Page 58 of Surrendering to a Fiery Lady

“May we have that walk and that picnic tomorrow?”

Her question made his gut tense. He longed to ask why she had refused his last invitation, but now was an opportunity. “I would like to say yes, but I am going to the country estate tomorrow.”

“I beg your pardon?” She jerked upward, her head lifting off his shoulder so suddenly that he felt a tension in the connection of their hands. “You are leaving? So easily?”

“I have to go to the Wiltshire estate.” He kept his voice calm. “There is one last creditor I must pay off and he is in Salisbury. I will be back soon enough.” When it was plain Ophelia was uncertain about this, chewing her lip and turning her head as if trying to hide that look, Elliot felt his next words falling from his lips. “Would you like to come, too?”

“You wish me to come?” she asked, her eyes wide. Their bold blue looked almost silver in the lantern light that swayed over their heads with the movement of the carriage.

“Of course.” He nodded. “I can make arrangements for us to go together?”

“I’d like that. Yes, please.” Her agreement made the stiffness leave his body. He rested back on the carriage bench as Ophelia leaned into him. “It was quite a strange evening, was it not?”

“Very strange,” he confirmed. The air had shifted between them now and the awkwardness did not seem as present as it had been before. “Now you have seen what it is like to walk into a room and have everyone turn to look at you, too.”

“Yes!” She sat up once again, her lips parted in outrage. “It’s a wonder you didn’t storm out again right away. How can you stand it when they stare so?”

“Some of them don’t mean anything by it. Might I remind you that you stared at me the night we first met.” Elliot couldn’t resist being playful. She smiled a little at his teasing, then shook her head.

“That was different.”

“How?”

“Because I was intrigued by you,” she confessed, shrugging. “I was looking because I wanted to know you better. I did not want to gossip about you.”

“Oh! The truth is coming out now. Did you double back round to that library just in the hope of meeting me?” he asked, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it again.

“You are crediting me with far more art than I have.” She laughed at the idea. “No, I was escaping Gertrude, and the rather eager attentions of Lord Chester.” She shuddered again, clearly thinking of the dance she had shared with him earlier that night.

“Do not think of him anymore,” he pleaded with her. “Tomorrow, we shall leave London behind for a few days. You need not think of him or your stepmother for a while.”

“I’d like that.” When she yawned, he pulled her back into his side and urged her to rest her head on his shoulder. With this closeness re-established between them, he was determined not to let things fall cold again.

This changing wind between us has to stop. Somehow, I will show Ophelia what we can be together.

***

“Oh, wow.” Ophelia breathed out the words as she climbed down from the carriage, scarcely able to believe the sight before her. The house in Wiltshire was not what she had expected. The townhouse in London had already been grand, with an estate of its own in the middle of packed streets, but this was something else.

Even as she had approached, she had seen the estate rolled over green hills, stretching for miles. The long white pebble drive led to a house made of yellow stone, tall and dominating the landscape. It had to be at least a hundred years old, a house of great heritage, with such tall windows gleaming in the sunlight that it seemed to glisten like a finely made jewel.

“What do you think of it?” Elliot’s question had Ophelia turning round to see him approach on his horse. When Miss Barge had told her that morning that Elliot intended to ride beside the carriage rather than journey with her, Ophelia had been determined to hide her disappointment. She smiled genuinely now as Elliot approached, jumping down from his horse quickly to reach her side. “Do you like it?” He seemed most eager to have her answer.

“How could anyone not like it?” She gestured to the house behind them. “Elliot, it is quite stunning.”

“I’m glad you like it. There was a horrible time a couple of months ago when I thought I would have to sell this place.” He smiled rather woefully. “That would have saddened me more than I can say.”

“You have happy memories from here?” Ophelia observed, watching him closely. His eyes shifted to her.

“You have that habit of reading my mind again.”

“I can see it on your face.” She gestured to him. “You look at the house and you are not seeing the building, as beautiful as it is. You are thinking of something else.”

“I have happy memories of being with Grace here, and my grandmother. She was always loving,” he said softly. “I rather hoped the house would be that happy again someday. Your dowry has meant I do not have to sell it. Th—”

“If you are to thank me again, please, do not.” She lifted her hand and covered his lips, noting the way his eyes seemed to sparkle at the way she had so easily moved towards him. “You have thanked me quite enough as it is.”

“I’ll always thank you again,” he said, his voice deep as she lowered her hand.

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