Chapter Thirty
It had been over a week since Gideon had left to return to London and Violet was anxious that perhaps his godmother’s husband hadn’t agreed to giving Gideon a bishop’s license to marry.
After hiding away in her parents’ house since he’d left, Violet had felt caged and couldn’t stand the confinement any longer.
After arguing with both her father and brother, and reluctantly leaving her mother in tears from worrying about her daughter’s welfare, Violet returned to work at the apothecary.
It wasn’t without restrictions, however.
Her brother escorted her to their shop and remained the entire time.
She felt that perhaps they were overreacting.
Maybe she wasn’t in danger. Yes, someone had thrown a brick, but they didn’t know for sure the fire in her home had been set.
Perhaps that had been a coincidence, and they didn’t need to watch over her like mother hens.
She was a grown woman and perfectly capable of taking care of herself!
But she had agreed upon their condition only after they reminded her of the promise she had made to her future husband.
Husband… she had hoped that by this time of this week she would have been a married woman, maybe even happily so, though they hadn’t fully declared their love for one another.
But such emotions lay just beneath the surface in her heart and she had a hunch that Gideon felt the same.
Another vision of his muscular chest as he lay abed swiftly passed through her mind causing her face to flush with heat.
What awaited her in their marriage bed could only be something she had always wished for: a doting husband who showed her the way to what true love must be.
She could barely wait for their wedding night together.
What was detaining him so long in London?
She couldn’t help herself from worrying over every possible scenario, including that he had changed his mind.
She shook her head out of such thoughts and knew she was being ridiculous.
Gideon had already gained her trust. Now was not the time to doubt any portion of what had begun between them, especially since she would be marrying the man as soon as he returned to Bracknell.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a person lingering at the glass door to the apothecary. When she saw who it was, she gasped and stepped back from the counter, her hand lingering upon her heaving chest.
“Good heavens!” she exclaimed in fright.
“What’s the matter, Violet?” her brother asked, rushing from the back room to her side.
She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again; the man who had possibly been stalking her at the front door was gone. “I think I just saw Major Dawkes.”
“Bloody hell,” Owen cursed and moved to look outside. The bell jangled as he opened the door and looked both ways up and down the crowded street.
She watched him start walking toward the right but any further movement was restricted from her view since the main window had yet to be replaced.
She stumbled her way to her chair by the stove and slid down into it before her legs gave out.
She had never thought of herself as so weak but someone burning down your house tended to make even the strongest person lose their confidence in themselves.
The door opened again and Violet held her breath. A loud whoosh left her once she recognized Owen’s return.
“The damn bastard outran me and I lost him in the streets,” he muttered coming to rest his arm around her shoulder. “Are you well, Violet?”
She turned up her face to meet him and couldn’t suppress a shudder. “How am I supposed to answer that when someone is possibly out to kill me?”
He pulled over the vacant chair and took hold of her hands. “We don’t know for certain that your house burning down wasn’t just an accident.”
She frowned, knowing in her heart this was no accident. “There are just too many misfortunes all happening at once for it to be anything other than something planned.”
“If this is the case, we’ll catch the culprit. We already have the constable looking into the matter.”
She gave a heavy sigh. “I’ll feel better when Gideon returns. My nerves are shattered worrying about what is taking him so long. Do you suppose the bishop declined the license for us to marry?” she asked.
“I’m sure you’re worrying over nothing, at least where your future husband is concerned.
Why I’ve never seen a man go to such lengths to make amends to a woman in my life.
That man cares for you, Violet, and I don’t think anything would stop him from gaining whatever he desires, including you,” he said with a wink.
“Stop it, Owen. You’ll have me blushing like a schoolgirl,” she replied with a slight smile.
He patted her hand before leaning back in his chair. “I mean it, sister. That man loves you and I can only hope that what might seem like a marriage of convenience right now is anything but a love match in the end.”
A bright laugh escaped her. “Why, Owen Barnet, you sound like a hero in some romantic novel Clarissa has been reading.”
He grumbled before he stood and held out a hand to help her from her chair. “Don’t tell the wife,” he muttered, as they walked over to the counter. “I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” she teased as they began to work again.
But she had to admit, at least silently, that she was indeed worried.
Not about her feelings for Gideon, but the trouble that might be escalating that included her safety.
There was no doubt in her mind that Major Dawkes had been standing at the doorway.
Gideon couldn’t return to Bracknell soon enough.