Page 63 of Bargaining for the Barrister
Her maid helped her to dress, and she made her way down to breakfast. It was later than normal for her, and the breakfast room was empty. She ate slowly, wondering how she could have done last night differently. With her meal over, she decided to find Lady Kellen to determine the events of the day.
She’d not made it to the drawing room before she heard people conversing. One voice was much too familiar.
Logan!
He was here! She bolted the last few steps, barreling into the room. Her haste fled with a sudden and desperate realization. She’d missed Logan terribly but had never thought his presence would evoke fear. Logan at Bellmont Manor meant it was time for her to return home. But she couldn’t. Not yet. It was over between her and Paul, but at the same time, it wasn’t. She needed time to resolve the storm of feelings inside her.
“Isa!” Logan jumped to his feet. “We thought you’d sleep away the whole morning.” He came to her, and she hugged him tightly. “I knew a little time away would help you remember how much you like me,” he said.
“Ha!” She laughed into his shoulder. “I’ve always liked you, but I don’t always tolerate you. There is a difference.” She pulled back, wondering how she could convince him to stay at least a little longer.
“I can believe it,” he said with a soft laugh. “Which is why I am already prepared for you to argue about my decision to leave tomorrow. I know you must be anxious, but the carriage ride here was abominably long. I should like the rest of the day to recover.”
She had only today, and she’d slept away a good part of it. “You won’t hear any arguments from me.” It was half-hearted, but Logan didn’t notice.
“Good. Then, come rub my shoulders while I sit down.” Logan collapsed into a chair and closed his eyes. A true gentleman would never have behaved so comfortably in the receiving room of a countess, but Logan did not appreciate all the finer rules of Society.
She gave Lady Kellen an impatient look. “Can you believe my brother? Not an ounce of manners or brotherly affection! He’s seen me for a total of five minutes and is already ordering me about.”
Lady Kellen was thoroughly enjoying the scene before her. “I can believe it. I have an older brother too, and he behaved the exact same way. We should find him a bed, though, and make the most of this last day together.”
Odd that Lady Kellen wasn’t upset that her plans had failed. Last night had not pushed Louisa and Paul together, despite the matchmaking mamas’ scheming, and Louisa would likely leave without anything more than a slice of heartache. Unfortunately for her, a woman could harbor an affection for a person her entire life. Perhaps she ought to consider spinsterhood. Suddenly she was imagining walking by couple after couple on the streets, much akin to viewing a friendly fire through a window, never feeling the warmth of reciprocated love but seeing it clearly everywhere she went.
The thought both irritated and depressed her.
“Logan, do go find a bed.” The order slipped out with a bit of callousness that was unlike her. She was grateful he had come, but she didn’t need his agenda inhibiting her last day. Not when she needed to know what Lady Kellen was thinking. The woman possessed a cunning intelligence and likely still had one last strategic play to make. At this point, Louisa did not know whether she was in support of the lady’s schemes or not.
Groaning, Logan lifted himself back out of his chair. “If it’s not too much trouble, Lady Kellen, I think a nap would do the trick.”
Lady Kellen stood and pulled the cord to alert the servants. Louisa took a seat beside her while they waited. After a few minutes, a maid entered, and Lady Kellen directed her to show Logan to a room and attend to any needs he had. Louisa imagined he would request a plate of food. He’d always snitched food before he went to bed, and the habit no doubt extended to naps as well.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Lady Kellen said to the maid as she retreated. “Please have Miss Cox’s maid alerted that she will be leaving tomorrow and to begin packing her things.”
Louisa’s hands toyed with the folds in her skirt. She had known this day would come—had even requested it. But with her heart entangled in what had become a matchmaking disaster, she did not know how to simply walk away.
“Have you toured our temple yet?” There was that gleam again in Lady Kellen’s eyes. She was up to something.
“I saw the exterior while riding by the upper pond the other day, but I have not been inside.”
“Oh, you must see it before you leave.”
Louisa wrestled with the decision. It was likely she would run into Paul again, but to what end? He did not want her. Another chance meeting would not produce a proposal. But even so, Louisa longed to see him one last time before she left for home. That longing decided for her. “I should like that very much. Shall we walk, take a carriage, or ride horses?”
“The sun is shining, and I think we ought to take advantage of it. Can you be dressed to ride in say, a half hour’s time?”
Grinning, Louisa nodded. One last day—and one last hope.
A little under an hour later, she had mounted Misty, a mottled gray mare. This would be her third ride, after her ride with the Davieses and her secret ride with Ian to spy at Rothbrier Hall, and she was beginning to grow quite comfortable with the mare. She and Lady Kellen and a groom rode past the lower pond toward the upper but detoured as they reached the hill on which stood the temple, pulling their horses to a stop just outside the gate. No other horses were tied to the fence, and by all appearances, the building was unoccupied. Louisa noticed Lady Kellen’s disappointment but did her best to mask her own.
“What a unique building.” She could see why the Rebels called it the Dome. “I have heard about these but have never actually seen one.”
“This is Ian’s favorite haunt. He does love to escape, though it hardly goes unnoticed. Shall we go inside?”
Louisa nodded, and the groom behind them dismounted and helped them down, first Lady Kellen, then herself. Once through the gate, the ladies followed the inclined path up to the temple door. Lady Kellen pulled out a key and let them in. Louisa could imagine Ian and Paul in this room, and their other friends as well.
“It’s charming.” She walked to the window and enjoyed the view of the estate, with vibrant shades of green in almost every direction.
“I hoped you’d like it.” Lady Kellen ran her hand along the top of a sofa. “You get along so well with the other young adults here in Brookeside that I could easily envision you meeting here with them.”
