I will be trying to ignore it. Forget it ever happened!
“You must leave.” The words were out of his mouth fast.
Her hand stilled on Shelby’s head.
“I am sorry to be so blunt,” he added quickly. “But you cannot stay for long. Already the staff are talking about why I brought a lady home last night. Your reputation is at risk for as long as you are here. It would be wise for you to leave before the end of the day.”
She said nothing for a moment but began to pet the hound again.
“Charity? Did you hear me?” He moved to sit down on the bench beside her. He took hold of her wrist, not thinking about the inappropriateness of touching her, but somehow needing it. “You must leave.”
“I cannot.” She tore her hand back out of his grasp.
“I beg your pardon?” he spluttered. Rufus barked at him, clearly wanting more attention, but he did not give it. Seth’s attention was solely fixed on Charity now.
“I lied to you last night.” She tilted her head in his direction. “I would not blame you for being angry at me. When I said I had a friend I could write to, somewhere to go—I do not. In fact, I do not have anyone who might take me.”
Seth stood and strode a few steps down the path. Hewasangry. He could feel the fury building up inside of him, raging like a growing boil in a pot over a fire.
“I expected some sort of outlash,” she added in a smaller voice.
“Outlash?” He turned sharply to face her. “You tricked me last night.”
“This from the man who crept into my bedchamber,” she said with a smirk. “You can hardly start preaching to me over what a good virtuous and veracious man you are, Your Grace.”
“Ah, this is not about that.”
“No? Then let me go on.” She shuffled to the brim of the stone bench. “For whatever reason you were there last night, and I do not believe you told me the true reason, you will notice that I have not once pushed you on it. I have not asked you more about it.”
“Yes. And speaking of, why is that?” Seth folded his arms. It was almost imprudent of her not to ask. For all she knew, he could be a raging madman who broke into her house one late evening.
“Because anyone looking to break into that prison of a house is more of a fool than he believes himself to be.” She waved a hand into the air dismissively. “People break out of prisons, not in.”
“Prison?” he spluttered once more, stepping toward her.
“That is what it was.” She moved to her feet. Though she was much shorter than him, she held her own, glaring back at him fiercely. He felt a desire in that moment. It ripped through him suddenly, like one of the bolts of lightning they had heard the night before.
He had to back up from her, he knew it, yet his body would not move.
“I lied to you when I said I had a friend to write to, because the truth is my father has scarcely let me out of the house in years,” she explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “He controls my life. Every living and breathing second of it. So, yes, in desperation, and perhaps when I was a little…”
“In your cups?” Seth finished for her.
“…I lied to you and said I had someone to write to.”
“This is madness.” Seth stepped even closer to her. The hounds barked at them both now, but neither of them paid attention to the animals. “What did you think would come of this? What did you truly imagine could happen by me bringing you here?”
“If I tell you, you will laugh at me. You would think me even madder than you do already.”
“I would say you have run that risk already, so you may as well tell me.” He folded his arms sharply. “Go on. What did you think?”
“I was intoxicated, remember?”
“I need more than that,” he said, his voice deepening. “What did you think would happen?”
She breathed deeply, those glacial blue eyes staring up at him. He was relieved she could not see him at that moment, because all he could do was stare back, thoroughly entranced by the beauty of those eyes, and not thinking of much else.
“I…” She began suddenly, her voice stuttering. “I was desperate to avoid marrying Baron Tynefield. I would sooner marry the mouse that lives in the corner of my chamber than him.”
