Chapter 20
ARABELLA
A fter a few more minutes in the hot water, Kate and I waded up the steps and back to the dark stone chambers where the maids of the Roman Baths awaited us with our dry gowns.
Dressed in my white muslin once again, I walked with Kate back to the edge of Milsom Street.
My hair was still soaking wet, a few dripping strands hanging loose around my face.
I had tried to cover most of it with my bonnet, but it had been impossible to hide.
I bid Kate farewell at the end of the street as she started toward home with her maid.
I only had a short distance to cover before I reached Newbury’s.
My skin still felt hot from the water—and from the anger that pulsed under my skin.
I didn’t want to believe that I was being fooled, but any other explanation was difficult to believe.
How could I expect a well-connected, wealthy, and handsome man to suddenly become so enchanted by me ?
I had lied to him, told him I was after his fortune, and acted like a ninny on many occasions. It simply didn’t make sense.
I marched quickly up the street. With all the gossip circulating about me, it would be best to make my journey quick before I was seen walking alone. I lowered my gaze, pulling the brim of my bonnet down low to shield my face. I watched my feet as I covered the short distance toward the door.
I dodged a pair of shiny black boots before a voice startled me. “Arabella?”
My gaze shot up from under my bonnet. My heart skipped.
Mr. Campbell stood against the outside wall of Newbury’s.
My eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and I blinked fast. Was I imagining things?
I looked again, taking in his dark hair, dark jacket, and intense blue eyes.
It was him. He seemed to have been waiting for me.
And he had called me Arabella.
My heart pounded. Everything Kate had told me in the Roman Baths came flooding back to my mind. I could not face him while I was so confused, and certainly not while my hair was soaking wet.
“Please excuse me, Mr. Campbell.” My voice was abrupt. I didn’t look in his direction again, but sped off toward the stairwell. My face burned as I tugged the door open and started up the stairs. It swung shut behind me, and I was finally able to think clearly again.
I hadn’t expected to react that way, but I also hadn’t expected to see Mr. Campbell so soon.
I leaned against the wall to catch my breath.
Sunlight bled through the cracks around the door, illuminating the stairwell just enough to light the way to the top. But my legs felt suddenly heavy. I had only made it less than halfway up the stairs when the door opened behind me.
My heart leaped, and I whirled around to see Mr. Campbell standing there at the bottom.
Before I could object, he moved up the stairs until he was just below me. He took a deep breath, his eyes searching my face. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Why did you run away from me?” His voice was exasperated, but all I could think of was how clean he looked and smelled, and how I had just been bobbing around in sulfurous water. He didn’t seem to care though, because he was standing quite close to me.
“I was just at the Roman Baths,” I said in a quick voice. “I was making haste to return home and change.” I paused, a question burning in the back of my mind. “What are you doing here?”
“I hoped to see you.” His voice was low and gruff. I felt completely exposed by his gaze as it traced over my face. He studied each one of my features, a fire behind his eyes that I had never seen before. The heat trailed across my face, and I struggled to draw a breath.
One word managed to escape my throat. “Why?”
His brow furrowed. “Why do you think?”
“I don’t know.” I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.
I was still leaning against the wall, and he was just as close as he had been in the garden the day before.
I smelled the sandalwood soap he must have used that morning, and even the starch on his cravat.
In the dim light, his eyes looked a darker shade of blue.
“I thought I might ask you to spend the afternoon with me again. We might read or paint together in my garden, or perhaps enjoy another picnic.”
I stared up at him, my suspicion growing steady in my stomach. Why were our outings never public? If he wanted all of town to know that we were courting, then would he not take me to Sydney Gardens again, or the circulating library, or the theater?
I didn’t answer for several seconds, and I felt the scowl deepen on my brow. “I-I have already made plans for this afternoon.” The lie fell flat, even to my own ears.
He gave me a curious look. “Did I do something to upset you?”
“No.”
He moved to the same step I was standing on. I inched closer to the wall.
I had nowhere to go.
“I can see that I have. You will hardly look me in the eye.”
It took all my concentration, but I managed to hold his gaze. A flutter erupted in my stomach, which was precisely what I had been avoiding. I could not trust my emotions. They would lead me astray. The deep concern on Mr. Campbell’s face was easy to believe. Surely he wasn’t so skilled an actor.
