Page 57 of Beyond Scandal and Desire
“It’s our kissing couple,” she said, self-conscious that he’d seen her work. She only ever shared it with Kip who had declared it, “Not bad.” Discreetly she pointed to the couple standing a short distance away, near the pond, watching as children placed toy sailboats on the water.
“She’s not carrying a parasol,” he said.
It pleased her that he’d noticed, made her feel as though they were sharing an intimate secret. “I think their relationship has developed to the point that she can say whatever she wants, that he welcomes her speaking her mind, that she need not use frivolous objects to communicate with him.”
“Do you know them?”
“No. They’re obviously well off. Their dress and bearing tells me that, but I don’t think they’re nobility. If they are, I’ve never seen them at a ball or any other affair. I wonder about their story, though.”
“What do you imagine it is?”
She peered askance at him. “What makes you think I’ve given it any thought?”
“Because you drew them, and I suspect you were weaving their tale as you did. There’s a bit of the romantic in you.”
A good deal more than a bit. “I think the world has judged their love illicit, that it won’t let them be together, but here within the park, they can shut out the world. None of it matters.”
Silence stretched between them until finally he murmured, “Hmm.”
“What?”
His eyes held a sparkling, a teasing. “I’d have thought you’d give them a happier ending.”
She turned her gaze back to the couple. “She’s afraid. Marrying him will take her away from everything she knows.”
Even without looking, she knew he was studying her intently, that his eyes were no longer sparkling. She laughed self-consciously. “They’re probably married, have a dozen children and come to the park for a bit of peace.”
“If that were the case, she’d have not had to use her parasol the other day to lure him into a kiss.”
They were talking nonsense, and yet it was a balm to her aching heart. “What do you think their story is?”
He sat on the grass, apparently not giving a whit that his trousers might become stained. Draping a wrist over a raised knee, he was a model of masculinity, strength and power. A man comfortable in his own skin. “They met as children. She grew up in wealth and privilege. Her father’s a banker, I think. He grew up with nothing, the son of a fishmonger. But he loved her, so he went off and made his fortune. Now he’s returned . . . but she’s making him work to prove his affections. Eventually they’ll marry and have a dozen children and come to the park for peace.”
She smiled softly. “I’d have not thought you’d give them a happy ending.”
“It does seem out of character, but I wanted to make you smile. I enjoy your smiles.”
After her afternoon, she was in danger of bursting into tears at his kindness. “In truth, I don’t think our tales are better than her reality. She strikes me as being content. Happy.”
She dropped her gaze to the couple etched out on her pad. Their faces were merely shaded in ovals as she had no talent for drawing features. Still their nearness to each other, the way his hand rested on the small of her back—in a protective way Kip’s had never rested on hers—brought her the realization that she had somehow inadvertently missed capturing something she wanted. “Kip and I had a row earlier.”
“About your visit to me last night?” His voice was even, and yet she heard a sliver of danger slithering through it, and she was left with the impression he’d be her champion if one were needed.
She laughed caustically. “No, I didn’t tell him about that. I wouldn’t.” She couldn’t. She couldn’t tell anyone. If found out, there would be consequences for her and him and whatever future each of them might have envisioned for themselves. “I insisted he cease with his gambling. I told him I couldn’t honor our understanding otherwise.” Another laugh, this one sad, with a hint of embarrassment. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
“I think you do.”
She did. Awful girl that she was, she wanted him to know she had doubts regarding her future. With a nod, she looked back toward the couple who were now walking away, to find their happiness she hoped, when she was beginning to doubt hers was on the horizon.
“What was his reaction?”
“Anger. He instructed me not to say anything to his parents when it would only upset them and I was certain to regain my senses in time.”
“It seems to me you’ve already come to your senses.”
And there it was, the reason she’d told him. He was familiar with Kip’s behavior, understood her struggles. “But he’s correct. I can’t tell them, because I would have to explain his behavior and it will break their hearts. I don’t know how he’s managed to keep it from them all these years.”
“You don’t have to say anything. It’ll come out eventually. It always does.” He sounded so certain.
