Chapter 7 #2
“Meredith?” Darius came down the path to join her, looking far too handsome in his cream trousers and his blue waistcoat.
Why did he have to be so tempting? She noticed how the noonday sun played with the strands of his dark hair, making them look almost purple.
She knotted her fingers in her skirts, feeling suddenly very young and silly in a way she hadn’t in years.
And the way he looked at her…as though she was precious, as though he didn’t want to let her out of his sight, made that ache in her heart deepen to the purest part of her very soul.
She wanted to run to him, bury her face against his chest and be held by him. But he wasn’t hers to touch, wasn’t hers to hold or kiss. What they’d shared last night was a dream, a life she had only a moment to taste before she had to wake up.
“Meredith,” Darius sat down beside her on the bench, angling his body towards her, their knees brushing. He took one of her hands in his, his face solemn. Those blue eyes of his were troubled waters now, dark and churning.
“I never meant to imply that you would be cared for out of pity. Blast, I am making a mess of this.” He bent his head so that their faces were almost touching, and his dark lashes fanned down briefly before he lifted his gaze again to hers.
“You are not and never will be a burden or an object of pity to me. You are like family, though I’ve only known you for a few days.
I wish to take care of you. Please let me do that. ”
It would be so easy to say yes, to let herself believe that she could belong here with him.
That she could truly belong to him in the way that she wanted to from the moment she first met him.
But that wasn’t what he was offering her.
He was offering her nothing more than what Uncle Ben had given her, a safe place to be stay, a roof over her head, clothes and food.
He wasn’t offering love, or that deeper sense of connection that came from the most secret parts of one’s heart.
And the longer she stayed with him, the more she would want that connection…
that love from him. Because it was simply impossible not to fall in love with a man like Darius.
“Darius, I cannot—” she began in a whisper, but the sound of a voice nearby choked her into silence.
“Ahh, there you are, sir. I am ready to make the final preparations.” A man spoke from the other side of the garden wall.
It was clear from the sound of his voice, the man was closer to the Crell’s house and was walking towards the direction of the garden wall where Darius and Meredith were standing on just the other side.
“You’ve seen to what I’ve asked?” Another male voice asked. “Just as I’ve set it out for you?”
“Yes sir…your things are ready to be taken to the hired coach when you are ready to depart,” Dobbs replied.
“You’ve made sure to pack everything?” the second voice snapped.
“Yes…even those other items. It will be dealt with as you’ve requested.” Dobbs sounded offended at who she guessed was Mr. Crell, when he challenged the butler’s performance.
“Once I’ve settled there, I won’t be back for a good long while. Close the house by the end of the week and I shall make plans to sell it. Once you’ve completed that, you may join me.”
Darius held a finger up to his lips, indicating for them to remain silent.
He crept carefully down the wall toward where the heart- shaped window had been left open in the stones.
Darius positioned himself to peer through the window without being seen by the two men on the other side of the wall.
Meredith moved to join him. She clutched his arm, curling her fingers around it as her heart jumped against her ribs.
“And the jewelry, sir?” Dobbs seemed to hesitate to say more.
“Bury them until it’s safe to sell them.”
The other man, Dobbs, mumbled some reply. The sound of boots on gravel grew distant as the men on the other side of the wall walked away.
Darius ducked away from the heart-shaped window in the wall, his lips curving down in a frown as he looked at her.
“That was Mr. Crell and his butler.”
“Did you see Mrs. Crell?” Meredith stood close beside him as he gently caught her by the waist, holding her still as he peered through the window again before ducking back.
“No, I see no sign of Mrs. Crell. She must be inside ready to leave with him.”
“I truly hope that she is well. Why would he tell his butler to bury jewelry in the garden and then sell it?” That sounded sinister to her.
“I don’t know,” Darius replied. “Mr. Chelsea might be able to learn more. He and Dobbs have talked on occasion on matters regarding the shared stables. I’m sure he can devise some way to run into the man again.”
“Darius, I can’t forget that scream I heard,” she confessed. “And now Mrs. Crell’s jewelry is being buried in the garden…” She reached up to grasp his shoulders.
