Page 23 of A Maid's Fateful Courtship
Ethan did not wish to do either. For a short time, he remained standing where he was, watching the masses depart. Soon, the gardens were quiet once again and he decided to take a short stroll.
All the time his thoughts were on Josephine. He wondered what menial task poor Josephine might be doing at that moment. As far as he was concerned, she was too well educated and most certainly did not belong in the servants' quarters. He had much to deliberate over this matter, and then he would seek to change things around for his childhood companion.
Chapter 18
Josephine took the opportunity to have a rest, as the guests had started to retire into the manor house. There was still much to be done for the evening meal, but she had been working since the early hours of the morning.
She was tasked with ensuring everything was perfect for Lady Celia’s garden party. So, to unwind, she had chosen to go to one of her favourite spots in the rose gardens. The smell was divine at this time of year, and the colours splendid.
“If memory serves me well, I think this might be one of your favourite flowers?” a familiar deep voice came to her.
She turned, her heart beating far faster than it should, having recognised his voice.
“You would make long daisy chains and then force me to put them on my head as we pretended to be a king and queen,” he continued, as she had not replied to his first comment.
Instead, she scrambled to her feet as it slowly dawned on her that a lord of the manor was standing before her.
“Goodness, Lord Ethan,” she said, bowing her head in a slight curtsy. “Am I needed? I… I was taking a short rest, and—”
“Calm yourself, Josephine,” he said, still holding a single daisy in his open palm. “Please, take my gift before it wilts.”
Josephine reached out hesitantly. She picked up the small white and yellow daisy that lay in his hand, brushing his skin with her fingertips. Putting the small flower to her nose, she smelled its freshness.
“I hardly think you should be handing such pretty gifts to servants, my lord,” she remarked. Although she had given him a half-smile, she dared not be over-friendly for fear of being caught.
“I recall that those tiny flowers always made you smile whenever you were sad,” he recollected. “And I would comfort you by agreeing to help, which I knew would make you laugh again.”
“I am somewhat surprised that you would remember such a thing, my lord,” she said, daring herself to peek into his chestnut eyes. They were soft and inviting, how could she not smile at receiving the attentions of such a handsome man? Albeit a man out of her reach.
“Josephine Chapple, I could never forget our childhood together. In fact, I have been reminiscing about it all day,” he responded, and she noted the sincerity in his eyes.
How she would love to reach out and touch his ash-blonde hair that was always tousled as a child, and still now it was unruly. But no, she must stop thinking such thoughts.
“I missed your companionship from the moment I left home,” he picked up on the conversation. “And now I am returned, I find I still miss you for you are so out of reach to me.”
“I am here at your beckoning call, my lord,” Josephine replied, afraid she might give in and tell him her true feelings.
The desire to reach out and cup his face in her palm, so that she could press her lips onto his, was almost overwhelming. It was Ethan who reached out, but only to close his hand around hers, the one that still held the delicate little flower.
“My lord!” she called out. Though she longed to melt into his arms, but it would do no good to give into such yearnings. "You will crush the poor little thing."
“I must be honest with you, Josephine. I mean to cause you no discomfort, but I crave your company, night and day,” he finally dared to admit to her.
“I… I do not think it is wise for you to say those words to me, m’lord,” Josephine warned, but she wanted to tell him the truth. That she too had yearned for his presence. Right from the moment she awoke on a morning to the moment she fell asleep at night.
She was captivated by his tender stare. He leaned in closer to her, taking her face in his hand and tilting his head towards hers.
Josephine was entranced by his actions. Her heart thudded uncontrollably in her chest and her knees turned to jelly. She could never resist the love of this man. He was everything she could ever hope to have.
If she was honest with herself, she knew that he had been her childhood sweetheart. Though she had not understood that notion as a child. But from the moment he had left her life, she realised that she loved him.
His strong fingers held her chin, and she could feel his warm breath coming closer to her face. All thoughts of decorum and etiquette were banished as she accepted the inevitable. Her lips longed for the touch of his, her heart yearned to beat with his.
They would become one as they joined in the caress of a tender kiss. Were they about to enter a forbidden world of secret love?
Josephine’s warning systems caused her to panic as she heard the sound of light footsteps. “No, my lord!” she cried out and took a step back.
She felt dizzy, the world swooning around her as if she was in a dream and none of this was real. But it was, and Ethan moved away with a look of surprise on his face.
