Chapter 33
T he following weeks passed by in a blur without so much as a word from him.
It was done. They were done. And to fill the void, Scarlett had thrown herself into the wedding with a frightening force, to the point people’s looks and carefully chosen words highlighted their concerns– something she paid little notice of. There was a wedding to plan.
With the wedding taking place just four days before Christmas and the date fast approaching, the place was swarming with tradespeople coming to the end of their shifts for the evening.
The guest floor bedrooms were finally finished, and some had needed much more than just a deep clean. Several required fresh plaster and paint in addition to new taps and curtain poles in the ensuite bathrooms.
Finding enough workers was initially difficult, but with Scarlett’s bottomless budget and the approaching Christmas season providing a whole host of people seeking temporary employment, James and his brother mobilised local businesses and, working constantly, finished the job.
The chairs arrived for the orangery and Ana?se was pleased with them and their covers, along with the seating arrangements for the ceremony and the dining room.
The marquee company Scarlett got on board on short notice had finished setting up, and the couple’s close family would arrive in a few days– although Lady Cameron-Reid’s decision to arrive on the actual day was making everyone nervous and stressed.
All was going exactly to plan, yet Scarlett struggled to find joy in her accomplishments.
She noticed how Edward remained out of sight by either leaving the house early or, according to the gossip from the kitchen, staying cooped up and locked behind his door.
He no longer dined with his brother or their American guests, even when Lily was visiting, which was almost constant these days.
Mrs Wilson’s eyebrow raised as she shared that particular nugget of information.
She did the same when she casually mentioned that Miss Briege was now in Switzerland and would be for the foreseeable future.
Scarlett tried not to react and would leave the kitchen whenever talk such as this came up, politely excusing herself.
She didn’t want to think about Edward. It was over.
It needed to be over, and his absence showed he felt the same.
Yet, she worried about him and her mind would regularly betray her with thoughts of him and their brief time together, moments when everything had felt so right.
Enough already!
She couldn’t keep torturing herself about it all.
She had to focus on herself and her future.
Jason was visiting in a week or so and promised they would talk and come to a financial arrangement, even though he was still refusing to discuss the option of a divorce, and she was refusing to entertain his calls, even though, as he kept messaging, he had important news to share with her.
She didn’t care about his news– she just wanted to be free from them all.
Of course, she knew she would miss people here– even the Americans, she realised with surprise, but they would soon leave too. It was all coming to a natural end.
She would really miss June and Andrzej, more than she’d like to admit, and even toyed with staying in Scotland.
She doubted she would revisit Haddon House, but they could visit her if she didn’t choose somewhere too far away.
The money she’d earned from arranging the wedding was generous and would be enough for a deposit and the first couple of months’ rent for a little flat somewhere, at least until she found a job or the money from Jason came through, whichever happened first. She didn’t imagine it would take long, as Tara wanted her ring back and Jason was constantly texting her about it, making it clear to Scarlett that it was her only remaining leverage with them.
Something else was bothering her though and the memory regularly caught her off-guard when she least expected it.
After the whole Briege debacle in the lounge, feeling humiliated and rejected, she’d let Leonard comfort her, and the events that had unfolded had left her feeling shaky and violated.
Despite doing her best not to mull over it, she still felt annoyed and upset, wondering how it had even occurred in the first place or gone as far as it did.
After seeing Edward and Briege’s embrace, tears blurring her vision, Leonard had caught up with her in the hallway, taking hold of her shoulders and guiding her into the empty dining room, clicking the door shut behind them.
He took her gently in his arms, where she’d sobbed for what felt like an age.
“It’s okay, you’re okay,” he told her, stroking her hair as she burrowed her face into his chest. She felt raw and vulnerable, and there was a comforting familiarity to his body that offered relief. It wasn’t Edward, but he felt close to it.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered into her ear.
Scarlett wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, but he remained silent and let her cry until she had no tears left.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” She felt mortified and extremely snotty, bringing up the sleeve of her hoody to clean herself up.
Leonard released her, squeezing her arms. He opened a drawer in the dresser beside them, on which she noticed a deep scratch, and pulled out a napkin. Lowering her arms away from her face, he looked at her tentatively, lifting her chin towards him, and gently dabbed her face dry.
She could see the tenderness in his eyes, so similar to his brother’s. It was much deeper under the surface than with Edward, but it was still there. She wondered how two boys from the same family could be so different in so many ways yet share so many similarities.
“I’m a mess. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to be doing this.” She tried to turn her face away, but he kept a firm hold of her chin.
“He doesn’t deserve you– you should know that.” His eyes darkened. “He thinks he can have everything and doesn’t care who gets in his way to get it. You deserve better, Scarlett.”
She didn’t like the turn the conversation was taking. It made her uncomfortable, as did their proximity, and the way his thumb was now brushing near her bottom lip. Ana?se’s words echoed somewhere in the back of her mind.
Watch out for him. He’s a bit of a fox, in every sense.
“I should really get going. I’m sorry for all this. I’m embarrassed.” She tried to smile and move away, but his arm circled around her, and he pulled her closer to him, trapping her against the wall behind her.
Her eyes widened in horror as she felt him stir in his trousers. She panicked but remained frozen where she stood, unable to speak or move.
“How does he do it, hmm?” His eyes glazed over as if he was looking through her, and Scarlett’s stomach contracted with fear.
“Lily’s mum, Briege, now you… Let’s not even get started on the estate and our father.
