Chapter 19 #2
“How very saintly of you and terribly boring. You might not believe this of me, but I used to be the king of pleasure and know a thing or two on the subject.” He sighed and stared off in front of him as if he was very far away for a moment.
But then he blinked, and whatever he had been thinking about seemed to fade away.
He smiled at me again. “After my . . . accident . . .” He cleared his throat.
“After my accident, I wanted to put all that behind me, but seeing you makes me wonder if I have pulled back too much.”
“Seeing how dull I am makes you want to change?” I balked.
He set his arm across the back of the bench and shifted his body toward me. Although he did not touch me, it very nearly felt like he had put his arm around me. “Nothing about you is boring, Miss Lewis. You are very much the opposite.”
His words sent a wave of feeling that consumed me completely. I had had tutors compliment me, but none had affected me like this.
“Let me explain,” he continued. “Seeing you not enjoying life more makes me realize that I can afford to balance my own life better. So I propose that this challenge be a joint one—I help you have new experiences, and in the process, I hopefully will think less about work. I have been rather absorbed in a few projects of late, and perhaps I am in need of a respite as much as anyone. Who knows, a few activities might help me clear my head and see matters more clearly.”
“Is your work so very tiresome?”
His smile grew tight. “It can be. Not all answers come with effort, unfortunately. So what do you say to us helping each other?”
“Will Augusta like this challenge?” She was my priority, and I wouldn’t be distracted from my purpose . . . no matter how enticing.
He nodded. “It’s been some time since she’s been to the theater. She would be happy to join us.”
The theater? With Lord Camden? My pulse took a wild climb. “I suppose if your mother does not object, I would have no reason to.”
“Excellent.” He gave a small but solemn dip of his head. When his eyes met mine again, they sparked brighter than before. He stretched out his leg in front of him and winced.
I hesitated for a moment, not certain if I should bring up the delicate situation, but I was not certain when I would get another opportunity. “Does it hurt you still?”
“Pardon?”
“Your leg—your injuries—do they trouble you?”
“My leg is tight from my ride this morning, but my injuries are greatly improved. Time is a great healer—in more ways than one.”
I wanted to know all the ways he had been hurt, but I was likely pressing too much as it was. “I am sorry about your accident. It must have shaken you if it brought you to reexamine your life.”
“You mean when I stepped away from being the king of pleasure?” The spark in his eyes fizzled into a dull green-gray. I had caught him off guard—and had likely brought back bad memories. “It did shake me,” he finally said. “I don’t speak about it if I can help it.”
I suddenly wanted the bench to swallow me whole.
I had pressed too far, and I was at a loss of what to say.
Of course he did not like to speak of it.
He’d been unable to walk afterward. I yearned to chase away his dark thoughts.
Slowly, I lifted my hand and set it gently on his back.
“I’m sorry if I brought back difficult memories.
” And then, because I felt like an idiot thinking I could comfort the distinguished Lord Camden, I withdrew my hand and buried it in my lap.
“You don’t have to tell me anything more.
Unless you want to. But if you don’t, I won’t be upset. I will respect your choice.”
Now I was rambling like a baboon.
One of his notoriously charming smiles played on his lips as he leaned closer, making my stomach flutter. Was he about to share his past, or was he planning to flirt with me? The anticipation of his next words left me nearly breathless.
“I’ll make you a deal, Miss Lewis. I will confide in you about my accident if you confide in me about what led you to become a governess.”
My throat tightened, and all the butterflies his presence had stirred disappeared.
He could not have said anything to silence me more effectively.
The last thing I could tell him was that I was a mad runaway bride and that my brother had likely spent more than half the year searching for me.
I wrapped my fingers around my book like a life preserver.
“It seems today is not the day for secrets.” He pulled back, and I could not tell if he was relieved or disappointed.
He pushed himself to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back.
“I would recommend you make a list of what other activities you would like to try so we might present them to Augusta when she returns.
But my guess is you will distract yourself with more useful tasks and not follow through.
My brow rose. “How did you know that?”
He seemed to fight a laugh. “Not to worry. I prefer spontaneous fun as much as the planned kind.”
“But spontaneity is unpredictable.” He was unpredictable. In fact, this entire conversation was something I had never fathomed.
Amusement danced in his eyes. “That’s the point.” He watched me for a moment. “Well, aren’t you coming?”
“Coming where?”
“If I tell you, you might overthink it. And where would be the fun in that?”
I closed my gaping mouth and brought my fingernail between my teeth. “I suppose I don’t have any pressing plans.”
“Good, then we will embark on your first challenge—part of which includes me stretching my legs with a short walk.”
I reluctantly stood, both nervous and oddly excited. Lord Camden curled his mouth into a smile, seemingly impressed that I had not cowered and ran. Seeing it emboldened me.
I waved, with my book in hand, toward the path. “By all means, show me the way.”
Lord Camden offered me his arm as if he had done so a hundred other times.
I pretended he had, suppressing the fact that he was my employer, and linked arms with him. It couldn’t hurt to get into the spirit of our outing. It was just one day.
On our walk to who knows where, Lord Camden pretended to be my tour guide, offering strange facts about the grounds, the house, and his childhood at Rosemont. Mother would have chided me for laughing too loudly, but Lord Camden was surprisingly witty.
And even though I had no idea what his plan was for me this afternoon, I was confident that I was about to do something that I never would have done if I had stayed at Norwood Hall.