Page 28 of A Wallflower's Wassail Punch
“You don’t think I’m charming, Bowman?I don’t give you enough compliments?”Andrew chuckled at his indignant valet.“Yes, I believe I’m doing quite well with my wooing skills.”
“Are we considering you as one of the competition yet?”
Andrew considered.“I believe so.Have you heard anything?Any trips to the kitchen?”
“The servants are saying both men are out of the running.One will live too far from the lady’s family.The other is flirtatious but not clever enough.”Bowman finished his nightly ritual by pouring a glass of brandy and setting it on a table by the chair.
After his valet left, Andrew donned his banyan and sat by the fire.He sipped his brandy, thinking of the past few days and the possibilities of the days to come.Beecham and his fiancée seemed open to his courtship with Lady Annette.Hadn’t the teasing been a way for Henry to give his consent?He would ask to be certain—if the lady was willing.
He thought back to yesterday when they went for an early morning ride.
“I have wealth, so more blunt does not tempt me.A friendship—with a kind and beautiful woman—would be worth so much more.Do you think that’s possible?”
“It depends on whether the woman was the daughter of a close friend.”
“I believe she is.”
“Then yes, I do think it’s possible.In fact, I believe it’s already in progress.”
He would meet her at the stable again tomorrow morning and hope they were alone, unlike today.He was also looking forward to seeing Beecham’s youngest son, William, tomorrow.They’d met a few times in Town and seemed an honorable and ambitious lad.He was bringing the final suitor.
“Aggie, am I too old for this lady?Are you scowling down at me or smiling?”He finished his brandy and leaned against the soft, worn leather of the chair, letting the liquor warm his insides and the crackling fire warm his feet.
“Aggie, wait up!”Andrew saw her just ahead, beyond another group of pedestrians at Hyde Park.She was wearing her favorite lavender spencer and matching bonnet, her parasol flipping back and forth at her side.He was frantic to catch up with her, wondering why she was out here by herself.
“Aggie, please,” he shouted.She turned slightly, waving at him, but he could only see the side of her bonnet.Panic clutched his chest; sweat trickled down his back.He knew this was his last chance.His last opportunity for… What?What did she hold that he was searching for so desperately?
Andrew pushed his way through the group ahead of him, not bothering to apologize, focused only on the lone figure ahead of him.Fear roared through him.He had to reach her.He had to grab that last chance at happiness.If he didn’t try to catch her before she disappeared, he knew she would give her love to someone else.
“Hurry, darling,” she called to him.“You’re not too old.You’ll never be too old.”
He broke into a full run, grabbed at her spencer, then at the ribbons of her bonnet, falling down her back.“Wait!”
“You must work for love if you truly want it,” she teased over her shoulder.“Show me how sincere you are.”
He lunged forward and grasped her shoulder.As he tried to catch his breath, sucking in air and turning her around, her face wavered and became Annette’s.
“You do want me.”She beamed.“I’ve been waiting for so long.I knew you’d come.”Then she leaned on her tiptoes, placed a hand on his cheek, and softly kissed his lips.
Heat roared through him, a potent thrumming that could only be stifled by her.Nettie.His arms went around her, and he pulled her close, the scent of jasmine sending desire rushing to his core.
He was not gentle.He was not soft.His kiss was demanding, claiming.A clash of lips and tongue and teeth.Her soft curves melded against his hard muscle, and Andrew realized she filled that empty space in his heart created by the loss of Agnes.
“I’m sorry, Aggie,” he murmured against Nettie’s hair as she leaned into him after the kiss.
“She’s not,” whispered Nettie.“She’s happy for you.But you still must fight for what you want.”
He stepped back and cupped Nettie’s face.“I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Thud!Andrew jerked awake.He’d dropped his glass, and the flames in the hearth had died down to glowing embers.His hand shook as he leaned over to retrieve the glass.Rising, he moved to his bed and removed his banyan.But sleep would not come, and he tossed and turned, going over each part of his dream.
Was Agnes giving him permission to love again?And was he truly falling in love with Nettie?Yes, after that kiss, real or dream, he would think of her as Nettie.That kiss had been so real, so amazing.It woke his heart, his romantic heart, from a long sleep.Now, it pumped life back into him and pounded in his chest to be heard.
Sunrise was showing its rosy colors of pink and purple as Andrew finally drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Annette had stoppedin the library, looking for something to read.A book always settled her thoughts, helped her drift into a peaceful sleep.After the past few days, she needed some peace.Her mind was peppered with so many different emotions, she couldn’t think straight.
