“Therefore, your seeking the pleasure of a young widow, as you would do in London, not only reflects on you, but me as well. Therefore, as I do not wish to be gossiped about, or have those who have known me my entire life question the validity of your intentions, I have chosen to end our courtship. I believe it is best for all three parties concerned. Don’t you agree?”
Damn and blast. He was going to beat Liam until he was the one in need of a physician.
“Mrs. Wilder is not my lover, Violet,” he said quietly even though his anger at Liam raged.
“I saw you walking with her late last night, Lord Ferrard.” She twisted on the ladder to stare down at him. “I thought we had at least honesty between us as we both detest lying.”
“I’m not denying that you saw me walking with Mrs. Wilder. I’m denying there was anything more between us.”
She stared at him hard, her green eyes burning into his as if she were trying to see into his mind.
“Liam and I crossed her path. He insisted that I escort her as he was unable to.” Emory certainly wasn’t going to share that it had been an arrangement by Liam for the purpose of Emory bedding the woman, and he hoped that Violet never learned. Even though he was angry with his brother, Emory didn’t want Violet to know of the duplicity, as it might affect how she viewed the local physician.
“And you did?” she asked. “It was kind of you.”
“I saw her to the door, waited until she was safely inside, then returned to Liam’s house.” Emory hated that he had to defend himself. Yet, he had a reputation when in London, and if anyone else had seen him walking with a lovely widow at midnight, they’d assume as Violet had.
“Even if I would have wanted to remain with Mrs. Wilder, which I didnot, I would not have disrespected you in such a manner.”
Violet slowly descended the ladder, carefully holding her skirt so as not to trip, and he noted the slimness of her delicate ankles.
“Why? Our courtship is not real.”
“For the reasons you mentioned. The good people of Laswell do not know the truth, and we’ve both been gossiped about enough in our lives, don’t you agree.”
She finally reached the floor, both feet on solid stone, and Emory was able to relax that she no longer risked injury.
Violet nodded. “I apologize for assuming. It was wrong of me to do so without questioning you first.”
She believed him.She looked hard for deception, but Violet had come to know Lord Ferrard in this short time and saw only sincerity in his sapphire eyes. While it was a comfort to know that he’d only been an escort, and it did ease some of the pain of jealousy, his confession changed nothing. She could not spend any further time with him, or she was in danger of caring for him too deeply. More than anyone should care for afriend.
“Is that why you returned to Forester Hall before you intended to do so.”
“It is only part of the reason,” she admitted. Did she tell him the full truth?
No, she answered to herself almost instantly. There was more to protect, and the reason why she would have returned tomorrow had she not done so today, so Violet shared a partial truth. “I had a nightmare. It was a very vivid nightmare, as I’ve never experienced, and prompted me to return home.”
“Would you like to discuss it?”
“It was an irrational response to disturbed sleep,” she dismissed. However, she told him the whole of it, except about the gypsy and the vardo, and the words that were said to her.
“I can understand the uneasiness, especially after you spoke of your gardens.” He did a slow turn, then walked the whole of the conservatory before returning to her, then approached the ladder. “What were you trying to retrieve?”
“Nothing,” she answered. “I wanted to see what kind of web had been spun to see if I could determine the type of spider.”
Lord Ferrard gave a slight shiver, and Violet didn’t bother to hide her humor. “You, a gentleman, suffer from arachnophobia?”
“I amnotafraid of spiders,” he defended. “I simply do not like them.” He looked up warily. “What kind is it? I hope it’s not poisonous.”
“I cannot tell,” she admitted. “But I’ll know when the egg sack hatches.”
“Egg sack?” He seemed horrified.
“Do not worry, Lord Ferrard. You will be safely in Sussex before that happens.”
“Yes, but you will be here.”
“The spiders will scatter, most making their way outside, or into hiding, as they always do. And I’ve yet to see a poisonous spider. At least, not one that will make you ill.”
