“I do. Most assuredly.”
His smile turned so roguish, her skin started tingling. “I am half tempted to break my own rules and propose straight away.” He dropped a look at her as they resumed their progress. “How would you respond to that, I wonder?”
Delighting in the more playful mood they’d managed to find, Angelica told him wryly, “There’s only one way for you to find out.”
He chuckled, but when he spoke again, his voice was sober. “I would not deny you the last four days you’ve been given to make your decision. It is a serious, life altering one and, in light of recent events, more complicated than most. I want to be sure you will have no regrets.”
In Angelica’s heart, her mind was already made up. When the time came, she would accept Randolph’s proposal in spite of the drawbacks for one simple reason: she’d fallen in love with the man and could no longer picture her life without him.
Chapter 7
The days that followed were so perfect Angelica almost allowed herself to forget she’d experienced anything out of the ordinary during her stay at Colchester Hall. With scarcely a cloud in the sky, she’d visited Randolph’s tenants two days earlier, bringing baskets of goods she and Rose had prepared. And with the lovely weather persisting, she’d even been able to attend a garden party with him at a neighboring estate yesterday. It was unusually late in the year for such an event, so the guests had all been local, allowing her to become acquainted with the people she’d soon have to associate with on a more regular basis.
Now, sitting adjacent to Randolph at the dining table with her mother directly opposite, Angelica savored the dinner the cook had prepared. It wasn’t duck this time, but rather lamb, roasted to perfection, with parsley buttered potatoes and crisp vegetables flavored with spiced oil and vinegar dressing.
Taking a small break from her food, she sipped her wine and listened to Randolph’s account of his visit to Rome. He’d gone right after finishing his studies at Cambridge, and he spoke of his travels with so much enthusiasm it made Angelica yearn to see St. Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum for herself.
She sighed. Tomorrow her life would forever be altered. Randolph would offer for her hand and she would accept. Her only regret would be the unsolved mystery surrounding the previous Lady Sterling’s death. But with no additional clues to follow, Angelica was at a loss, partly because she’d reached a dead end and also because she was left to wonder why the viscountess’s ghost had suddenly chosen to leave her alone when it had been so persistent before.
“Nervous?” Randolph queried once dinner was over and they had adjourned to the parlor. “You’ve been very quiet all evening.”
Rose, who’d suddenly decided she had to keep reading a book she’d begun the day before, had taken a seat at one end of the room while Angelica and Randolph removed themselves to the other. Still within sight, though quite out of earshot. He handed her a glass of sherry and claimed the seat beside her on the sofa.
Angelica sipped the sweet Spanish liquor. Her heart fluttered like mad, as if she and Randolph had only just met and he was making advances. “A little,” she confessed.
Twisting sideways to better face her, he caught her gaze with his own. “Then you have made your decision?”
“I made it several days ago and I can assure you it is in your favor.” His smile was immediate, warm and happy. “But the nature of it fills me with the sort of trepidation I imagine I would experience right before embarking on a long journey.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” He moved his leg, just enough for their knees to touch. Angelica’s pulse leapt in response. She sucked in a breath. Randolph’s smile deepened. “I will be by your side every step of the way.”
Angelica carried that assurance with her to bed. And when she slept, her dream was of him. Wrapped in his arms, she savored the press of his lips against hers and the sweet words he whispered against her flushed skin.
Until he drew back and a dark void appeared between them. His face hardened to angry lines. “What have you done?” The words, shouted with hateful disgust, struck her as hard as a fist landing straight in her chest.
It physically hurt. She could feel her heart ripping in two and instinctively reached out toward him only to watch him sink away into darkness. She dropped her gaze to the letter she held in her hand. It was her only hope – the only chance she had left. The floor beneath her turned. Her bedchamber vanished and she was downstairs, dressed in her nightgown and heading toward salvation. A fog clouded her brain. Her movements felt sluggish but she was determined. She rounded the corner and reached for the door. It swung open the moment she touched it. Why wasn’t it locked?
Heedless of the wind, she stepped outside and scanned the darkness, but no one was there.
“I hoped you would come.”
She spun, so fast she almost tripped over her hem. An elegant figure emerged from the shadows. “Mrs. Essex?”
The housekeeper smiled and glided toward her. “You really should have dressed more appropriately, my lady.”
She shivered, hugged her arms around herself, and dug her toes into the ground. Something was wrong. She wasn’t thinking clearly. “I ought to get back inside.”
“He’ll never forgive you, you know.”
“What?”
“You’ve humiliated him in the worst way possible.”
“No…” She shook her head. “It isn’t true.”
“Ah, but who will believe you?” Mrs. Essex’s smile sweetened. “After all, there was a naked man in your bed.”
“I don’t know how…how he came to…to be there.” She stepped forward, with sluggish movements. “Please. I must get inside.”
