scotland, only I didn’t know it was you. You’re featured prominently and often. Is it true that you’re Mr. Disraeli’s pet?”
He laughed, startling her. “You mustn’t read Anderson’s column. He’s a hack and has no love for me. Or liking, for that matter.”
She did. She had a great deal of liking for Logan McKnight. The fact that it might be growing into more was suddenly frightening.
Eleanor abruptly stood. “I should return,” she said. She didn’t want to leave him, which was why she needed to, as quickly as she could.
She hesitated for a moment, holding on to Bruce’s lead. She needed to say something, but no words came to mind. At least any that were safe, innocuous, and proper.
All she did was force a smile to her face. She turned, grabbing her skirt with one hand and Bruce’s lead with the other, and nearly raced from the park.
Chapter Twenty
When Eleanor went to the park the next day with Bruce, she told herself not to be disappointed if Logan didn’t appear.
He wasn’t there in the morning. She occupied herself with training Bruce and walking farther than they normally went. Part of the time he was off the lead, but he always stayed beside her.
If someone had given her a puppy when she was a child, she wouldn’t have grown up with a fear of dogs. She couldn’t imagine ever being afraid of Bruce, not when he was so protective of her.
He growled at a squirrel who ran across the grass and then up a tree trunk. He barked at a shower of leaves. More than once the fur on his back stood straight up when someone rode past. Horses didn’t seem to bother him, but carriages did, and he didn’t hesitate to make his disapproval known.
After his training session he jumped up on the bench, turned in a circle, and settled in for a nap. She sat beside him, absorbing the scenery around her. Here in Queen’s Park it was quiet, the cacophony of London seemingly miles away. This was the one place in the city she’d always felt at peace.
Now it would never be the same.
“I’m an idiot, Bruce.”
He slitted open one eye and looked at her, flicked his tongue out, then fell back to sleep.
“I’m silly to miss him.”
He only sighed in response.
She smiled and watched the leaves falling around her. Soon they’d all be gone and there would only be stark branches against a gray sky.
There wasn’t much of a breeze today so she loosened the scarf around her neck. Her cloak kept her warm. Fortunately, Bruce didn’t seem to mind the cold. All that fur must insulate him well.
When he woke the two of them went back to the townhouse. After lunch they would come back as they usually did. In time, perhaps, she’d forget that Logan had once been here.
A fitting occupied most of her afternoon. If her aunt hadn’t been in the room Eleanor would have asked a series of questions of the seamstress. Mrs. Fournier had once lived in Paris and was very knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. In the past they’d had many fascinating conversations. Since Aunt Deborah was present, however, Eleanor remained mute. Deborah did not approve of speaking to tradesmen.
After the fittings, Eleanor took Bruce back to the park, feeling foolish as she sat on her usual bench and practiced whistling. He was an exceptionally smart puppy—retaining those lessons that Logan had begun earlier.
“Eleanor.”
At first she thought it was wishful thinking. She’d wanted him to appear so fervently that she imagined him saying her name.
“Eleanor.”
She turned and there he was. Not a figment of her imagination, but real.
