A harmless flirtation with Mr. Gresham.
Meaningful glances. Whispered words. Brief meetings in Hyde Park on the rare occasion she managed to escape her mother’s watchful eye. The thrill of those secret moments had filled her with a heady sense of freedom.
Arabella hadn’t been in love with him. She was certain of that. But she had loved having something, for once, that was all her own.
Arabella had grown tired of being a puppet on a string, her parents controlling her every move. The speed at which she walked. How often she smiled. Who she danced with. Her circle of friends.
So, when she’d met Mr. Gresham, who cared nothing for her parents and their rigid rules, he’d carried her away on a current of desperation. At first, she’d been so careful. So cautious.
Until she hadn’t.
The door to the parlor swung open, and Arabella sat up, smoothing her skirts.
“Cup tídhut.” Her hostess bustled in with a tea tray. “Feumaidh tu a bhith gorta.”
Pretending she understood, Arabella gave her a weak smile. “Thank you.”
The woman set the tray on the table. “Leig fios dhomh ma tha dad a dhìthort.”
Arabella could only nod again.
Thankfully, the woman seemed to take that as some sort of agreement and retreated from the room.
Arabella leaned back again, closing her eyes, loathing Scotland more and more by the minute. “Does no one in this infernal country speak awordof English?” she asked aloud.
“I do.” The deep voice came from somewhere behind her.
Arabella’s eyes flew open and she whipped her head around, only to see a pair of boots descending a set of steps near the back of the room. A man in a caped greatcoat came to stand at the foot of the stairs, a half-smile lifting one corner of his mouth.
She tried, in the space of a few short seconds, to take hismeasure. He was undeniably striking, with dark hair that curled over his brow, laughing eyes, and an angular jaw. His finely tailored clothes and polished boots were fit for London’s finest drawing rooms. And the way he stood—the casual yet attentive stance of a man of consequence.
Where had he come from? And how, exactly, did one respond to a stranger who was sodirect? Normally she would ignore such impertinent behavior. They hadn’t been introduced, after all, and he had to have known she wasn’t speaking tohim. But even in those two words he’d spoken, she’d heard that perfectly familiar, perfectly clipped English accent. The sound of home.
Which is why, Arabella convinced herself, she answered back. “I suppose that makes two of us.”
His mouth twitched. “If we find a third, perhaps we should start a society.”
Try as she might, she couldn’t find much humor in it. “It isn’t as though I have anything else to do to pass my time here,” she said, voice laced with bitterness.
The man looked at her more closely, raising a questioning eyebrow. “You are visiting, then?”
She nodded. “Unfortunately.” And then, remembering she really shouldn’t be conversing with a stranger, she began making herself a cup of tea.
Even as she added some cream and sugar to her cup, she could feel the man’s eyes on her. “It sounds as if there’s a story there,” he said, his words a bit softer. Inviting Arabella to share, if she would.
And perhaps, if she hadn’t felt so very forlorn, she wouldn’t have answered. But she was friendless, hundreds of miles from home, and worn down from days of travel. The thought of having someone to confide in was...unexpectedly comforting.
She glanced toward Molly’s sleeping form. They weren’t alone, not really.
“There is,” she admitted, taking a long sip of tea.
Without waiting for an invitation, the man took the seat across from Arabella, settling back in the chair. Ready to listen.
Arabella set her cup down. “I’m to spend a summer here in Ballintraid with my grandmother as a...” She looked up and met his gaze, his eyes a rich green. “A punishment,” she confessed.
“A punishment,” he repeated. “Does your grandmother beat you?” His eyes danced with amusement.
She laughed despite herself. “Certainly not. At least Ihopenot. I’ve never met her. This is my first time visiting Scotland,” she admitted. “But in the five days since I crossed the border, I’ve discovered everything my parents warned me about is true.”
