Page 57 of The Moonstone Hero
Ella was lost in her thoughts, staring up at the moon now barely visible through the gathering haze of clouds, and did not hear Caden when he came up to her. “There you are,” he said, his voice deep and resonant, and his eyes as dark and bewitching as the night.
She smiled up at him, trying to appear casual even as her heart was fluttering. “How did your discussion go?”
“Surprisingly well.” He propped his crutches against a nearby tree and then settled his large frame on the stone bench beside her. Their shoulders grazed for a moment, the innocent gesture immediately turning her insides soft. “Even Lord Fielding joined us. He and Claymore were quite enthusiastic. Clearly, I have been a political dunce all these years. But no more. I see the effect I have on the villagers, and the commitment stirred in these powerful men.”
Ella nodded. “I knew you would have support even in the House of Lords.”
“What makes me different, Ella? Others have been shouting about these reforms for years with nothing done.”
“Because they are not you. Only you have the ability to stir passions. You are the hero everyone has been waiting for, hoping for.”
He cast her a rakish grin. “Are you going to tell me again I am the full package?”
She nodded. “As often as you need to hear it, although your head is already quite swelled. Perhaps I ought to remind you, but only sparingly.”
He cast her an affectionate smile. “I am going to miss you, Ella.”
“No, you will be taken up by your speeches and your admirers and not think of me at all. I will be left behind. Please do not pretend it isn’t so.”
“I will deny it,” he said with a frown. “You know my only hesitation in properly courting you is out of concern for you.”
“No, Caden. If you were truly in love with me, there would be no question of where I stand with you. I would be by your side, and this is where you would always want me to be. But you have made up reasons why we should not be together and convinced yourself they are valid.”
“You saw Imogen’s portrait of us. How can you doubt my feelings for you?”
“I doubt becauseyoustill doubt. Perhaps you do love me, but you are not yet ready to admit it to yourself or to me.” She knew she was making him angry, but this was the reality of their situation, and she was not going to allow him to get away with those convenient excuses to absolve himself of his inability to commit his heart to her.
He emitted a low growl. “Walk to the harbor with me. It is not far. What is the lore? Those moonstones shine where there is true love?”
“They shine on a full moon. It is not that yet. Even if it were, there is fog on the water tonight. We would never see themoonstones. Do not make this more difficult, Caden. You have your purpose. You want to be free to do whatever you must. I am not going to hold you back. You know where to find me whenever you are ready.”
He regarded her as though she had put a knife through his heart. “I will come for you, Ella.”
She emitted a ragged breath. “Don’t say that. I am trying to protect my heart, and you keep trying to break down those barriers I have put up. You want to pull me back to you. At the same time, you are pushing me away. Don’t confuse me, Caden.”
“Those moonstones will shine for us, Ella.”
“Not now they won’t.” She left his side and hurried back indoors before she weakened and pledged to wait for him forever.
“Ella!”
The heartbreak of it was that shewouldwait forever. She loved him, and there could be no other man for her.
But she had her pride and would not force herself on him only to have him feel trapped and chained. In this moment, she was sorry she had ever met him. She was sorry they had shared a supper dance last year and sorry they had shared a kiss.
Two kisses.
She glanced back at him.
Lady Dowling was already by his side and obviously looking to comfort him. Not that Ella was jealous of the woman. But there would be a thousand Lady Dowlings eager to share a night with him. Was he going to be a monk and refuse them all? He was handsome and unattached. He could do whatever he pleased.
Ella walked over to the long tables that held the punch bowls. She poured herself a cup of ratafia punch. It tasted vile, but it suited her temperament at the moment.
How did one recover from a broken heart?
“Lady Ella, you seem overset,” Lord Fielding said, regarding her with apparently sincere concern.
“No, I am fine.”
