Chapter Seven #3
He liked the fiery Miranda. But this sweet and aching side to her was irresistible and made him fall more deeply in love with her.
“Glad to be of service to ye. I’ll do my best to have those Lawsons quaking in their boots.”
“I’m sure you will be quite effective,” she said as they walked toward her in-laws, “especially with that deep, rumbling voice of authority that comes so naturally to you. And you do have a frightening scowl, as though you will swoop down and smite anyone who displeases you. But it is most odd…”
“What is?”
She cast him another soft look. “You treated me gently even as I was tossing everything I could find at your head that first night we met.”
“I have a very thick head. There would have been very little damage done had ye managed to find yer mark.”
She put a hand lightly to his brow and gave it a caress. “I’m glad my aim was off, even if you claim to be a thickheaded Scot.”
Aye, Miranda was definitely turning his heart upside down. “Come on, let’s see that rabble off.”
Their parting conversation with her family was mercifully brief, and the Lawson ladies were on their best behavior because he was standing beside Miranda and doing his best to look like an avenging beast of fury.
Miranda’s smile was bright and she waved cheerfully as their carriage departed. “Oh, your expression was brilliant! Lady Lawson practically swallowed her tongue to hold back the insults she was so eager to spew at me.”
He placed his arm around her slight shoulders to guide her back into the inn before the rain resumed and wind once again gusted to the point of rattling windows. “Do ye think Gwenys is awake yet? Would she like to join us for breakfast?”
“Give me a moment and I’ll check on her. I’ll meet you back in the dining room in a few minutes.”
“All right.” He watched her walk down the hall and had the unsettling feeling that she was slipping away from him with every step.
But he knew it could not be so. If anything, they had taken a step closer to forming bonds of friendship and trust. She would not have confided in him, spoken affectionately of her friends and her home, unless she was warming toward him.
Nor would she have felt comfortable asking him to be her guardian protector when facing the Lawsons.
He was still brooding over Miranda when she walked into the dining room and took the seat beside his. “Gwenys is awake and will join us shortly. But you needn’t wait. I know you must be hungry.”
“And ye? Are ye no’ going to eat?”
She nodded. “I will as soon as Gwenys joins us. The poor thing was afraid to come out of our room until she knew her family had departed.”
“Och, the way they make her feel is shameful.”
“She’ll overcome it in time. I want to see her gain confidence in herself as I did when I was her age.
It was a struggle for me, and probably took me far too long to learn to believe in myself.
But I found it so hard at first to ignore what others said of me.
Every insult felt like a knife being stuck through my heart until I realized they weren’t my friends, so why would I allow them to ruin my day?
Over the years, I acquired true friends who stood by me.
I learned they were the ones that mattered. ”
Bram merely nodded, although he did not agree with everything she had said.
Aye, she was a strong woman in many ways.
But these Lawsons had inflicted much damage that had yet to heal.
“We can both wait for Gwenys to join us before we fill our plates. Meanwhile, I’ll have my coffee, and I’ll order ye a fresh pot of tea. ”
“That is thoughtful of you.”
He grinned. “No, it is purely for my curiosity. I am fascinated watching ye go through everything ye do just to drink a simple cup of tea.”
“Yes, I do make rather a ritual of it, don’t I?” she said with a mirthful chuckle.
“We all have our odd little ways. It is what forms our character. But why do ye make such a fuss over yer tea?”
She glanced down at her hands, which were lightly clasped together and resting on the table. “It calms me.”
Bram frowned. “Do I upset ye so that ye need calming when ye are with me?”
“No, not at all,” she said, looking up at him in surprise.
“This is a habit I developed from my younger days, when I was first a widow. You see, I could not go out anywhere, not even for an afternoon with friends to someplace as harmless as a tea shop, without people stopping to stare at me and whisper. So I learned to maintain my composure by busying myself with an elaborate preparation for my tea. Simply adding sugar was not enough. I had to pile on everything I could. Milk, honey, lemon. I thought it would appear as though I had to concentrate on adding all these ingredients. In truth, I was desperate to avoid meeting their mocking gazes.”
He shook his head and groaned. “Och, I am truly sorry. I’ll never tease ye about this again.”
She cast him a soft look. “Oh, you can, and I won’t mind.
My little ritual may have started out of cowardice, but I rather enjoy it now.
It turned out to be quite effective, too.
I was rather proud of having outwitted those horrid gossips.
It was the smallest vengeance, but quite satisfying to have them stand there and wait for me to look up in the hope I would notice them. ”
“And ye never did?”
“The lengthy ritual always worked and they were the ones to end up feeling foolish. Most of them just gave up and walked away.”
Bram rubbed a hand across the nape of his neck in agitation. “Miranda, that ye had to endure this makes my blood boil. Where was yer family all the while? I am no’ speaking of the Lawsons, who are obviously odious and were never going to offer ye comfort. I am speaking of yer parents and siblings.”
“I am an only child,” she said as her pot of tea arrived, and with it a sugar cone, a jar of honey, a ripe lemon, and a small pitcher of milk.
She smiled at the serving maid in appreciation and kept her smile when turning back to him.
“You ordered all these accompaniments for me? You’ve thought of everything. ”
“Go on with yer story, lass,” he said, taking a drop of the milk for his coffee. “I’m interested to hear more.”
She nodded. “Ah, yes. About my family. In truth, I was my father’s little princess and he would have done all he could to support me.
But he and my mother, thinking I was well settled with my new husband, had traveled to Italy in the hope a warmer climate would ease their aches and pains.
They adored Italy, and the warm Mediterranean air did work wonders on their aging bones.
They were so happily settled, how could I ask them to return to England and involve themselves in the misery of my scandal? ”
Bram frowned, but he understood this was Miranda wanting to stand strong and handle things on her own.
“Besides, it would have destroyed them to learn their daughter was a ton laughingstock.”
“But they might have been just as hurt knowing ye did no’ confide in them or trust them enough to ask for their help.”
“I know. Believe me, I gave it so much thought before deciding not to say anything to them. Any letter I sent would have taken weeks and possibly months to reach them.”
Bram still thought she ought to have done it, but he was not going to judge her harshly at all. Miranda’s nature was to be proud and fight for herself, but it was obvious this situation was too much for a young widow to handle all on her own.
Without her family to stand beside her, she was easy prey. The ton gossips were carrion birds circling her and waiting to pick her apart.
Miranda continued, unaware of his thoughts.
“I felt more time would be lost while they packed up their Italian villa and returned to England. How could I force them to come back to the cold and rain when I was certain people would lose interest in me by then? Surely another scandal would come along to distract them. Also, I was not completely helpless, for my father had the best solicitors and they protected me quite nicely in the ensuing legal proceedings. The Lawsons could not steal back any of what I had gained from the marriage, much as they wanted to grab everything they could.”
She sighed and shook her head, then continued.
“Had the Lawsons shown me an ounce of kindness, I would have given them whatever they wanted, be it a priceless artifact or a trinket of sentimental value. But they tossed me out of Lowery Hall so fast, I hardly had time to pack a bag or even grab my cloak. Since my parents had let their London townhouse to friends of theirs, I could not even return to my home.”
Bram was ready to leap out of his chair in agitation. Every protective bone in his body was aroar. It destroyed him to think that Miranda had been tossed out by those heartless creatures and left to fend for herself.
“Och, Miranda. Where did ye go?”