But Kate’s warnings refused to leave me alone.
“I’m confused, that’s all.” The confession slipped past my careful facade.
“I don’t understand why you are courting me.
I don’t understand what your intentions are.
” My face burned. “Until I know you are serious, I don’t think I should continue courting you.
I cannot tell if you are genuine or not, and it has been driving me mad. ”
Mr. Campbell looked taken aback by my words.
He was silent for several seconds before he moved closer.
His hands lifted to my face, and he cradled it in his hands as he stared into my eyes.
“I can assure you, if there is one genuine thing about me, it’s my feelings for you.
” His low voice sent a shiver across my shoulders.
My heart pounded. His eyes glinted with sincerity in the dimness, a depth of emotion there that settled some of my doubt.
The knots in my stomach loosened, and I released a shaky breath.
I was suddenly horribly self-conscious of my wet hair and the scents that must have accompanied it.
But Mr. Campbell’s hands were still holding my face.
He had caught me in a vulnerable position, and I certainly didn’t want to leave until I learned what he planned to do about it.
“I told you I required a pineapple to know you were serious.” My voice was weak. “Why should I believe you?”
His thumb traced over my cheekbone, a trail of heat following the touch. A faint smile flickered on his lips, and I stared at it. “You are difficult to please.”
I tried to shake my head, but he held it steady. “I only asked for one thing.”
“An impossible thing.” His eyes were on my lips now, and I didn’t dare speak because I knew he would watch the words leave my mouth.
My heart hammered. I no longer wanted to listen to that traitorous organ, so I turned away, causing his hands to drop from my face. A wild desire to test him overcame me, so I stepped up to the higher stair. “Well, then. I will assume you are not serious.”
I caught a small glimpse of the frustration on his features before I turned around.
My legs shook as I started up the steps, but then Mr. Campbell grabbed my wrist. I pivoted on the stair, intending to scold him and demand that he unhand me, but my heart raced too quickly.
His eyes collided with mine, and I realized that he was testing me now.
And I didn’t want him to unhand me.
He must have seen that written on my face, because he stepped upward in one swift motion. His gaze burned with heat again, and then he dipped his head and captured my lips with his.
My bonnet slipped backward on my head, tumbling behind me.
I had only a moment to recognize that Mr. Campbell was kissing me before I was kissing him back.
His hands surrounded my waist, holding me steady as his mouth moved over mine.
I heard his breath catch in his throat as I threaded my hands around the back of his neck.
His arms tightened around me, pulling me against him until there was no space left. He kissed me slowly, with enough passion to make my head spin. Was this how he intended to show me how serious he was? That he would kiss me even when my hair was wet and smelled of the sulfurous spa water?
I had spent days trying not to notice my growing feelings for him.
It seemed absurd suddenly, all that effort.
For I was now making a very obvious display of them.
So was he. All the doubt that had been planted in my mind was being wiped away with each touch of Mr. Campbell’s lips.
He kissed me as if he never wished to stop—as if he had something to prove—and I never wanted the moment to end.
I touched his hair, the soft strands spilling between my fingers.
His hands traced over every inch of my back until they reached my sopping wet hair and surrounded my face again.
His kisses slowed as he held my face, fading into a gentle brush of his lips.
He caught his breath. His eyes opened, meeting mine with a fire that set my pulse racing.
It didn’t seem real that he had just kissed me, but the evidence was there in his eyes and in the quick rise and fall of his chest.
He was still pressed against me, his fingers halfway in my hair when I heard the lock turn at the top of the stairs.
Mr. Campbell stepped back, his eyes meeting mine briefly before I took hold of my bonnet ribbons to keep it from tumbling down the stairs.
He retreated down a step, and I moved in the opposite direction.
I had almost reached the top when Hannah walked into the dim stairwell with a basket on her arm.
“Miss Sharp!” she gasped, a dismayed laugh escaping her. “You gave me a fright!”
I was glad to have distracted her. From behind me, I heard Mr. Campbell escape through the outside door. Relief crashed over my shoulders.
Hannah passed me on the stairs, thankfully oblivious to the fact that I had not been alone a moment before. As soon as she was out of sight, I collapsed against the railing. My legs shook, and my heart and mind still raced. I pressed my fingers to my lips.
If that kiss had been anything, it had been quite serious indeed.