Brina adored her mother and father. They had always been good to her, but she was glad she no longer had to depend on their unwavering support. After Stewart’s death she needed them close.
And not without good reason. The shock of losing her husband and the denial that persisted far too long had provoked unhealthy emotions she was still trying to recover from.
A stirring from the past teased Brina’s mind as she tightened the gloves around her fingers. She tried to brush the unwanted memories away, but they lingered like cold morning fog on a gray day.
For a time, Brina thought she might be going insane. Perhaps she even had a little. For a while.
She’d loved her husband and considered it an act of faithfulness and honor to refuse to believe he was dead. After all, they’d only been married three months when she was told the sea had taken him. There were reports he’d saved the lives of several people by helping them grab onto pieces of wreckage. He was young, strong. Surely, he’d saved himself too. He had to be somewhere. Injured perhaps and hadn’t been found. Days turned into weeks. Months passed. He didn’t return.
Brina finally had to accept he wasn’t coming back.
He was dead, and she had stopped living. She couldn’t cope with the deep, pulsing sadness of losing him.
But then, when she felt she couldn’t bear the pain and anger of loss any longer, she met Julia and Adeline that sad day at a square near the docks at London’s Harbor. It wasn’t a place widows of Society should ever find themselves, nevertheless it was where the few personal belongings that had been recovered from the sinking oftheSalty Dovehad been displayed. The items were lined up in rows, available for family members who wanted to look through and retrieve loved ones’ final possessions.
Seagulls had squawked all afternoon. The smell of putrid water hung in the air. Lonesome, distant sounds of riggings clanking against wooden masts would never fully leave her mind. Nor would the suffering families of the stewards, attendants, and other workers on the ship. They had gathered and huddled there too that day. Mostly women and children poorly dressed. They hugged, talked softly, and comforted one another.
That was the day Adeline had the idea of starting a school for the unfortunate children who were left fatherless by the downed ship. Polite Society would take care of their own, but who would take care of the workers’ offspring? The three Society widows decided they would, and the inception of the Seafarer’s School for Girls had been born.
And it had saved Brina’s life.
“Would you like for me to ask your maid to bring you a different pair of gloves?”
“What?” Brina blinked back the past and looked down at her hands. She had put on the gloves and now taken them off. Shaking her head, she smiled at Mrs. Lawton, happy to have a reason to put the unwanted memories to bed once again. “No, no. They fit fine. I was simply distracted for a few moments.”
A tap sounded on the door knocker. Brina’s stomach tightened. She started pulling on her gloves again. “At last, he’s here. There’s nothing like getting something started so you can look forward to the finish.”
Mrs. Lawton headed for the door. Brina slipped the braided ribbons of her reticule over her wrist and settled them at the top of her gloves. She then scooted from behind her housekeeper, intent on rushing outside, butat seeing the earl looking so splendid and dashing in his dark-blue coat, fawn-colored trousers, and quilted beige waistcoat, she had to stop and drink in the sight of him.
Reality came swift. It hadn’t been nerves or annoyance she’d felt all morning. It was guilty excitement at the thought of spending time with him. His towering height and perfect physique sent a thrill of desire flashing through her, and she simply wanted to take pleasure in it.
From the moment she’d first seen him, she’d been attracted, and despite her valiant efforts, that hadn’t changed. But right now, she had to rein in those feminine emotions and stay calm.
“My lord,” she greeted him and curtsied.
He took off his hat and nodded. “Mrs. Feld.”
She stepped outside. “You’re right on time and I’m ready.”
His eyes narrowed and he hesitated. “You might need a cape. It’s windy today.”
“I should be warm enough.” She hummed to herself and started down the stone steps toward the street. The closer she got to the pavement, the slower she walked. No carriage was parked in front of the house. There were three horses and a groom standing with them.
A feeling of suspicion rose from within her. She stopped and turned to stare at the earl while her brain tried to focus on the situation she saw unfolding before her.
“These are horses,” she said.
He regarded her closely as he came up beside her. “Well-schooled mares. I picked a gentle one for you. You do ride, don’t you?”
Brina was so astounded, she wasn’t sure she could speak at first. Her breath seemed to clog at the base of her throat. “Yes, I do,” she managed to say. Not well, butshe could manage a horse. Somewhat. “Why did you bring horses?”
“You look concerned,” he said, though his tone was light, making it clear he was anything but concerned that she could not handle the task he’d brought to her. He casually folded his arms across his chest. “I said we’d go for a ride in the park.”
The Earl of Blacknight had to be the most unbelievable man in all of London. And England. The whole world. And he was standing in front of her. Pursuing her. Tempting her with intriguing charm.
“This is not what it means when you ask a lady to go for a ride.” Brina sucked in a deep, soundless breath of exasperation. “It means you will bring a curricle to her house, or perhaps a shiny landau with the top down. You don’t bring horses. How could doing something like this have even entered your mind?”
He remained at ease and offered her only a trace of a smile. One that teased her senses and irritated her disposition at the same time. That he’d made such an assumption and she was perturbed didn’t seem to bother him at all.
