“Time for us to go.” Mr. Whitcomb took his wife’s hand.
Deirdre, her gaze locked on Zach, didn’t immediately turn. Zach was watching her too, and something seemed to pass between them—something Bellamy could only describe as heated sparks.
Something that reminded him of the heated sparks that had flared in a similar fashion between him and Zaira earlier.
Mr. Meier’s frown was still in place, but he said no more.
At this point, Bellamy knew he didn’t need to speak again either. He’d done his job in bringing the couple together and had planted the seeds for a match. Now the union would need to unfold in its own time. It wouldn’t happen today. But it would eventually.
In the interim, he’d look like a failure for not finding the senator’s daughter a husband by the allotted time. But at least in the long term, Deirdre would end up with the right man—the man she loved—and that was truly all that mattered.
With a final nod toward the senator, Bellamy picked up his reins and guided his horse toward the warehouse. Without Zaira’s input, he wouldn’t have been able to facilitate this“accidental” meeting. He was in debt to her and owed her everything she’d asked of him.
But no respectable man would ever carry through with her bargain, not when she’d asked him to meet her alone and kiss and hug her. Of course, she’d changed her tune and asked for only a hug....
For research purposes.
He nearly laughed out loud again as he had earlier. What sane man would be able to resist kissing her once he had her in his arms? Not him, that was for certain. That meant the best way to avoid the entire situation was to stay away from her—far, far away.
Would she be mad that he’d broken his part of the bargain? Naturally so.
But he wouldn’t let a little fear of Zaira’s reaction push him into doing something daft.
5
He wasn’t coming.
Zaira ceased her pacing to glance around the pond. Again. But only the same dense woodland greeted her as it had during the past hour of waiting.
She fisted her hands on her hips and glared at a doe and her two fawns grazing on the opposite side of the pond. “You’re a scoundrel, Bellamy. A big, big scoundrel.”
A strange disappointment sliced into her. No, she wasn’t sad about not getting a hug. Well, maybe a little. Because she couldn’t deny she’d been dreaming for the past twenty-four hours about what it would be like to stand in Bellamy’s embrace.
More than that, though, she was upset he hadn’t carried through with his part of the bargain. She thought he was a man of his word—honorable and true and trustworthy. Even if he’d changed his mind about hugging her, she’d expected that he would at least meet her at the pond and tell her she had to come up with a different exchange.
Not that she wanted anything else...
Had he sensed her ardor? Was that why he’d broken their bargain?
Maybe it was for the best. After all, it was improper for a lady to be alone with a man and hug him. Women of her status and upbringing simply didn’t encourage such things.
She dropped her hands and began pacing again. She’d tried rewriting the next scene in her story last night, had hoped the feelings and depth would come to her without experiencing anything with Bellamy, but she’d failed miserably at coming up with new and exciting material. She’d only put down more drivel.
“I wouldn’t be here either if I didn’t need it,” she said, trying to assuage herself.
She hadn’t heard any news from the city on whether or not Bellamy had succeeded yesterday in matching Deirdre Whitcomb. Maybe he’d failed and therefore assumed the bargain was obsolete.
But that was the thing about bargains—they didn’t become obsolete. He had to do his part regardless of how things had turned out for Deirdre’s match.
She paced several more times along the pond’s edge before lengthening her stride toward the path that led to Oakland. She would go back to the house and tell her mam she was riding into the city to take Alannah and Kiernan produce from the garden. Mam had just complained earlier in the morning that the newly married couple needed the fresh food, that it would help them stay safe from catching cholera while they resided in the city for a little longer to enjoy some privacy.
While in town, Zaira wouldjust happento ride past Oscar’s Pub. She’d stop and find out why Bellamy hadn’t followedthrough on their agreement. Surely doing so wouldn’t hurt her or cause any trouble.
Zaira hurried across the road and down the lane to the sprawling Italianate-style home surrounded by the tall oaks that gave Oakland its name. She quickly located her mam in the library. Mam opposed her going into the city—just as Zaira had predicted—even with the offer to visit Alannah and Kiernan and find out how they were faring.
Somehow, though, Zaira managed to outtalk and outmaneuver her mam. She was, after all, the sneakiest of her siblings and could get away with much more than anyone else. It wasn’t something she was proud of, but it was a skill she utilized to her advantage.
A short while later, she was mounted and speeding along the dirt road that led into the city. Once she entered the outskirts of St. Louis, she headed down St. Charles’s Street in the direction of the big sign withOscar’s Pubin bright green calligraphy, contrasting the white background.