” He stroked the hair away from Scarlett’s forehead and kissed her cheek, then moved closer to nuzzle into her neck.
He hardened further against her and a single tear fell down her cheek.
“You are exceptionally beautiful, though, Scarlett. I’m not surprised he’s been so distracted by you.
I’d be lying if I said I haven’t caught the odd glimpse of you too, especially when you haven’t noticed anyone is looking.
” He smiled that lopsided cheeky smile, which she’d grown accustomed to in much less intimidating circumstances. But not like this. Never like this.
“What do you—” Scarlett began.
He interrupted her. “You do really need to draw those curtains before you undress.” He shrugged as Scarlett’s eyes widened in shock. “You can’t blame a guy for looking up when he’s smoking a cigarette at night.”
He winked at her, ignoring the fact Scarlett wasn’t seeing the humour in the situation. At all.
“Leonard, I’d like to go now,” she whispered, struggling to find her voice.
His eyes darkened again, and his jaw twitched.
“And honestly, Briege isn’t a patch on you. Trust me, I know, I’ve been there. Looks fantastic, but she’s bleak and empty inside. But you… fuck, what I wouldn’t do to you.” He pushed her legs apart with his knee and pressed his cock against her.
“Leonard, please,” she tried to say with more force, but he pressed his greedy mouth against hers. He tasted like cigarettes and alcohol.
He moved his lips to her neck.
“Shhh, now, it’s okay. Everyone is busy.
No one will come in and I’ve locked the door.
It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered into her ear, his hand travelling up her jumper towards her breasts.
“Don’t fight it. I promise it won’t take long, and it’ll be good.
Just let me have a taste of what he’s been getting.
” He undid his trousers, his fingers hurrying to the opening of her jeans.
“I’ve wanted to do this from the moment I saw you in the woods and then…
up at your window, getting undressed, thinking you weren’t seen.
God, I’m so fucking horny for you.” He groaned as his hand slid towards her most intimate parts.
A surge of rage flooded through her.
No, this isn’t happening.
Some vague memory of a long-ago self-defence class came back to her and, using the wall as leverage, she twisted and turned with force, escaping from his hold. Breathless and wild, she held her arms out towards him as a warning. “Leonard, no!”
His eyes were dark and dangerous, and for a moment she worried he might continue– and if so she wouldn’t be able to fight him off for long– but a flicker of sense resurfaced, taking hold of him, and he took a deep breath, looking down and straightening his clothes.
“I’m really sorry, Scarlett. I don’t know what just happened. I– look, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” He looked back up at her and the sincerity in his eyes seemed genuine, but it was nowhere near enough for Scarlett to feel safe in his presence. A fox was an understatement. The man was a wolf.
Scarlett took a deep breath to steady herself. “I don’t know what that was or what gave you the impression I wanted it, but you have got it very, very wrong.” She began fixing her own clothes.
“Scarlett, I—”
“Don’t ever do that again, do you understand?” Scarlett’s voice was still shaky.
He looked like a reprimanded kid, but Scarlett had no sympathy. There were clear boundaries of decency and consent, and he had completely crossed both.
“You talk of Edward taking whatever he pleases, but he has never taken anything not freely given, and I never implied that you could have or take me. What the fuck was that?” Rage was now fuelling the sudden calm descending on her.
Leonard pulled his hand across his face in the exact same way Edward did, but this man was not Edward, and in all his days would not even come close to being the man his brother was.
Leonard, she was quickly realising, was a spoilt entitled boy with a chip on his shoulder because he probably knew he could never be like Edward, or even compete, and instead of forging his own way in life, was hell-bent on taking from his brother what would never really be his.
She had no plans to be one of those things.
“Scarlett, I’m genuinely sorry. I read the room wrong, okay?” Now it was him who was clearly panicked.
“You didn’t read the room at all!” Scarlett could feel her face redden with heat.
How fucking dare he!
“I-I’m sorry,” he spluttered, his hand covering his mouth.
“I mean it– don’t you ever do that again. Not to me, or anyone else for that matter. What is wrong with you? Not to mention you’re about to get married!”
Leonard scoffed at Scarlett’s comment. “As if that means anything.”
“What does that even mean?” Scarlett shook her head in confusion.
“It’s a scam marriage, Scarlett. Smoke and mirrors.” He grimaced. “Forget it, okay? But you’re right, I’ve behaved appallingly and have no excuse. I’m not usually such an idiot. I genuinely don’t know what came over me. Are you okay?”
“No, Leonard, I am not fucking okay.”
“I– fuck, I don’t know. I don’t have any reasonable excuse for how I just behaved, and I promise it won’t happen again, but please know I never intended to hurt you. I understand I crossed the line.” He lowered and shook his head.
“You crossed all the fucking lines.” Scarlett still felt full of indignant rage, but took another breath to calm herself. “I’m going to leave now, and we will not speak of this again– ever. Understood?”
Leonard nodded.
Scarlett cautiously moved towards the door, where Leonard remained, and, suddenly understanding, he put his hands up and moved away. Turning the lock, Scarlett opened the door, and relief washed over her as she entered the airy hallway.
Not a soul was around and the realisation of what could have just happened dawned on her and she shuddered.
She wanted to believe that he would’ve stopped himself, but she honestly wasn’t sure.
The thought made her feel sick but empowered at the same time.
She wasn’t a victim, nor would she ever be.
Her body and her life were hers and would not be taken by anyone against her will, especially not a sad, desperate manchild like Leonard Cameron-Reid.