“Very well then, I’ll walk you back to your rooms.” He took her hand without another word and led her out.
When they passed the guest room door, she stared at and wished her brother would open the door so she could throw her shoe at his stubborn head.#
Fable sat at the hand-carved wooden table in the dining Hall. It was the first time she actually sat at the table and ate. As a matter of fact, it was the first time she’d ever sat atanytable. And she’d never imagined one could look like this one–covered in different dishes of food. That was what Ben had used to lure her here. Food. He’d asked her what she liked to eat for breakfast. She told him scrambled eggs, buttered toast and a cup of coffee.
She smiled now lifting a hunk of bread that looked as if it had been roasted over a flame, to her mouth. He’d had the cook prepare what she liked, and–with Fable’s prompting, what he liked; barley cakes, biscuits, over-easy eggs, ham, fresh butter, marmalade, and various fish dishes. There were melons, grapes,berries and different creams. She’d never seen so much food in one place.
He’d had Stephen out since early this morning buying coffee beans, roasting them, grinding and finally boiling them. She brought her cup to her mouth next and sipped the strong, bitter beverage. It made her shiver. She guessed this was what coffee was supposed to taste like. She added some fresh sweet milk then closed her eyes and almost purred like a satisfied cat. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Ben was watching her from across the table, wearing the faintest hint of a smile.
His declaration from the night before resonated in her head.I’m almost fully certain that I love you, Miss Ramsey.
He loved her? That’s when she knew all this was a dream. She was in a coma somewhere. He loved her? What did it mean? What should she do about it? She knew one thing, she was losing her hardened heart to him.
“Have I thanked you for all this, Your Grace?”
“Yes. A dozen times,” he answered, looking as if he didn’t mind at all. He rested his hands from eating and looked at them, rather than at her. “Have I told you…” he paused to clear his throat “... how lovely you look?”
“Many times.” She let out a little laugh while she ate. She’dfeltlovely, like a pampered princess, standing still while seamstresses measured her for new gowns, which His Grace had ordered to be fashioned not only for beauty, but for comfort without any whale bones to pinch and prod, or corsets that cut off her air. Just a few hours later two gowns had already been finished. She chose one made of fine, sapphire-colored, silk velvet with silver thread sewn into soft swirls throughout. It was unbelted and hung in flowy waves and pleats from her shoulders to the floor over a matching bodice and soft, cotton petticoats instead of hoops. She had sat impatiently, wanting to see him while two different women washed and dried her hair. She lovedall the attention and enjoyed it while they brushed her long locks and pinned them up.
“I have to write some letters this afternoon,” he told her while they ate together this morning. “After that I can teach you fencing. I need to practice.”
“When will you teach me to read and write?” she asked, spooning some cream onto a chunk of melon and then happily eating it.
“Tonight,” he told her, gazing at her. “Over candlelight and wine?”
She smiled, blushed, and nodded. She couldn’t help but think about the night she’d spent in his arms. Though he’d kissed her with passion and promises, he hadn’t tried to have his way with her. He was as awkward and untried as she was. He’d slept for what was left of the night. She lay awake as the hours passed, listening to him breathing next to her, staring at his beautiful face while he dreamed, hopefully of her. The thought of spending another night with him thrilled her.
“Ah, Miss Ramsey,” the villainess snarled as she approached the table on the arm of a man who Fable pitied. “I wasn’t told you would be joining us for breakfast.” She shot a scornful glare at Ben. “I could have made arrangements for food more to your taste.”
Wow. She was an evil villainess, all right. She didn’t waste time but struck with a smile on her pretty face.
Ben sipped his coffee and stared at his sister. “Prudence, make arrangements for the next time I don’t tell you something because it will happen again. You aren’t Mother, and I’m not a child. As for the food, I’ve arranged it. It’s all her favorites.”
He looked at Fable and smiled. “You like it, hmm?”
She smiled at him. How could she hide it after all he’d done this morning? “Yes, thank you.”
He laughed quietly over her thankfulness while Lady Prudence stared at him. It was because Fable was leaning in that she heard Lord Sudbury’s soft voice when he spoke to Ben’s sister.
“I haven’t seen him this happy since he was ten years old.”
Fable couldn’t help but glance at Lady Prudence to surprisingly find her big, dark eyes shining with tears while she stared at her brother.
Lady Prudence, the wicked villainess of Fable’s tale, was actually very beautiful when she wasn’t glaring, snarling, or hurling insults. Her eyes and face were rounder, her nose smaller than her brother’s. Otherwise, she resembled him.
Those glassy eyes fell on Fable and hardened looking her over. “New gown?”
“Yes. It was made for me this morning,” Fable happily told her. “His Grace took pity on me when I mentioned the bone stays in my last gown stabbing me. This is so soft.” She held out her arm. “Do you want to feel it?”
Lady Prudence somehow managed to smile through her icy expression. Fable continued to smile at her, and also at Lord Sudbury.
“No. I do not want to feel it,” the lady sneered.
“Oh, Stephen!” Fable held up her index finger to Lady Prudence and then waved to the steward. “The coffee is delicious,” she told him. “Pure heaven. Thank you for all your trouble.”
“It was no trouble at all, Miss,” the steward told her with a kind smile. He was very fatherly looking, Fable decided. He had kind eyes and a patient smile.
“Have you had breakfast?” Fable asked him. “Come and sit and have some of your wonderful coffee with us.”
