Chapter Twenty-One #2
He quickly dismounted and came to stand before her, giving her a short bow. “Miss Barnet… you look lovely this morning,” he said softly. She could have been dressed in rags and she still would be beautiful in his eyes.
“Captain Tyler… whatever in the world are you doing here of all places?” she asked, then seemed to recover herself to give him a look that was as frigid as the north in winter.
She began tapping her foot in apparent irritation while waiting for his answer.
He supposed he didn’t blame her. She had every reason to be irritated with him.
“I thought it might be obvious what brings me to Bracknell.” He gave her a smile.
Her features didn’t change. If anything, a frown formed on her lovely face as she seemed to become angrier that he was there, invading her hometown.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to explain it to me because I have no inkling of why you would leave London in order to see me when I made my intentions very clear. There is nothing left to say between us,” she muttered.
“I beg to differ,” he replied striding closer as she did the opposite and retreated several steps.
A number of people began to walk past them, whispering among themselves and seeming to cause Violet to remember her true purpose.
She climbed the steps of the apothecary, fitted the key in the lock of her business and opened the door.
“Come inside. There’s no sense giving the locals something to gossip about. ”
The fragrant smell of herbs was the first thing he noticed as he followed her inside. Her pleasing form was the second as she swept past him after hanging her redingote on a peg near the door. As Violet made her way to the back of her business, he trailed close behind.
A small stove sat in the corner. She went to it and began putting kindling in what remained of the low burning embers.
Once they took to flame, she added several nearby logs, shut the door and then placed a tea kettle on the top to warm.
She took two cups down from a shelf and grabbed a canister which he assumed held tea leaves.
Silence fell between them as she continued her chores, straightening items on shelves, and crushing herbs to pour into envelopes, until the water came to a boil.
As she poured the hot water into the cups, the relaxing smell of lavender filled the air.
She handed him a cup and motioned to a chair.
Since she remained standing, he could hardly sit.
She cocked her head to one side before quickly hiding her slight smile when she brought her cup to her lips. But he did not miss such an important detail. Whether she cared to admit it or not, there was still that unseen connection between them.
“You’re not wearing your eye patch. Shall I assume you are feeling better?” she finally asked, breaking the silence than had seemed as wide as the ocean was long.
“I am, thanks to all you did for me, Angel… umm… Violet,” he said, correcting himself and trying to get used to saying her real name.
He stepped closer again to stare down at her, “Besides, I thought you might approve if I didn’t wear the patch, since it was your suggestion that I lose the thing in the first place as it wasn’t a necessity. ”
She gave a snort of disdain. “It really makes no difference to me, Captain Tyler, if you wear it or not. It’s not for me to approve or disapprove of anything you do,” she said sharply, as she kept the formality between them.
“As I said to you at my cousin’s, my life is my own and none of your business.
The same holds true for you. If you have nothing more on your mind, please leave. ”
“I wouldn’t have traveled all the way here to see you if I only wanted to just say hello, Violet.”
She frowned at him and went to one of the two chairs. Once she sat, he did the same, taking the one opposite her. “I didn’t give you leave to call me by my first name.”
He watched as her chest heaved. Yes… She was just as affected by the two of them being close together as he was. It gave him the slightest bit of hope. “And yet, I think, based on the conversation I wish to have with you, I prayed we could keep things less formal between us.”
A strained laugh escaped her lips as she set her cup down. “Why? So, you can pounce on my heart for a second time, Captain? I don’t believe it can survive another beating. Exactly why are you here?”
“I wanted to apologize for everything that happened at my brother’s,” he said honestly. “Please forgive me.”
“There is nothing to forgive, Captain Tyler. I saw your true self and you made it perfectly clear with your words and manner that you didn’t trust me.
You must know I could never be with someone where trust didn’t play a major part of our relationship,” she fumed.
He could see all the hurt he had caused her rising to the surface as her emotions rushed across her flushed face.
The bell above the door sounded that a customer had arrived. “Violet, please let me prove to you—”
She stood and he did as well. “There is nothing more to prove, Captain. Now, if you’ll please see yourself out, I have work to do.”
He was about to respond when a tall man with tawny-colored hair came to stand next to her. “Morning, Violet. Everything all right here?”
“Everything is fine, Owen. Captain Tyler was just leaving,” she answered firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.
Owen… her brother, as he recalled. Patience had filled him in on the family dynamics. At least that was somewhat reassuring. “We’re not through with this conversation, Violet, and I won’t leave town until we’ve finished our discussion.”
“Oh, we’re finished, Gideon,” she said before her eyes widened and he realized she’d startled herself by addressing him by his first name. But she recovered quickly. “Owen, please see the captain out.”
Owen stepped forward but Gideon raised his hands as he backed off. He wouldn’t start a scuffle with Violet’s brother but as the older man more or less began to maneuver him toward the front door, he called over his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon, Violet. You can count on it!”
One moment she was in his sight and the next she might as well have vanished like a whisp of smoke or the angel he had once taken her for.
One thing was certain… Violet still cared, if that smile he’d seen was any indication of her feelings for him.
He could only hope that the lady was ready to be wooed.
He would stop at nothing to return to the lady’s good graces.