“Inside and out.”
Hannah felt Noah’s hands touch her arms as he walked behind her. He ran his fingers down to her elbows, then gently pushed up, urging her arms into the air. She was lost in his touch, and very much afraid she might wake and find this all a dream.
“Now,” he said, “I want you to yell that you are worthy of love. You. Not your dowry or fancy gowns. But Miss Hannah Gibbons with her fiery red hair and matching personality.”
Her arms dropped—an instinctual response as she closed up. Noah stopped her, raising her arms back in the air. “Say it, Hannah. Say it and believe it.”
She sniffed. “This is silly.”
“Say it for me. So I know you will never forget these truths or let anyone steal your light.”
With her arms outstretched, raised to the sky, Hannah basked in the feel of the wind pushing against her. It was as if she stood before the words and opinions of others, and she needed to prove they wouldn’t throw her down. “I am worthy of being loved.” She did not yell, only said the words for herself.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Noah’s warm hands gripped her waist, and she wished for nothing more than to lean back into him and let him hold her. Hannah turned around to face him, and he smiled, reaching up and wiping her cheek. She hadn’t even realized a tear had fallen.
She blinked a few times, trying to hold back her emotions. “It was very hard actually.”
“But you did it.”
Noah reached into his jacket, and Hannah wrapped her arms around herself as she watched him. The wind was cool, and she was beginning to get chilled.
He pulled out his small pink flower and tucked it into her hair above her ear as he gave her a warm smile. “There.” His finger skimmed her cheek. “Perfect.”
Chapter 15
Hannahstrolleddownthehall toward her room in a hazy dream, reliving every touch and word Noah had given her. They had stayed out longer than she had intended, and now Joyce would be rushed to get Hannah ready for dinner. A small price to pay for such a magical day.
At her room, she opened the door and slipped inside, pressing her back against the solidness with a sigh and a smile.
“That nice of an afternoon?”
Hannah’s eyes flew open, and she jerked up at her mother’s voice. “Mother, what are you doing in here?”
She stood from the small chair beside Hannah’s writing table and walked toward her. “Waiting for you, obviously.”
Hannah swiped a hair away from her cheek, striding toward the toilette where Joyce would arrange her hair. She sat down and inspected her reflection to distract herself from her mother’s gaze. “Is something the matter?”
“Yes, Hannah. Something is the matter.” She sat on the edge of Hannah’s bed, keeping her eyes fixed on Hannah as she did so. “I do not know what to think of Lord Noah’s behavior. I had thought he would have spoken to your father by now.”
“Oh.” Hannah fiddled with the brush on the table. “I—I don’t know that Father should expect such a conversation yet. These things take time.”
“Hannah.” Mrs. Gibbons’s words were cold as ice. “I have allowed Joyce to give you certain liberties whilst on your outings with Lord Noah—”
Hannah spun toward her, mouth agape.
“—with the expectation that he was courting you. I plan to have your father speak with Lord Chatham very soon about his son’s behavior. Once he returns from London.”
“No, you mustn’t.” Hannah gripped the handle of the brush with such ferocity she thought she heard a faint crack.
“And why should he not?” Mrs. Gibbons scoffed. “I understand that here in this small town, things are not as constrained as in London. But a true gentleman would not lead you on as Lord Noah has.”
“He hasn’t led me on.” Was this it? When the stolen moments with Noah would end? If she didn’t stop her mother, then her father would go to Lord Chatham and demand that Noah marry her. And Hannah wouldn’t be able to tolerate putting Noah in that situation. But, if Hannah told her mother the truth, then she wouldn’t allow her to see him anymore. No matter what, Hannah would lose. And so, she did the only thing she could palate.
“Noah and I are only friends, Mother.”
Mrs. Gibbons’s eyes widened. “Noah is it? So informal?”
“Lord Noah,” she hastened to add. “You see, he had a young lady break his heart at the beginning of spring, and we formed a close friendship as he healed.”
