“Leonard,” she said, forcing a smile and waving him to sit. He walked forward, hardly meeting her eyes, then stood by a chair, waiting for her to sit before he claimed his seat. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”
He cleared his throat, hands clasped together. She could see the whites on his knuckles from gripping so tightly.
“I—” He swallowed. “I wanted to see if you would like to go for a ride with me today.”
A ride? As in, a voluntary outing between them? “Oh.”
His eyes flew to hers. “Is that not agreeable to you?” His fingers rolled across the arm of his chair. “I had thought you might enjoy the idea.”
Honora’s eyes trailed over him. The nervous tapping of his fingers, the way he could hardly meet her eyes. And the sickness in her stomach reached new heights. This man—the one who had difficulty opening up to others, the one who kept to himself, the one who never took what he wanted in life—was asking her for such a simple thing. While she wanted nothing but to agree, something warned her away.
Hind’s threat lingered in her thoughts. Not to mention all the lies she had told Leonard. They stacked up until a wall ofimpossibility lay between them. For how could he forgive her if he truly knew? She had been reckless, being willing to do anything to have companionship. But her foolhardy decisions were now barricading any possibility of them actually being together.
So she did what would protect them both.
“What about your vow to never marry?” She held a hand up, looking at her nails. “Have you changed your mind?”
“Honora,” he said with a sigh. “I am only asking for a ride through the park.”
She shrugged, lowering her hand. “Yes, but to what end?”
With heavy eyes, he stared at her. “I admit I am unsure. But after the events two nights ago—”
“Ah.” She nodded. “If you feel obligated to me in some way, you need not be burdened by the thought.”
“I don’t feelobligated. I just thought it was a path worth exploring.”
Her heart clenched. How foolish she had been, and unfeeling and downright dishonest. She had sabotaged herself from the very beginning. It was almost as if she did not know how to love—or how to even be honest. She knew how to tell people just enough to string them along for her own means.
“Very well,” Leonard finally said when she did not respond. “What of the next task?”
“Oh,” she said, standing. “I had forgotten you are now free of our obligation. Which reminds me of something.” She smiled, waggling her brow as if up to some fun mischief. But deep down, she was drowning. Her throat was thick, and tears sat unshed behind her eyes. “I will return in a moment.”
Leaving him alone, she took heavy steps up the stairs, then entered her room and headed straight to her wardrobe. Once she pulled the doors open, she reached in, pushing the clothing to either side and revealing a small opening in the back which ledto a safe within the wall. She entered the combination, opened it, and withdrew the item she needed.
As she made her way back downstairs, the demons in her mind berated her. Leonard had every right to not wish to see her again. He had every right to hate her.
This was her way of giving him his freedom. Her one act of graciousness, no matter how much she did not wish to do it. For now he would know just how truly awful she was.
A thief and a liar through and through.
Her steps seemed to echo about her. A lack of sleep caused exhaustion to creep through her extremities and play tricks on her mind. She stood in the threshold of the drawing room, watching as Leonard cradled a cup in his hands, breathing in the warm steam from his tea.
He looked up and saw her, then held a hand out to the seat across from him. “Why don’t you sit down. We can have some tea and continue our discussion.”
She kept the object behind her back as she walked into the room, but before she sat down, she placed it onto the table in the center of all the seating.
She sat and waited.
An uncomfortable silence filled her ears, and she wished for nothing more than for him to speak and get this awful affair over with.
But as soon as he spoke, she wanted her wish back.
“Is that what I think it is?”
She cleared her throat. “It is your great-grandmother’s ring. Take it and go sell it for the funds you need for your friends.”
He turned his head slightly toward her, but his eyes remained fixed on the ring. “You had this the whole time?”
