Olivia missed spending her days assisting Eliza caring for the children and although she tried not to dwell on it, she missed Gabriel’s sense of humor and adventurous spirit.
She missed how he had teased her and goaded her into wanting more for herself.
She missed him.
A knocking on the front door had her closing her book and setting it aside, once and for all.
A few minutes later Mary stood at the door. “It’s a letter for you.”
She rarely, if ever, received any mail and didn’t recognize the handwriting. Upon turning it over, however, she caught her breath. The sealed wax emblem boldly stated the sender to be the Earl of Kingsley.
He’d written to her.
Gabriel.
“Thank you.”
Mary nodded and withdrew silently. As dear as Mary was to her, Olivia needed to be alone when she saw his handwriting––when she read his thoughts.
It would not be a love letter, however, no matter how much she wished that it was.
There was only one rational reason for him to write. He wanted to be certain there were no repercussions from the night they’d spent together. He was, after all, a gentleman. And as such, although her claim to gentility was tenuous at best, his honor would dictate that he… do something.
There had not been any repercussions. She’d gotten her monthlies just two weeks after…
She ought to have been relieved but there was apparently no end to her foolishness.
She’d cried.
Olivia cracked the seal of the envelope and opened the carefully folded parchment.
Without focusing on the words, she dragged the tip of her index finger along the hastily scrawled lines of ink and then lifted the paper to smell it.
It mostly smelled like linen and a hint of spice and… man—left over from his hand, no doubt—that caused a whirlwind of sensations to sweep through her.
Memories. Longings.
She opened her eyes and read,
Olivia,Miss Redfield,
I hope this letter finds youin good healthcontent in your situation. My conscience has been annoyingly persistent and will continue as such until I have satisfied myself that you are not experiencingdevastatingunwantedruinousunseemlyrepercussions following our acquaintance this spring. Below is where I can be contacted if you find yourself in need ofmeadditional assistance and/or support from myself.
I missPlease do not hesitate to send for me if necessary.
Your Friend,
Gabriel Fellowes, Kingsley.
And then he’d managed to scrawl barely legible directions to Kingsley House in Mayfair.
Why couldn’t she simply forget him? Or better yet, hate him? It would make his absence so much easier.
Olivia tipped her head back and stared up at the ceiling.
She squeezed her legs together, closed her eyes, and lifted the letter so that she could inhale his scent again.
Ten weeks had passed since they’d been together. Ten of the longest weeks of her life.