“It could be someone else’s jewelry…” Darius suggested but by his tone she knew he didn’t believe it either.
“There is no logical reason to bury jewelry in the garden,” she pointed out. “Not unless you are desperate to hide something.”
“I agree.” With a tender hand, he brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “I know something doesn’t feel right. We will continue to look into this. I promise.”
His hands still lingered around her waist and she waited a moment too long to let go of his shoulders as they stared at one another, but neither of them said anything.
Darius cleared his throat. “Come and finish lunch. Then we must prepare for an afternoon of gentlemen callers.” Darius didn’t sound all that pleased by the notion.
That brought her out of her thoughts about the mystery at the Crell house and thinking again of her uncertain future and what she truly wanted.
She felt something crinkle in the pocket of her dress and realized she still had the letter from the prince who was willing to help her win Darius as a husband.
If the prince believed she could have him, then shouldn’t she have more faith in herself?
“You could send them away,” Meredith suggested in a quiet tone. It was entirely too bold, but she had to find a way to let him know what she wanted without making a fool of herself.
“Your callers? I wouldn’t dare,” Darius said. “You said you would be here this afternoon, and I shan’t let you lose the opportunity to meet any man you might like.” He choked a little bit on the word ‘like.’
One she liked… not loved. She doubted that Darius had noted the distinction.
Meredith held her emotions in check this time as she allowed Darius to escort her back to the table to finish their meal. She wished he would have agreed to chase away her callers. She didn’t want to entertain anyone today, though that was the entire reason she’d come to London.
The thought left a deep pit form in her stomach, and she dreaded entertaining those she might like, while under the heated gaze of the only one she truly wanted.
* * *
“Mr. Warren Burville,” Mr. Chelsea announced as he stepped into the drawing room. Darius and Meredith stood to greet their first guest. “To see Miss Montague,” Chelsea added with an wry expression.
Darius blinked. Warren was here to see Meredith, not him?
The man had to be teasing him, surely. He’d known Warren most of his life and the man had never shown the slightest interest in courting.
Now he was here to see Meredith, a woman who only last night was on Daruis’s lap, kissing him.
He didn’t know what to think of that, other than he had the sudden urge to throw a punch straight at the man’s face.
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Darius asked as Warren walked past Mr. Chelsea. His friend held an enormous bouquet of flowers and wore a honey-colored waistcoat that perfectly matched Meredith’s eyes. It was a waistcoat that Darius had rarely seen him wear.
“Come to see the show, old boy,” Warren replied.
A smirk flashed across his face before he politely bowed to Meredith and offered her the large bouquet.
It was a blend of red and pink roses along with some daisies.
Darius arched her brow at his friend as Meredith buried her face in the soft petals to take in their scent.
Darius, like any decent gentleman, had an understanding of the language of flowers and believed that sending a message of passion and love along with innocence was entirely inappropriate for a young woman that a man had no real interest in.
“Passionate love?” Darius gripped Warren’s shoulder as Meredith handed the flowers to Mr. Chelsea to put in a vase.
Warren’s green eyes sparkled with mischief. “You think Miss Montague is not worth passionate love? Damn me, Darius, you must be blind.” He watched Meredith speak to the butler, his eyes alight with sensual interest.
“Of course she is worthy of passionate love. That’s not the point. You are not the type to court a woman.”
“Who says I’m not?” Warren asked with a raised chin.
Darius glared at him, calling his bluff. “What the devil are you playing at?” He continued to speak in hushed tones so that Meredith would not hear them argue.
Warren shot him a look as if he were a half-wit. “You really don’t know?”
Darius’s hands fisted at his sides. “Clearly, I don’t. Perhaps you ought to enlighten me, Warren.” He drawled the last few words darkly, which had no effect on his friend whatsoever. If Warren didn’t explain himself soon, he was going to be tossed out on his ear in two seconds.
With a dramatic sigh, Warren waved a hand at Meredith and the drawing room around them.
“You are about to be descended upon by dozens of young bucks vying for Miss Montague’s attention.
Only the bravest will remain here if they see me and my vase of flowers.
Only the boldest will dare face me in a battle of courtship. ”
“But you don’t mean to…?”