Coleus inserted one more pin and then stepped back. “Well, I’ve done my part. A work of art, if I say so myself.”
Without examining her reflection, Rhoda rose and located her favorite shawl. “I’m going to explore the gardens before dinner.” Lately, her lungs squeezed tighter than normal, making it almost difficult to breathe. Even within the confines of this beautiful manor, she felt stifled. Draping her shawl around her shoulders, she couldn’t meet her sister’s eyes.
If Rhoda couldn’t squash this scandal, all of them would be ruined.
She felt Coleus’s accusing stare acutely.
“You’re so different now,” her sister stated.
Rhoda knew she had changed. She wished she could return to her former self. “I’m sorry.” She barely managed to whisper the apology.
Coleus looked at her curiously and then shrugged and sat down at the vanity herself. “Just don’t get lost. Mama will have apoplexy if you don’t return on time for the evening meal.”
They’d be lucky if she were to disappear.
Rhoda hugged the soft wool around her shoulders and slipped out the door.
If anything could soothe Rhoda, it would be this garden. Especially now, in early spring. God, her mother, the lover of all horticulture, was going to be in raptures when she discovered it.
Rhoda wandered for a few minutes and upon seeing an old wooden bench, sat down, closed her eyes, and tried to calm herself.
A bet!
About me!
God damn you, St. John!
“I’ll leave you alone, if you’d prefer.”
Lord Carlisle.
She didn’t need to see him to identify his voice.
“No. Please stay.” She opened her eyes, surprisingly eager to have her solitude interrupted.
Something about this man inherently calmed her.
“Won’t you sit?” She made room for him beside her. It wasn’t a large bench, but space existed enough for two.
He lowered himself and the strength of his thighs immediately pressed against hers. Rhoda chastised herself for wanting to lean into him. The wager hadn’t been based upon vague rumors. They’d had St. John’s word! And he’d been telling nothing more than the truth.
She was a wanton!
And now she found herself all too aware of the man seated beside her, a man of God. Well, he had been, anyhow.
“Are you ever going to travel to your estate? Put the family out of their misery? Surely, by now, they’ve imagined all manner of ogres coming to banish them from their home?”
“I’ve written my cousins. They know they have no need to worry.” His voice condemned her in the kindest of ways, for assuming he’d be one to cause anyone undue wretchedness.
“Of course, ever the vicar.” She bit her lip at her unkind words. It wasn’t his fault she’d ended up in such a scrape. God help her, Carlisle likely was one of the last gentlemen left who’d treat her with any manner of respect.
He leaned forward, much as he had last week, at the ball, before any of this was known. His elbows rested on his knees, and he seemed to be contemplating his loosely clasped hands. He lacked his normal peaceful countenance though.
“You are reluctant, aren’t you?”
He shook his head. “You are right, I’ve delayed in taking on my new responsibilities. I should not have come here, to Eden’s Court. It’s time I looked into the circumstances of the estate.”
Nothing was as simple as it seemed. Lord Carlisle might just as well have inherited a burden as an asset. “Soon enough, we’ll all have to return to our troubles.” The words escaped her mouth of their own accord.
