Page 11 of A Sense of Fate
Archie closed his eyes, absorbing the ambience of the room as he awaited Flora’s return. He felt the responsibilities he bore for the marquisate fall from his shoulders as he sat in a drawing room that was modest by his standards, a drowsy cat on his lap, waiting for the return of the challenging female who stirred his passions and pervaded his dreams.
Simple pleasures.
She didn’t keep him waiting for long, and walked back into the room dressed in a cream muslin gown that he had admired on her several times before, her hair falling in gentle curls from a simple arrangement to dance across her shoulders and tumble down her back.
‘Perfection,’ he said softly.
‘Hardly, but an improvement upon all that railway soot, I hope. You might have mentioned that I had a smudge on my nose.’
Archie laughed. ‘It suited you.’
Beatrice excelled herself with the dinner that she provided. Archie bestowed his praise upon Flora’s cook when he was replete and then enjoyed the pleasure of hearing Flora playing the piano, her touch light, her choice of music lively and thought-provoking.
This is what I want.
‘I am keeping you,’ Archie said, when the performance came to an end and Flora struggled to suppress a yawn. ‘You have had a long and emotional day and I should let you get to your bed.’
‘The day has certainly been an interesting one,’ Flora agreed, smiling at him.
‘Just remember what I said about Conrad.’ Archie leaned heavily on the silver handle of his stick as he hauled himself to his feet and endured the familiar pain as he waited for his injured leg to straighten as much as it ever would. ‘Don’t let your stubborn determination to live your life on your own terms overcome common sense.’ He touched her face. ‘I cannot do without you.’
Flora met his gaze and swallowed. ‘I will not take any risks. Not that I think he intends to harm me in any way, but you cannot blame me for being curious about him. I sense that you are too.’
‘Suspicious is a better word. I doubt he has outgrown his disreputable ways.’
‘Speaking from experience, Lord Felsham?’ she asked with a provocative smile.
‘Minx!’
‘Don’t harbour any concerns on my account. I am well protected. If he oversteps the bounds when he calls here then you can be sure that Beatrice will be at him with her rolling pin.’
Archie smiled. ‘I am glad that someone has your best interests at heart.’ He paused. ‘Will you have luncheon with me at Felsham Hall again soon?’
She paused. ‘Not straight away. Give me time to read through Grandmamma’s diaries again, then perhaps we will have a better idea about Papa’s intentions. Besides, I have neglected my work at the school and have calls to make on the old ladies I take care of. Their joints ache more in the cold weather, as you yourself must be aware.’
‘Very well. I can be patient when required. Just tell me when would be convenient and I will send Pawson to collect you.’
They agreed upon a date two weeks’ hence. Archie lifted her hand to his lips, smiling into her eyes and turning it over so that he could kiss the inside of her wrist, watching as her cheeks coloured and she became a little breathless.
‘Behave yourself if you can possibly manage it, and send word if you need me for any reason at all.’
‘When do I ever cause the least trouble?’ she asked with a capricious smile.
Archie refrained from pointing out the numerous occasions on which she had done exactly that, and had no further excuse to linger. Pawson helped him into his greatcoat and his driver brought the carriage round. Flora stood in the doorway, seemingly mindless of the cold in her flimsy muslin gown, and waved him away.
Archie wondered if the day would ever come when they would not be required to part from one another.
Chapter Three
Flora was too busy over the next few days to dwell upon Archie’s unexpected appearance at the railway station. She was absolutely sure that he must have deliberately timed his departure from Beranger Court to coincide with her return from Salisbury—but why go to so much trouble? More baffling still was the alteration in his attitude. It had turned from friendly and mildly flirtatious, as was his way with all females, to possessive.
Preoccupied, she put Archie’s odd behaviour to the back of her mind and caught up with her outstanding duties, hampered by some of the bitterest February weather she could remember. The villagers complained about the biting wind and the relentless cold; conditions that made it more important for her not to neglect the old ladies who had come to depend upon her in the short amount of time she had lived in Lyneham.
With her duty done for the day, she settled down in front of a roaring fire with Zeus for company, secure in the knowledge that no one was likely to be making social calls in such appalling conditions and that her time would be her own. She held the first of her grandmother’s diaries open on her lap and steeled herself for an emotional reaction as she read the familiar neat hand detailing the minutiae of her daily life before Grandpapa’s death and Flora’s birth. There was unlikely to be anything helpful hidden amongst those early recollections, but Flora had decided to be thorough and start from the very beginning.
She had not read very far when the sound of the door knocker being wielded echoed through the cottage. Remus appeared, looking windswept, if it was possible for a spirit guide to be affected by the elements. Irritated by the interruption, she didn’t have time to ask her protector what form of trouble had come to her door before Polly came through to tell her that a gentleman had called. Flora took the card from Polly’s tray, unsurprised to see Mr Conrad’s name engraved upon it in a neat script. It gave no indication of his profession, implying that he was a gentleman who didn’t need to work. Flora knew better.
Are you going to receive him?
