Chapter Two
‘S ORRY !’ SHE GASPED as she stepped away from the person she had just collided with.
He was a young man wearing a regency tailcoat of deep blue, his white collar high and ruffled.
Her gaze travelled up to a curious look on the clean-shaven face of a man who held a look haughty enough to rival Clementine’s.
She blinked in shock. She could have sworn she was alone up here. She hadn’t heard him climb the stairs.
The newcomer gave a stiff bow. ‘Good evening, madam.’ He did not smile as he stared up and down her sodden clothes, giving Chloe the urge to cover herself.
She took in his polished shoes, his curly dark hair, the slightly arrogant look he gave her as he stood among the library shelves. He looked like he had just stepped out of the nineteenth century.
‘Madam,’ he said, sounding affronted. ‘What are you wearing? And what are you doing in my library?’
Chloe was lost for words, her mind struggling to grasp why he was here.
Halloween was in a couple of weeks. Was he wearing a costume, perhaps?
If it was, a costume that is, she had to admit he seemed really committed to the part.
He had even grown out some sideburns. But what was he doing so late in the library when it was clearly closed?
Had she forgotten to lock the front door? She couldn’t remember.
‘Erm,’ was all she could say. ‘Are you all right? Can I help you with something?’ Then his words caught up to her. ‘Wait. What’s wrong with my dress? And what do you mean, your library?’
‘Perhaps I have had too much to drink. Forgive me. I’m afraid I am rather lost. I am not sure how I got here.’ The man held a certain sadness in his eyes, and for a moment, it was like Chloe could see her grief reflected in them. She quickly shook away the strange thought.
‘Lost?’ she repeated. How lost could you get in a library in the middle of the night?
‘Yes, although, it is refreshingly quiet in here.’ He glanced at her, taking her presence in as much as she had his, his eyes roaming over her damp chestnut hair to her black dress and stockinged feet.
‘I am wondering how to get back. I was at a party, you see. Frightful things, with far too many people I’m forced to entertain. I’m told I have the charm of a shoe.’
Chloe’s senses were catching up with her.
She was alone with a stranger in the middle of the night.
She took a step back, swallowing, unsure whether to try to point him towards the exit.
Clementine saved her from the awkward silence by appearing behind her with a soft purr.
The man started slightly, then favoured the feline with a small smile.
‘What a charming creature. Though I really must be getting back. This doesn’t look like my library, after all.
’ He didn’t meet Chloe’s gaze, but glanced somewhere over her shoulder, as though someone from his party would be hiding in a shadowy corner.
He gave a soft sigh. ‘Though as I was just so vehemently rejected, there doesn’t seem to be much point. ’
Was he playing a character? If he had come from outside, how was he not wet from the rain? Perhaps he had brought an umbrella with him.
‘You must help me,’ said the stranger.
Chloe didn’t think she must do anything, but she didn’t want someone making a complaint about her when she hadn’t even been working here a week.
She didn’t think the man was here to steal anything.
A tailcoat wasn’t the typical outfit for a break-in.
He didn’t look particularly surprised to see Chloe; it seemed like he had simply wandered inside by accident.
‘Neither of us should be in here,’ Chloe pointed out as she headed for the spiral staircase. ‘We need to leave. Where is this party of yours?’
Maybe they were celebrating Halloween early and he’d somehow accidentally wandered into the library, seeing the light on upstairs.
‘At my estate, of course,’ said the man, sounding surprised. ‘I had thought at first that this was my library, but that seems to be a mistake.’
How drunk was he?
The man was becoming stranger by the second. The best thing would be to get them both out of here, and hopefully this guy wouldn’t think to come back tomorrow and mention she was here.
‘I’m sure you’ll find your way back to your party in no time,’ she called behind her.
The man had stopped at the top of the spiral staircase that would lead them to the lower floor. ‘Where are you going?’
‘To the exit.’ She pointed towards the door that led to the reception area.
‘No, I am quite sure it’s this way.’ He turned on his heel and headed back in the direction from which they’d come, his shoes clopping on the floorboards. ‘That is how I got here.’
Irritated now, Chloe scooped up Clementine to avoid him getting trampled. The cat stayed quiet in her arms, then looked up at her. It may have been her imagination, but he held the same annoyed look as she felt.
‘Sir?’ She followed the man back to the shelves, wondering what on earth was happening. He half-trotted ahead of her, the ends of his tailcoat disappearing around the corner of an enormous shelf of Young Adult fiction.
‘I need to get back.’ He sounded upset now, moving aside books on shelves as though hoping to somehow find a door among the tomes.
He straightened near a light, his height casting a shadow on Chloe.
He was a marvellous actor, she thought. If she was being pranked, he was doing a decent job of convincing her he was really worried.
The man swallowed. He pulled on his ruffled collar as if he were trying to get more air. ‘Madam.’
‘Chloe.’ She patted her chest with her free hand.
The man shifted for a moment as though trying to find the right words. ‘Do you think first impressions are important?’
The question took her aback. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘First impressions, Miss Chloe.’ He took a step towards her.
‘Me, I am frightfully unskilled at socialising. I recently met a marvellous woman, and did I behave like a gentleman? I did not!’ He threw an arm into the air.
‘I was rude, uncouth, arrogant. She hated me for a long time. Perhaps she still does.’ The corners of his mouth turned down like he was fighting to swallow his emotions. ‘She has to know how I feel!’
Chloe couldn’t imagine this strange man would get to confessing his feelings anytime soon, not when he was still standing around talking to her. Then something occurred to her. The glowing book she had picked from the shelf just a moment ago . . .
‘Is it salvageable, Miss Chloe?’ said the man again. His hand was frozen on a bookshelf now, almost as if his next action depended on her answer. ‘Do you think she can forgive me? See past the terrible first impression?’
Chloe thought back to her disastrous dates, her seemingly eternal status of singledom, her failure to find anyone she could truly connect with.
Even the guy she had been seeing in Sheffield hadn’t felt like a true connection.
‘Well, I just had a terrible date myself. That was a bad first impression, and I don’t think he’ll be getting a second chance.
Online dating is a minefield.’ She forced a chuckle.
‘But you could say sorry and make it up to this girl. First impressions aren’t everything, especially if you try harder next time. ’
‘Hmm.’ The man rubbed his chin. ‘I don’t know this line date you speak of, but it can’t be worse than the pomp and ceremony of a party. Not to mention the expense.’ He gave another dramatic sigh.
‘Right,’ said Chloe quickly. Her experience with parties hadn’t included much ‘pomp.’ Mainly beer pong and tequila shots. ‘Well, when it comes to love, I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I suppose not. At any rate, it’s time for me to be getting back to my estate. I think I understand this well enough. You appear to have brought me here somehow, so send me back. Now, if you please. There’s lots to do.’
Chloe stared at him. Clementine wriggled from her arms and landed softly on the floor. He shot them both a disapproving look before slinking into the shadows.
‘How do you propose I send you back?’ Chloe asked, resisting the urge to fold her arms.
‘The same way you brought me here,’ he affirmed as though it were obvious. ‘Come now, there must have been something you did to get me here in the first place. I need to—’
‘Get back to your party, yeah.’
The glowing book.
Throwing the man a glance, Chloe sidled back to the shelf where she had seen the classics.
There was the book she’d flicked through earlier, and the faint glow she thought she’d seen before was more conspicuous now.
A burnt-orangey hue emanated from its pages, as if a faint light were beckoning her closer.
She pulled out the book, letting out a small breath.
This couldn’t be real. Maybe Mrs Cook was playing some elaborate prank on her.
Any moment now, the older lady would appear among the shelves, giggling at Chloe’s expense.
But when she glanced up, the stranger was watching her, worry and expectation on his face.
She opened the book anyway. She would humour them both, give this guy in costume and Mrs Cook a true laugh.
She thought it felt warmer in her hands than it should.
She held it and looked at the cover, unsure what to do.
The rain drummed on the roof above her head, lighter now, and Clementine appeared once again at her feet.
He looked expectantly up at her as he sat, his tail curling around him as he watched.
The light of the fake lanterns made his orange fur burn gold.
Go on , he seemed to say.
Chloe flicked through the pages, once again remembering reading this in her first year living away from home. She scanned the familiar lines, taking in the ink on paper, seeing a grand mansion and manicured lawns, gossiping girls in frilly dresses and well-dressed noblemen watching them from afar.